Matthew: Introduction (part 1)  

Posted by Shawn in , ,

When King David carried the Ark of God (that on which "the Lord of hosts sits enthroned on the Cherubim") into Jerusalem he did so with rejoicing and a complete and willful humility before God, dancing before the Lord with all of his might.

Unfortunately for her, however, David's wife and King Saul's daughter, Michal, was outraged by his behaviour and so despised him in her heart.

Michal went on to voice her thoughts to David in a sharp rebuke, pointing out to him his supposedly vulgar and shameless appearance before his female servants. David's reply was sharp, decisive and powerful.

Now flash foward to Matthew 21:1-11 and Jesus' triumphal entrance into Jerusalem.

Like the Ark's entrance into Jerusalem, there was much rejoicing and great humility. What we see in this later grand entrance, however, in place of the nation's earthly king dancing naked before the throne, is The King of all creation, unimaginably humbling himself by substituting his royal throne for the back of a donkey.

What a shadow of things to come can be seen in Michal's pride!

The Ark was a stumbling block to Michal; her pride causing her to be put away and childlessness all of her days.

Christ is a stumbling block to the nation of Israel; her pride likewise causing her to be put away and childless. Not one true child of Abraham will be born to her until her death, when she is brought into repentance and finally recognizes Jesus as her promised King and only savior.

In the retelling of Michal's tragedy, the lowly female servants are ultimately held in the place of honor that she should have expected. In Israel's version of this tragedy, the gentile nation's are now given the place of honor that should by all accounts be reserved for the sons of Abraham and David.

After having written all of this, I can only imagine that you're wondering how on earth this post can have anything to do with an introduction to the book of Matthew, as the title indicates. Well, all I can say is please hang in there, I'm just getting warmed up.

This entry was posted on Jul 7, 2008 at Monday, July 07, 2008 and is filed under , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the comments feed .

4 comments

Peter Chodakowski  

Interesting connection with riding on a donkey as an act of humility.

Was it humility, or a statement that He is the King bringing peace? (Zechariah 9:9)

Of course...the tune changes when he comes riding on a white horse to judge and make war against Satan...Revelation 19:11

Anyway, thanks for the posts, I have enjoyed reading them.

P

July 14, 2008 at 4:01 PM
Shawn  

I certainly wouldn't deny for a second that riding the colt into Jerusalem was done in order that the Scriptures would be fullfilled.

I think, however, that saying that it was a statement declaring Him to be the King bringing peace is far more interperative than saying that it what was done it in humility.

After all, the writer of the prophecy in question here tells us EXACTLY what it means.

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
(Zec 9:9)

July 14, 2008 at 4:40 PM
Peter Chodakowski  

I don’t deny that it was a humble act riding a donkey. Certainly, the donkey, a beast of burden used for service, would indicate as much. I suppose the question would have been better posed as something other than an or-statement. The version I was reading at the time had "gentle" as opposed to "humble", so I missed that connection.

On a separate note, I don't think it is very interpretive to say it is Christ declaring His kingship. It is, after all, considered the triumphal entry. It was also customary for kings to ride donkeys during times of peace, and horses during times of war, but I suspect you already know that.
This was fulfillment of the two-fold prophecy of Zechariah 9:9-10. First, earthly kingship, proclaimed here, and second, the eternal kingship proclaimed in the end times (where he comes riding on a horse).

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts. I enjoy reading them. I hope I’m not a pest.

July 21, 2008 at 2:15 PM
Shawn  

In and of itself, I totally agree, it's not a terribly interpretive thing to say. Relative to the statement of humility (or more specifically, in direct response to your comment), however, I think it'd be fair to say that it's "far more interpretive" in that the text doesn't actually say that "he is the king bringing peace" but it does directly say 'aniy' (ay-nee' which means humble, afflicted, lowly) "and riding upon an ass".

As for your comments, you're certainly not being a pest. I can't thank you enough. Knowing that someone is reading my blog and gaining value from it means very much to me.

Also, the last thing that I want is a vacuum in which to publish all my fancies in. I write this because I want to both challenge and be challenged. Keep those thoughts coming!

July 21, 2008 at 6:52 PM

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