God's Not Dead: I Just Saw Him On a Donkey

March 29, 2015                         NOTES NOT EDITED

God’s Not Dead:  Because I Just Saw Him On A Donkey

John 12:12-22

SIS—Jesus is the King of Kings and His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem proves it.

Have you ever heard it said, “The clothes make the man.”  Another way I’ve heard it said is, “You must dress for success.”  Well, I don’t believe that at all.  You can put a tuxedo on a pig and he’s still going to be a pig—a well-dressed pig perhaps, but still a pig.  I was readin an article this week and the writer said, “I’ve heard it said, “What a man drives says a lot about him.”  I think there may be some truth to that.  Girls, this might be helpful when it comes time for you to shop for a husband.  Let’s start with an All-American ride:  the tried and tested “pick-up truck.”  What’s that say about a man?  He’s rugged.  He’s simple.  He’s available to move your furniture.  Then, there’s the classic “VW Bus.”  This could send a mixed message.  It could say that the man is happy, carefree and always ready for adventure.  Or, it could say, he’s unstable and never knows when he might have to live in his van!  What about the classic red “sports car?”  This gives one unmistakable message.  It says, “Hey, look at me.”  Now, that isn’t necessarily always bad.  Here’s a man that works hard, has had some success in life . . . or, it is a spoiled brat that is spending his trust fund!

I don’t know what a man’s ride says about him.  A car’s a car perhaps.  Except, girls let me caution you, if the man pulls up in this for your first date [slide: pink smart car], well, I just don’t know what that ride says about him, but it can’t be good!  Maybe a man’s ride doesn’t really say anything about him.  But, and this is really important, what Jesus rode into Jerusalem that first Palm Sunday over 2000 years ago had a lot to say about “who Jesus is, what He is like, what He came to do—and most importantly what Jesus was riding tells us what Jesus is going to do.

Jesus is the King of Kings and riding a donkey into Jerusalem proves it.   Let’s read that story together.  John 12:12-22.

Question 1:  What does the donkey say about “Who Jesus is?”

There are over 61 prophecies directly dealing with the identity of the one Who would be called, “the Messiah”—and taking into consideration the number of images Jesus fulfilled, like the Passover Feast, Feast of Tabernacles, and various other feasts and holidays, there are many more references to the identity of the one that would be called, “the Messiah.”

One such prophecy, written at least 500 years before Jesus was born deals directly with the donkey Jesus rode into Jerusalem in the spring time of AD 30.  Verses 14-15 repeats the prophecy from Zech. 9:9:

¹⁴ Jesus found a young donkey  and sat on it, just as it is written: ¹⁵ Fear no more,  Daughter Zion. Look, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt.

Notice the reference to “Your King is coming.”  The donkey is directly related to Jesus being the King of Kings.  Now, most of the prophecies about Jesus, could not have been manipulated in any way by Jesus—to perpetuate a fraud on the people.  For example, no man could have guaranteed where he would have been born (Micah 5:2).  However, this donkey was not just any donkey.  It was a donkey that had been waiting for Jesus for thousands of years.  It is actually a donkey’s “colt,” meaning a young donkey that the Bible says had never been ridden by any other man (Luke 19:30).  Also, look at the miraculous way that this donkey became part of the Triumphant Parade (Matthew 21:1-5):

When they approached Jerusalem  and came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives,  Jesus then sent two disciples, ² telling them, “Go into the village ahead of you. At once you will find a donkey tied there, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, you should say that the Lord needs them, and immediately he will send them.”

⁴ This took place so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: ⁵ Tell Daughter Zion, “Look, your King is coming to you, gentle, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”

Here in the West, in our modern culture, the donkey isn’t a status symbol.  More often, the donkey is topic of jokes.  This was not the case in the Ancient East of Jesus’ day.  Donkeys were highly prized.  They were also “saddle animals.”  People rode donkeys like we ride horses here in Western culture.  One person stated it like this:  “In the East, however, it is ridden by persons of the highest rank and is decorated with saddle and harness as rich as those of the horse.”  In our common vernacular we would say that in the Ancient East of Jesus’ day, a donkey was a “ride fit for a king!”  And, upon this donkey was riding, “the King of Kings.”  The donkey tells us, “Who Jesus is—the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”

Question 2:  What is Jesus like?

One of the unfortunate misunderstandings in regard to Jesus, on behalf of the Jews especially, was that the Messiah would be a “political king” who would free the Jews from the yoke of Roman bondage.  In Roman life Jews were second (or third) class citizens.  They had some autonomy but did not have the type of freedom for which they so passionately longed.  Several times, the Bible tells us that the people tried to “make Jesus their king,” that is, there political ruler.  One such occasion came after the grand miracle involving the feeding of the 5000 with just five loaves and two little fish: John 6:14-15 says,

¹⁴ When the people saw the sign  He had done, they said, “This really is the Prophet  who was to come  into the world!”  ¹⁵ Therefore, when Jesus knew that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king,  He withdrew again  to the mountain by Himself.

Jesus is indeed a King, but His kingdom is not like the petty kingdoms of the world.  Even though the donkey could—and did—reflect a “ride fit for a king,” the Bible also reminds us that the donkey was:  “beast of burden” (Mat. 21:5).  I think the Bible reminds us that a donkey was also a “beast of burden” because this is not the image the crowd seemed to get of Jesus riding on a donkey.  They saw the donkey as a “status symbol” fit for a king as we have said.  But, we have the advantage of greater insight from the Word of God.  God wants us to see Jesus on the donkey as representing a “King,” but at the same time a “different kind of king.” 

Jesus is not the pompous, powerful ruler that the people expected.  He rode on a humble beast, “a beast of burden.”  He did not seek fame, nor fortune, nor worldly acclaim of any kind.  A donkey is a humble beast and bore a humble King.

First, Jesus’ kingdom is spiritual, not physical. In John 18 Jesus is confronting Pilate at His trial.  Pilate wants to discuss Jesus as being a “king,” obviously because Pilate is a political power, himself. 

³⁴ Jesus answered, “Are you asking this on your own, or have others told you about Me?”  ³⁵ “I’m not a Jew, am I?” Pilate replied. “Your own nation and the chief priests handed You over to me. What have You done?” ³⁶ “My kingdom  is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If My kingdom were of this world,  My servants  ^t would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. As it is, My kingdom does not have its origin here.”  ^v37 “You are a king then?” Pilate asked. “You say that I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this, and I have come into the world or this: to testify  to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.”

Every kingdom on earth has been identified with “geography.”  Whether it was the Holy Roman Empire that began about 800 AD which included Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, and large portions of France, Poland, or Italy, or whether it is a nation like Colonial England extending around the globe through colonies, earthly kingdoms are about real estate in this world.  Such earthly kingdoms come and go and boundaries are always changing.  Not so with the Kingdom of Jesus.  It is “not of this world.”  The Kingdom of God extends beyond geographical borders and not only includes the cosmos, but all the realms of the spirit world.  Jesus Kingdom is boundless.

Second, the Kingship of Jesus is different because it is sustained by the Might of God’s Providence, not the might of a military.  Consider the kingdom of Israel 200 years or so before the time of Jesus Christ.  In the late 2^nd Century, about 167 BC, a pagan ruler by the name of Antiochus had captured Jerusalem and had a pagan statue of Zeus erected in the Temple.  He ordered pigs sacrificed on the sacred altars.  A family, nicknamed the Maccabees, revolted and 163 BC or so, successfully regained Jerusalem.  The leader was Judas Maccabee, called affectionately, “The Sledge Hammer.”  He was a powerful military leader and through his powerful leadership the kingdom of Israel reclaimed her glory.  This successful military campaign is celebrated in the Feast of Hanukkah.  The story is told that Judas, the Hammer Maccabee, rode into the reclaimed city on a massive stallion while people waved palm branches.  The people thought Judas was the Messiah because he rode a mighty stallion and lead a successful military campaign.  The people identified him as the one mentioned in Zechariah.  But, they were wrong.  God’s Kingdom is not protected by military might but by the strong arm of God’s Holy Spirit.  Zechariah actually declared, ““This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength or by might, but by My Spirit,’  says the Lord of Hosts.”” (Zech. 4:6).

What is Jesus, the King of Kings, like?  Well, not like all the petty kings and potentates of this world.  His kingdom is spiritual and boundless.  His Kingdom is protected my the “Might of God’s Spirit” not the “military might” of mere men.  We do err greatly when we as God’s Church seek to possess political power in order to bring forward God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.  Jesus, the King, will rule over all the earth, but not now.  Now, the Kingdom of God is established in the hearts of men, women, and children—often with no political or military power at all.

Question 3:  What did the King of Kings come to do, then?

What was the mission of Jesus, then, when He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey if it was not to establish His political rule on earth?  Recall, I said a moment ago that the donkey was a “humble beast”--especially in our day.  Not too many donkeys are being sold for big money.  People pay big bucks for race horses, however.  The Green Monkey

Sold in 2006 for $16 million as a two-year-old, this thoroughbred was sired by Forestry and his dam was Magical Masquerade.  At the time of his sale, The Green Monkey was the most expensive horse ever sold at auction.  However, his racing career was a flop after having competed in only three races with only one third place finish.  Oh well, what’s $16 million dollars?  The most expensive horse sold at auction was Fusaihi Pegus, which sold for $64 million in 2000.

Fusaichi Pegasus was the 2000 Wood Memorial Stakes and Kentucky Derby winner.

Donkeys are humble beasts.  Many places in the Ancient Middle East used donkeys as “saddle animals,” but in other places they were given less impressive duties.  Our text in Matthew 21:5, remember, referred to this donkey as a “beast of burden.” The “burden” refers to the mission of Jesus, or what he came to do.  No doubt caught up in all the pomp and ceremony, two Greeks wanted to meet this “hero of the day.”  Verses 20-22 says,

²⁰ Now some Greeks were among those who went up to worship at the festival. ²¹ So they came to Philip,  who was from Bethsaida  in Galilee,  and requested of him, “Sir,  we want to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went and told Andrew;  then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

Jesus was not seeking celebrity status, and so he cautioned those caught up in the pageantry to remember His mission.  Jesus replied,

²³ Jesus replied to them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man  to be glorified.  ²⁴ “I assure you: Unless a grain of wheat  falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces a large crop.

This was not the answer the disciples were expecting.  In fact, the disciples spent much of their time in a state of confusion.  Look at verse 16:

¹⁶ His disciples did not understand these things at first. However, when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about Him.

So many people, even God’s people, fail to fully grasp the mission of Jesus as He rode into Jerusalem focused on moving toward the cross.  It would not be long before this same crowd, ecstatic with expectation crying, “Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord,” would be shouting as an angry mob, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” (Jn. 19:6).  They wanted a “different kind of King.”  They wanted a “different kind of Messiah.”  They wanted grandeur.  Jesus offered grace.  They wanted freedom.  Jesus offered forgiveness.  They wanted power.  Jesus offered propitiation.  The one thing none of them wanted was a “dead king.”  Yet, that’s what Jesus offered.  Jesus came to die on a cross not to give us what we wanted, but to give us what we need.  The Bible tells us: “the wages of sin is death!” (Rom. 6:23).  We have all sinned (Rom. 3:23) and either we have to die for eternity in hell, or Someone Eternal had to die in our place once for all.  The mission of Jesus, identified by riding on a beast of burden, “was to bear the burden for every sin ever committed or that would ever be committed” in order that those who accept the free gift of grace can have eternal life.  Jesus came to die in our place.  His was not a mission of grandeur, but a mission of grace.

Jesus riding the donkey answers many questions.  Who is He? What is He like?  What did He come to do?  But, there is one other question for which the donkey suggests an answer: 

Question 4:  What is yet to come? 

Jesus rode a donkey to make a contrast between the kind of King He came to be, and the kind of king the people expected.  As we said, the people expected a “political conqueror” who would ride into battle on their behalf and crush their enemy, the Romans.  This is what the great warrior, Judas Maccabees had done 165 years earlier.  This day was different from that day—as different as a spiritual, everlasting kingdom is different from a worldly king—but is there ever a time in Scripture when Jesus will ride the white stallion of a Conqueror Lord?  Revelation 19:11-16 says,

¹¹ Then I saw heaven opened,  and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True,  and He judges and makes war in righteousness.  ¹² His eyes were like a fiery flame,  and many crowns  were on His head.  He had a name written that no one knows except Himself.  ¹³ He wore a robe stained with blood,  ^q and His name is the Word of God.  ¹⁴ The armies that were in heaven followed Him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. ¹⁵ A sharp  sword  came from His mouth, so that He might strike the nations with it.  He will shepherd  them with an iron scepter.  He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God,  the Almighty. ¹⁶ And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS
AND LORD OF LORDS.

Jesus will make another entrance at the end of this age when He will come riding a “White Horse” as a Conqueror, not the donkey of a Savior.  He will crush all those that oppose Him and will reign in Jerusalem for 1000 years.  This time, He will not come to die but He will come to reign supreme. 

We call this Sunday before Easter, Palm Sunday, because they waved palm branches and laid them in Jesus’ path.  Palm branches had become a national symbol for Israel by the time of Jesus according to Josephus.  Palms were often used in the ceremonies of military generals returning from victories on foreign soil.  The writer of Revelation mentions these “palms of victory” associated with the Second Coming of Jesus (Rev. 7:9):

⁹ After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language,  which no one could number,  standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were robed in white with palm branches in their hands.

Jesus riding upon that donkey over a palm lined path was prophetic.  It forebodes the time when He will come again, riding on a White Horse conquering all His foes and ruling over all the earth.

Palm Sunday looks back, but also looks forward.  God is not dead because I just saw Him riding on a donkey!  Indeed, God is very much alive reigning in His spiritual kingdom awaiting that date when He will return to crush His enemies.  Palm Sunday is more than a celebration, it is a warning.

The world for the most part ignores the King of Kings.  There is coming a time, the King will not tolerate this rebellion any longer.  For now, He patiently offers citizenship in His Kingdom to any and all who will surrender to Him as Lord of Lord and King of Kings.  You can become a part of His Kingdom, today.  Prayerfully consider laying your palms before the King.

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