- Key Verse
“Go into the village over there,” He said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to Me." (Matthew 21:2, NLT)
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Central Truth
The donkey was totally involved in giving Jesus the highest praise.
Reflections
Have you wondered why the chief priests and the Pharisees, in Matthew 21, were so against Jesus? Why couldn't they just accept the truth, and work along with Jesus?”
One of the major problems that led them to be against Jesus was pride. They couldn’t stand it when someone else achieved more, became more popular, or someone else got the praise, and not themselves. They felt embarrassed because they were the teachers of the laws, yet they didn't know enough about God, and they didn't have that intimate relationship with God. When comparing themselves to Jesus, they found out that they were powerless.
Pride is very dangerous. It’s so dangerous that it could make oneself blind. Pride will not allow one to acknowledge what is right or wrong. They could not stand it when they knew that there was another star that shined brighter than them. It was pride that led them to kill Jesus, in spite of how much they knew what they did was absolutely wrong and sinful against God.
The first few verses of Matthew 21, I noticed that the donkey had nothing to be proud of compared to the teachers of the laws and the Pharisees. What if the donkey decided that he had nothing to do with Jesus, and did not follow Jesus by any means? Jesus would not have gotten to the Triumphal entry. It was the willingness and the spirit of humility of the donkey that brought success in the ministry of Jesus. “They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them, and He sat on them ....” (Matthew 21:7 NIV).
My question today is: How many people are as humble as the donkey when it comes to serving God and getting involved in the things of God? I know the teachers of the laws were not willing to cooperate with Jesus, but are you willing to go the extra miles with Jesus? Are you humble enough that you would allow Jesus to ride on you, use you to influence the whole crowd, and bring glory to Himself and His kingdom?
Discussion Questions
1. What is it that makes you different from the Pharisees and more like the donkey?2. How can your attitude be changed in order to be used as the donkey?
3. If Jesus would want to use you today, are you well prepared for Him?
Cristy Kirssin
January 29, 2010 12:46 PM
Thank you for this note this morning which got me thinking about the blessings and consequences that can result over our approach and attitude towards humility. Because the Pharisees could not adopt Jesus' interpretation of the true righteousness of the Law over their own interpretation, was really sad and unfortunte for that period of History. If they would have accepted Jesus' interpreation of the true righteousness of the Law, the Messianic Kingdom would have been ushered in. But because of their rejection, it was not, and worse, led to their dispersion. The consequence of their attitude was that they missed the kingdom. On the other hand, the function of the donkey reminds me that true success comes only by abiding in the will of G-d even if we do not understand it. In fact, it will be uncomfortable and we may not always feel like we belong. Your analysis reminded me that even in this situation, we must continue to hold on. Because G-d has placed us, He will also bring it to pass, because He is the G-d that keeps His promises. Thank you for your write up, Cristy