The Messiah with Two Asses
Apr. 5th, 2009 02:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vovatToday is Palm Sunday, a holiday commemorating Jesus' triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey and being greeted by people laying out their cloaks and waving palm leaves. While I'm not sure Jesus was enough of a celebrity at this point to merit such a grand display, it's a good story that made it into all four canonical Gospels. Matthew, however, had the Savior ride into town on TWO donkeys, perhaps figuring that more donkeys make anything better.
No, seriously, it's generally accepted that this was a misinterpretation of Old Testament scripture by Matthew. The idea that the Messiah would arrive on a donkey appears in Zechariah 9:9: "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." Well, that's how the King James Bible words it, anyway. The New Revised Standard Version, which is generally considered a more accurate translation (regardless of what the King James Only movement might say), renders it as: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." This is typical poetic language, referring to the same animal with three different synonyms. Matthew, however, took it to mean the Messiah would be riding two different donkeys, and that's what he describes Jesus as doing. Exactly how he would manage this isn't clear, but I guess that's why he's the Christ, and we aren't. Really, when you think about it, I'm sure a lot of people rode into Jerusalem on one donkey, but it would take some doing to ride two at the same time. That makes it all the more messianic, doesn't it? Matthew is, however, outweighed in this respect by the other three Gospels, which only mention a single donkey colt.
I've probably discussed this before, but it's thematically appropriate for Palm Sunday, and I just find the idea of Jesus riding on two donkeys at once to be pretty amusing. Not to mention that it's a good example of Matthew's carelessness in interpreting the Old Testament.
No, seriously, it's generally accepted that this was a misinterpretation of Old Testament scripture by Matthew. The idea that the Messiah would arrive on a donkey appears in Zechariah 9:9: "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." Well, that's how the King James Bible words it, anyway. The New Revised Standard Version, which is generally considered a more accurate translation (regardless of what the King James Only movement might say), renders it as: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." This is typical poetic language, referring to the same animal with three different synonyms. Matthew, however, took it to mean the Messiah would be riding two different donkeys, and that's what he describes Jesus as doing. Exactly how he would manage this isn't clear, but I guess that's why he's the Christ, and we aren't. Really, when you think about it, I'm sure a lot of people rode into Jerusalem on one donkey, but it would take some doing to ride two at the same time. That makes it all the more messianic, doesn't it? Matthew is, however, outweighed in this respect by the other three Gospels, which only mention a single donkey colt.
I've probably discussed this before, but it's thematically appropriate for Palm Sunday, and I just find the idea of Jesus riding on two donkeys at once to be pretty amusing. Not to mention that it's a good example of Matthew's carelessness in interpreting the Old Testament.
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