Matthew 21:1-11 Bible Study

Our reading from the lectionary for Sunday is perfect for Palm Sunday – even though there are no palms mentioned in the text. 

But we will get to that later.

In Matthew 21, we find that it is Passover time, and Jerusalem and all of the communities nearby are crowded with pilgrims. This really was a big celebration – not just from the Jewish or Christian point of view.  At one point a Roman governor took a census of the lambs slain in Jerusalem for Passover and found a total number close to 250,000.  That’s a quarter of a million lambs!

That number may not be accurate, but it does indicate that Passover was huge.

First, the population of Jerusalem’s residents was 25,000 in 30 AD. 

Second, Passover regulation required that there must be a party of a minimum of ten for each lamb, which means that at that Passover time more than 2,500,000 people had crowded their way into Jerusalem.

Third, the population of the world at that time was only 300,000,000 people.

However inaccurate that Roman census may have been, it reflects one truth – Jerusalem was packed with pilgrims!

Matthew 21:1-11
21:1 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,

21:2 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.

Bethphage means “House of un-ripe figs.”

It was likely on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho and its distance is the limit of a Sabbath-day’s journey (2,000 cubits).

Now what about this business of two animals?  Some preachers like to make light of the image of Jesus riding a donkey and a colt at the same time, like some sort of circus performer.

Mark and Luke mention only the colt.  Matthew mentions the colt and the donkey.

Matthew is focusing on the prophetic fulfillment and so he mentions the two animals.  This is not necessarily a contradiction any more than it would be if I said to one person that Harvey and Jimmy came by my house last night, but said to another person later in the day that Harvey seems to be doing better because he was able to come by my house last night.  My not mentioning Jimmy does not offer a contradiction, but a different context.

21:3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately."

21:4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

21:5 "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."

Matthew’s Gospel often includes that wording from verse 4, “This took place to fulfill [or This was to fulfill] what had been spoken through the prophet”

In chapter one of Matthew, we see this sort of formula:

⁹ Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. ²⁰ But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

²³ “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
    and they shall name him Emmanuel,”

It shows up over and over again in Matthew.  “This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet”

In this chapter of Matthew, the prophecy to be fulfilled comes straight out of Zechariah 9:9:

“Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Its original context is a statement concerning the Lord’s victory and defeat of enemies and the restoration of Israel.  It portrays God as the victorious, peaceful king entering the city.

21:6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them;

21:7 they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them.

21:8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

The crowds” function as a character in Matthew. 

They show up at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in chapter 4:25.

By the end of the Sermon on the Mount, the crowds are listening to his teachings (7:28–29; cf. 13:2).

The crowds express surprise over Christ’s authority (7:28–29; 9:8; 22:33).

The crowds are witnesses to his miracles.  (12:15; 14:14; 15:30; 19:2).

The crowds are amazed when he casts out demons.  (9:33).

Twice the crowds were fed by Christ through miraculous multiplying of the food (14:13–21 and 15:32–39).

And now they show enthusiasm as Jesus rides into the city.

The crowds wave branches and spread garments on the road in a first-century version of the ticker-tape parade. 

The word for branches is KLADOS and does not specifically refer to a particular tree, such as a palm tree.  This word is just a general term for any tree’s branch, and there are places where it is used to refer to an olive tree, as in Romans 11:

¹⁷ But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the rich root^[f] of the olive tree, ¹⁸ do not boast over the branches.

Ignatius used the word to describe how Christians were called a branch of the cross. (Ignatius to the Trallians 11:1-2 “Avoid therefore the evil branches that produce deadly fruit, of which if any man taste he will die forthwith. These, therefore, are not the planting of the Father, for if they were they would appear branches of the cross, and their fruit would have been incorruptible, through which cross in his passion he exhorts us who are his members.”)

So where do the palm branches come in?  Matthew says tree branches, Mark says “leafy branches” and Luke just mentions the garments.  It is John in 12:13 that mentions the palm branches. 

This tree is now rare in the Middle East, but is being planted purposefully for a come back.  It was once naturally abundant in that area.  

You can eat the berries – they are a sweet food.  The sap can be turned to wine.  The fibers from the base of the fronds can be woven to ropes.  The timber is also useful.

So it was, in Jesus day a very popular and common tree.

21:9 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!"

We know, of course, that Jesus is going to Jerusalem to die, but for now, he is coming with the welcome of the people. 

The way the people greeted Jesus was the way the people greeted ALL pilgrims:  ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord’ (Psalm 118:26).

The people also shouted Hosanna!

Hosanna means Save now!

Hosanna is a cry for help from a people in distress addressed to their king or their God.

It is a sort of quotation from Psalm 118:25: ‘Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!’

In concluding our study, William Barclay, his commentary, says that this episode shows us three things about Jesus.

1)     It shows us his courage. Jesus knew full well that he was entering a hostile city.

2)     It shows us his claim to be God’s Messiah

3)     It shows us his appeal to the people, and how fragile that appeal to us may be.