The Not So Triumphal Entry

               Aside from inspiring me to stuff my face with marshmallow chickens, eggs filled with peanut butter, and chocolate in the shape of bird eggs- this season always compels me, as well as most of the world to read over the accounts of the Passion Week in the Gospels.

                I was reading in Mathew 21 when Jesus rides into town on a donkey when something new caught my attention. Jesus basically tells His disciples to go to some random guy’s house and take his donkey. I knew that part, but Jesus also includes a colt in the request. So now they have two animals.

            Now I have never lived on a farm, or even near a farm. I don’t know much about livestock. Actually I know almost nothing about livestock. I was in Arizona a couple weeks ago and there were horses everywhere. Horses walking on the side of the highway, horses walking through parking lots and horses hanging out it people’s front yard- it kind of freaked me out. So needless to say I had to consult some outside experts on anything horse/donkey related.

            Thanks to that ever-flowing fountain of ultra reliable knowledge known as Wikipedia (I know it isn’t really but I’m addicted), I found out that the “colt” the passage is referring to is a male offspring of a donkey that is less than a year old. At first I didn’t get why Jesus would get a donkey as well as its baby to ride into Jerusalem. It seems like a young, untrained donkey would get in the way of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry. I figured Palm Sunday must have been “Bring-Your-Kid-to-Work Day.”

            Then verse 5 messed me up when the writer quotes Zechariah and says “See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

            Wait, Jesus is riding the colt? He must not have known that this colt was less than a year old, probably very small, has never carried anything before, and is likely to just go crazy and run over a crowd of people. He must not have known that this animal might not be strong enough to hold His weight all the way into Jerusalem and might collapse at any moment with its rider with it.

            Jesus knew. He always does.

            In fact, He specifically asked for the donkey that hadn’t been ridden yet.

            Sometimes I feel like that donkey.

            Sometimes I feel too young, too inexperienced, too weak and too attached to my home stable to carry my Savior. I don’t feel qualified to be all that he needs me to be. The bottom line is that I’m not. I am not a valiant steed or even a full grown donkey. I am just a colt. He chose me anyway, just like He is choosing you.

            Can you imagine how ridiculous Jesus would have looked riding that little donkey into town as a multitude of people shouted His name and praised Him like a king? I’m sure the colt wandered off the path a couple times, probably stepped on a few toes, and more than likely almost threw Jesus into the crowd on more than one occasion. Jesus chose to have that thing carry Him into His fulfillment.

            The cool thing is that Jesus not only requested the colt, but also the donkey. The donkey was there the whole time so that baby colt never felt alone. Somebody tried to tell me that Jesus rode both of them at the same time which I cannot possibly picture in my head and really doubt actually happened but I do know that Jesus requested two beasts of burden and at least rode the colt. I imagine that maybe He switched off between the two of them. When the colt couldn’t take it, Jesus gave it a break. He knows what we can take, He knows how far we can go and He knows how to give us rest. He also knows that sometimes we just need someone there with us who is older and wiser to just help us out and keep nudging us forward, ever ready to share the load when we need it.

            So when you don’t feel prepared, smart enough, or strong enough just remember that you were chosen to carry your Savior into the world. He is a heavy load, and carrying Him where you’re going without getting distracted by the people around you is a daunting task, but it is a possible task. When you have a heavy burden on your shoulders it is only because you just have that much more to bring to the world.

            Imagine how confident that colt would have been after accomplishing that task. He could carry anything anywhere now.