Lessons From A Donkey
. . ."Go your way into the village over against you, and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him. And if any man say unto you, why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him, and straightway he will send him hither. . ."
"And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him" (Mark 11:2-3,7).
The theme of the eleventh chapter of the Gospel of Mark is the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, as we find ourselves observers to the last days in the earthly life of our Lord. It is Palm Sunday, the beginning of the most solemn week in Christendom. It should also be the most solemn week in the heart of each believer in Jesus the Messiah - for it was today that Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a little donkey.
The Scripture tells us that Jesus sent two of His disciples to find a colt that had never before been ridden, and bring it to Him. After securing the animal, they saddled him with their coats, and this is the colt that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on that fateful day.
Up the narrow streets the little donkey went, clip-clop, clip-clop, straight to the gate of Jerusalem. Along the way was a festive crowd spreading their coats and palm branches amid shouts of "Hosannah! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosannah in the highest!"
And so it was that Jesus the Messiah entered a bright, sunny, and happy Jerusalem. In the distance, however, stood Golgotha, the hill of the crosses, soon to be shrouded in darkness and tears.
But there is another part to the Biblical account that yet speaks in forceful language to us today. It is about the little colt that bore on his strong back the Savior of any who will come. Now this little donkey is very interesting, and it seems to me that he also carries on his back some important lessons for us today.
The donkey was available. He was ready to be used.
Jesus knew the colt was there when He sent his disciples to that particular place. When the disciples told the colt's owner that the Master had need of the donkey, the owners let him go. Now Mark tells us that no man had ever ridden the colt. He was unbroken, untamed, and untrained. The colt could have balked, sat down, and refused to budge, like donkeys do, but he did not. The colt willingly went with the diciples. He was available.
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