Zechariah 9:9-16

The Coming Ruler of God’s People (Mt 21.5; Jn 12.14-15)

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!

Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!

Lo, your king comes to you;

triumphant and victorious is he,

humble and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

10 He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim

and the war-horse from Jerusalem;

and the battle bow shall be cut off,

and he shall command peace to the nations;

his dominion shall be from sea to sea,

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

11 As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,

I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.

12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;

today I declare that I will restore to you double.

13 For I have bent Judah as my bow;

I have made Ephraim its arrow.

I will arouse your sons, O Zion,

against your sons, O Greece,

and wield you like a warrior’s sword.

14 Then the LORD will appear over them,

and his arrow go forth like lightning;

the Lord GOD will sound the trumpet

and march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.

15 The LORD of hosts will protect them,

and they shall devour and tread down the slingers;

they shall drink their blood like wine,

and be full like a bowl,

drenched like the corners of the altar.

16 On that day the LORD their God will save them

for they are the flock of his people;

for like the jewels of a crown

they shall shine on his land. (Zechariah 9:9-16, NRSV)

On November 26, 2006 (the Sunday closest to November 23, Year Two), comments were repeated with revision and supplement from November 21, 2004, (the Sunday closest to November 23, Year Two); they are repeated with editing and supplement here:

Readings for this week, the last week of the Church Year in Year Two, are taken from the second of two parts of Zechariah. According to Gregory Mobley, the first part, chapters 1-8, is sometimes called “First Zechariah,” and the second part, chapters 9-14, “Second Zechariah” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, in the Introduction to Zechariah). The first part, he says, “consists of a series of vision reports . . . closely tied to the preceding book of Haggai by the date formulas in 1:1; 1:7; and 7:1 (cf. Hag. 1:1; 2:1) and the references to Joshua, the high priest in Jerusalem, and Zerubbabel, its governor” (ibid.). Mobley adds that “the prophecies in the first part date from 520-518 BCE. Zechariah . . . prophesied in the early days of the restoration, when returning exiles joined with those who never left to rebuild Judahite society” (ibid.)

But, for Mobley, “the second part of the book is more difficult to date, and its historical background is elusive” (ibid.). W. Sibley Towner notes a similar division in the book, and while he does not precisely date the second part of the book, he lists contrasts between the two parts and apparently dates some of the second part about a century later than the first. “The culminating vision of ch. 14 may have occurred late in the fifth century BCE” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, in the Introduction to Zechariah). While Ehud Ben Zvi takes note of such views of multiple authorship, he concludes, “This may well be the case, but the book of Zechariah in its present form does not ask its readers to approach it with this information in mind. To the contrary, the book associates all its texts with the prophet Zechariah mentioned in 1:1” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, in the Introduction to Zechariah).

The readings for this week, from the second part of Zechariah, as noted above, include most of chapters 9-14 (apart from a few verses). Today’s reading, 9:9-16, includes the portion quoted in today’s Gospel reading from Matthew (Mt. 21:5, citing Zech. 9:9) in the account of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (Mt. 21:1-11). Zechariah calls upon Jerusalem to “rejoice greatly” and “shout aloud”: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! / Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem” (Zech. 9:9a, b). Jerusalem is called “Daughter Zion” or “Daughter Judah” frequently in Lamentations (1:6, 15; 2:1-2, 4-5, etc.; cf. Isa. 1:8; 52:2; Jer. 4:31; Mic. 4:8 and elsewhere), frequently in lament of her desolation: “Cry aloud to the Lord! / O wall of daughter Zion! / Let tears stream down like a torrent / day and night! / Give yourself no rest, / your eyes no respite!” (Lam. 2:18). Zechariah has predicted the crushing of Israel’s enemies (Zeph. 9:1-8). The reason for shouting and rejoicing here is the promise of a coming king. “Lo, your king comes to you,” Zion is told; “triumphant and victorious is he, / humble and riding on a donkey, / on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (v. 9c, d, e, f). “This image of the ideal future king (Messiah),” says Ben Zvi, “has been very influential in Jewish tradition, and has influenced the depiction of Jesus in the Gospels” (op. cit., on v. 9). According to Towner, “Two Gospels (Mt. 21:2-7; Jn. 12:14-15) cite this text in their accounts of Palm Sunday, but the Matthean version fails to take into consideration the parallelism of the Hebrew poetry (donkey is equivalent to colt), so it has Jesus riding on two donkeys at once” (op. cit., on v. 9).

In Matthew’s version of the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, he includes one of his fulfillment of prophecy quotations:

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

‘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 21:4-5, NRSV)

The quotation has been identified as from the two texts which follow. The lines in italic type demonstrate that Matthew’s line is closer to Isaiah 61:1 than to Zechariah 9:9. But the main point is made with the lines from Zechariah 9:9, emphasized with bold type here.

Say to daughter Zion,

‘See, your salvation comes;

his reward is with him,

and his recompense before him’ (Isaiah 62:11b, c, NRSV)

Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!

Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!

Lo, your king comes to you;

triumphant and victorious is he,

humble and riding on a donkey,

[and] on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9, NRSV)

In Zechariah 9:9, the final line begins in Hebrew with the conjunction-v(w-), “and,” as in the AV/KJV), but because the two final lines are understood as synonymous parallelism, it is left untranslated in the NRSV (cf. NIV). Gregory Mobley says, “Donkey, colt, in the style of Hebrew parallelism, a single animal (as in Gen. 49:11; Jn. 12:14-15) is meant here. In the New Testament, Mt. 21:5-7 misunderstands and assumes two animals are meant. The choice of mount, donkey instead of war-horse (v. 10), indicates peaceful intentions” (op. cit., on Zech. 9:9). John apparently quotes the Zechariah text (Jn. 12:14-15; cf. Zeph. 3:6; Zech.9:9) with reference to one animal, as is assumed in Mark 11:2-7 and Luke 19:29-35. In any case, the point, suggested by Mobley and apparent in all of the Gospels, is that Jesus came as a king of peace, on a donkey and not a war-horse.

This king will be victorious and have extensive domain. “He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim / The following comments are repeated here from / and the war-horse from Jerusalem” (v. 10a, b). With the cessation of the instruments of war, “the battle bow shall be cut off” (v. 10c) then “he shall command peace to the nations; / his dominion shall be from sea to sea, / and from the River to the ends of the earth” (v. 10d, e, f). Towner summarizes: “The Divine Warrior demilitarizes the nations within the vast sweep of his dominion from the River (the Euphrates) to the ends of the earth (see Ps. 46:8-9). According to Mobley, the River mentioned here is “the Euphrates in northern Syria” (op. cit., on Zech. 9:10). It’s a picture of universal peace (My9OGl1 MOlw!, šālôm laggôyim). The LORD will bring home his scattered peoples. According to Mobley, this is “a song celebrating the arrival of the king in Jerusalem (cf. Ps. 72) . . . The identity of the king is unclear. Some scholars identify him as the LORD himself (see Zeph 3:5), others as a historical individual (e.g., Alexander the Great), and still others as a future ruler in the Davidic line” (op. cit., on vv. 9-10).

The LORD’s promises continue. “As for you (T4x1, ’at, ‘you’ fem., sg. pronoun) also, because of the blood of my covenant with you (j`t2yr9B4, b<sup>e</sup>rîthēk, ‘your [fem. sg. pronominal suffix] covenant’), / I will set (yT9H4l01w9, šillachtî) your prisoners (j`yr1ys9x3, ’ ^asîrayk, ‘your [fem. sg. pronominal suffix] prisoners’) free from the waterless pit” (v. 11 NRSV). The recent Jewish translation says, “You, for your part, have released^g / Your prisoners from the dry pit,^h / For the sake of the blood of your covenant” (Zech. 9:11 NJPS 1985, 1999). Translators’ note g says, “Taking shillachti as a second-person singular feminine form, withy Septuagint; cf. Judg. 5-7 with note,” and translators’ note h says, “I.e., a pit that serves as a dungeon rather than a cistern (both are called bor in Heb.). Ben Zvi offers as “an alternative translation, the NRSV text (as given above), calling attention to the second person feminine pronouns (‘you,’ ‘your’) as noted above. “The feminine ‘you’,” he says, “is most likely ‘Fair Zion’ (see v. 9)” (op. cit., on v. 11).

“Return to your stronghold (NOrc0!b9, bitstsārôn), O prisoners of hope,” says the LORD (through the prophet); “today I declare that I will restore to you double” (v. 12). “Bizzaron,” says Ben Zvi, “may mean ‘Fortress’ or ‘a fortress’ ” (ibid., on v. 12). For the word “double,” Mobley compares “Isa. 40:2; 61:7; cf. Job 42:10). The LORD continues: “For I have bent Judah as my bow; / I have made Ephraim its arrow. / I will arouse your sons, O Zion, / against your sons, O Greece, / and wield you like a warrior’s sword” (v. 13). According to Towner, this verse means that “God will rescue the long-vanished Northern Kingdom, Ephraim (Israel), along with Judah (see 10:7)” (op. cit., on v. 13). Mobley says that “Greece, Heb. ‘yawan’ [Nv!y!], could represent the people from Greek Asia Minor (Ionia) or Greece proper (Gen. 10:2; Ezek. 27:13; Joel 3:6)” (op cit., on v. 13). Towner says that “Greece [is] probably the earliest reference in the Bible to that emerging western superpower, though the late prophet Joel also refers to ‘the Greeks’ (Joel 3:6). By the time of the book of Daniel (early second century BCE),” he says, “Hellenistic kingdoms are the only enemies of Israel” (loc. cit.).

“Then,” says the prophet, “the LORD will appear over them, / and his arrow go forth like lightning; / the Lord GOD will sound the trumpet / and march forth in the whirlwinds of the south” (v. 14). “In classic Divine Warrior guise,” says Towner, “the LORD will appear over them, with the heavenly hosts. God does all the fighting on the ‘day of the LORD’; God’s people simply reap the fruits of victory” (ibid., on v. 14). “The LORD of hosts will protect them,” says Zechariah, “and they shall devour and tread down the slingers [NRSV text note b, ‘Cn: Heb. the slingstones’]; / they shall drink their blood [NRSV text note c, ‘Gk.: Heb. shall drink’] like wine, / and be full like a bowl, / drenched like the corners of the altar” (v. 15). Text note c apparently means to omit “their blood,” and read “they shall drink like wine.” Mobley says, “See textual notes b and c; a banquet, not a bloodbath, is probably pictured, in which the victorious group shall eat (not devour), tread down their slingstones (not the slingers), and drink . . . wine (not blood)” (op. cit., on v. 15). Towner’s understanding differs somewhat. “Devour . . . drink their blood suggests not only the triumph of the Lord’s human allies but also a sacral ceremony comparable to the sacrifice of an animal on an altar (Ex. 24:8)” (op. cit., on v. 15)

“On that day,” says the prophet, “the LORD their God will save them / for they are the flock of his people; / for like the jewels of a crown / they shall shine on his land” (v. 16). Clearly, the restoration of God’s people is in view. “For what goodness and beauty are his! / Grain shall make the young men flourish, / and new wine the young women” (v. 17 NRSV). Ben Zvi comments on the recent Jewish translation, “How lovely, how beautiful they shall be, / Producing young men like new grain, / Young women like new wine!” (NJPS 1985, 1999). He says, “There are a number of alternative translations of this verse [to that of the NJPS]: (a) [Here, he cites the NRSV]; (b) ‘For what is His goodness and His beauty? Grain that makes the young men flourish, and new wine that makes the young women flourish.’ In any case, the cultural association of grain with males and new wine with females is noteworthy” (op. cit., on v. 17). Towner comments more briefly. “In the aftermath of victory peace and plenitude are the hallmarks of the new age that lies beyond the terrible intervention of the ‘day of the LORD’ ” (on v. 17).

1 Peter 3:13-22

13 Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? 14 But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, 15 but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; 16 yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, 20 who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. 21 And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you-not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him. (1 Peter 3:13-22, NRSV)

On April 8, 2008 (Friday in the week of Second Sunday of Easter, Year Two), comments on 1 Peter 3:13-4:6 were based on comments of November 26, 2006 (the Sunday closest to November 23, Year Two), when the reading was 1 Peter 3:13-22, and comments on 1 Peter 3:13-4:6 were repeated from April 28, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Second Sunday of Easter, Year Two). Reference was made there to the comments on 1 Peter 3:13-22 of November 21, 2004, two years earlier (the Sunday closest to November 23, Year Two), and the comments on 1 Peter 3:13-4:6 of November 25, 2006 (Friday of the week of the Sunday closest to November 23, Year One). The relevant part of the combined comments is repeated again here with some further editing and adaptation.

The subject of suffering was anticipated in the introductory blessing (1 Pet. 1:6), and arose again in the instructions to slaves (2:18-20) and the example of Christ's suffering (vv. 21-25). A significant part of Peter’s advice is about remaining faithful to Christ and hopeful in a situation of suffering. They are to rejoice in the hope “for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:5), “even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials” (v. 6). The advice for slaves (2:18-15) invokes the example of Christ’s suffering (2:21-23), and tells them “it is a credit to you if . . . you endure pain while suffering unjustly” (v. 19). “But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval” (v. 20). While this theme seems to come into sharpest focus later, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (4:12), there is preparation for this in today’s reading.

But in today's reading the subject of suffering is treated in its own right. Peter raises a question. “Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?” (3:13). We know, and Peter knows, that the answer is not always “No one, of course!” There are, it seems, those who take delight in doing just that. “But this answer,” says Peter H. Davids, “causes commentators problems, for Peter in the very next verse brings in the concept of suffering for righteousness.” So Davids takes note of the difficulty this apparent contradiction causes for some commentators, but regards verse 13 as “a transition from the idea of minimizing suffering through virtue to a renewed teaching of how to behave when one suffers anyway” (The First Epistle of Peter, NICNT, 1990, pp. 129-130 on 1 Pet. 3:13). Peter’s readers are told, “Do not fear what they [the non-Christians who persecute or may persecute believers] fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord” (vv. 14b, 15a), in wording that follows Isaiah 8:12-13 with a minor change or two. Davids says,

Peter has changed Isaiah by shifting the singular ‘him’ to the plural ‘them.’ ‘The Septuagint is itself a shift from the Hebrew text (‘Do not fear what they fear’), and refers to fear of the Syro-Ephraimite alliance of Rezin and Pekah). By making it plural Peter refers it to the enemies of the Christians. Christians are not to fear their persecutors; instead, following Matt. 10:28, they are to take a longer-range perspective and fear God. (ibid., pp. 130-131, on v. 14)

“But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed,” says Peter (v. 14a). “Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord” (vv. 14b, 15a). Peter advises us to “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you” (v. 15b). According to M. Eugene Boring, “Following the example of Christ’s unjust suffering does not mean passivity, but active doing of good” (NOAB, 3^rd ed.,2001, on 1 Pet. 3:13-17). “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God's will, than to suffer for doing evil” (v. 17).

The example of Christ is described in detail. He “suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God” (v. 18). This suffering was for the greatest good of all, atonement for the sins of the world. Among other values of Christ’s suffering, Davids offers the following:

Fourth, the death of Christ did not destroy him, just as death will not destroy the Christian sufferer: ‘He was put to death with respect to the flesh, but he was made alive with respect to the spirit. . . . Thus Peter contrasts the death of Christ with his resurrection, the one happening with respect to the natural fallen human condition, the flesh, and the other with respect to God and relationship to him, the spirit. In other words, Peter is not contrasting two parts of the nature of Christ, body and soul, a Greek distinction that would be read into this passage in the Fathers . . . but rather two modes of existence. . . . But he died as a whole person, not simply as a body (another meaning of ‘flesh’). Christ was made alive (and note the made alive, for here as usual the action of the Father in raising him from the dead is assumed) because of his relationship to God; therefore he was made alive with respect to the spirit, the mode of existence of the regenerate or those pleasing to God. (op cit., pp. 136-137 on 1 Pet. 3:18)

As a part of Christ’s victory over sin and death, says Peter, “he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison” (1 Pet. 3:19, cf. v. 20), a statement that has been interpreted in different ways. Davids lists some alternatives, (1) “the souls of the faithful of the OT,” (2) “the souls who died in Noah’s flood,” (3) “the fallen angels of Gen. 6:1ff.” (4) “the demons, the offspring of the fallen angels . . . or (5) the spirits are the fallen angels, but the preacher is “Enoch, who proclaimed judgment to them” (ibid., pp. 138-139 on 1 Pet. 3:19). Because ‘spirits’ in the NT always refers to nonhuman spiritual beings unless qualified . . .” (p. 139), Davids understands the reference here “to mean angelic or demonic beings” (p. 140). “Thus it seems likely that this passage in 1 Peter refers to a proclamation of judgment by the resurrected Christ to the imprisoned spirits, that is, the fallen angels, sealing their doom as he triumphed over sin and death and hell, redeeming human beings” (ibid., p. 141).

Matthew 21:1-13

Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (Mk 11.1-10; Lk 19.28-40; Jn 12.12-19)

21:1 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, saying,

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 crowd spread 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.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple (Mk 11.15-19; Lk 19.45-48; Jn 2.13-25)

12 Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 He said to them, “It is written,

‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’;

but you are making it a den of robbers.” (Matthew 21:1-13, NRSV)

On June 28, 2008 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 22, Year Two), comments were repeated from December 3, 2007 (Monday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year Two), when comments were repeated with editing and supplement from November 26, 2006 (the Sunday closest to November 23, Year Two), and from July 1, 2007 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 22, Year Two), comments earlier combined with some revision from June 26, 2004, in an email sent June 25, 2004 for June 26-27, and from November 28, 2005 (Monday in the week of the first Sunday in Advent, Year Two). The combined comments are repeated again here:

The accounts of Jesus Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem are presented in a four-column table in a separate file, Triumphal Entry Gospel Parallels. For recent comments on Mark’s version, see the Archive for August 18, 2007 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 10, Year One). For recent comments on Luke’s version, see the Archive for June 14, 2007 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 8, Year One). For recent comments on John’s version, see the Archive for April 2, 2007 (Monday of Holy Week, Year One).

As might be expected, all of the Gospels lead into the story of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem with reference to his approach to the city (Mt. 21:1a; Mk. 11:1a; Lk. 19:28; Jn. 12:12). Mark points out that Jesus and the disciples “were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives” (Mk. 11:1), but Matthew, perhaps aware that Jesus would have come to Bethany before Bethpage, omits reference to the former at this point (Mt. 21:1). Bethany is locate two miles east of Jerusalem “on the lower eastern slope of the Mount of Olives” (Mary K. Milne, Harper’s Bible Dictionary, 1985, s.v. Bethany); while the exact location of Bethpage is uncertain, it is “a village apparently on the Mount of Olives, near Bethany” (Harper’s Bible Dictionary, 1985, s.v. Bethphage). John, who makes a point of noting Jewish festivals (Passover, Jn. 2:23; cf. 4:45; an unnamed festival, 5:1; Passover, 6:4; Booths, 7:2, 8, 8, 10, 11, 14, 37; Dedication, 10:2; and the final Passover, 11:56; 12:12; etc.), describes the crowd that met Jesus as “the great crowd that had come to the festival [i.e., the final Passover in the period of Jesus’ ministry]” (Jn. 12:12).

Bethphage is apparently the village to which Jesus refers, when according to Mark, he says, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it” (Mk. 11:2; cf. Lk. 19:30). Matthew’s version omits “as you enter it,” but has two animals, adding the colt’s mother: “. . . you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me” (Mt. 21:2b). Jesus anticipates possible objections from those who may observe them as they get the animal(s). According to Mark, he says, “If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately’ ” (Mk. 11:3). Luke cuts this statement rather short. “If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it ” (Lk. 19;31). Matthew takes the promise to return the animal quickly as a prediction that the owner “will send them immediately (Mt. 21:3). Krister Stendahl says that “Mt. follows Mk., but he finds it unnecessary to tell how Jesus’ predictions of what would happen when they went to get the ass came true (Mk. 11:4-5); Jesus’ command is enough” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, 1962, reprinted 1972, p. 790, sec. 690b, on Mt. 21:1-9).

At this point, Matthew introduces one of his fulfillment quotations (cf. Mt. 1:22-23; 2:17-18; etc.). He introduces the saying with his formula, “This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,” (Mt. 21:4; cf. Mt. 1:22). The first of these quotations refers to “what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet” (Mt. 1:22), identifying God as the source of the prophecy. The subsequent “fulfillment quotations” abbreviate the formula, for example, “what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah” (Mt. 2:17), but the divine source, “by the Lord,” continues to be understood. Matthew presents the quotation: “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” (Mt. 21:5). The Zechariah text says, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! / Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! / Lo your king comes to you; / triumphant and victorious is he, / humble and riding on a donkey, / on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9:9). The quotation is perhaps influenced by Isaiah 62:11, “The LORD has proclaimed / to the end of the earth: / Say to daughter Zion, ‘ ’See, your salvation comes; / his reward is with him, / and his recompense before him’ ” (cf. Robert G. Bratcher, ed., Old Testament Quotations in the New Testament, 1961, p. 8).

John also cites Zechariah 9:9 (Jn. 12:15). But only Matthew sees the Zechariah text as a reference to two animals, apparently misconstruing the synonymous parallelism of the last two lines, “humble and riding on a donkey, / on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9:9e, f). Matthew tells us that the two disciples “went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he [Jesus] sat on them” (Mt. 21:6-7; cf. Mk. 11:4-7; Lk. 19:32-35). In John’s account there is no errand of the disciples; he simply reports that “Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it” (Jn. 12:14), which leads into the quotation from Zechariah (see above). John also points out that Jesus’ “disciples did not understand these things at first” (Jn. 12:16a), but later they made the connection with the prophecy: “when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him” (v. 16b).

All of the Gospels report the acclamation of the crowds based on Psalm 118:25-26. Matthew tells us, “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!’ ” (Mt. 21:9; cf. Mk. 11:9; Jn. 12:13). In this acclaim, the key word, “hosanna” (Hōsanna, Mt. 21:9; Mk. 11:9; Hebrew xn! hf!yw9Oh, hôshî‘āh nāh, Aramaic xn! fw1Oh, hôsha nā’), is a prayer meaning “Help,” “Save,” or “Rescue, O LORD” and as such is an exclamation of prayer. But this appeal “became a liturgical formula; as a part of the Hallel [Pss. 113-18 Hebr.], it was familiar to everyone in Israel” (BDAG [= Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3^rd ed., 2000, s.v. wJsannav [hōsanna]). The Hallel is used in Judaism: “The prayer liturgy is augmented with additional prayers, including the Hallel, a collection of blessings and psalms, recited on Rosh Hodesh (the beginning of each lunar month) and on the pilgrimage festivals” (Jewish Festivals in Israel, on the Internet at http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts+About+Israel/People/Jewish+Festivals+in+Israel.htm, accessed again Nov. 22, 2008). While the aspect of petitioning prayer seems appropriate in the acclamation of Jesus, it surely anticipates victory. (The crowds, however, did not anticipate the form of Jesus’ victory, nor, apparently did the disciples.)

Luke’s version has the crowds “praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen” (Lk. 19:37), has them acclaim “the king,” rather than “the one,” “who comes in the name of the Lord” (v. 38a), and even seems to have them allude to the praise of the angels who appeared to the shepherds on the night of Jesus’ birth (Lk. 2:14) as they say, “Peace in heaven, / and glory in the highest heaven!” (Lk. 19:38c). Only Luke tells us that some of the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop” (v. 39), and that he replied, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out” (v. 40). John reports the exasperation of the Pharisees because “the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify” (Jn. 12:17). “You see,” they said, “you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!” (v. 19; cf. Jn. 11:46-53). Mark reports that after entering Jerusalem, Jesus “went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve” (Mk. 11:11). Matthew ends his account of the Triumphal Entry by noting the effect on the city and the crowds. “When he [Jesus] entered Jerusalem,” says Matthew, “the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’ ” (Mt. 21:10). “The crowds,” says Matthew, “were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee’ ” (v. 11). Stendahl apparently identifies these who recognize Jesus as the prophet from Nazareth with the crowds that shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (v. 9). Stendahl says, “Jesus is followed by an enthusiastic crowd, mostly from Galilee; they hail him as the prophet Jesus from Nazareth, and he goes to the Temple and performs the cleansing right away” (op. cit., p. 790, sec. 690d, on Mt. 21:11). Could one rather distinguish the enthusiastic messianic acclaim of Jesus’ Galilean followers from crowds of Judeans who knew of Jesus by reputation as a prophet? Stendahl, of course, is likely distinguishing two levels here, the actions of the crowds at the time, and Matthew the evangelist’s understanding as he retells the story.

Jesus’ actions in riding into Jerusalem on a donkey at this time represent an unmistakable claim that he is the Messiah. N. T. Wright puts it this way. “Within his own time and culture, his [i.e., Jesus’] riding on a donkey over the Mount of Olives, across Kidron, and up to the Temple mount spoke more powerfully than words could have done of a royal claim” (Jesus and the Victory of God, 1996, p. 490). However, he had no armed forces with him, and his kingdom, as he would later tell Pilate, was in some sense, “not from this world” (Jn. 18:36). Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan contrast this “peasant procession” entering Jerusalem from the east with an “imperial procession” from the west.

On the opposite side of the city, from the west, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Idumea, Judea, and Samaria, entered Jerusalem at the head of a column of imperial cavalry and soldiers. Jesus’s procession proclaimed the kingdom of God; Pilate’s proclaimed the power of empire. The two processions embody the central conflict of the week that led to Jesus’s crucifixion. (The Last Week; What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’s Final Days in Jerusalem, 2007, p. 2)

Hosanna! Save us O Lord! May the Lord be praised!

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net