Legend has it that the first Roman Triumph was held by Romulus himself, the first king of that great city. A triumph was what they called the celebration that followed a major military victory. They were rare events that were granted as a high honor to the general who led the army in that victory. A spectacular parade would be held for a couple of miles through the city, leading up to the Capitoline hill. At the start of the parade there were Roman senators and magistrates, the captives and the loot that had been brought back, trumpeters and other musicians. Then in the middle of the parade was the general himself, riding in a magnificent chariot pulled by four horses. He’d be followed by his family and the officers of the army on horseback and then the soldiers of the army, not carrying their swords but wearing their Roman togas. At the end of the parade were two flawless white bulls, with gilded horns, which would be sacrificed to Jupiter when the parade reached his temple.
The general himself would be wearing the finest toga of royal purple embroidered with palm leaves. His face might be painted red, like Mars, the god of war. He would wear a laurel crown or wreath. And some accounts tell of a slave riding in the chariot with him, whose job it was to hold a golden crown above his head and whisper in his ear, “Respice” or “Look Back” – basically, “Remember where you came from. This day we celebrate you but don’t let it go to your head.”
Over time these rare events became more and more lavish. Here comes our commander! He brings victory! He brings riches! One historian wrote: “It must have been one of the most impressive sights the citizens would see in a city by no means short of entertaining spectacles.” (https://www.worldhistory.org/Roman_Triumph/)
Look, your king comes to you! The prophet Zechariah declares. When you hear those words, what do you expect to look and see? Probably something like this, with riches and spectacle, with the honor of magistrates and soldiers, in all glory.
But not this king. The king that Zechariah prophesies about is at the same time the greatest of the greats and the lowest of the lows. He has the authority to bring war to an end and extends his kingdom to the ends of the earth. And yet he comes in perfect righteousness and humility. He rides a donkey. He brings salvation.
Five hundred years after Zechariah wrote those words, Jesus came riding into Jerusalem, on a donkey colt, just as Zechariah said. But in a way you could say that the donkey was the least of the ways that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy. Jesus fully embodies the description Zechariah gives. Look, your king comes to you! The Humble King Brings Peace.
The pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Passover was always a big deal. People came from all over, most of them simply traveling on foot. They formed their own processional parades, not with the kind of spectacle you’d see at a Roman Triumph, but they sang and I’d imagine the mood was often quite festive as they headed once again all together to the great city of David.
Jesus had already been at the center of a procession for a while as they traveled. But as they approached Jerusalem he stopped and did something rather unusual. Matthew says:
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you. Immediately you will find a donkey tied there along with her colt. Untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you, you are to say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”
The fact that Jesus was able to do this is not something that comes as a surprise to us in any way. Truly this is a wonderful miracle. It’s something that you or I could certainly never do. And if it was someone else doing this we might be totally blown away by it, but when it’s Jesus, well, we wouldn’t expect anything less, would we?
But that’s just it, isn’t it? This is how great Jesus is. Of course he knows that in that little town of Bethphage just outside Jerusalem there’s a donkey and her colt, a colt that has never had a rider just waiting for them. Of course he knows that these two disciples will find them there and that they’ll be noticed untying them. Of course he knows that when they tell the owners that the Lord needs them those owners will be eager to send them on their way. Jesus knows all these things. It’s who Jesus is!
But you know what? If that’s the way that you think when you hear about how Jesus knew all these things, then thank God because only faith thinks that way. Only God could give you such a faith that hears about this wonderful, impossible thing that Jesus easily did, and shrugs and says, “Yeah, of course.”
This is also a good place to remember that if Jesus knew what was waiting for him in Bethphage, he also knew what was waiting for him in Jerusalem. The Pharisees and Sadducees were plotting to kill him, but he wasn’t walking into a trap. He knew better than anyone. He was in complete control.
Even if Jesus had decided to skip the donkey we could still say that he fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah. He’s the righteous king, coming to Jerusalem. We could say he’s very humble, just like the king Zechariah described. But that sort of fulfillment was not enough for Jesus. Jesus said, “Everything that is written about me must be fulfilled.” And of course it must. Is this King not the same great God who inspired Zechariah to write these words? Jesus wasn’t fulfilling this as if he was going through an Old Testament checklist. No, by God’s revelation Zechariah had peered into the future to see this king and his humble donkey.
The kingly procession that began to form around Jesus was nothing like a Roman Triumph. It wasn’t sanctioned by the government and planned and organized. Instead, it just happened. It came together as if it was inevitable. There were the people. There were the palm branches. There was the donkey. That donkey colt was a humble ride for a great king. No one needed to whisper “Respice” “Look Back” in his ear. But the crowds came together and praised him with all their might.
Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!
“Look, your king is coming to you,” Zechariah said. We see him here but what a strange sight this is. The greatest of the greats. And the lowest of the lows. Riding into that city for you.
Zechariah described him cutting off the chariot and taking away the battle bow, proclaiming peace, and ruling in righteousness a kingdom that extends to the ends of the earth. How amazingly great that is! We can see all of that in Jesus. Some people still look for Jesus’ earthly rule, but Jesus told Pontius Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.” It’s better than that. It’s a kingdom of grace, to which we belong by faith. This kingdom knows no borders, but is found all over the world, wherever the Gospel is proclaimed. Our citizenship was signed by the Holy Spirit when we were baptized. And it’s a kingdom of peace because with his forgiveness our war against God has ended. We are no longer his enemies, but his children and his heirs with Christ.
Jesus is also the perfect fulfillment of that humility that Zechariah described. The people at the time of Jesus saw it. Where is this king’s army? Where are the magistrates bowing before him? Where is his magnificent chariot pulled by four proud horses? They didn’t praise him for his military prowess. They weren’t cheering for earthly riches captured in a military campaign. They lauded him as the one who comes in the name of the Lord. And he would lower himself even more. His parade wasn’t bringing any bulls for a sacrifice. He was the sacrifice. Zechariah said he brings salvation, and that’s exactly what he was doing. He wasn’t saving them from Roman rule. He wasn’t saving them from tyrannical leaders. He wasn’t saving them from earthly troubles. He was bringing salvation from sin and death and hell. And he would do it by taking all of that on himself, for me and for you and for the whole world.
The people sang “Hosanna” to Jesus with awe and wonder at this humble king who brings peace. That same awe and wonder is what fills us still today all these years later. Because even then Jesus knew you, every bit as much as he knew the hearts of the people who owned that donkey colt. He knew your rebellion and your unbelief, your nature that hates your God, that despises him and wars against him. And yet he didn’t stop on the road and say, “Hold on, wait up a minute here. I don’t think I really want to die for you.” No, as Jerusalem got closer and closer so too did his cross. So too did the awful payment to redeem you. And still he rides. “Hosanna to the Son of David.”
And he knew the sins you would still commit even as a Christian, and how over and over again you would fail to live a Christlike life, and how every time he would pick you up, again, and how he would forgive your sins and restore you and how he would strengthen your faith by his holy Supper and how he would send you out all over again, in that Gospel that gives you new life. On he goes. “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
And he knew the fears that would trouble you and the guilt that weighs you down, the Devil who prowls after your soul and the grave that yawns wide to swallow you. And he does not turn away to the right or to the left. “Look, your king is coming to you! He is righteous and is bringing salvation.”
Could there be a more spectacular parade than this? The most lavish royal procession or Roman Triumph is nothing close to it. This is the ride of our glorious King who comes to us. This is where the battle to end all battles takes place. This is how we might have forgiveness and life. The humble king comes to bring us joy, to bring us salvation, to bring us peace. Hosanna in the highest!
Amen.