A Miracle and a Procession
TRANSLATION
(29) And as they left Jericho, a great crowd followed him. (30) And behold, two blind men were sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, son of David, have mercy on us!” (31) And the crowd rebuked them telling them to be quiet. But they cried out even more, “Lord, son of David, have mercy on us!” (32) And Jesus stopped and called to them, “What do you want me do for you?” (33) They answered him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” (34) And Jesus, moved with compassion, touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.
(1) And when they approached Jerusalem coming to Bethphage on the mount of Olives, Jesus sent ahead two disciples (2) saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and right away you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. (3) And if anyone says anything to you, say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and at once he will send them.” (4) Now all this happened to fulfill what had been spoken by the prophet (Zechariah), “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King comes to you meek and riding on a donkey and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” (6) And the disciples went and did what Jesus had told them to do. (7) They brought him the donkey and the colt and placed their garments on them for Jesus to sit. (8) And many in the crowd spread their garments on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. (9) And the crowd that went in front of him and those that followed shouted out, “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 entire city was stirred up, asking, “Who is this?” (11) And the crowd responded, “This is the prophet, Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.”
OBSERVATIONS
Jesus’ identification as Israel’s Messiah was repeatedly emphasized by the titles given him both in Jericho and in Jerusalem (vss. 30, 32, 34, & 1). Twice the blind men cried out: “Lord, son of David, have mercy on us” (vss. 30 & 31). “Lord” was repeated (vss. 3 & 9). Other titles, “king” (vs. 5), “son of David” (vs. 9), and “the prophet, Jesus” (vs. 11), were used to set him apart. The two passages quoted in the second paragraph, Zechariah 9:9 and Psalm 118:25 & 26, both prophecies of the Messiah, were intended by Matthew to show his readers that Jesus was indeed the promised one. Other repetitions included “eyes” (vss. 33 & 34), “disciples” (vss. 1 & 6), three occurrences of “donkey…colt” (vss. 2, 5 & 6), “garments” (vss. 7 & 8) and “Hosanna” (both in vs. 11).
OUTLINE
I. Jesus healed two blind men along the road leading out of Jericho. (20:29-34)
II. Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on the foal of a donkey and was acclaimed by the crowds. (21:1-11)
IDEA STATEMENT
After healing two blind men, Jesus entered Jerusalem accompanied by the shouts of a crowd hoping that he would fulfill their messianic expectations for deliverance from Rome.
APPLICATION
We should not fail to observe one important repetition in this segment. The designation, “son of David,” shouted by both blind men as Jesus and his disciples left Jericho, was the same title used by the crowd only a day or two later as they welcomed him into Jerusalem (cf. 20:31 & 21:9). Jesus’ miracle of restoring physical sight to the two blind men foreshadowed what was needed to alleviate the spiritual blindness afflicting the entire nation. Sadly, the enthusiasm which greeted Jesus at the beginning of his last week of ministry would soon turn into clamoring for his execution. The crowd that had anticipated that the one riding on the back of a donkey’s colt would deliver them from Roman oppression found their hopes dashed when it became clear that instead of political revolution Jesus was calling for spiritual repentance and renewal.
We should also note that the phrases shouted by the crowd when Jesus rode into Jerusalem were quotations from Psalm 118:25 & 26. “Hosanna” is a transliteration of the Hebrew expression that meant, “Please save/deliver us.” By crying out, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” the crowd was expressing its hope that Jesus’ appearance was fulfilling Old Testament prophecies of a Messianic deliverer.