The King on the Donkey

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, he was the most popular person in town. Everyone had heard of him, the great miracle worker. Only a short time before was Lazarus raised from the dead. Could this be the Messiah? The one who would usher in a new world order? For many Jesus was the one and they welcomed him into Jerusalem shouting: “Hosanna! [Praise the Lord who comes to save us!] Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!” I’m sure the disciples were all charged up as well. Finally Jesus stopped withdrawing to remote places when the crowds began to gather. Now he was going public! Now was the time to confront the corrupt authorities. Now was the time for a new world order!

But the way Jesus entered Jerusalem was curious. Unlike the coalition forces in Baghdad, Jesus did not enter Jerusalem with tanks. Instead he came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. His entry was so harmless that I wonder whether it was even noticed by the Roman occupation forces. And yet, he was coming to change the world forever.

Some in Jerusalem did not welcome Jesus: Among them the Pharisees and the ruling Jews. Understandably, some were jealous of Jesus’ popularity with the common people. While Jesus was quite harmless as a physical threat, what they feared was his criticism of how they abused their spiritual authority over God’s people to fatten themselves. They feared that if the people would stop listening to them and follow Jesus, the Roman government might remove them from their privileged positions as leaders among the Jews. They did not welcome that “king” riding on the donkey.

A king riding a donkey. Normally, when we see state dignitaries traveling, we see them being chauffeured in nice luxury limousines. We wouldn’t expect to see Prime Minister Jean Cretien pulling up at his office at Parliament Hill in a beat up old Volkswagen Beetle. So when we imagine a king entering Jerusalem, we would expect him to be riding a horse, a stallion, which befits his majesty and power. But our king rides a donkey.

Many years ago I had the opportunity to visit the Caribbean island nation of Haiti. It is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. 98% of the people are so poor they cannot afford a car. However, if they do have enough means, they might own a donkey. So when I was there, I did see a number of donkeys, especially in the countryside. Most often I saw the donkey used to haul water. With a strap over his back and two buckets on each side, the donkey would haul water from the communal water supply. At times I saw a donkey loaded up with produce from the fields that were taken to the market. Once I saw a child riding a donkey. Whenever I saw a donkey, it was always carrying something. It literally was a beast of burden as we call it. It is a servant animal, carrying the burden of its master.

Why does Jesus choose such a beast of burden for his triumphal entry into Jerusalem? Perhaps as a clue, we should note that this day was the tenth day of Nissan according to the Jewish calendar, the day the lamb was selected to be sacrificed five days later during the Passover feast for the sins of God’s people. So, unknown to those who are welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem, they were welcoming the Lamb of God who would offer his life for their sins in a few short days. And like the beast of burden he was riding, Jesus too was carrying a burden: He was bearing my sins and your sins and the sins of all mankind. You see, Jesus comes into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, because he comes as our servant to carry our garbage and our filth to the cross. There he pays for it with his own life so that it will be completely removed forevermore from before the face of our heavenly Father.

That Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey is a sign that he does not come to kill and conquer, to punish and pay back, but that he comes to serve and heal, to offer his life and die. Paul said it best when he wrote to the Philippians as we heard it in the Epistle lesson:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! (2:5-8, NIV)

Imagine! God, the creator of the universe, riding on a donkey, riding towards the cross and into the jaws of death and hell itself.

An interesting way this situation has been described is that God used the humanity of Christ as a bait in which was embedded his deity, the hook. For example, when you want to catch a fish, you cover the hook with some bait. Then, when the fish swallows the bait you’ve caught yourself a fish! But what on earth is God trying to catch by hiding himself within human flesh?

Allow me to back up for a moment. Ever since Satan lost his position in heaven because he led the angels in a rebellion against God, he has been leading mankind into rebellion against God. And because of our sin we were all under God’s judgment with Satan. In effect, Satan succeeded in estranging us from God and we are now caught in his fangs and on our way into the fiery lake that God has prepared for him and all his demons.

But then God enters the scene in human form, riding a donkey. Satan sees this as his chance to destroy the beloved Son of the Father. And as he opens his jaws to devour Jesus in death, he drops us out of his mouth and we are free! But Satan not only devoured the humanity of Christ, but also his divinity. In his blind rage against God he had swallowed the hook that now leads him captive. In putting Jesus to death, Satan lost the control he had over our fate. Now we no longer share his fate in the fiery lake, but have the promise of eternal life through the forgiveness of our sins. Isn’t that great news? Praise the Lord! Amen!

As we begin Holy Week it never ceases to astound me as I see that drama of the greatest of all battles unfold, that was waged for my soul here on earth between the Prince of Darkness and the Son of God. Today join me with the people of Jerusalem in welcoming and cheering our champion, our king riding a donkey. We have reason to rejoice in Christ our king because soon he will give us his prize, the kingdom of heaven. As we follow Jesus, we will find ourselves passing through the upper room on Thursday, passing by the cross on Friday and on to the empty tomb on Easter Sunday.

During this journey through Holy Week, we humbly accept the king on the donkey. Today he also comes to us, though not in human flesh riding a donkey, but in bread and wine that we may fellowship with him. Here he graciously comes to us offering spiritual food for our souls; offering forgiveness to the troubled, rest to the weary, and healing to the afflicted.

Now is the time for us to climb off of our own horses of pride and self-sufficiency, and kneel with repentant hearts before our Creator and Lord crying, Hosanna! Hosanna to the Lord who comes to save us!

And now may our gracious God keep your hearts and minds in perfect peace through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.