Did Jesus Ride Into Jerusalem On One Animal?
Did Jesus ride into Jerusalem on one animal? This is an alleged Bible contradiction:
Jesus rode into Jerusalem on how many animals?
(a) One – a colt (Mark 11:7; cf Luke 19:3,5). “And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their
garments on it; and he sat upon it.”
(b) Two – a colt and an ass (Matthew 21:7). “They brought the ass and the colt and put their garments
on them and he sat thereon.”
Jesus obviously did not ride into Jerusalem on two animals, only on one.
Zechariah 9:9 foretold that the future King, the Messiah, would ride into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey. Matthew quotes this fact in Zechariah 9:9, as he records the fulfillment of the prophecy:
“Now this took place so that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled:
“SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, ‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU,
HUMBLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A DONKEY.’”
The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their cloaks on them; and He sat on the cloaks.”—-Matthew 21:5-7 NASB
We notice how Matthew records that he “sat on them” (most translations), that is, upon “the cloaks”. “Them” is the cloaks, not the animals. Thus, the so-called “contradiction” is cleared up, when we see that “sat on them” applies to “the cloaks”.
“When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it”—Mark 11:7 NIV
“They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it”—Luke 19:35 NIV
Mark and Luke only mention the colt, because that is the animal that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on. They do not mention the donkey, because it is not essential to the narrative.
“Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: ‘Do not be afraid, daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt”—John 12:14 NIV
John quotes Zechariah 9:9 in a way makes it obvious Jesus rode into Jerusalem “on a donkey’s colt” only.
By examining the scriptures carefully, we see that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on one animal.
One thought on “Did Jesus Ride Into Jerusalem On One Animal?”
I mostly agree with you on this issue. Jesus PROBABLY rode into Jerusalem on one animal, a colt. So, one of the verses you cited is misleading. This means that the Bible cannot be the Word of God because God, if he existed, would not allow this discrepancy.
Of course, it has been proven that God does not exist. I have shown you at least two of my proofs of this, and you found no errors in them. Amen.