Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

Matthew 21: 1-11

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 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. If anyone says anything to you,
just say this, 'The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately.a" This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,
"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."
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 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!"
When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?" The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."

Intentionally riding into Jerusalem upon a donkey is perhaps Jesus' most calculated and least ambiguous symbolic act. He excites the expectations raised by Zechariah's prophecy:

9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war-horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and he shall command peace to the nations;
his dominion shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Because Christian readers identify Jesus as the messiah throughout his ministry and understand that he is not a warrior messiah, they often mistake the crowd's reception of Jesus as the product of the anticipation of his arrival. It should probably be seen as a spontaneous response to the fact that he is riding upon a donkey. The donkey in Zechariah and probably in Jesus' mind signify humility, but to the crowd this may be a bold claim to the title of king and the prelude to an act of sedition against Rome. The crowd responds to Jesus' approach by waving branches and singing part of the Hallel psalms. The palm branches are normally associated with the festival of Sukkot. Zechariah 10:1 seems to locate the return of Israel's king to Jerusalem during this festival. The waving of palm branches may also signify the crowd's identification of Jesus with Judas Maccabee.

Christian readers often comment on the fickleness of this crowd who one week later will call for Jesus' crucifixion. Perhaps, the contrast must be attributed to the disappointment of expectations. Jesus comes and attacks the Temple not Rome.