Daily Devotional For Friday, January 16, 2026
Good morning Southside. The Lord is good and He is good all the time. We are making our way through the Gospel of Matthew. Today we come to Matthew 22:1-11. Because this is such a packed passage on the Triumphant Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, we are going to take several days to cover it:
“When they had approached Jerusalem and had come 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 there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. (3) If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” (4) This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: (5) ‘Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ (6) The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, (7) and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. (8) Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. (9) The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!’ (10) When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, ‘Who is this?’ (11) And the crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee’” (NASB).
As Jesus and His disciples made their way to Jerusalem, they came upon two cities: Bethphage and Bethany. Each was about a mile from the other and about 2 miles from the outer wall around Jerusalem. They were situated on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. In case you have forgotten, Bethany was the home of 3 of Jesus’ closest friends: Mary, Martha and their brother Lazarus. Jesus and His disciples often stayed with them when in the vicinity. Though the Bible does not tell us, it is possible that Jesus and His disciples stayed with Mary, Martha and Lazarus after each day in Jerusalem for the Passover Festival that was about to begin.
The Mount of Olives is a ridge about two and a half miles long on the other side of the Kidron Valley east of Jerusalem. The view from the top of this 2,900-foot ridge is spectacular—one can see the whole city of Jerusalem from it.. From this site, Jesus will discuss the coming destruction of the city and temple in Matthew 24:1-3.
According to the Old Testament, the Mount of Olives will be the final place of God’s judgment and revelation at the end of time (see Ezekiel 43:2-9 and Zechariah 14:1-19). Many scholars think that when Jesus said these words they were in Bethphage and He sent 2 of His disciples to Bethany to get the donkey and colt and bring them back to Bethphage. This almost seems out of character for Jesus since during His 3-year ministry, He walked everywhere. To now ride into Jerusalem would be an intentional move of symbolism and authority.
Of the four Gospels, Matthew mentions the donkey and the colt. He probably did this to focus His readers on the prophecy from the Old Testament about this in Zechariah 9:9. Thus, Matthew was affirming that Jesus was the King of kings and Lord of lords. In addition to this, by pointing his readers back to Zechariah 9:9, Zechariah was proving again that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah God had promised. Millions of Jewish pilgrims made their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover in order to remember what God had done for them during the Exodus in Exodus 12:37-51. We know from John’s Gospel there was hope among the people that Jesus, the miracle worker, would come (see John 11:55-57).
Jesus will make His way to the Temple, but not as a conquering hero to overthrow Rome riding a white stallion, but as a gentle and peaceful king riding a donkey. Jesus knew how animals are. If this colt had never been ridden, He told them to bring its mother also to keep it calm. This had to be a surprise since Jesus was not living up to their expectations of a conquering Messiah. Here on Sunday, they praise Jesus as Messiah and then 5 days later, they crucify Him as a traitor, fake and a disappointment. This story just shows how fickle people can be, even religious and Christian people. Since Matthew and John were eyewitnesses to this event, the contrast of expectations versus reality had to be surprising and shocking.
We live in an age of biometrics. Retina scanners and fingerprint scanners are normal now. When we are born, the hospital takes the footprint and fingerprints of our babies. DNA samples can be taken for verification either then or later. We have scanners in airports that can detect “people of interest” and others. We have surveillance cameras almost everywhere. If a body is found and unidentified, DNA samples are taken in a forensic investigation to identify the person. My point? Matthew in chapter 21 is presenting his own spiritual forensic investigative report to prove that Jesus was and is the Messiah. He does this through the themes of fulfillment – first, the fulfillment of a present command and second, the fulfillment of a past prophecy. We will look more at this tomorrow. God bless.
Reflection Assignment: Expectations are part of life. We all have them of others and situations and others have them of us. And when people do not live up to our expectations, disappointment and tension occurs. Sometimes this can be so severe that the relationship never recovers. What are your expectations of Jesus? Do you ever find yourself experiencing disappointment in Him not living up to your expectations of Him? If so, how do you deal with this and what does this say about you and your relationship to the Lord?
Scripture To Meditate On: Ephesians 3:20, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I can easily get disappointed in people, the church and sometimes even with You. Lord, please help me to have the same attitude You did in the Garden of Gethsemane in Matthew 26:42-44. Please help me not see them so much as disappointments, but as lessons in my own discipleship with You. I love You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly