Scripture: St. Matthew 21:1-9 (NKJV)
1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of
Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village
opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.
Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you
shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” 4
All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet,
saying: 5 “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.’” 6 So the
disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and
the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8 And a very great
multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the
trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and
those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is
He who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest!”
Devotion
In the first book of Kings in the first chapter is described the installation
and the royal entry of Solomon. With him, at the royal decree of his father
David, things were conducted in this way: He was set on the king’s mule, He was
anointed with sacred oil by the Priest Zadock, the prophet Nathan, and by
Erethi and Plethi; that is, he was led away by the bodyguard of King David to
Gihon, preceded by trumpet blasts and cheered by men…
In this story, Solomon is a prototype of the Lord Christ, the heavenly Solomon
(Mat. 12:42), for the word “Solomon” means a peace-prince; now, however, Christ
is the true Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6). Accordingly, as Solomon was anointed as
king with the sacred oil, so Christ was anointed as our eternal King with the
oil of joy, the Holy Spirit (Psa. 45:8). Just as Solomon also prepared himself
at Gihon (which was a beautiful, bubbling spring at Jerusalem) for His royal
entrance from there into the city, so also Christ, in order to fulfill this
prototype and especially to fulfill the prophecy of Zec. 9:9, conducted His
royal entry into Jerusalem. Solomon was set upon the king’s mule, and at his
coronation everything was carried out with pomp and glory, because his kingdom
was an earthly, worldly kingdom. However, Christ wanted to carry out His royal
entry upon a donkey, which does not have a special regard before the world, for
His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). At the entry of Solomon, one
heard fifes and trumpets, all the people rejoiced and shouted out to Him:
“Success to King Solomon”; thus the evangelists announce that the Lord Christ
was welcomed by the people at Jerusalem with great jubilation, and he was
shouted at with [the words of] Psa. 118:26: “Hosanna to the Son of David,
praise to Him who comes in the Name of the Lord.”
(From the Postilla (1613) of Johann Gerhard, Sermon for Advent 1)
The Lutheran Herald is a publication of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of
North America. These daily devotions are authored by the bishop, pastors, and
deacons of the diocese. Daily posts are provided by The Reverend Jeffrey A.
Ahonen.
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