Solomon, A Donkey, and Jesus

Introduction

We’ve been talking about “Who’s Your One?”

Today I’d like to pivot with a look toward Easter morning.

Since this is Palm Sunday, most churches will look at the Triumphal Entry.

Of Jesus coming to Jerusalem to begin the last week of His life before He was crucified.

However, did you know there was another triumphal entry into Jerusalem that foreshadowed Jesus’ entry?

1 Kings 1:32–35 CSB

32 King David then said, “Call in the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada for me.” So they came into the king’s presence. 33 The king said to them, “Take my servants with you, have my son Solomon ride on my own mule, and take him down to Gihon. 34 There, the priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan are to anoint him as king over Israel. You are to blow the ram’s horn and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35 You are to come up after him, and he is to come in and sit on my throne. He is the one who is to become king in my place; he is the one I have commanded to be ruler over Israel and Judah.”

1 Kings 1:38–40 CSB

38 Then the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down, had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and took him to Gihon. 39 The priest Zadok took the horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the ram’s horn, and all the people proclaimed, “Long live King Solomon!” 40 All the people went up after him, playing flutes and rejoicing with such a great joy that the earth split open from the sound.

Solomon Riding a Mule (Donkey)

David, the great king of Israel, is dying and weak.

He has appointed Solomon to be the next king, but his Adonijah, the eldest, wouldn’t accept it.

He decides he wants to be king (1:5–10).

He starts by forging two strategic relationships—one with the military leader, Joab, and one with the priestly leader, Abiathar.

He gathers them for a private coronation party.

Now if you’ve read the OT accounts in 1 Kings and 1 Chronicles you know David had already appointed Solomon to be the next king (1 Chron. 23:1; 29:22).

Adonijah’s power play, then, was a hostile takeover and a murderous threat to his rivals—his royal brother, Solomon, and his queen mother, Bathsheba.

But even more, it was a threat to God’s promises.

The Lord had promised David would an enduring royal dynasty (2 Sam. 7:12–13), specifically through Solomon (1 Chron. 22:9–10).

This is reported to David by Bathsheba so David commands that his mule be given for Solomon to ride into Jerusalem.

This was a symbol of kingship that marked Solomon as the favored son.

He also tells them to anoint Solomon as king and blow the trumpet.

In verses 38–40 they fulfill the king’s commands, and a boisterous party results.

The writer says, “The earth split open from the sound” (v. 40).

That was some celebration!

This account makes us think of David’s greater Son, Jesus.

It calls to our attention Palm Sunday.

The day Jesus would ride into the city on a donkey.

A Prophecy of a King Riding a Donkey

Zechariah 9:9 CSB

9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Zechariah was a prophet during the time after the exile writing to encourage the remnant to finish rebuilding the temple.

He also wanted to encourage them that God had not forgotten about His promises of them being a great nation when all the other nations would be blessed through them.

They were no where seeing that happen, so Zechariah beginning in chapter 9 to the end of the book is preparing them for a coming King, Jesus the Messiah.

A King that would deliver and redeem all of Israel and really the whole world.

Verse 9 is about the first coming and verse 10 and following is the 2nd coming.

God gives the people of Jerusalem three commands: “Rejoice greatly,” “Shout in triumph,” and “Look.”

At the coming of King Jesus, God is telling His people, “I want you to rejoice, I want you to shout out loud, and I want you to pay careful attention to the One who is coming.”

The first thing God calls our attention to about Jesus is His righteousness (v. 9).

The Hebrew word here speaks of the Lord’s personal righteousness, indicating that He holds within Himself moral uprightness, spiritual perfection, and legal righteousness.

He alone fulfills the righteous standard of God’s law, something no one else on earth ever has done.

The word righteous also refers to the justice of Christ.

He upholds what is right.

Next, God calls attention to the Messiah’s deliverance.

Verse 9 continues by saying that King Jesus is “victorious.”

On commentator notes that the word here is the Hebrew term for “to save” in the passive form, literally meaning that the Messiah is “endowed with salvation”.

By saying that the Messiah is entrusted with salvation, the meaning can either be that the Messiah has experienced victory or that He brings deliverance to others.

The Messiah is further described as “humble,” an idea that is emphasized by His entrance into the city “riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

In the ancient Near East a king coming in peace would ride a donkey rather than a warhorse.

This is why Solomon rode a donkey into Jerusalem, he was coming humbly as their new king.

Solomon’s entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey across the Kidron Valley and the Gihon Spring (1:33, 38) declares true king.

It announces that the priestly leader Abiathar—and all the religious leaders following him—are phonies announces that the military leader Joab—and all his military powers—who backed his brother Adonijah, aren’t in charge.

This one, this king on a donkey, is the true son of David.

In contrast to the pride and destruction of Alexander the Great, Israel’s King comes in humility and gentleness, bringing salvation and peace.

Zechariah 9:9 is one of the most significant messianic passages in Scripture.

The gospel writers quote this verse, applying it to Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday before His crucifixion and resurrection.

The King on a Donkey

Matthew 21:1–10 CSB

1 When they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives, Jesus then sent two disciples, 2 telling them, “Go into the village ahead of you. At once you will find a donkey tied there with her colt. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: 5 Tell Daughter Zion, “See, your King is coming to you, gentle, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” 6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt; then they laid their clothes on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their clothes on the road; others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. 9 Then the crowds who went ahead of him and those who followed shouted: Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven! 10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in an uproar, saying, “Who is this?”

Now what Solomon foreshadowed and Zechariah prophesied about is fulfilled in Jesus.

In this chapter, Jesus asserts Himself as the Messiah, the promised King who would save His people from their sins.

But He was not a King for the Jews only, for His saving rule would extend to the nations.

You and I are also part of this purpose, for we are called to submit every part of our lives to His rule and reign.

Christ is worthy of our adoration and the abandonment of our lives.

In this chapter and the ones to follow, Matthew gives us a breathtaking, awe-inspiring, life-transforming picture of this King who will one day return.

His attributes are on display, and the picture is stunning.

It’s also to not that the timing of this event is crucial for understanding the significance of this fulfillment.

This was Passover week, a time when the population of Jerusalem would swell up to five or six times its usual size.

People were coming to celebrate this feast of remembrance, a feast that reminded them of the time when God rescued their fathers from slavery in Egypt and brought salvation through the blood of a lamb.

Now Jesus, the Lamb of God (John 1:29, 36) and the One who was inaugurating a new and greater exodus (Matt 2:13–15), was coming into Jerusalem during Passover week.

This was no coincidence.

Certainly the people present at Jesus’ entry that day understood his actions.

There interpretation of the events is evident from their cries recorded in each of the four gospels.

In Matthew they shout, Hosanna to the Son of David!

Mark records them saying, Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!

In Luke we hear them say, Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!

And in John they cry, Blessed is the King of Israel.

That the public recognizes Jesus’ claim to the throne is significant because no where in the gospels does Jesus openly declare himself king.

Peter’s confession in Matthew 16:13-19, Mark 8:27-30 and Luke 9:18-21 is met by Jesus with a blessing as well as a command for them not to repeat this to anyone. (Matthew 16:13-20).

While it may be likely that some in the crowd remembered this small passage in Zachariah, Its more likely that they looked upon Jesus’ actions with one eye on the past and remembered how the first ‘son of David’ was crowned king in Jerusalem.

He came the first time humbly riding on a colt, bringing peace through His shed blood.

That was His purpose for coming to Jerusalem—to rescue sinners.

He came to be crucified as King, not to deliver Israel from the power of Rome, as so many thought the Messiah would do.

He came to deliver all people everywhere from the power of sin.

In Revelation 19 Jesus is no longer pictured coming on a donkey, but on a warhorse.

King Jesus Riding A Warhorse

Here is John’s vision of the coming King: Revelation 19:11-16

Revelation 19:11–16 CSB

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and with justice he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on his head. He had a name written that no one knows except himself. 13 He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. 14 The armies that were in heaven followed him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. 15 A sharp sword came from his mouth, so that he might strike the nations with it. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty. 16 And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

King Jesus came the first time humbly riding on a colt, but He will come the second time sovereignly reigning on a horse.

That final day will be very different from the one we see in Matthew 21.

If you have not already given your allegiance to this King on that last day, it will be too late.

He will come not to rescue sinners but to rule sinners.

He will not come to be crucified as King; He will come to be crowned as King.

For those of us who are believers there are a number of exhortations for us seen in Matthew 21.

First, let us give Jesus praise. That praise begins as you gladly surrender to this King today.

Second, let us prioritize prayer. Praying to God was one of the purposes of God’s house, the temple, in the Old Testament, and though God doesn’t dwell in a physical building today, He inhabits His people.

Third, let us bear fruit in our lives.

We don’t want to be like Israel of old, having all the signs of outward religion, but lacking real spiritual fruit.

Who’s Your One?

Prayer