What kind of a king rides in on a Donkey?

A very wise societal change agent.

“Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.” (Mark 11:1-11 ESV)

A couple of things here, Jesus is quite deliberately fulfilling an Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah from Zechariah, Chapter 9:9-10: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.” (Zechariah 9:9-10 ESV).

But secondly and I think more importantly, He was deliberately in full view of everybody taking on the mantle of Messiah. But why did he ride it into Jerusalem the way that he did? To understand this, we have to understand that the whole idea of a Triumphal Entry is not unique to Jesus. In ancient Rome rulers would make triumphal entries into cities after a military conquest, usually on horses with chariots, displaying themselves as conquering hero’s. Jesus did exactly the same thing, except he left out the chariots, warhorses and heads of slain kings. He’s is now talking and acting like a king, finally! Remember Jesus, prior to this was always a man who would perform incredible miracles, healing, provision ect! Just shortly before this day (Palm Sunday) he had literally raised a man from the dead – Lazarus. Behaviourally, most times, after performing miracles, he didn’t stay around long enough to receive congratulations or celebration but normally retreated to hide himself. This time around, he gave a signal to his followers that he is now ready to reveal, publically his true character and identity. And that explains why the people got so excited. Because their expectation of a deliverer, their king had now arrived.

To be fair to them, they had every right to this expectation – as stated above, He had just raised someone from the dead. This was a miracle so novel and so astounding, that it became town talk. Multitudes went out of Jerusalem to Bethany to see Lazarus. The miracle was well authenticated; it was generally accepted as being one of the greatest marvels of the age, and they drew the inference from it that Christ must be the Messiah. The people determined that now they would make him a king, and that now he should lead them against the Romans. Many witnessed this and in their eyes his power was now most certainly undeniable and naturally, he would vindicate them from the oppressive treatment they have been enduring. He was ushered into the Holy Week in the full expectant praise of the people – headed to Jerusalem, to go and sort and displace those Romans once and for all.

In their excitement, they are missing that Jesus does things very differently. First, He makes no show of wealth–he borrowed his ride after all. And again, he’s on a donkey. Not like a horse, bred for war, a donkey is raised for acts of service. The crowd misses what Jesus would later make explicit–that his is a spiritual, not a political kingdom. It’s a kingdom marked by reconciling the people back to God, not war. A kingdom that is not concerned with making weapons, but in making peace between God and man. All men! To those amongst the Israelites, this must have been a significant irritation – could Jesus not see their affliction and long held need for a deliverer in their own preference.

Jesus overruled their enthusiasm. And out this action, something else became revealed. The very people who threw the branches on the ground ushering him to Jerusalem and and cried “Hosanna” were there to reject him on Good Friday! They were amongst the thousands who cried out Crucify Him. No, they had personal preference of Jesus being the type of king they were accustomed to –war like, and when they found out afterwards that they were mistaken, they hated him just as much as they had loved him a mere few days before. Their “Crucify him, crucify him,” was as loud and passionate as their cry “Hosanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

Through his coming to Jerusalem on something as insignificant and plain as a donkey, he was revealing the hearts of men as he marched into the Holy City. This event revealed, very plainly the practical effects of His Kingdom. One of the first effects was that the whole city was moved. That means that everybody had something to say about it, and that everybody felt something because Christ rode through the streets. There were some who would be leaning from their balconies, saying “Aha! Have you ever seen such foolishness?! Here is that kid from Nazareth down here riding on a donkey! Surely if he meant to be king he might have chosen a horse. Look at him! They call that a procession! Shame!”

I think some were bitterly disappointed. He just wasn’t what they felt they needed at the time. And they then turned their backs on him. And I think therein lies the danger trap for many of us, for we shout, “Hosanna!” when things go well. Then we see Jesus as the King of kings and the Savior of all our circumstances. But then, when circumstances deteriorate, we doubt who he is and question his very character. We are tempted to turn our back, ashamed of the cross, and the man on it. Yet, we must not change how we identify with Christ based on our feelings or even when He does “disappoint” us, because if we do, we are no better than the changeable crowd in that Holy Week.

As long as it was about what Jesus could do to make their lives better, they offered "Hosanna!” But as soon as it became about what they could do for Him, it was either silence or “Crucify Him!” Even our silence can discredit our Lord as we stand by, not saying a word. Silence questions His character.

NK