Sunday Meditation: Riding Into Jerusalem

On Palm Sunday, strangely, the Gospel is read first, and it’s always on Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a colt.

 

When Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem

and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives,

Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them,

"Go into the village opposite you,

and immediately you will find an ass tethered,

and a colt with her.

Untie them and bring them here to me.

And if anyone should say anything to you, reply,

'The master has need of them.'

Then he will send them at once."

This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet

might be fulfilled:

Say to daughter Zion,

"Behold, your king comes to you,

meek and riding on an ass,

and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden."

The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them.

They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them,

and he sat upon them.

The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road,

while others cut branches from the trees

and strewed them on the road.

The crowds preceding him and those following

kept crying out and saying:

"Hosanna to the Son of David;

blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;

hosanna in the highest."

And when he entered Jerusalem

the whole city was shaken and asked, "Who is this?"

And the crowds replied,

"This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee."

        -Mt 21:1-11 

Dr. Brant Pitre explains the passage with his typical Old Testament insights.

 

But if you notice, there are two donkeys in this triumphal entry, a jenny and her colt.  All three of the other Gospels (Mark 11, Luke 19, John 12) only mention one colt.  As you can imagine, a lot of discussion has been spent on this, with some claiming a contradiction.  Is this a contradiction?  (1) The three other Gospels don’t say there wasn’t a second donkey, and (2) if there is a colt (a baby donkey) a mother (called a jenny) is usually near by.  Here is an explanation by Michael Jones of Inspiring Philosophy of the whole controversy and why I believe Matthew is giving us a more accurate detail.

 

Ride on King Jesus!