29-31 When Jesus drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent  two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here.  If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’”  32-36 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them.  And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it.”  And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. And as he rode along, they  spread their cloaks on the road. 

37-38 As he was drawing near - already on the way down the Mount of Olives - the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  39-40 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” Luke 19:29-40 English Standard Version

All four gospels tell of this incident when Jesus came to Jerusalem on a young donkey, so it must have been very significant. The chant of the crowds echoed the words of Psalm 118:26 which said: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” The scene also echoed the words of the prophet Isaiah who said: “Listen, the Lord is making a proclamation to the end of the earth. Tell the daughter of Zion: 'Look, your salvation is coming.'” (Isaiah 62:11) But it’s the words of the prophet Zechariah that are the most noteworthy. Writing over 500 years before this event took place he said: “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.” (Zechariah 9:9)

The disciples later realized that the prophecy of Zechariah was fulfilled that day by Jesus. But it does pose a question. Does the fact that Jesus instructed his disciples to fetch the young donkey mean that He manipulated things to look like He was fulfilling prophecy? Some might say that. What do you think?

I think the answer is found in what Jesus said to John the Baptizer when John protested and said that he was the one who really needed to be baptized by Jesus! Jesus answered John and said: “Let it be so now, for so it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15) Yes, I suspect Jesus had read the prophecy in Zechariah. He knew the Old Testament extremely well. So He knew what lay ahead of Him in Jerusalem. But that's probably why He also knew there would be a colt in Bethphage, and that the owners would readily let the disciples take it for His use. He wasn’t manipulating prophecy, He was fulfilling it. He’d come to fulfil all righteousness, and everything the Holy Spirit had made know to prophets of old.

Maybe that’s why Jesus responded to the Pharisees grumbling about the noisy crowd as He did. God's wonderful plan for all the world (as Isaiah had said) was on track – and, if men were silent, creation itself would rise up to praise Him! But what of ourselves? Do our hearts cry out “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord”? We’re on the other side of Calvary. It's possible that some who praised Jesus that day may have been in the crowd who later cried crucify Him. Will we be faithful to praise Him to the end of our days on earth and not turn away when there's pressure to deny Him?

The apostle Paul said of God's wonderful plan: “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, training us to reject ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope, the glorious appearance of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ! He gave himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are his own chosen people, eager to do good works.” (Titus 2:11-14)