Tag: Donkey

We just celebrated Palm Sunday marking Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem with much fanfare. In the cacophony of hosannas and hallelujahs, much like the first Palm Sunday where Jesus came to Jerusalem, we often forget about the people who fetched a little colt for Jesus to ride. The Gospel according to Mark describes the event in this way:

“As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”
4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. (Mark 11: 1-7 NIV).

We are not told who this colt belonged to except that he was willing to lend it to Jesus. However, what is more disappointing is that we are not told who these two men were whom Jesus sent out to fetch a donkey. We know that they were Jesus’ disciples. However, they remain anonymous in spite of their significant ministry. I am sure they had nobler ideas of a grandeur ministry and their role in the Kingdom of God than being sent to fetch a colt when they first accepted Jesus’ call to follow him. It was not an easy task. Imagine entering a village as a stranger looking like a suspicious animal thief! After locating the precise house and the right owner of the colt, they had to bring the untamed colt which no one had ever ridden before to Jesus Christ. They probably had to literally drag the colt out several miles away from its village. I am sure they thought that this is not what they had imagined being sent for when they heard Jesus call out to them: “Follow Me”!

These two disciples of Jesus teach us several things. First of all, the ministry is not ours. It’s the Lord’s ministry and we are called to prepare the way of the Lord. This must relieve us from unnecessary stress we often carry around in ministry. Secondly, in preparing for the Kingdom of God, no task is mundane and unbecoming of a servant of God who has answered Jesus’ call to follow him. If the Lord assigns us the task of only fetching a donkey for him, we should gladly and willingly do it for the Lord. As a matter of fact, this is what many of our ministries look like today—mundane, routine, boring, and without much joy or fruitfulness. However, they are all significant in God’s economy of salvation for the world. Whatever you may be going through in the little tasks of ministry, which seem like fetching a donkey, be encouraged that the Lord is using each one of them for his work of redeeming the world and establishing his Kingdom on earth. May you be encouraged by this fact today. Amen.