Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).
The Gospel of Luke recounts how Jesus fulfilled the words spoken by the prophet Zechariah as he entered Jerusalem in a “triumphal entry” during the climactic week at the end of his ministry (Luke 19:28-44). Luke tells us how Jesus instructed two of his disciples to go to a nearby home where they would find a young donkey and to bring it to him. He told the disciples that if anyone challenged them, they were to simply say: “The Lord needs it” (Luke 19:31). The disciples did this – explaining to the donkey’s owners what Jesus had told them.
This initial part of the story is interesting in itself. Jesus was, in effect, invoking the ancient principle of angaria (from a Babylonian word meaning “mounted messenger”) by which kings, rulers and other individuals with official responsibilities could requisition property for official use. Angaria originated in the earliest postal systems in the ancient Persian, Greek and later Roman cultures where an animal could be “requisitioned” from its owner to carry the mail on the next stage of its multiple-staged journey, somewhat equivalent to the “Pony Express” of the American frontier. In the Judea of Jesus’ day, under Roman rule, animals could be commandeered in this way for the emperor’s service, and the right was also expanded to include the needs of the king, and even magistrates and rabbis.
A Messenger Received in Joy
This incident was, then, the prelude to the actual triumphal entry in which the crowds provided what we would call today a “red carpet” entry for Jesus by covering the road with their capes and the branches of trees to welcome him as he rode on the donkey into the city (Luke 19:35-37). The scene was not unlike a humbler version of the great Roman “Triumphs” in which the grateful citizens celebrated the procession of heroes who had served the people. In fact, the similarity with a Roman Triumph is more than superficial, because the Triumph was a civil and religious ceremony which was held to publicly “celebrate and sanctify” the success of a commander who had led his forces to victory in the service of the people.
But Jesus rejected the aggrandizing nature of the pagan Triumphs which fed the cult of personalities in Roman and other cultures, and he did this by riding humbly on a young donkey – the antithesis of the great horses of conquering kings and heroes – while fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 in every detail. Yet Jesus did accept the people’s praise (Luke 19:40), and the details of the story from beginning to end show that a triumphal entry – a symbolic victory celebration – was intended.
The words of the crowds who welcomed Jesus in this triumphal entry are important. Luke tells us (Luke 19:38) that the crowds quoted from the great messianic Psalm 118 – which is why the Pharisees attempted to silence them (Luke 19:39). This is the same psalm that contains, in vs. 22, the statement so significantly quoted by Jesus in Luke 20:17: “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” But also this psalm contains clear references to the triumphal entry of the Messiah:
* I look in triumph on my enemies (Psalm 118:7). * I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done (vs. 17). * Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord (vs. 19). * Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar (vss. 26-27).
Although Luke only cites a few of the words from Psalm 118, the psalm is in fact a full prophetic description of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
What Was the Victory?
But if this was a triumph, what was the victory? Jesus had not yet defeated sin and death on the cross, and he had not yet completed the work he came to accomplish in this regard. Yet there was one way in which a victory was surely celebrated. The primary purpose of the angaria, by which Jesus obtained the donkey on which he rode, was to deliver a message. And at this point, at the end of his ministry, Jesus had successfully delivered the news of the kingdom of God to the point that it was now established and would continue to spread throughout the world. He had also lived the perfect life needed in order that he could give himself as a sacrifice for all humankind.
In that sense, Jesus had fully triumphed in his work when he came to Jerusalem as “… your king who comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9, emphases added). The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem prior to his death was indeed a triumph: it celebrated Jesus’ righteous life and the fact that he had succeeded in delivering the message that he brought into the world. There is surely a lesson in this for us. In following Christ as his disciples we do not attempt to mimic everything he did, of course, but we should certainly follow in many of his steps, as he commanded us. The dual nature of Christ’s fulfilled mission – of living in obedience to God and carrying his message – is a dual opportunity and goal for every one of his followers, also. To focus only on our own obedience or only on the message we were commissioned to carry is not a complete fulfillment of the calling we have been given. To the extent that we are able, with God’s help, to live lives pleasing to God and to serve him in carrying his message, we too participate in the victory of Jesus.
“When Jesus … saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick” (Matthew 14:14).
It’s easy to read right over simple verses like this in the New Testament and not notice things. First, it’s easy to miss what is actually said – that Jesus didn’t just have compassion on the sick in the multitude, he had compassion on the whole crowd which led to his intervening wherever there was a need.
That means that Jesus didn’t just see and have compassion on the noticeable members of the crowd – the blind, the lame and those clearly afflicted with diseases and problems. It means he had compassion on the ones who were helping carry the lame, lead the blind and support the weak. It means he had compassion on the ones we might not notice as readily in a crowd – the shy, the grieving, the lonely and the discouraged.
Second, it’s easy – of course – not to see what’s not said. When we read the accounts of Jesus’ works we tend to read them in a vacuum, but we have to remember how much the Gospel writers are summarizing each incident. When Jesus had compassion on the crowds we get only the highlights of the healings – a kind of Gospel triage in which the most important healings and significant signs were recorded. But in having compassion on the crowds – not just the sick in the crowds – would Jesus not have noticed people with less obvious problems and had compassion on them also?
Surely Jesus saw the loneliness in the eyes of some and, having compassion, offered them a warm and accepting smile. Surely he saw the discouragement in the faces of others (Luke 18:24) and offered a few words of encouragement. In every case in the New Testament where we are told Jesus had compassion on people, he followed it with action; and having compassion on the crowds doubtless meant he interacted with and helped many more than the few people on whom he performed miracles of healing.
Perhaps we may feel we do not interact with crowds in the same way, but the totality of people we see and pass by as well as those we actually meet and with whom we interact in a day is often a small crowd, and for some of us a large one. If we are followers of Jesus, do we have compassion on that daily “crowd”? Do we seek to encourage and to smile, to check that people are all right? These may seem like small things and may seem hard to do in our over-crowded and impersonal world. But following in Christ’s footsteps means doing the things he did to the extent we can.
We know that God pays attention and knows the hairs on our heads, though we don’t tend to think of that in perspective of the teeming world of billions in which we live. But God does see every face in the crowd, and in his physical life the Son of God doubtless did his best to do so also. We are not just a face in the crowd to God, and no one in the crowd should be just a face to us.
SPOTLIGHT ON THE PROVERBS: TIMELESS WISDOM FOR TODAY’S WORLD
When it comes to wisdom, many Christians default to what the apostle James tell us: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God … and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). But this does not mean that prayer has replaced study in the New Testament. The book of Proverbs remains a key way in which God does, in fact, give us wisdom – to the degree we study and internalize its principles! Our new e-book will open up your understanding of many of the proverbs, show you some surprising spiritual principles contained in the work, and enrich your knowledge of one of the most practical and helpful books of the Bible.
You can download a free copy of Spotlight on the Proverbs in several formats for reading on computer, e-book reader, or smartphone (without having to register or give an email address) from the download page on our sister site, here.
Hezekiah is often remembered as the best king in the checkered history of the divided monarchy of Judah and Israel. While a great many of the successors of David and Solomon turned from true worship to the pagan religions of the nations around them, Hezekiah is remembered for his faith and faithfulness:
“He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. For he held fast to the LORD. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the LORD commanded Moses. And the LORD was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered” (2 Kings 18:5).
We remember not only the story of God’s healing of Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:1-6), but also numerous other details of the king’s reign, such as his successful destruction of pagan idolatry and other figurative and literal enemies, including the story of how God defeated the Assyrians on Hezekiah’s behalf when they attacked Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:32-36). He even survived, at least temporarily, the enemy of death (2 Kings 20:1). All these events show a Hezekiah who was truly an individual who followed God and who was blessed in being able to overcome his enemies.
Yet there was one enemy which appears to have remained that even Hezekiah was apparently unable to overcome. A final undefeated enemy is evident in the record of Hezekiah’s last years. When the king of Babylon sent diplomatic messengers to Hezekiah, the king unwisely showed the Babylonians every part of his kingdom and its treasures. We do not know whether this was the result of pride or just lack of strategic wisdom, but as a result the prophet Isaiah warned Hezekiah that this foolish action would result in the Babylonians eventually attacking Judah and destroying Jerusalem (2 Kings 20:12-18).
It is in Hezekiah’s reply to this word of God that we see what was perhaps the king’s last undefeated enemy: “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, ‘Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?’” (2 Kings 20:19). The king’s words seem humble and accepting on the surface, but his recorded thoughts reveal an incredible degree of selfishness: that despite the horrors he had been told he had brought upon his country, Hezekiah’s attitude was “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?” Unlike the incident in which the king turned to God in weeping supplication regarding a problem that applied to him directly, when he had unwittingly triggered disaster for others, Hezekiah’s reaction was one of selfish lack of concern – of “Why should I be concerned?” – of “Whatever!”
It is clear that despite his many righteous deeds and the many enemies he overcame, Hezekiah’s last recorded enemy – the reality of his own unconquered selfishness – was one he did not overcome. The biblical record of this king’s reign essentially ends at this point, with Hezekiah’s thoughts recorded as a poignant lesson to us all. Whatever the victories we may have accomplished, they do not matter much in terms of the fulfillment of God’s purpose for us if we are not dedicated to overcoming the enemy of selfishness. Hezekiah’s story should remind us all not to let our lives – or even a single day – end in an attitude of “Whatever!”
*For many more lessons from the kings and other leaders recorded in the Old Testament, download a copy of our free e-book Lessons from Old Testament Leadershere.
The Berean Study Bible achieves a successful “word-for-word” and “thought-for-thought” balance in a clear, easy to read translation.
The Berean Study Bible (BSB) is a recent translation of the whole Bible published by the ministry behind the online Bible study site BibleHub.com. According to its website, the Berean Bible consists of four components or “translation tiers,” including the Study Version which is recommended for personal study, public reading, memorization, and evangelism.
The translation of the BSB was accomplished by a team of scholars associated with the Bible Hub ministry, and although the team was relatively small – it was composed of six scholars – this is not necessarily a bad thing, as the translation avoids many of the pitfalls associated with both single-person and large committee translation efforts.
The end result in this case is a version that is internally consistent and nicely positioned on the spectrum running from word-for-word to idea-for-idea translation. Reading the BSB often feels like a comfortable mid-ground between the fairly literal ESV and the somewhat more dynamic NIV. But that is a generalization, and there can be considerable variation in the treatment of words within individual verses. Comparing Acts 17:11 (the BSB’s signature verse) among these three versions provides an example of their respective styles while also showing the variation involved:
“Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” ( Acts 17:11 ESV).
“Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true” (Acts 17:11 BSB).
“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11 NIV).
Although there is not a great deal of difference among the three renditions, notice that the BSB is the only one of the three versions that does not say that the “Bereans” were “Berean Jews” – which, while the Bereans in question may have been Jewish, that is not what the text actually says, nonetheless. While the ESV is fairly literal in simply stating that the Bereans were more noble (the Greek primarily means of noble physical birth), the BSB and NIV add “-minded” or “character,” which is the intended sense in this case. And while the NIV adds “what Paul said,” the BSB, like the ESV, is more literal, as Paul is not specifically mentioned in the Greek text.
So the BSB quite effectively utilizes both “word for word” and “thought for thought” approaches – as appropriate – in the translation process. But the very slight lean toward literality in the version is sometimes helpful. The version maintains the original gender designations in Scripture and, as a result, does not compromise accuracy in some translational situations. The BSB is also quite conservative among recent translations in utilizing capitalization for pronouns referring to God and Christ, as with “He,” “Him,” etc. These details will probably only be noticeable to those who usually use the NIV or other similar translation in their study, but the BSB consistently reads smoothly and without any hint of antiquated English.
The electronic versions of the BSB incorporate links to each book of the Bible and to each chapter from the beginning of each book. There are also links from points in the text to the notes at the end of each chapter, and from the notes back to the text.
Like all translations, the BSB is not perfect, but its attempt to faithfully follow the meaning of the underlying Hebrew and Greek text is commendable, and it is a translation that can be trusted for everyday study of the Scriptures.
The publishers of the BSB have generously made the translation available for free in a number of electronic versions suitable for reading on any computer, tablet, e-book reader, or smartphone. So if you have not used the Berean Study Bible, we recommend that you download a free copy in a format of your choice – either from the publisher’s website or from our own sister site, FreeChristianEBooks.org – and that you try it. It is a very worthwhile Bible version to have available for comparison, and one that you may well find yourself using regularly.
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