Matthew 21:6-11 6And after the disciples went and did just as Jesus had directed them, 7they brought the donkey and the colt and put on cloaks upon them, and he sat on them. 8And the large crowd spread their own cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9And the crowds who went before him and those who followed him were shouting saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this man?” 11And the crowds were saying, “This man is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
The disciples followed through with what Jesus told them to do. The amazing accuracy of the directions must have boosted their faith in Jesus. Not only could Jesus heal every type of disease, he also knew all things. The only thing he did not know was the day or hour of his return (24:36). Matthew oddly mentions that the cloaks were put on both donkeys and Jesus sat on both. We should interpret this literally, since it would be exceedingly difficult to ride two donkeys, one big and another small. Matthew is simply showing how Jesus fulfilled the prophecy from Zechariah. The likely scenario is that Jesus road on the young donkey and its mother came along.
Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem is both not surprising and surprising. On the one hand, the city and its people should have welcomed the Messiah with great celebration and expectation. On the other hand, the response of the crowd was also surprising because they did not understand the significance of Jesus’ kingship or the kingdom of God and were thinking in earthly terms. They proclaimed Jesus as the Son of David but did not know what this meant. Little did they know what would happen by the end of the week.
Many people were going to Jerusalem at that time because it was Passover week. The large crowds responded in three ways. First, they honored Jeuss by paving the road with their own cloaks, the outer clothing most people wore at that time, and branches from the trees, which were likely a form of palm. Second, their shouting acknowledged Jesus as the promised Messiah. They may have hoped that Jesus would become the king and free them from foreign bondage. Their praises echo Psalm 118. Hosanna is an Aramaic or Hebrew word that means “praise” (Psalm 118:25). Son of David clearly has messianic overtones, although the people did not understand what the kingship of Jesus was about. Coming in the name of the Lord connected Jesus to the power of God. He represented God. The cries of the crowd summarize well many of the key themes Matthew has developed in his Gospel.
The crowds going before and following Jesus made such a stir that the whole city got involved. No doubt, many people had not heard about Jesus since most of his ministry was in Galilee, so this was all new to them. Their question is the essential one we must all answer: Who is this man? A second question we must answer based on the first is, what will we do about this man? The common answer among the people was that Jesus was a prophet. They could not come to the point of acknowledging him as Lord and Savior. That required a confession of faith and commitment of following. We must also come to the point of moving beyond the emotional excitement of what Jesus did to having faith in him shown by commitment.
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