Thru the Bible

Host: Remember that moment when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a humble little donkey? What we now call Palm Sunday? Well, the crowd went wild, waving palm branches and shouting, "Hosanna!" What was all the excitement really about? Well, in this study on Thru the Bible, we're going to dig into the deeper meaning behind that celebration by going back to the Old Testament, to the prophet Zechariah in chapter 9. But before we get to our study, here's a classic letter Dr. McGee loved to share.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now, I want to share with you today. Tell the truth, a very remarkable letter.

And it's a rather lengthy letter, and I'm going to read most of it because this lets you know today what average America is all about and the type of folk that today are hearing the word of God and are being benefited by it.

This letter comes from Collinsville, Illinois. The listener says, "I am a retired truck driver. I ran out of St. Louis, Missouri, into New York City, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh through most of World War II. And after the war, I started working with the tank truck business, mostly driving and hauling oil and asphalt in the summer and gasoline in the winter. So, you know, I have a pretty good outlook on human nature and the world in general.

"Back in 1960, I was converted in a Christian friend's home in a very wonderful way that has never left a doubt about Jesus and the Bible being just what they claimed to be, or His accepting me into His church. Oh, I have had my little backsliding experience as I believe most converts do, but I didn't enjoy the mud and vomit, nor did I ever doubt my conversion. My problem began after about five years of personal Bible study while going to a small Baptist church in our neighborhood that the wife and I were baptized in.

"Old self-righteous me began to realize the preacher, the members, and the doctrine was not perfect. Can you imagine that? Well, after a little spell of discouragement, I set out to find the perfect church. I checked out, and then he mentions here of all things, several of the discredited cults today, and also some others. And I rejected that. I can just see you chuckling now. Well, after many prayers and more Bible study, I lay down to retire one night and open my Bible for a little comfort, and it opened to Revelation chapter 2.

"After studying what Jesus said about the church system, I began to realize that if He couldn't find a perfect church organization, I probably wouldn't either. Because, believe it or not, I'd started to realize I was a miserable sinner and I was saved only because of God's grace and Christ's sacrifice and resurrection. About this time, I happened to get your program on KXEN in St. Louis.

"You see, I'm a hardheaded fundamental premillennialist, but I didn't know it till you told me. And I do appreciate that letter very, very much."

Host: Well, Dr. McGee loved receiving and reading your letters, and nothing has changed. We still love hearing from you. Your stories are the best evidence that God is actively using Thru the Bible to get His word out and change people's lives. Like this one that we received from Rachel on our voicemail line.

Guest (Female): My name is Rachel. I live in North Carolina, and about six years ago, my husband, who has been a believer but not wanting to attend churches because of past hurts, came home one morning and just said, "You know what? I've been listening to this person on the radio," and he said, "His name is J. Vernon McGee." Well, that made me laugh because I remember listening to Mr. McGee when I was just a young girl and remembered how much he ministered to me as a young woman.

And all these years later then, my husband discovered him on the radio. And since that time, he listens to Dr. McGee faithfully every day, and I have watched his growth in Christ grow by leaps and bounds. So, I want to thank you guys for continuing to share the gospel, continuing to just preach the honest word of God, because it has truly made a difference in our lives. Thank you so much.

Host: Thanks for sharing your story, Rachel. We join you in rejoicing over the changes in your life and family thanks to being in God's word. How is the Lord working in your life through our study of His word? Would you send us a note through our app or email us at biblebus@ttb.org? And of course, you know you can send a letter to Box 7100, Pasadena, California, 91109. In Canada, Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C 6B1. If you liked hearing from Rachel, have you considered what a blessing your story might be to all of us here on the Bible bus? Give us a call yourself at 1-800-65-BIBLE and leave your story or testimony on our voicemail line. We'd love to hear it. That number again, 1-800-65-BIBLE. Let's pray and get to our study.

Host: Father, thank you for your word and what you will accomplish through it in our lives. Draw close to those who don't yet know your son Jesus as their Savior. In His name we pray. Amen.

Host: Here's our study of Zechariah 9 on Thru the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now, friends, we come today to this verse that we last time raised several questions about it because, at least, we said several things that raised questions about the verse.

And I'm going to read it again. It's generally given on Palm Sunday as a message because it has to do with the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem. And I should say the so-called triumphal entry.

And I want to read it now here in Zechariah chapter 9, verse 9. "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, thy King cometh unto thee. He is just and having salvation, lowly, and riding upon an ass and upon a colt, the foal of an ass."

Now, I would like also to turn to the Gospel of Matthew, although all the gospel writers record the triumphal entry, it's only Matthew who quotes from Zechariah. Now, John gives a rather running commentary on the prophecy of Zechariah. Instead of saying "rejoice," he says "fear." And actually, that is a good sound interpretation.

So that Matthew is the one, and therefore, I want to turn to Matthew's gospel, chapter 21, verse 1, and let me read this record because it's rather important for what we have to say today.

And I'm reading now, "And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, saying unto them, 'Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, a colt with her. Loose them and bring them unto me. And if any man say aught unto you, ye shall say the Lord hath need of them, and straightway he'll send them.' All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 'Tell ye the daughter of Zion, behold, thy King cometh unto thee meek and sitting upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass.'"

Now, you'll notice, He gives it to us, "Tell ye the daughter of Zion." And he leaves out, "rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion."

And you'll also note that Matthew leaves out, "He is just and having salvation." And the better translation, I think, is victory. He is just and having deliverance or victory.

Now, you have here these two omissions. And why did Matthew leave them out? Was it because he just didn't quote accurately or because he didn't know? I think not. I believe in the verbal plenary inspiration of the scriptures. I believe Zechariah knew what he was doing because he was writing by the Spirit of God. And I think Matthew knew what he was doing. He was writing by the Spirit of God.

Now, I'm not going to read any further in Matthew's record, although I'll refer to it now. And so, I want you to look at this verse today with us as a text.

I was in San Francisco the night General Douglas MacArthur arrived from Japan. I'm sure many of you recall that. It was after World War II, and a long time after World War War II had ended. And he was whisked from the airport to the hotel in a rather, they thought, private, or at least a semi-private march from the airport to the hotel.

Well, there was a public demonstration that snarled traffic. I'd been warned that afternoon by a friend as I was leaving that night on the train to return back to Los Angeles. He said, "You better get down to the train if you intend to catch it, and you ought to go now." Well, I actually took my suitcase down and checked it, and then I came back up into San Francisco and had dinner. And when I came out, I have never seen such a crowd in all my life.

And there was a public demonstration that had snarled traffic, and I had to walk from the Civic Center down to the railroad station. I got in a taxi, but he got tied up, and I told him, "I could make better time walking," and he agreed. And so, I got out and walked to the station. The only way I would have made it. And the next day, I was told he had a real triumphal entry.

And it was repeated later in New York City. Now, if the so-called triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem 1,900 years ago were compared to this, may I say, it would seem very puerile, penurious, and poor. It was really 1,900 years ago a parade of poverty. It was not a ticker parade by any means whatsoever. It was the coming in of a very poor man with very poor followers.

And if there'd been a Roman in Jerusalem that time, and he'd stepped out of the building he was in and had asked somebody in the parade, "What's going on?" They'd have said, "This is the triumphal entry of Jesus." And he said, "You think this is a triumphal entry? You ought to have been in Rome when Caesar got back from Gaul." It was a parade there that lasted for over three days of him bringing the booty and the captive back. And if you think this is triumphal, why, you should have seen that one. And you'd see how poor and beggarly this one really is.

I think, frankly, the church has misnamed it, the triumphal entry. Christ never intended it to be a triumphal entry. It actually marks a crisis in His life, a life that was filled with crises. It marks a change of tactics. Heretofore, He'd slipped into the city silently. He'd entered unobtrusively. He sought the shadows, no publicity, always withdrawing from the crowd, not courting attention.

It was said that He would not cry or strive or cause His voice to be heard in the street. He entered with a sheep gate and came in and eluded the mob and evaded the crowd. And even when He would perform a miracle, He would put a hush-hush on it. And now there's a right about face. It seems that there's an inconsistency here. Now, He comes out into the open. He enters publicly. He demands attention. He requires a decision. And He forces the issue.

For one brief moment, the nation must consider Him. And the Pharisees were accurate when they said, "The world's gone after Him." Jerusalem was stirred when He came in. Now, in spite of this forward thrust, this reversal in tactics, pushing Himself into the front, He was meek, we're told. Matthew left that out of the text that he was quoting from Zechariah, that He was lowly and riding upon an ass and upon a colt, the foal of an ass.

And Matthew says, "Tell the daughter of Zion, behold, thy King cometh unto thee meek and sitting upon an ass and a colt, the foal of an ass." Now, these striking omissions that we have here, actually these omissions are something to note and something to register, by the way. Matthew doesn't quote everything that is there. And he leaves out, "rejoice and shout, O daughter of Zion."

Why, he says, "Tell the daughter of Zion." And it says, "He is just and having victory." And he leaves that out. Why? Well, let's look at it. He does include, "He's meek." And it is assumed by those who read it, since it says in connection with it, that He is riding upon this little animal, the donkey. And everyone assumes that little donkey is an animal that denotes meekness. Far from it. That little donkey was the animal that kings rode upon. You see, the horse was the animal of warfare and so used in scripture.

The little donkey is the animal that kings rode upon that were seeking peace and when they were at peace. It was a royal animal, by the way. And if you go back to the book of Judges, the 10th chapter, verses 3 and 4, and then again in the 12th chapter, verse 13, you will find that the judges provided donkeys for their children to ride upon. That was quite a thing in that day. One of the judges had about 20 boys, and he got all of them a donkey to ride upon. That's like getting one of the sport models that we have, a car.

After all, the little donkey was quite a royal animal. You know today with these sports job, you can have the top back or you can have the top up. And in that day, this little animal, you could have his ears down or his ears up on the little donkey. It's the animal that kings rode upon. And the thought of Zechariah is that in spite of the fact He's riding in as a king, denoting peace, that He is still meek and lowly.

Now, there's another wrong impression that needs to be corrected, I think, relative to this so-called incident. And Bible teachers in Great Britain and Europe have recognized largely that there were three times that He came in in a triumphal entry. He came in first on the Sabbath day. That was Saturday. He came in then on Sunday, and then He came in on Monday. And I think that the scripture bears that out. For instance, He came in the first time on the Sabbath day, and He came in as a king.

And Mark says in Mark the 11th chapter, in verse 11, "And Jesus entered into Jerusalem and into the temple, and when He looked roundabout upon all things, and now the eventide was come, He went out unto Bethany with the twelve." First time He came in, He just looked around. The money changers weren't there. It was the Sabbath day, and He just looked around, and His very action is that of rejecting it. He came in as a king, and that's Palm Saturday, if you please.

And there's Palm Sunday. He came in the first day of the week. The money changers were in the temple, and He cleansed the temple on that day. And you will find that He came in as a priest. And Matthew makes it very clear, I didn't read all of the record in the 21st chapter of Matthew, but if you drop down to verse 12, it says, "And Jesus went into the temple of God, cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers and the seats of them that sold doves."

This is the only action that He ever performed as a priest when He was here upon this earth. And that, my friend, is something that's quite remarkable. But, may I say to you that the writer to the Hebrews made it very clear, He was never a priest here on earth. In Hebrews 8:4, it says, "For if He were on earth, He should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law." No priest ever dared cleanse the temple, and He did. And that was His only action. And He did that when He came in on that Sunday.

Then He came back in on Monday. And on the way in, He cursed the fig tree. Mark says in Mark 11, verse 12, "And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, He was hungry." Saw a fig tree, cursed it. And he tells about the cleansing of the temple on that day also. But also moves on down. And we are told again by Matthew in chapter 21, verse 23, it says, "When He was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto Him as He was teaching and said, 'By what authority doest thou these things? And who gave thee this authority?'"

He came in on the third day as God's prophet. He's teaching. He's speaking for God. And every objection at that time, and He silences the enemies. And His was the voice of God. Not only said, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father, but he that hath heard me hath heard the Father." He certainly did that in action. So that you have here the fact that He came in three times. That makes this rather important.

Now, the final appearance before the nation in His threefold office as prophet, priest, and king. Now, was He making an entry? No, He was making an exit. Not an entrance. He was not arranging to take up residence in Jerusalem and reign. He sent them to arrange for a place for the Passover. But He never said, "Let's rent an apartment for three years." He was getting ready not to enter, not to become the king, but He was entering to prepare for His exit. He was preparing for His passion, for His suffering, for His death, passing through the portals of death.

And His entering into Jerusalem was not a one-way ticket. It was a round trip ticket. And part of the program which led to Calvary, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His intercession, His coming again, and also as the King. The fact of the matter is, the trail of triumph cannot be confined or limited to a ride on a little donkey from Bethany to Jerusalem. It's only a minor segment of a trip that began in eternity past, when He was the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world.

And it extends into eternity future. And when you see it in those terms, it becomes meaningful. And it's meaningless without seeing it like that. The one who came out of eternity is the one that came into Jerusalem. For thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy. Isaiah 57:15. And then in Psalm 92, "Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." That is, from the vanishing point to the vanishing point, He's God. And so, He came in like that. Now, the church calls it a triumphal entry. I don't think so. I think that it's a triumphal...