Mark 11:1-11
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
In this chapter, Jesus is nearing the completion of his mission. He will now be introduced to the crowd that had followed Him. This event was the grand procession for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And Jesus tells two of his disciples to go ahead to prepare the way by getting a colt for him.
Yes, colt. Not a war horse or even a grown-up horse – Jesus asked that the disciples get a donkey for Him. A young male donkey for the king might not be the ideal picture we have of a grand entrance, but again this was Jesus teaching us something about greatness and glory.
He came humbly riding a colt. He was on a mission to destroy and overcome the darkness of sin, and he rode a colt.
As he entered Jerusalem, people spread cloak and shouted Hosanna to the king. They rejoiced in this king who was in their mind about to free them from the hands of a cruel empire.
In Zechariah 9:9, the same event was prophesied:
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
This is a picture of how God wants us to live – in the midst of accolades and people looking at us and praising us – the image that we see is that a carpenter King was riding a colt to change the world. Jesus was starting a revolution that will change history forever – yet He did not follow how the world would do it. He came humbly to serve and die for us.
Lord, give me the same attitude as that of Christ – who came to serve and not be served. Who came riding a donkey and not a horse to show the world that humility and service is the way to lead.