Two Donkeys – Matthew 21:1-11

A text – Matthew 21:1-11 

21 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” ⁴ This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:

⁵ “Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
    humble and mounted on a donkey,
        and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; ⁷ they brought the donkey and the colt and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. ⁸ A very large crowdspread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!
    Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

¹⁰ When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” ¹¹ The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

A reflection:

In the gospel of Matthew, the writer wants all of the Jewish people in his reading/ hearing audience to know, for sure, that Jesus is the Messiah, the one the prophets predict, the One God has sent. And some Bible scholars point out that the author wants them to be unmistakably sure, so he mentions BOTH donkeys, not just the one mentioned in Luke and Mark, but also her colt. Jewish people in that era hoped that the Messiah would come as a toppler of foreign government and cruel leadership; they hoped this Messiah would be the new King David sent directly from God, a military leader riding a strong war horse. A donkey was a pretty humble substitute. But the prophet Zechariah had predicted just this, as we read in verse 5. And not just one donkey. A donkey and her colt. Two donkeys makes this entry of Jesus the fulfillment of a very specific prophesy, beyond coincidence, to anyone who knew this scripture. Matthew depicts Jesus riding the donkey and her colt, exactly as the prophet had foretold. Two donkeys is awkward and over the top. But Matthew knows that that is exactly what makes the unmistakable point.

Now who, above all, would know every scripture and prediction about the Messiah? The Pharisees and their scribes, of course, and some of the most observant ordinary folk. For those humans who had been touched, who had been healed, who had been forever changed by Jesus, they knew in that moment this was what God had intended the Messiah to be (not a military leader but a compassionate savior), and their faith in Jesus was not in vain. He was the One they had been waiting for.

But for the humans who had been offended, unnerved, and upset by Jesus, there was no clearer way for Jesus to declare his identity, an identity not of a war lord but of a healer of bodies and souls, an identity that would end any need for 613 legal observances and human-instituted traditions of the church establishment. However, without all those traditions and observances, without the demands they placed on the poorest of the poor, where would the church establishment be? Nowhere. No need for sacrifices, money changers, temple guards, collectors of church tax. And as a result, no money to pay for church council salaries and fine homes and possessions. No power concentrated at the top. Just local rabbis reading and discussing the Torah in local churches with the people who loved and revered God the Creator.

Two donkeys. The clear sign of the Messiah as soul savior. But not what leaders were expecting. The opposite of worldly power – not what those in power were hoping for. The sign of the beginning of the end for Jewish authorities as they knew it. Two donkeys. This Messiah was telling the leaders they were wrong and needed to let go of their power and expectations. Two donkeys. This guy had to go.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for bringing Jesus on two donkeys and not a war horse. Help us to remember that when we are tempted to use our power to lord it over others, you did not do that. You triumphed by serving them, by giving them what they truly needed: a way to triumph over death, not one another. Amen