Matthew 21: 1-11 A King on a Donkey?

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” 4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
    humble, and mounted on a donkey,
        and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7 they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd[b] spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!
    Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Today is one of my favorite Sundays of the year. With palm branches waving, we declare that we follow a mighty king! We have said YES, we will enter this story once again! And of course it's true, that Jesus is King in a way that goes beyond our earthly kingdoms. So why on earth is the KING of all time, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey.

Yes, the same kind of transportation that his mom Mary took to the stable where Jesus was born.

The donkey is mentioned a lot in this passage, and anyone who’s spent time with a donkey knows this is odd (I have, I grew up with a dad who collected random animals), so I know those dorky ears and goofy sounds- maybe an overbite, none of it quite fits the image of a king! 

I mean, why? Was it to throw the religious leaders off their game? Was it to confuse his disciples yet again? Or was it to continue the work of transforming the world, one expectation of glory at a time?

As his followers are shouting Hosanna in the highest, Jesus lowers himself onto the back of a little donkey. Why? It might just be Jesus' way of bringing his followers and their grand visions of the Kingdom of God back down to earth. Where we belong.

You see, this donkey shatters any illusion that Jesus has plans to become a mighty warrior or fancy king in the ways of the material world. Unlike the Roman Emperor who rides a powerful war horse or chariot, Jesus deliberately maintains a down-to-earth approach to life.

Because the Kingdom of God--no matter how much we disciples want it to be-- is not glamorous. The Kingdom of God is about sacrifice and humility, and those who choose to live into this Kingdom way of life must follow Jesus' willingness to let go of all pride and earthly glory....

This is the vision of a kingdom UNLIKE the world had ever seen and will ever see, so long as humans continue to let pride and greed get in the way of what’s right.

Maybe following Jesus is hard because we want the glamour. We want Jesus to be a celebrity, when all Jesus wants is to be our savior. How does Jesus invite us into his saving grace?

It looks a lot like meals shared together, like truth spoken in kindness, like open hearts expanding to include those different from us, like love above hate, like acting in courage for the sake of mercy and justice, like thinking of others before ourselves.

The Kingdom of God is AMAZING- but it's not chariots and mansions—amazing, it's simple, everyday moments of humility and love—amazing, all in the name of a King who rides into town on a donkey.

So the next time the details of your thankless work in your home, church, community, and world go unnoticed by others...remember this image of Jesus riding on a donkey, and rest assured that he sees you- Hosanna in the Highest Heaven sees you, and invite you into his story of amazing grace. Amen.