One of the
things I love about working through the New Testament and studying it is going
back into the Old Testament and seeing the foundations of the events in the New
Testament era and further into the first century.
I had a
lecturer at college who was an incredible mind when it came to theology and
history. He stood head and shoulders above most of the other lecturers I had,
and one thing he used to say is, “I think more of the Old Testament prophecies
are fulfilled than people realize.” I did not have the training, study or
ability to fully understand what he was saying at the time, but the more I have
grown in my study of the Bible and more I teach through the New Testament the
more I see how correct he was. A good example of this is found in Matthew 21. Many
are familiar with parts of this fulfilment, but many others do not consider the
full implications of what is happening here.
A key reason
for this is because of how we celebrate this passage every year just before
Easter. Celebrating Psalm Sunday every year is a good tradition, I have nothing
against it, I will continue to do it and continue to encourage others to do it
too. But looking at a passage outside of its natural textual context can kind
of make you miss what is actually happening. And it can help foster
misunderstandings about the Bible. I think it is really useful to slow down and
consider this passage in its own right in its context and what it is connected
to in the Old Testament.
Matthew chapters
21 to 27 cover the last week of Jesus’ life, before the crucifixion, 5 days
according the gospels. The intensity of his teaching and the intensity of his
confrontations with the Pharisees is going to increase. He really notches it up
here in chapter 21. We read here,
“1
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of
Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village
in front 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, you
shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the
prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming
to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of
burden.’” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They
brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on
them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut
branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went
before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10
And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is
this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of
Galilee” (Matt. 21:1-11)
I wonder if
the crowds understood what was really happening here. I wonder if many
Christians today realize what was actually happening here. Matthew notes, here
how this event fulfills an Old Testament prophecy, “4 This took
place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter
of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” We all know that this is a prophecy
from Zechariah and that the reason the king of Judah was to come into Zion on a
donkey was to symbolize humility. Jesus fulfils both this prophecy and this
kingly humility. He is the ultimate Davidic King.
Some of these
people from Judah must have been expecting a new era for Israel, a glorious
re-establishment of the kingdom. We see this quite clearly in the cries of the
crowd,
“9
And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting,
“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was
stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet
Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
I am sure
some of you reading this are aware of this, but the people of Judah were ruled
by the Herodian line in this era, commonly called the Herods. Judah was
dominated by Rome, and the Roman governor, and Caesar, had ultimate power, but
the Jewish rulers were the Herodian kings. Herod the Great was a powerful man
who was successful in many ways, but he was desperately, and I mean desperately
wicked. Most of you know this. This is considered basic history that many
people even know in Sunday school. He is presented in the gospels as a suspicious,
evil and untrustworthy man (Matt. 2), and his whole family is no better. Most of you would know that his sons and
descendants were just as wicked, if not more wicked. You name the law these
guys probably transgressed it.
But not only
were they wicked, they were also not the legitimate rulers of Israel, they were
usurpers. Herod was a commoner who benefitted from a very capable father, who
rose to power under the Jewish monarchy and who led a family that was very
close to the rulers of Rome. The Herod’s were close to Julius Caesar, Mark
Antony, and eventually Caesar Augustus and they played these relationships well
enough to get their blessing to take power in Judea, and even extend their power markedly. There is no need to go into details here about this. I would
recommend reading Josephus’ The Life of Herod taken from his Jewish
Antiquities if you want to learn more about.
Before the
Herodians Israel was ruled by the Hasmonean Priestly line, descended from the
Maccabees. This line was noble and powerful, and the Maccabees got their start
by defeating the Greeks and casting them out of their kingdom. But as powerful
and noble as they were, they were also not the legitimate rulers of Judah. But
at least they had an ancient claim to be descended from Moses. Herod was a
child of Abraham, but he was half Edomite, as many were in Judah in Jesus’ day,
and as I noted, he was not even of the royal life, which caused him constant frustrations
his whole reign, frustrations he took out on most people around him, including
his subjects.
Herod the
Great, as he is called, did everything he could to break the Hasmonean high
priestly line. His corrupt rule was oppressive, incredibly oppressive. So can
you imagine what it was like for these Jews in this crowd to hear this
proclaimed, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name
of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Here is the legitimate king. Here is the
man who might expel these corrupt Herodians that are harassing them. Here is
the man who might even defeat the Romans. Here is the man who is going to set
things right.
It is clear
that some of them were thinking this, because you can see it in their cries.
Others must have been just soaking up the moment, wondering what was going on.
I can guarantee the Herods (by this point Herod the Great was long dead) and
the Roman leaders were nervous about this, because they knew that the Jewish
people were prone to rebellions. Many rebellions had already been put down
going back to the early reign of Herod.
But the truth
is the prophecy from Zechariah about their king coming on a donkey was never a
message of glory for Israel, but always a harbinger of judgement. There are
some who believe that God’s intention with Jesus was to set up the kingdom of
God in the first century. These people believe that Israel was being offered
their chance to have the kingdom then, however because the people rejected it they
missed their chance. But this is not the case, not the case at all. The
prophecy to “daughter Zion” that the king would come to her riding on a donkey
was always a harbinger of judgement. Where do I get this from? Well, let’s read
the prophecy itself in Zechariah 9.
We read
there, “9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of
Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation
is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech.
9: 9). On first reading this verse seems to contradict my point. Zechariah is
clearly pronouncing salvation here, “Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he…” And this is what the people of Israel
were likely thinking when they saw Jesus on that donkey. They would have seen a
man coming to claim his throne and set things right. And he was going to do
that, just not in the way most people think. They misunderstood Zechariah’s
message, because they, like so many Christians today, had not read the context
of the prophecy.
Let’s read it
the context,
“10
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and
the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his
rule 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 stir up your
sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior's
sword.”
Zechariah
warned them that when the saviour came on his donkey, he was coming for
judgement of Israel. We see several aspects of this judgement. Firstly, Zechariah
prophesied that when the king comes on his donkey this will lead to the armies
of Israel being destroyed “I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war
horse from Jerusalem…” Secondly, he prophesied that the captives would go free,
“I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.” And, thirdly, he
prophesied that Israel would go to war with the sons of Greece, “I will stir up
your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece…” The coming of the King of
Israel back to Zion would herald the destruction of Jerusalem via a war with the
Sons of Greece.
We know this
happened.
Firstly, we
know that the armies of Judah were crushed by the Roman Legions. The Jewish
revolutionaries fought well, and even had some early victories, but they were
eventually defeated with a vengeance by the focused might of Rome which was
just too strong for them to successfully resist. So, this was fulfilled.
Secondly,
when Jerusalem was finally subjugated by the Romans, the Romans let all the
prisoners in the jails go free, “Many also of those that had been put in prison
by the tyrants were now brought out; for they did not leave off their barbarous
cruelty at the very last: yet did God avenge himself upon them both, in a
manner agreeable to justice.”[1] While they were at
war with the Romans, and each other, the Jewish leaders continued to tyrannize
their own people throwing them in prison. Right till the end they were
tyrannizing and harassing the people. But the end of the oppression had been
decreed, as we read in Luke 4:17-19,
“17
And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll
and found the place where it was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent
me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to
set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's
favour” (Luke 4:17-19).
Yes, this passage
applies to our freedom from sin and oppression by the devil, but it was also
fulfilled literally when the prisoners were set three at the defeat of the
tyrants of Jerusalem. The fact that Josephus mentions this is really quite
incredible. In fact, if you read his Wars of the Jews you will see how
much he focuses on the oppressive nature of the Jewish leaders in the Roman
revolt. They harassed each other more than even the Romans.
Thirdly, Zechariah
notes that the sons of Greece will rise and fight the sons of Zion. This
appears to be a flaw in my reading of this prophecy. Because it was Rome, not
Greece, that famously destroyed Jerusalem, correct? Yes it was, and I might
have once seen in Zechariah the conflict between the Maccabbees and the Seleucids
under Antiochus Epiphanes the IV. But Zechariah ties this fulfilment to the
coming of the king on his donkey. Well, the apparent error is rectified when it
is noted that Rome used the Eastern Legions to destroy Jerusalem, and everyone
who knows Roman history knows that the eastern Roman Empire was largely Greek.
This is why the New Testament was originally written in Greek, not Latin. These
legions would have been drawn from the majority Greek population of the region.
In fact, one of the famous Roman legions that destroyed Jerusalem was, the Fifth
Macedonian Legion, or the Legio V Macedonica.[2] “I will stir up your sons,
O Zion, against your sons, O Greece…”
How cool is
that, to see prophecy fulfilled so specifically.
Then
Zechariah says this,
“14
Then the Lord will appear over them, and his arrow will go forth like
lightning; the Lord God will sound the trumpet and will march forth in the
whirlwinds of the south. 15 The Lord of hosts will protect them, and they shall
devour, and tread down the sling stones, and they shall drink and roar as if
drunk with wine, and be full like a bowl, drenched like the corners of the
altar” (Zech. 9:14-15).
Zechariah
prophesied that God would save his people when all this happened, and he did.
Those of you who know your history know that when Jerusalem was surrounded by
armies, the Christians who trusted Jesus’ word fled, and were saved. Some of
you will know that Josephus even notes that they saw signs in the sky overhead
the war was building.
All this
shows that those who cried out that their salvation was here were right, but
they were wrong about how it worked. They thought that their salvation was tied
to the destiny of the kingdom of Israel, the existence of the temple and all
that goes with that. But it was not, it never was. All of that was merely a
vehicle through which real salvation would come.
All of this also shows that the New Testament Church was never a back up plan. Israel’s rejection of their Messiah was prophesied, so was Jerusalem’s destruction. I love how history brings the Bible alive and also shows us why we should slow down when reading the Bible and look at how the Old and New Testament join together.
[1] Josephus,
Flavius. The Wars of the Jews; or the history of the destruction of Jerusalem
(p. 480). Kindle Edition.
[2]
World Encyclopedia History, Donald L. Wasson 2022, https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1943/legions-of-judea/
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