Passion Week: March 30, AD 33

March 30th, 2026
by Dr. Lance Waldie

Matthew 21:1-5 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.’ ”

As Jesus approached Jerusalem, where He would be crucified four days later, He first came to Bethphage and Bethany, about a mile from the city. Everything Jesus has done up to this point during His three-plus year ministry has led to this day. The 70-sevens (490 years) that Daniel 9:24-26 prophesied were being fulfilled right down to the day, for on this particular day, Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem came at the end of 69 of those 70 sevens (483 years). Previously, circa 550 BC, God told the prophet Daniel that from the time a decree was issued to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (which was destroyed in 586 BC), 69 of those seventy sevens (483 years) would pass. At that time the Messiah would be “cut off” (Dan. 9:25-26). That specific decree went out in 444 BC, given by the Persian king Artaxerxes (Neh. 2:1-8). From that day until the time Jesus came into Jerusalem in Matthew 21:1-11 it had been exactly 483 years, the final “seven” unfulfilled.

It was on that day, specifically March 30, AD 33 that Jesus came into Jerusalem “mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden” (v. 5). This was the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, dating to 520 BC. Knowing He was the Messiah, and planning every move He made in keeping with His sovereign plan, Jesus sent two disciples into a nearby village to fetch this young donkey for Him to ride into Jerusalem. The two were directed to go into that town, untie the animal, and bring it to Jesus. Jesus directed them to tell anyone who asked what they were doing to say, “The Lord has need of them.” Mark 11:5-6 (cf. Luke 19:33-34) says that some did question the two men but allowed them to take the donkey and colt just as Jesus had said. The colt was what Jesus wanted, but it would not have cooperated without the presence of its mother. Thus, in His omniscience Jesus knew just where these animals would be.

In addition to fulfilling Daniel 9:24-26 and Zechariah 9:9, Jesus would also fulfill the prophecy of Genesis 49:11 which speaks of the coming Messiah: “He ties his foal to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; He washes his garments in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes.” This signifies great wealth, fertility in the land, joy, and peace—all of which describe the Messiah and His kingdom. Now it would appear more appropriate that a king would come into the great city of Jerusalem mounted on a warhorse, not a colt. Though it was a lowly beast of burden in Jesus’ day, it signified that the Messiah was coming into his kingdom. This was Jesus’ way of not only fulfilling the prophecies about His coming but also that He was the King of the Jews. That Kingdom will be realized at His second coming (cf. Matt. 25:31ff.).

Mark 11:11 says that on the day Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, “it was already late.” So, Jesus merely “came into the temple, and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the Twelve.” It was a quiet ending to the day, but it was merely the calm before the storm—a storm that had been brewing against Jesus by His enemies for at least three years. The next day Jesus would clear the temple and rebuke the religious leaders (Matt. 21:12-13). Game on!

Food For Thought
Jesus turned out to be a huge disappointment to the masses who hailed Him as the Messiah. He simply didn’t fulfill their expectations of conquering Rome. But Jesus’ first coming was not in power; it was in humility. Even today people reject Jesus out of disappointment. This often occurs because we don’t present Jesus according to truth. He’s offered today as a cure-all and rejected when all isn’t cured. We must not only maintain our relationship with Christ during the difficult times of life, we must also present Jesus to others for who He truly is. People have always rejected the truth in light of their own ideas of what they think the Messiah ought to be. But we must trust in Jesus today for who He really is—the humble Savior of the world.