SBE #4: Two Donkeys

(originally published SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 2005)

"When they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Beth'phage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If any one says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and he will send them immediately." This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, "Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of an ass." The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the ass and the colt, and put their garments on them, and he sat thereon. Most of the crowd spread their garments 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 shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"-Matthew 21: 1-9 Revised Standard Version

--How is it that the King of the universe could be so humble as to enter into Jerusalem, His Holy City, on a donkey?
I spent this summer in North Carolina, living with my friends Nick and Gwenn. My first job while I was down there was pretty far from HQ. This was both a curse and a blessing... I am going to focus on the blessing. You see, a lot can happen in a forty minute one-way commute to work everyday. I "read" a lot of books on CD, listened to a lot of music, and spent quite a bit of time in silence, listening for the voice of the Lord. What He showed me was that Our Papa can use everything to talk to us, and this time, much like at least once before in history (see Numbers 22:28), He used donkeys to talk to me, but not quite like that.

Now, I have always loved donkeys. I like them as much as I like hippos and sloths(three-toed). Donkeys are great because they can do a lot of work, pull carts and plows, carry all kinds of thing on their backs; what good would the Erie Canal have done us with out donkeys, seriously? But I also like that they are not taking anything from anyone. If they do not feel like moving, they will not move, if you push them too much, you might even get kicked. You have to give them a little respect for that.

So on my trek to work everyday, I would pass by this farm, and living on that farm were these donkeys. They were very cute, as you can see. I would pass by nearly everyday and say to myself, "man, I love those donkeys!" The thing that really struck me about them was how small they were. I am only about five feet *cough cough* seven inches tall and that fence you see in the above photo, that top wire is lower than my under arm; these were seriously short animals. But then came the voice of the LORD...

God said to me, "...this is how humble I was. I rode in to My Holy city on one of those!" And I was floored (In a positive way)! If He was that humble, considering the honor due Him, what is my problem?! I have a pretty hard time getting over myself, and I am just a vapor!

Why not on some great steed, six foot tall at the shoulder, like the mighty King He is? With all glory His, with great trumpets. Or even a chariot, with a parade, or maybe even a elephant! Wow, could you imagine, then everyone would know who He was. Instead, it was a donkey, a work horse that is not even a horse. And if it was anything like these, His feet may have been dragging on the ground all the while.

God humbled Himself so much just becoming a man. Even if He had decided to become a glorious king on Earth, like David or Solomon, that would have still been an infinitely huge step down from His Throne in Heaven, but that was not good enough for Him. He loved us too much to stop there. He rode a donkey when it should have been the King's horse. He washed our feet when we should have been washing His. He took our beating instead of His Throne, and He took our death when He was the only one that deserved life to begin with.

Why would He do this? To fulfill prophecy, right? Well, the prophecy could have said "elephant" just as easily. So why? Why does He love us this much? Why does He love us so much that He would make Himself a servant, even in the face of crucifixion, implemented by those who He was there to love, us! I don't know why He loves us this much, I cannot answer that; but I do know that it is true that He does. And if there is someone out there that loves me that much, how could I not spend my entire life devoted to getting to know Him, to living the way He asks, or just wanting to spend time with Him. If nothing else, everytime I see a donkey, I will think of the time Jesus humbled Himself for us. And heck, the next time He enters His Holy City, we will all know it!He will not be riding a donkey, or a horse, or even an elephant, but a cloud! And the trumpets will be so loud, they will literally raise the dead!


"Only to sit and think of God, oh what a joy it is! To think the thought, to breathe the Name. Earth has no higher bliss."
-Frederick W. Faher

Thank you for reading!
Scott.