Luke 19:28-32 28And after he had said these things, he was going on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29And it happened as he came near to Bethphage and Bethany, near the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, into which, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one at any time has ever sat, and after untying it, bring it. 31And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you will say, ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ” 32So after those who were sent went away, they found it just as he had told them.
The scene changes at this point in Luke’s Gospel with the focus for the rest of the orderly account on events in Jerusalem. This section continues until 21:38, when it shifts to Jesus’ suffering, known as the passion narrative from 22:1-23:56. Chapter 24 describes Jesus’ resurrection. The beginning of verse 28 indicates that Luke intended to connect this story to the previous one about the noble-born man who became king and how the third servant did not know him well.
The procession began in Bethphage and Bethany, which were two villages on the outskirts of Jerusalem by a couple of miles, what we might call suburbs today. This passage begins what has traditionally been called the “Triumphal Entry.” It was triumphal because the people gathered along the road proclaimed Jesus as the coming Messiah. The sovereignty of Jesus is clearly evident in his detailed directions and how everything turns out as he said. The two disciples he sent are unnamed but bear witness to the truth of the situation since two witnesses were required to show the truth of a matter (). The story fulfills the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9.
The story has several surprises. One is how the young colt had never been ridden. Typically an animal that has not been trained can be dangerous to ride because it is not used to people and could buck someone off. Jesus, as sovereign over creation, had full control of this untrained animal. A second surprise is how specific and accurate Jesus’ directions were to disciples. His prophetic ability showed his sovereignty as the divine Son of God because only through God could someone know such details. The reader is challenged to recognize with the crowd that Jesus is indeed the expected King whom the prophets promised would come.
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