And there was a donkey

‘Palm Sunday’ is the week before Easter Sunday and celebrates Jesus entering Jerusalem exactly as the prophet Zechariah had predicted in the Old Testament - surrounded by shouts of praise and... on a donkey.

Many Jewish people and citizens of Jerusalem thronged the streets and threw down clothes, palm branches and proclamations of the kingship of Jesus – all acts reserved only for royalty (Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19).

The prophet Zechariah had prophesied some 450-500 years earlier: ‘Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’.

Righteous and victorious - those are fighting, king-making words! But 'lowly and riding on a donkey'?

How does that stack up with the Jewish (and our!) definition of a successful king?

And why a donkey?

Lowly

The Roman culture that dominated the cities and people of the time would throw celebrations for conquering Roman kings that lasted days or weeks. Their vehicles of choice would be mighty steeds of war, bedecked in amazing horse armour called 'barding'. They would have incense and priests and their captives of war preceding them. Some historians noted that their processions would end with blood-sport games and their prisoners fighting to the death in the Colosseum.  

So what kind of king arrives on... a donkey?

Jesus entirely rejects the trappings of success throughout his earthly ministry, and now in the 'triumphal entry' to Jersualem. He doesn’t have an entourage of impressive friends (the army of heaven is not visible at this stage), only his motley crew of disciples and followers. His donkey isn't decked out in amazing shiny finery, only the cloaks of the disciples.

The King of Kings saw fit to come on a common animal - one of peace. Christ 'wrapped himself in flesh' and chose to look like one of us, to live the human experience as limited as it is, and to serve. There was no pretense in him - what other reign or royalty can claim that?

'Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.' (Matthew 11:28-30)

Beast of burden

Jesus' reign was heralded in Jerusalem on the back of a beast of burden - actually, the same kind of animal that bore his entry into Bethlehem within the womb of his very pregnant mother, Mary!

The Magi (wise men) in Matthew 2:2 journeyed to Bethlehem when Christ was born and asked 'Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.'. This final charge bookended his life, as a mocking sign made by the very people he came to save hung above his head on the cross – ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews’.

Christ became our beast of burden – literally ‘the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’. He was mocked, ridiculed, rejected and despised - and yet still didn't flinch from the task of atoning for our sin. 'But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.' (Romans 5:8)

Sacred

When using animals for divining the will of God or for sacrificial purposes, it was specified that they were to never have been yoked or ridden (Numbers 19:2 ; Deuteronomy 21:3 ; 1 Samuel 6:7).

Jesus rode a donkey that was ‘unbroken’ – it had never carried anyone on its back. Along with the straight-up miracle of Christ being able to ride an untrained donkey through crowds of screaming onlookers throwing projectiles – this donkey was ceremoniously sufficient for its sacred task.

Jesus had never sinned, and there was no sin in him. If he had blemish or spot, he would have been unfit to take on the sins of the world. And yet he was perfect, and he alone was wholly sufficient for his sacred task as the son of God.

Vehicle of his reign

In the eyes of the world, Jesus was a common man riding a common beast.

This is simply not true.

Choosing to ride a donkey lays bare something of the heart of Christ's sacrificial, messianic reign: one of scandalous grace, incredible intimacy and unprecedented approachability.

Through faith, we see the parallels of Jesus’ saving ministry and the humble donkey. Together they are the perfect vehicle to communicate God's extreme, alternative and eternal kingship. 

We are indeed outrageously blessed to be considered in this lineage. So this Easter, let us be common-made-holy vehicles of God's supernatural reign to those around us.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 'In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use.Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.'