TOPIC:“A Donkey With a Destiny”
“And they said, 'The Lord hath need of him' ” (Luke 19:34)
Have you ever thought of those little things that Jesus asked for throughout His life? Things that we would not ordinarily want, but things that Christ thought were extremely important and essential to Him.
A drink of water in John 4 to help quench His thirst. Some fish in John 6 to help feed a hungry multitude. A coin in Mark 12 to pay His taxes. A child in Matthew 19 to illustrate who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. A towel in John 13 to wipe the feet of the disciples, thus exhibiting to the world the humble spirit we are to have in serving Him. Such were the necessities of Jesus: a drink of water, some fish, a coin, a little child and a towel. Not much of a list for the Creator of the universe and Redeemer of mankind.
But now on this first day of the Passover week, this Palm Sunday as we call it, the week for which the whole world has awaited, and the week for which our Lord had come, now of all times we find Him asking for a donkey. Notice the words of Christ in verse 30: “Go into the village opposite you, in which, at your entering, ye shall find a donkey tied, on which yet never man sat; loose him, and bring him here.” Here, I say, was a donkey with a destiny.
Now why did Jesus want a donkey? May I offer a few suggestions. First of all, to fulfill one of the prophecies of His first advent. There are over one thousand prophecies of Christ in the Old Testament and five hundred of them have already been fulfilled in relation to His first coming. Listen to the prophetic words of Zechariah regarding what was to happen on that first Palm Sunday: “Rejoice greatly, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you, He is righteous and victorious, yet He is humble, riding on a donkey - even on a donkey's colt" (Zechariah 9:9, NLT). Mind you, not riding upon a stately horse or in a chariot as great men used to ride in those days. Not even upon a donkey fitted for riding, but upon a donkey's colt - a disgraceful thing - with no saddle, no reins, no equipment, but only the clothes the disciples threw over the colt.