Jesus Declares Himself King (Luke 19:29-30)

Luke 19:29-30 (ESV)

29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30 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.

            The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem as he rode on the colt on Palm Sunday is a story that we tend to know well. But one thing stands out to me this morning.

            As we know, this event fulfilled an Old Testament prophecy of the Messiah. Zechariah 9:9 declares, “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.” Then, just before his crucifixion, Jesus enters Jerusalem just as this prophecy predicts.

            What grabs my attention is that Jesus did this very much on purpose. He fulfilled this prophecy on purpose. He wanted people to understand, when they reflected on this event, that this was Jesus very intentionally declaring him to be the promised King of Israel. This was Jesus claiming to be the Messiah in about as clear and public a way possible.

            Sometimes there are those who do not know the Bible or Jesus who try to claim that Jesus never claimed to be what his disciples later said about him. Such a claim will not work. If Jesus intentionally put himself on a colt to enter Jerusalem as he did here, especially at the time of year he did so and in the manner he did so, he knew he was the Messiah. Jesus could not have been clearer had he put a crown on his head and said, “I’m the King!”

            So, today, as I think over this passage, I am reminded that our Savior did not do anything accidentally. He is God who came to earth. HE is the Promised One from centuries past. Jesus is the Messiah, and he is worthy of my homage and allegiance.