LESSONS FROM JESUS | 03 | Be The Donkey
Today, we understand that Jesus Christ came to save us from our sins by dying on the cross in our place. In His time, this understanding was very scarce and in short supply.
One of the major reasons why the Jews had a tough time accepting Jesus Christ as their saviour is that they were expecting an avenging King in the likeness of David or Solomon. Someone who would come and save them from the rule of the Roman Empire.
Throughout the life of Jesus, He constantly subverted these expectations; living a life that reflected heavenly principles and lessons that we can learn from today. One of such instances can be found during his triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
This story can be found in all the books of the gospel — Matthew 21:1–11, Mark 11:1–11, Luke 19:28–44, and John 12:12–19 (we will be reading the account in Matthew).
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
“Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” — Matthew 21:1–11 (English Standard Version)
The first characters I want to examine in this story are the disciples. The disciples spent their lives being sent by Jesus to do different things. One thing I have come to learn is this: every single errand that Jesus sent the disciples on meant something.
Jesus never did anything in error or by chance.
He could have gone on this errand by Himself or simply commanded the donkey and the colt to come to Him (after all, He knew where they were). The instructions that He gave are packed with interesting truths.
“Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” — Matthew 21: 2B-3
This instruction is reminiscent of the work that Jesus came to earth to fulfil as well as the work that He would use his disciples for when He left. He came to ‘untie’ us from the shackles of death and sin and He needs us to have a relationship with Him.
Our salvation is not a badge that we wear or an ID card that we present to the world that we live in. It is a precious gift that we possess through the death of Jesus on the cross. For this reason, we are to live for Him because He wants to use us too.
At this time in the lives of these two disciples, they had no idea just how many ‘donkeys’ that Jesus will use them to untie from the hands of the devil and bring to Him after He ascended to heaven. Still, their obedience is a lesson for us today.
The next set of characters I want to examine are the leaders of the Jews. Although they are not featured in the verses we are looking at; they had been very active before this event and the event only helped increase their motivation to kill Jesus.
Jesus rode into Jerusalem and was welcomed with honour and praise without conforming to the standards of the world around Him. Like I have already mentioned, they rejected Jesus because they expected a regal King. By their standards, Jesus would probably need to be on a white horse, adorned with gold and precious jewels and carrying a mighty sword.
As we go through life, men will set different standards for who we need to be and how we are to live. Ultimately, the only opinion that matters is the opinion of God. Jesus was always in tune with His Father speaking in several verses that He only does the will of His Father in heaven (John 5:19).
When we try to pattern our lives by the standards or expectations of our fellow human beings, we are bound to live in instability. The reality is, no matter what Jesus did, these Jewish leaders would never have been satisfied. They kept aligning themselves with Moses and other past leaders, forgetting how much their ancestors troubled Moses and the other leaders of Israel in their time.
The human condition makes us impossible to satisfy. God’s opinions are the only ones that matter and they are the opinions we should seek.
The last characters that I will examine are the donkey and the colt (a colt is a young donkey). It is worthy of note that Matthew’s account is the only one that records two animals. The accounts in Luke and Mark both record just one animal.
For this reason, conversations have come up over the years asking how Jesus could ride two animals at the same time. This will not be the focus of my writing today. However, whether he rode one or two donkeys, one thing is clear: a donkey is not a regal animal.
Donkeys are smaller than horses and are not nearly as beautiful. Some might even consider donkeys to be plain ugly. When I think of a donkey, I usually remember the cartoon Shrek. A story which shares some similarities to this one because it focused on a character (Shrek himself) who people did not think was worthy of marrying the Princess of the Kingdom.
While the entire Kingdom expected a dashing Prince on a regal horse to save the Princess, what they got instead was an Ogre and his donkey friend. Two creatures who were not worthy of any attention or respect.
Still, donkeys have some characteristics that make them preferable to horses. Although they belong to the same animal family, horses generally flee from any sensed danger while donkeys tend to be cautious and steadfast. A horse is more likely to abandon you or throw you off its back when it meets a situation that it deems unfavourable. Most donkeys tend to be gentle, affectionate and intelligent creatures.
You see, when it comes to Jesus and the things He looks for in man, He searches our hearts. Jesus is not looking for people who are seeking any glory for themselves or people who believe that they have any strength, beauty or power of themselves.
Horses are more beautiful and regal than donkeys but a donkey is more dependable. Jesus wants all the attention and glory to come back to Him.
He does not have a problem with blessing us or providing for us but He doesn’t do these things so we can boast in our strength or ability; He does these things so that He glorifies Himself through us.
“And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” — Matthew 21:9–11
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem was received with praise, glory and honour; the donkey(s) also shared in this experience. Yet, all eyes were firmly on Jesus. No one saw the donkey.
This might be a difficult thing some to accept, but it is a fundamental truth that rings true throughout the Bible. God wants to put all His children in positions of praise, glory and honour; but He will only do this so that men can see Jesus through us.
When we change the narrative and make the story about us, we eventually end up missing Him.
This story is a constant reminder to me of two things.
1. Every trait I have that is a strength comes from Jesus and it is for Him to use as He pleases. It’s not about me, it’s about Him. Jesus could depend on the donkey for this task because dependability is one of the donkey’s strengths.
2. It’s okay to have weaknesses; as I long as I surrender myself to Jesus, He can still use me. The donkey is a flawed animal that was not ideal for the King of Kings by human standards, yet, Jesus still used it.
