The King, the Donkey, and the Horse #1

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

“…[T]he sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow” (1 Peter 1:11 KJV).

The King appeared once, and He shall return….

Circa 500 B.C., the prophet Zechariah wrote: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zechariah 9:9).

For centuries, Israel knew that her Messiah-King would come to her, and He would be riding upon a donkey; yea, the foal (young one) of a donkey would be His means of presenting Himself to His nation Israel. He would be meek (“lowly”) and He would bring Israel soul salvation (“having salvation”).

Near the end of His three-year ministry, Jesus goes to Jerusalem as He did many times before, but on this occasion, He takes a special mode of transportation. This historical narrative is recorded in Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-10, Luke 19:28-40, and John 12:12-19. Jesus Christ instructs two of His disciples to find the female donkey and her young colt tied in a particular location, and bring them to Him.

Matthew 21:4-11 says, All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them. And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they sat him [Jesus] thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.”

Let us see how these Bible passages teach a fascinating truth….