I’m dropped off on Sunbridge Road, a little walk away from my destination. As I start walking, I see others who have parked their cars on one of the side streets. More join our procession as we get closer. Then we get onto Manningham Lane to be met by a much larger crowd still. It’s a sea of claret and amber with carves and flags waving. The larger crowd have come up from the bus station in the city centre. We meet similar crowds coming from other directions. Eventually we arrive at Valley Parade where we are greeted by people selling flags, carves, programmes and other souvenirs. It’s the final day of the season and the crowds are coming to hopefully see Bradford City get promoted. If you’ve experienced such a moment then you might have got just a small insight into what it would have been like for the pilgrims travelling up to Jerusalem, coming together from different locations, gradually joining together with other groups to form a larger crowd.
Read Luke 19:28-40
Jesus gets closer and closer to Jerusalem The disciples arrive at a place called “The Mount of Olives”, part of a range of mountains across the Kidron Valley from Jerusalem.[1] This developed significance later when Jesus ascended from there. They are also close to Bethpage and Bethany where Mary, Martha and Lazarus were from and which would become Jesus’ base for the Passover Festival period (v28-29).
Jesus sends a couple of disciples on an errand to find and untie a colt to being back to him. If challenged, they are to say that “The Lord has need.” This could have been an example of prophecy and special divine authority but the wording here, as with the preparation for the Passover meal seems to suggest more simply that this was a prearranged agreement. There is significance to the point that the colt has not yet been ridden. You might expect it to resist and take time to train v30-31). They go to find the colt and things happen just as Jesus had said (v32-34).
When they bring the colt back to Jesus, those with him put their cloaks over the colt so he can ride on it. Then they spread their coats on the road, like a red carpet, They cannot literally repair the king’s highway and level it up in time but they can quickly and symbolically represent that this has been done. They also begin to sing praised and to wave branches. Notice that whilst much imagery focuses on Jesus entering within the walls of Jerusalem, the Gospels focus on Jesus’ descent from the Mount of Olives. Notice too that this then is not a welcoming crowd from Jerusalem but rather it is the pilgrims who have come with Jesus and will include the likes of Bartimaeus (v35-37).
The words they sing praise Jesus, declaring him to be blessed by God and announcing him to be the King. They also praise God, declaring his glory (v38). This annoys some of the Pharisees in the crowd. They demand that Jesus rebukes his followers but he refuses. He argues that his praise cannot be silenced. If the people stop singing, then creation itself, even inanimate objects like stones will call out. Whilst the praises already sung could be said of a merely human king, Jesus’ claim that creation will praise him is a pointer to his divinity (v39-40).
Procession
All four Gospels describe the procession into Jerusalem. The synoptic Gospels seem to share a main source, probably Marks’ Gospel with no major deviations. Matthew however adds in a further piece of commentary not present in Luke. He had a particular concern to show how Jesus fulfilled Scripture and so he quoted Zechariah 9:9.
“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”[a]
Note Matthew also goes on to insist that there are in fact two donkeys, the colt or foal and the older donkey, the mother.[2] This has perplexed some commentators because i it’s difficult to envision Jesus riding precariously balanced on cloaks spread across two beasts. However, given that it is the harder and unnecessary understanding of Zechariah, it seems to me that this is more likely to be an accurate representation of events. However, we may not need to think of Jesus literally riding both animals and this may simply emphasise that both were present. RT France suggests that the mother’s presence would reassure the unridden foal.[3]
All the accounts make it explicitly clear that the procession begins outside Jerusalem though Luke gives the specific detail that the singing begins at the Mount of Olives. Matthew and Mark offer further detail about what was sing, specifically that Jesus was identified as a descendant of David.
John talks about crowds coming out to Jesus which may leave it ambiguous as to whether they had come from Jerusalem or had been pilgrims coming up to Jerusalem. That some at least are identified as those who were present for the raining of Lazarus suggests that they were those who had come as pilgrims with Jesus. However, it may be that some had arrived ahead of him and so came out to meet him.
Read Luke 19:41-44
As they get within sight of the city, Jesus weeps and speaks a lament over it. He says that he wished that the inhabitants could have seen where their source of peace was. God himself was meant to be Jerusalem’s protector but they had rejected him by rejecting his anointed one. This meant that the truth was hidden from them and so they were unable to seek peace from and in Jesus (v41-42). Now, they will suffer greatly, enemy armies will encircle and destroy the city. Jesus prophesies the horrific events of AD70. The image of no stones left standing is meant to be hyperbolic to give a sense of the extent of destruction (v43-44).
Read Luke 19: 45-48
The goal of Jesus’ procession into the city is the end of the pilgrimage at the Temple. There, just as he would have every year, Jesus finds money changers exchanging common currency for Temple money and others then trading sacrificial animals for the money. This would have made for both a noisy scene and an exploitative situation as those exchanging money and selling animals sought to make a profit. Of course, the idea was that you would bring your own animals up but these animals would have been pre-vetted to ensure they were acceptable. Luke focuses on those selling and tells us in terse language that Jesus drove them out (v45). Her accuses them of turning God’s house which was meant to be for prayer into a “den of robbers.” In other words, they were preventing people from coming to God and instead exploiting them for their own benefit (v46).
Jesus engages publicly in teaching at the Temple. Meanwhile his enemies continue to plot against him but still cannot find a way to kill him (v47-48).
Jesus and his Father’s house
The result of the commotion in the Temple will have been to put a pause on the events there. The disruption would have affected the ceremonial cleanness of the animals. It is fascinating that Jesus leaves this act until his final visit to Jerusalem. John does place the Temple cleansing at the beginning of his Gospel and some have concluded that there were therefore two incidents. However, this event was highly provocative and would have played a part in motivating the leaders to move against Jesus. I therefore would presume that John’s decision to place the event early is to do with stylistic and theological ordering, so that it frames his Gospel. Indeed, I am tempted to think of John as offering us a series of flashbacks from the perspective of that last week. [4]
Jesus’ decision to act now may have been pragmatic therefore, as he chose his timing but it would also reflect the parable about the landowner coming to inspect and review his tree and not finding fruit. Time is given but no change leads to judgement. Jesus’ actions are not simply a purification or cleansing but an act of judgement bringing proceedings to a halt. We know from the other Gospels that those buying and the money changers were dealt with by Jesus as well.[5] The Temple, was meant to be for prayer to YHWH but those responsible for it had abused their position, exploiting or robbing the people. The quote from Isaiah 56:7 shows this not to be new problem but a longstanding charge against the religious leaders. Their rights and responsibilities are held forfeit.
An important image of Jesus is that he is the true and better temple because it is in the person of Jesus that God is present with his people and it is Jesus that we need to come to in order to worship and receive forgiveness and reconciliation. The pausing of the sacrificial system prior to Christ’s death and resurrection is an important marker that time is up for that system. The old wineskin is not fit for the new wine.
[1] Bock, Luke 9:51-24:53, 1552.
[2] Matthew 21:7.
[3] RT France, The Gospel of Matthew, (NICNT. Grand Rapids MI.: Eerdmans, 2007), 778.
[4] John 1:13-22.
[5] C.f. Morris, Luke, 300.
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