Chiristianity.com states that though Jesus had traveled to Jerusalem numerous times to observe the feasts, his final entry into Jerusalem had a unique significance.
He was triumphantly arriving as a humble King of peace.
Historically, entering a city on a donkey signified entry in peace, rather than a conquering king arriving on a horse.
Doug Bookman describes the reason for Jesus entering on a donkey as the following transcription of his explanation:
“Zechariah 9, verse 9 said ‘Behold O Jerusalem of Zion, the King comes onto you meek and lowly riding upon a donkey.’ Now, by the way, most people have it in their mind that the meekness and the lowliness was the donkey. That’s not so. The donkey was a royal steed in the Old Testament. The king rode on a donkey, that’s very, very important. Not a horse, because then He’d have to be a conqueror, but because He was in charge here, He rode on a donkey. And remember when Absalom usurped the kingdom from his father, David, the first thing he did was to go get his royal donkey and ride through the streets of the city. When it says He comes meek and lowly, the idea is He comes with no military apparatus. He doesn’t bring an army, He comes meek and lowly riding upon a donkey. So, the donkey, I think, is the sign of His kingliness.”
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