Tonight, I’ll begin by asking you to forgive me. Some of you won’t think that is necessary, but depending on your upbringing, others might disagree. I’d like to use that ass colt as an illustration of you and me. Some people think that donkeys are cute, docile, cuddly and loveable. Others picture them as illustrations of stiff-necked, troublesome, lazy, expensive toys. (Which of those two is the reason that the donkey is the symbol of the Democratic party?)
The Lord Jesus had a NEED.
I pointed to that need this morning, but I didn’t really address it. There is no reason to picture Christ Jesus as anything less than a strong, healthy individual. There was no sin in his life to sap away any of His physical strength. He was not prone to feast on some of the poisonous foods that pervade our society today. There is no proof He suffered any kind of human ailments – pneumonia, heart-disease or shingles. When Jesus commissioned His disciples to go into town to bring back these animals, it was not because He was too tired to walk any further. He had not sprained an ankle; He was not worried about the descent into Jerusalem. And there was no need for exceptional speed or haste. And yet, “If any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, the Lord hath need of them. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet.”
There are a great many Old Testament prophecies of Christ. I suppose that we could divide them up into different categories. And one of the methods of that categorization could be those which were fulfilled providentially, and then there were those which Jesus appeared to go out of His way to guarantee. I suppose some people might criticize the Lord for the second group, but I certainly do not. John 19:28 says, “After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.” Did Christ say, “I thirst” to make sure that all the prophecies were fulfilled? Psalm 69:21 speaks of Christ and says, “They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” John 19:29 – “Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.” I don’t have a problem with Christ making sure the prophecies uttered about Him were all perfectly fulfilled. Was this business of the ass colt one of those occasions?
“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.” John Gill says that it was not uncommon for the people of Israel to tie together two or more prophecies. It was not uncommon to take a prophecy from one Old Testament book and attach it to that of another and still say, “the prophet has said.” In this case the Holy Spirit refers to both Isaiah and Zechariah at the same time. “Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.” “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.”
I realize that this is a silly question in the light of the sovereign omnipotence of God – But do you think that anyone would have offered “the colt, the foal of an ass” to the Lord of their own will? As I said earlier, I doubt that the Lord had ever ridden on any kind of animal before. Humanly speaking He was too poor for that kind of transportation, and His health was excellent. Unless the disciples had been thinking of Zechariah 9:9, I doubt that any of them would have been bold enough to suggest a ride into the city. No, the only way that this prophecy was going to be fulfilled was for the Lord to fulfill it Himself. “If any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them.” There was the need of an ass’s colt at this time in order to complete the prophecy.
It is hard for me to say that the infinite and sovereign God has needs. The words and the heart both have to be carefully weighed when we say that the Lord needs something. But there is a sense in which He does put himself into that position. “If any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them.”
Without impinging upon the power and majesty of the Lord, in what ways might He need you and me? We could take several dozen commandments and exhortations and use them to answer our question. The Lord needs us to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” Of course the Lord can defend Himself and His truth; He doesn’t need us for that. And yet, in a sense He has left that defense in our hands. You could say that He has delegated that responsibility to His church and to the members in those churches. Similarly, we have the commission, “Go ye, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of he Son, and of the Holy Ghost; Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Isn’t it interesting that these orders are prefaced with His divine authority? “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore and teach all nations.” I’m sure that we could think of several other commands and commissions given to us – the Lord’s servants. Allegorically speaking, we are all the beasts of burden commissioned to carry Christ into all the world. The Lord hath need of us.
But consider more fully the INSTRUMENTS which met Jesus’ need.
One of the things to keep in mind is that the Lord is not interested in the size, strength and importance of the person or animal which He determines to use. If God should graciously used one of us to lead some child to Christ, and that child eventually become an exceptional servant of God, remember that it was not your greatness which the Lord needed or used. Keep in mind that the Lord used this “colt the foal of an ass.” I read through more than half a dozen commentaries looking for the answer to this question – Besides the prophecy, and the fact that this colt had never been broken to a saddle or a rider, why were both the colt and its mother brought to Christ? Did He ride first one and then the other? Wouldn’t the miracle have been enhanced if the colt willingly served Christ, while its mother remained back in the village? Do you remember when the Philistines sent God’s Ark back to Israel after a period of captivity? They specifically chose to use milk cows which had been separated from their calves. They wanted some unusual proof – some divine proof – that what they were doing was governed and approved by God. When those cows, without being led by any human handlers, walked from the camp of the Philistines back to the Israelites, they knew that God was in control. Ordinarily, those cows would have been heading for home and their hungry calves. This “Triumphal Entry” into Jerusalem could have been a miracle something like that. I believe that it was still a miracle, but the illustration could have been much more apparent.
Christ asked for the jenny AND the foal, but it appears that He rode on the lesser of two animals. One commentator suggested that Christ could have demanded a war horse to ride into Jerusalem. I can just picture the Lord high atop the back a huge dromedary camel. Solomon had his chariots and most likely the Herods had a few stables of those as well. But the Lord was not in need of glory and position on this occasion – the humble donkey was good enough.
Likewise, there is only one way in which WE can be of genuine service to Christ – humility and self-sacrifice. The moment we insert our great wisdom or strength into the equation of our service to God, we loose our reward and impinge upon God’s glory. Who had the greater testimony for God – Job before his humiliation or Job in his poverty and loss? Who had the great overall testimony – Solomon in all his greatness or Job sitting upon the ash pile? According to the Lord Jesus, who is greater in the kingdom of Heaven, the great orator or the lowly child?
As Jesus was riding down the western slope of Olivet, between all those trees all full of fruit, how did that colt behave and what were the details of the trip? Of course, we don’t know and perhaps never will – but I have my opinion. Did he have a bit in his mouth inflicting the pain that new set of dentures would provide? Was there some sort of rope or leather halter, by which Christ or one of the disciples guided the animal? I tend to picture the little beast as totally free, but doing exactly what the Lord intended him to do.
We are serviceable to the Lord only as we do exactly what we are told to do. We are useful in the Lord’s glory, only if we serve Him in simplicity and humility – like this ass colt. When the Lord sent those two disciples into Bethphage to collect an ass and her colt, I can imagine some potential alternatives to the story. Just outside the gate to the city there might have been a camel, decked out in exquisite finery. I can hear some disciples saying to one another that the Lord deserves the best beast, not the least beast. I can just see them bargaining with someone for the use of that camel. Some Christians would walk right past the little donkey looking for an Impala, a Jaguar or a Lexus. No, if we are going to be of service at all, we have to forget our ideas and opinions and do what the Lord bade us to do. Obedience is the key to our service – humble obedience.
That animal was to be a reflection of his most precious Rider. Christ was on His way to Calvary not to Herod’s palace. While ultimately Christ is the King, the Messiah, at this point He is to be the Lamb of God. Beyond the quoted prophecy, the ass is more appropriate than any other mode of transportation. Oh, He will one day be riding the white stallion; we have that picture in the Book of Revelation. One day He will come into His creation with a myriad of the Heavenly Host and with saints unnumbered. But today, He rides on the backs of insignificant beasts like you and me.
The Lord has a need for ass colts. You and I have been commissioned to do the Lord’s bidding. But are we humble enough?