Matthew 21:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”

NIV: When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, 'Who is this?'

NASB: When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, 'Who is this?'

CSB: When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in an uproar, saying, "Who is this? "

NLT: The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. 'Who is this?' they asked.

KJV: And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?

NKJV: And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”

Matthew's account shows that Jesus' entry into Jerusalem is more than an isolated incident that came and went in a few hours. Great crowds accompanied a man known as a prophet with miraculous powers of healing into the city as He rode on a donkey. They shouted words to Him that praised Him as the Messiah. An energy spread through Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1–9).

Those who did not know Jesus wanted to know who He was and what all the commotion was about. The people ached for a Messiah to come and be king over them. They desperately wanted God to show Himself through a savior who would overthrow the Romans and return Israel to her former days of glory. They did not realize that was not what the Messiah had come to do at this time (Zechariah 9:9). That Messiah was predicted to come first on a donkey should have been a clue—donkeys are not warlike animals. It will not be until Christ's second coming (Revelation 19:11–16) that He fulfills the role of Conqueror.

The following verse shows that understanding about Jesus was confused and inadequate. All of this was exactly what Jesus expected and needed to happen to fulfill His mission (Matthew 17:22–23).

Matthew 21:1–11 follows Jesus on His final, "triumphal" entry into Jerusalem. He rides on a donkey for the final mile or so to intentionally fulfill a prophecy from Zechariah about the king arriving in Jerusalem. The crowds praise Him as the Messiah, lining His path with branches and their cloaks. They shout out, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" and "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" as seen in Psalm 118. The event we now call Palm Sunday stirs up Jerusalem with many people asking who Jesus is.

Jesus fulfills a prophecy from Zechariah about the coming of the king to Jerusalem by riding in on a donkey. The people celebrate and praise Him as the Messiah. Jesus drives the marketers and moneychangers out of the temple and heals some people. He curses a fig tree and tells the disciples nothing will be impossible for them with faith. Jesus forces cowardly and hypocritical religious leaders to back down with a question about John the Baptist. He then exposes their fraudulent spirituality with two parables about vineyards. Jesus applies to Himself a psalm about a rejected stone being made the cornerstone by the Lord.

Matthew 21 finds Jesus arriving near Jerusalem after leaving Jericho in the previous chapter. His triumphal entry is accomplished riding a donkey, and to raucous praise, fulfilling a prophecy about the Messiah. Jesus cleanses the marketplace from the temple, heals, and presents lessons about faith and Israel's failed leadership. This leads into further conversations which Matthew compiles from Jesus' interactions with the Pharisees.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.