Matthew 21:1-17
“Fulfilled Prophecy – Messiah’s Entry”
“Tell the daughter of Zion ‘Behold, your King is coming to you. Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’” – Mattew 21:5
This verse is straight out of the Old Testament. It is a prophecy of Israel’s Messiah so that they would recognize Him when he comes. He will enter, “Lowly, and sitting on a donkey.” That is exactly how Jesus entered Jerusalem. Coincidence? I would say not. Our passage this morning will fulfill three prophecies concerning Messiah.
This first one is from Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.” The interesting thing is that Jesus, knowing the exact time to enter Jerusalem, sends two disciples into a village before Him to find a donkey whose owners are expecting Him to ask [ref. Matt 21:2-3].
Another prophecy fulfilled is from Daniel 9:25-26. To see the fulfillment of this prophecy we need to do a little more digging. But the gist is this, Daniel, a little over six hundred years prior, predicted when Messiah would enter Jerusalem. It would be “seven weeks and sixty-two weeks” [i.e., sixty-nine weeks] from the decree “to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince.” [Dan 9:25]. In summary, it would be sixty-nine seven-year periods [483 years, or 173,880 days using the 360-day Chaldean calendar year] from the time that Artaxerxes gave Nehemiah the decree to begin rebuilding the city, that Messiah [the King] would enter Jerusalem. And you know what? That day is the day that we are reading about in the Triumphal Entry. It can be mathematically computed! Coincidence? I don’t think so.
And still, there is a third prophecy fulfilled in our passage this morning: Psalm 118:26 [“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”]. That was fulfilled on that first Palm Sunday when “a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road” [Matt 21:8] and hailed Jesus as Lord as He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Coincidence? Absolutely not! It cannot be.
Jesus is Who He claimed to be. He is Messiah and Lord. Fulfilled prophecy confirms it, not only these, but many others that we will also see fulfilled in this last week of His earthly life.
The Scriptures are clear for you to read yourself. Do not let someone else read them for you and then make erroneous comments that you believe. Read for yourself and weigh out the evidence. It is all there for you to receive the truth.
