A Life in Exile

There has been no movie or series like The Chosen to help us visualize Scripture, and the last episode of the fourth season is no exception. If you watch the Bible Roundtable discussion between Dallas Jenkins, a Protestant professor, Messianic rabbi, and Catholic priest, you’ll learn even more about the portion of Scripture we’re going to talk about. I love listening to these men dig deep into these episodes and pull out the biblical truths and lessons for us today. I can almost say I enjoy the roundtable discussions as much as the series itself!

Setting up for disappointment.

When I look at the face of Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Jesus in The Chosen, I see the anguish of our Savior, not only knowing he’s preparing to go into Jerusalem to face an excruciating death but also because he knows that the excitement of the people as they welcome him in as King will be quickly replaced by jeers and calls for his execution. The fickleness of the crowds is overwhelming.

They were missing the point, and this is where our Scripture starts today.

When they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives, Jesus then sent two disciples, 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. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them at once.” This took place so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled:

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.” (Matthew 21:1-5 CSB)

Why would his arrival turn out to be a disappointment to the people? Because, unlike King David, who came into the city on a horse, following his victory over their enemies, this king, in fulfillment of Scripture, didn’t have the same agenda. There were no battles waged in the physical realm by this king, nor was he planning any in the week to come.

A Savior and Redeemer.

One of the prophecies fulfilled by this grand entrance is found in the book of Isaiah.

Go out, go out through the city gates; prepare a way for the people! Build it up, build up the highway; clear away the stones! Raise a banner for the peoples. Look, the Lord has proclaimed to the ends of the earth, “Say to Daughter Zion: Look, your salvation is coming, his wages are with him, and his reward accompanies him.” And they will be called the Holy People, the Lord’s Redeemed; and you will be called Cared For, A City Not Deserted. (Isaiah 62:10-12)

This arrival of the Messiah into Jerusalem was the first step in God’s complete restoration of his people and the land. He was coming as a bridegroom to his bride. Their salvation was coming, not from oppression from other nations, but from their own sin, their waywardness from God. Like the prophet Hosea claiming his adulterous wife, God is saying through this prophecy and Christ’s actions that he is coming to pay the bride price; he will pay the wages to redeem Israel from all her sins.

That’s why these words in Isaiah 62 are so beautiful. They will be now called a “Holy People, the Lord’s Redeemed, Cared For, and A City Not Deserted.” In an earlier verse, the land will be called Hephzibah, which means “my delight is in her”, and Beulah, which means “married.”

But think about it, Jesus knows he’s going to a people who have rejected him, and many will continue to do so. Still he rides that donkey into the city.

The humble king.

Another thing that would lead to the people’s disappointment was the apparent weakness of this king. They would miss the point and misread prophecies, looking to their own immediate desire for freedom over their true need for eternal salvation. It’s the prophet Zechariah who talks about this aspect of his coming.

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. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem. The bow of war will be removed, and he will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth. (Zechariah 9:9-10)

The people of Jerusalem were encouraged to shout, and shout they did. Jesus was seemingly everything they had hoped for. They knew him to be righteous, to speak with the authority of God and do wonders in his name. He was obviously coming in humility, as he rode in on a foal of a donkey. He even came with a message of peace.

How could they have missed it? How could there be peace if the Romans still occupied the land of promise? They were looking for him to do something for them without recognizing the need for their own hearts to be changed, without recognizing how they had failed to love God with all their hearts, souls, and minds, without loving their neighbors as themselves.

Still, he came.

Knowing all this, Jesus still entered the city—willingly, in obedience to the Father, ready to give his life for a people who refused to recognize him for who he really was. One who believed and followed sums it up nicely.

He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:10-13)

Oh, what a Savior!

Grace and Peace

If you missed the last Learning from the Past post, click HERE, or start the series from the BEGINNING.