Jesus and His disciples were on their way to Jerusalem at the time right before the Passover (celebration of Jews being freed from Egyptian bondage, see Exodus 12). When they came to a place called Bethphage (near the Mount of Olives), Jesus sent two of His disciples to a nearby village to bring back a donkey and colt which were tied up (21:2-3). Matthew mentions that this action was a direct fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9 where he declares that the King is coming sitting on a donkey. The disciples obeyed Christ and brought Him the donkey. Christ sat on the donkey while crowds of people laid clothes in His path along with branches from trees (21:7-8). In this culture, spreading one’s clothes on the ground was a way of paying respect to a person of high status. In essence, these people were outwardly showing their belief in Jesus as the King of the Jews. The people also cried out “hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed in He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Hosanna means save us and implies that they recognized Jesus Christ as the One who would save them (21:9). Although the people did not totally grasp what was about to happen (His death, burial, and resurrection), they still recognized Jesus as the Messiah. As Jesus moves into Jerusalem, many began asking “who is this?” The multitudes responded by declaring Him to be “Jesus the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.” This particular instance was the first time Jesus was being heralded to the nation of Israel as the Son of David. He would eventually go the cross and give up His own life to satisfy the wrath of God on our sins. Today we should worship Jesus Christ as the One who has saved us from our sin and delivered us from sin and death. We should willingly “lay down our clothes” at His feet and worship Him as King and Lord over our life.
Dear God, thank You for sending Your only Son to save us. Help me to daily worship Him for what He has done for me!
