The Gospel of Matthew
Entry into Jerusalem and the Temple: Mt 21,1-17
Jesus enters Jerusalem: 21,1-11
Matthew has added to Mark the quotation (21,4-5) and the reaction of the city (21,11). In Matthew, Jesus does not go out to Bethany immediately (Mk 11,10). Matthew has omitted the challenge to the disciples in Mark when they were taking the donkey (Mk 11,3-6).
The Mount of Olives is where the Messiah was expected to appear on the last day (Zech 14,4). Thus it was appropriate for Jesus to approach Jerusalem from this directon. As we will see, his discourse on the last days in chapters 24 and 25 will be given on the Mount of Olives (24,3)
Whereas Mark has only one donkey, Matthew has two. He has misread the parallelism in the Hebrew of the prophet Zechariah (that is, where the second line repeats the first in different words) and so he attempts to fulfil the expression literally. As a result, Jesus sits astride two animals (21,7)
The fulfillment expression in verse 4 has been common throughout the gospel from the infancy narrative onward. The quotation is actually a combination of Isaiah and Zechariah.
Kings ride, pilgrims walk. So Jesus riding in verse 7 is like that of the king entering city as a popular triumph. The quotation from Zechariah highlights this point.
The cutting of branches recalls the instructions for the feast of Tabernacles in Lev 23,39-40. This feast recalls the days of Israel's time in the desert.
"Save us" is the first word of Ps 118,25, Hosanna in Hebrew. "Blessed is the one" comes from the next verse of this Psalm, one which was of considerable importance to the early Christians. The Son of David is coming to the city of David (2 Sam 5,7).
The turmoil of the city in verse 10 recalls the earlier reaction when the Magi arrived (2,7).
Deuternomy, Dt 18,15.18, speaks about the prophet of the last days. Calling Jesus a prophet following the way he has entered the city brings that expectation of Deuteronomy to mind. This also prepares for what follows.
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Jesus enters the Temple: Mt 21,12-17
For the Gospel of Matthew, this is Jesus' first visit to the Temple. There is a sense in which the Lord is appearing in his temple, though Malachi (Mal 3,1) is not quoted.
If Jesus enters Jerusalem as a king, Jesus now enters the Temple as a prophet. There was clearly a need for the sale of animals for sacrifice (Lev 5,7.11) and Roman money was unusable because it included the head of the Emperor (22,20-21). Zechariah 14,21 looks to the day when there would no longer to traders in the Temple.
The quotation in verse 13 is a composite of Isaiah (house of prayer, Is 56,7) and Jeremiah (a den of thieves, Jer 7,11; the whole chapter is about a false trust in the Temple).
The blind and the lame were usually excluded from the Temple as in 2 Sam 5,8. Yet their healing is part of the future vision of Israel (Is 35,5-6). It is also a key to the ministry of Jesus, as in his answer to John the Baptist, 11,4-6. Thus they are part of the new community of Israel.
Whilst the chief priests and scribes were the Temple. They are the old community of Israel.
Thus we can see a new community is being formed, one which praises God as celebrated in the quotation from Psalm 8.
In verse 17, Jesus is therefore leaving the old community, the chief priests and scribes. This he will do finally when he leaves the Temple in 24,1.
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