The list maker has tied six claims to one verse: Z'charyah / Zechariah 9:9: "Be exceedingly happy, O daughter of Zion; Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold! Your king shall come to you. He is just and victorious; humble, and riding a donkey and a foal, the offspring of [one of] she-donkeys." The list maker has actually discovered a messianic prophecy. Unfortunately for the list maker: Jesus did not fulfill it. Zechariah is speaking of a Jewish ruler (Jesus never ruled) who will arise in a time of peace when war no longer exists. Rashi, the great Torah commentator, writes: "It is impossible to interpret this except about the King Messiah, as is stated therein 'and his dominion shall be from sea to sea"." Jesus did not rule, let alone "from sea to sea." The time he lived was a terrible time of strife and war. Quite simply: Jesus "did not do it." Lots of people create crowds in Jerusalem: Donald Trump, the Pope to name two. Jews also often create crowds in the holy city on holidays such as Passover and Sukkot. The image is of a crowd of Jews at the Western Wall in Jerusalem during a holiday. Yet again the list maker takes a pretty common occurrence (crowds in Jerusalem) and claims that it is a messianic prophecy Jesus fulfilled. Zechariah 9 does not just speak of someone who is greeted with rejoicing in Jerusalem. Nope, The list maker is playing fast and loose with the words of the prophet. You see, Zechariah tells us that this rejoicing happens under a specific situation. A specific situation which did not happen with Jesus -- which is no doubt why the list maker excludes it. Zechariah 9 speaks of a time when a ruling king (Jesus never ruled) exists in a time of peace when war "is no more." "And I will cut off the chariots from Ephraim, and the horses from Jerusalem; and the bow of war shall be cut off. And he shall speak peace to the nations, and his rule shall be from the sea to the west and from the river to the ends of the earth." Z'charyah / Zechariah 9:10.
Zechariah tells us that G-d will “camp” next to the Temple site to protect it (Z'charyah / Zechariah 9:8). This didn't happen in Jesus' time when the Romans put "mute abominations" of idols in the Temple. Zechariah goes on to say that G-d will not allow anyone to go against the Jews, because G-d has now seen the distress of His people. "no oppressor shall pass by them, for now I have seen with My eyes." Z'charyah / Zechariah 9:8. When Jesus lived, 2000+ years ago, war was everywhere. The Roman Empire had a huge army which conquered most of the then known world. The Romans ruled in Judah, including Jerusalem. There they were cruel to the Jewish populace -- putting idols in the Temple, crucifying (it is estimated) 50,000 to 200,000 Jews. Within 100 years of Jesus death a war against the Romans by the Jews was defeated ("war" being the key point here) and the Romans exiled the Jews from the land. No, "Jesus did not do it." The author of Matthew 21 appears to try to apply Z'charyah / Zechariah 9:9 to Jesus. Jesus tells his followers to go and literally steal a donkey and her colt. “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me." Matthew 21:1. Just take them. Don't find out who owns them. Don't pay for them. Take them. That is theft. How can you know without doubt this is theft? Read Matthew 21:3 "If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” If. anyone says anything to you. Theft. The poor owner is not given the chance to decide if it is "ok" or not that Jesus' followers took his animals, no they simply are told to steal them. It gets better. Matthew then claims this is in fulfillment of (again ignoring the fact that there must be a ruling messiah in a time of global peace). Matthew 21:5 says This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to Daughter Zion,‘See, your king comes to you,gentle and riding on a donkey,and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” Matthew seems to think that poor Jesus would have to ride both a donkey AND a colt at the same time! This was obviously written by someone who did not read Hebrew (or read it well). It does not speak of a person riding two separate animals at the same time: גִּילִ֨י מְאֹ֜ד בַּת־צִיּ֗וֹן הָרִ֨יעִי֙ בַּ֣ת יְרֽוּשָׁלִַ֔ם “Be very happy, daughter of Zion (the Jews) —shout [ for joy], daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king is coming to you: he is just and ‘saved’! a humble [man], riding on a donkey—the offspring of atonot [ female donkeys]." Z'charyah / Zechariah 9:9. Not two animals. One animal. A donkey which is the offspring of אֲתֹנֽוֹת / atonot (female donkeys). Z'charyah / Zechariah 9:9 says that when the real messiah appears he will be a humble man “riding on a donkey.” This is symbolic of his humbleness. Matthew 21 distorts this by having Jesus tell his men to commandeer a doinkey (that didn’t belong to him) and ride into Jerusalem on it. Ignoring the fact that this must all happen in a time of global peace when the Jews are being protected by G-d! If riding a donkey into Jerusalem were a messianic prophecy (ignoring the world peace and G-d resting in Jerusalem parts) then tens of thousands could claim to be the messiah!
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