The Donkey King's Invasion Text: Matthew 21:1-11
Introduction: The Calculated Confrontation
We have come to the final week. For three years, Jesus has conducted a ministry of signs and wonders, of authoritative teaching, and of careful, strategic revelation. He has often told people not to spread the news of His miracles. He has spoken in parables to conceal the truth from the willfully blind and reveal it to His chosen. But now, the time for subtlety is over. The clock is ticking down to the appointed hour, and Jesus is no longer avoiding the spotlight. He is seizing it. What we are about to witness is not a spontaneous parade or a happy accident. It is a deliberate, calculated, and public declaration of war. It is an invasion.
But it is an invasion unlike any the world has ever seen. Conquerors ride into capital cities on warhorses, surrounded by legions, with the spoils of war dragged behind them. They come with the clang of steel and the promise of blood. Jesus Christ, the King of the cosmos, rides into His capital city, Jerusalem, on a borrowed donkey, the beast of burden for the common man. This is not weakness; it is a display of a completely different kind of power. It is the power of calculated humility. It is the strength of perfect obedience to the prophetic script. He is coming to conquer, but His weapons are not sword and spear. He is coming to overthrow a kingdom, but it is not the kingdom of Caesar. He is coming to conquer sin, death, and the devil, and He will do it by dying.
This event, which we call the Triumphal Entry, is a profound piece of street theater, orchestrated by the King Himself. Every detail is saturated with meaning, every action is a fulfillment of prophecy, and every shout from the crowd is dripping with a tragic irony they cannot yet comprehend. They are welcoming a King, but they have the wrong kingdom in mind. They are shouting "Save us now!" but they do not understand what they need to be saved from. And in less than a week, these same streets that echo with "Hosanna" will echo with "Crucify Him." This passage forces us to answer the central question of the day, the question that rattled the entire city: "Who is this?" How you answer that question determines everything.
The Text
And when they had approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” And this took place in order that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, “SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, ‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, LOWLY, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, AND ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A PACK ANIMAL.’ ” And the disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their garments on them; and He sat on the garments. And most of the crowd spread their garments in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. And the crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were crying out, 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 had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”
(Matthew 21:1-11 LSB)
The Royal Requisition (vv. 1-3)
The scene opens with an act of quiet, absolute sovereignty.
"And when they had approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, 'Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them, and immediately he will send them.'" (Matthew 21:1-3)
Notice the precision. Jesus does not say, "Go see if you can find a donkey." He gives them exact, detailed instructions. He knows the village, He knows the location of the animals, and He knows they will be tied together. This is the casual omniscience of the Creator. He who spoke the world into being knows the precise location of every atom within it, and that includes this specific mother donkey and her colt.
Then comes the royal command: "The Lord has need of them." This is a staggering statement. The word for "Lord" here is Kurios, the same word used in the Greek Old Testament for Yahweh. This is a claim to divinity. But it is coupled with the word "need." How can the self-sufficient God, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, have "need" of anything? This is the beautiful paradox of the incarnation. In His humanity, the Son of God voluntarily entered into a state of dependence. He got hungry, He got tired, and here, He has need of a donkey. He humbles Himself to fulfill the Father's plan, which requires Him to ride this specific animal into that specific city on that specific day. This is not theft; it is a royal requisition. The King is commandeering a small part of His own kingdom for official business. And His authority is absolute. The moment the disciples state their purpose, the owner complies without argument. The King's authority runs before them.
Fulfilling the Script (vv. 4-7)
Matthew, as he so often does, stops the action to make sure we do not miss the point. This is not improvisation; it is fulfillment.
"And this took place in order that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, 'SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, LOWLY, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, AND ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A PACK ANIMAL.' And the disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their garments on them; and He sat on the garments." (Matthew 21:4-7)
Matthew is quoting from Zechariah 9:9. This is crucial. Jesus is consciously stepping into the role that was written for Him centuries before. This is God's story, and Jesus is the protagonist, hitting His marks perfectly. The prophecy highlights two things: His kingship and His humility. "Behold your King is coming to you." This is an unambiguous announcement. He is not presenting Himself as just another prophet or teacher. He is presenting Himself as the long-awaited Messianic King.
But His character is defined by the word "lowly." The proof of this is His choice of transportation. A conquering king would ride a stallion, a symbol of war and power. Solomon, at his coronation, rode a mule, a symbol of peace and domestic prosperity. Jesus chooses a donkey, and not just a donkey, but a young colt, the foal of a pack animal. This is the animal of the poor, the beast of burden. This is a deliberate, symbolic act. He is signaling that His kingdom is not of this world. He does not come with military force to overthrow Rome. He comes as a servant King, a humble King, who will achieve victory not through the shedding of others' blood, but through the shedding of His own. The disciples' obedience is simple and immediate. They do "just as Jesus had instructed them," and their simple act of laying their cloaks on the animals serves as a makeshift, rustic enthronement.
A Fickle Hallelujah Chorus (vv. 8-9)
The crowd responds with spontaneous, royal honors.
"And most of the crowd spread their garments in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. And the crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were crying out, saying, 'Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!'" (Matthew 21:8-9)
Spreading garments on the road was an ancient act of submission to a new king, like rolling out a red carpet (see 2 Kings 9:13). They are treating Him like royalty. Their words are even more explicit. They are quoting from Psalm 118, a coronation psalm celebrating a victorious king entering Jerusalem. "Hosanna" is a Hebrew cry that means "Save now!" It is a plea for deliverance. "Son of David" is one of the most common and clear Messianic titles. They are acknowledging His royal lineage and crying out to Him as the promised deliverer.
Everything they say is technically true. He is the Son of David. He is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. He is the one who can save. But their understanding is fatally flawed. They are shouting for a political messiah. They want a king who will drive out the Romans and restore Israel's national glory. They are welcoming a conqueror, but they expect a political revolution, not a spiritual resurrection. Their worship is enthusiastic, but it is shallow. It is based on their own desires and expectations, not on a true understanding of who Jesus is and what He came to do. This is why their "Hosannas" can turn to "Crucify Him" so quickly. When the Donkey King fails to become the Warhorse King they wanted, they will turn on Him with a vengeance.
The Unsettled City (vv. 10-11)
The King's arrival does not bring peace, but a sword. It shakes the city to its core.
"And when He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, 'Who is this?' And the crowds were saying, 'This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.'" (Matthew 21:10-11)
The word for "stirred" is the Greek word from which we get "seismic." The city was shaken as if by an earthquake. This humble procession was a direct challenge to the entire religious and political establishment. The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the priests, the Herodians, the Romans, all of them had their power structures threatened by this man. Their nervous question, "Who is this?" is not one of genuine curiosity, but of fearful accusation. It means, "By what authority do you do these things?"
The crowd's answer is tragically inadequate. "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee." They get one part right; He certainly is a prophet. But they define Him by His humble, earthly origins. Nazareth was a nowhere town in a backwater region. To define Him this way is to diminish Him. It is to miss the point entirely. He is not just a prophet from Galilee; He is the King from Heaven. He is not just the son of Mary; He is the Son of David. He is not just Jesus of Nazareth; He is the Lord who has need of all things. Their answer reveals their blindness. They see the man, but they do not see the God. They see the prophet, but they miss the King. And this blindness will lead them to reject and crucify the very one they are hailing today.
Conclusion: Who Is This?
This entire event funnels down to that one, central question that echoed through the streets of Jerusalem: "Who is this?" You must answer it. There is no neutrality here. To ignore Him is to reject Him.
Is He merely a historical figure, a good teacher, a prophet from a backwater town? That is the answer of the world, and it is the answer that leads to destruction. It is an answer that domesticates Him, that makes Him safe, that allows us to admire Him from a distance without ever bending the knee.
Or is He who He claims to be? Is He the Lord, the King, the Son of David? Is He the one who has a rightful claim on your life, your possessions, your future? Is He the humble King who rode a donkey to His death in order to conquer your sin? Is He the victorious King who will one day return on a white horse in judgment?
The crowd in Jerusalem wanted a king on their own terms. They wanted a savior who would fulfill their political agenda. When Jesus refused, they discarded Him. We are tempted to do the same. We want a Jesus who will make us prosperous, a Jesus who will fix our temporal problems, a Jesus who will affirm our lifestyle choices. But the Donkey King does not submit to our agendas. We must submit to His.
To receive this King is to lay down your own robes of self-righteousness before Him. It is to cry "Hosanna," not for deliverance from your circumstances, but for deliverance from your sin. It is to answer the question "Who is this?" with the confession of Thomas: "My Lord and my God!" He came once in humility, inviting you to His kingdom of peace. But do not be mistaken. He will come again in terrifying glory, and on that day, every knee will bow. The wise will bow now, in love and submission. The foolish will bow then, in terror and judgment. Therefore, behold your King. He is coming to you.