Matthew 21 (NRSVue)
1 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village ahead 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, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” 4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:
5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7 they brought the donkey and the colt and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?”
The reign of God is arranged, announced, and active in the past, present and future.
Here are some questions for reflection:
1. No amount of political machinations could prevent T’Challa’s eventual ascension to the throne in the end, in what ways might this be similar to Jesus’ ascension?
2. Consider the effort to fulfill the prophecy of the donkey and the colt, the prophecy didn’t dictate His actions but how does it set the stage for His message? How does it demonstrate the greater wisdom of Jesus?
3. What am I riding in on? Jesus chose a humble donkey, not a powerful horse. If someone looked at how you show up or engage in the world, would they see humility or power? How does our society value or devalue each?
4. What cries do I hear? “Hosanna” translates to “save us.” Whose voices are crying out currently in your community or in communities around the world? How do you respond to them when you hear them? Are you close to the voices in the margins or do you keep a safe distance from struggle?
5. Jesus knew the crowd cheering “Hosanna” would later turn against Him. However, He still chose to enter Jerusalem. What might this tell us about the character of Jesus?How does it feel to know Jesus sees past surface praise and knows our hearts—yet still loves and moves towards us? What does this say about His courage, love, and understanding of people?
6. How do I prepare the way? The crowd laid down cloaks and branches to make a path for Jesus. What are you laying down in your life–comfort? privilege? fear?–to make way for God’s justice? What is challenging to lay down? Why?
7. The city asks, “Who is this?” How would you answer that today? Who is Jesus to you personally? How has your understanding of Jesus changed over time?
8. Imagine you’re in Jerusalem and some guy you barely know about who’s been out in the boonies comes into your town with a bunch of people crying out his praise. What would you think of the hubbub? What would your instincts tell you about his trustworthiness? What questions would you have for him and those who claim he’s someone important?
9. There’s this contrast between the crowd welcoming Jesus on the road to Jerusalem and the crowd in the city that was in turmoil about it. Why was there this difference? What sorts of people were in each group?
If you’d like to dig a little deeper, consider the following:
1. What do you see when you imagine the scene of people sitting on cloaks with some laying palm branches on the ground for Jesus to ride the donkey over? What does it sound like? What does it smell like?
2. In the phrase “combat before coronation,” Trey makes the comparison to T’Challa’s entry into the combat field in Wakanda to Jesus entering the combat field in Jerusalem. What was the combat that lay before Jesus in Jerusalem? Who was he going to fight? What weapons did he use?
3. Trey says that the arrival of the Kingdom of God is arranged, announced, and then present, in the past as well as in the future. What do you think that means? What do you carry from that into your current situation in this moment today?
4. We look to the past and judge the statement “God is greater than Herod, greater than the Romans, greater than Empire,” and we see that this is true – all have vanished. How does this apply to today?
5. After several years of wandering around Jerusalem, Jesus arrives in Jerusalem for his last week. Why did Jesus need to go to Jerusalem for his final challenge, and whom / what did he challenge?