He was humble and rode on a donkey, the colt of a beast of burden

 

He was humble and rode on a donkey, the colt of a beast of burden.

 

Matthew 21:1-5 『And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man ought to say unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 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 to thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass .』

The prophet is Zechariah. Zechariah 9:9 『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.』

In Zechariah 9:9, the prophet Zechariah uses prophetic allusions to turn his gaze from the near future to the far future, to the time of Israel's final deliverance from her oppressors. Jerusalem will be protected from her final enemies and their invasions. This is also seen in Isaiah 60:18 and Ezekiel 28:24.

Zechariah turns his attention from the activities of the ruthless conqueror Alexander to praise the person and humble ministry of the coming King of Israel. Zion and Jerusalem, representing the nation, are called by the Messiah to rejoice and shout joyfully at the coming of this glorious King. When Alexander the Great advanced, the nations trembled in fear, but the people of Israel rejoiced together at the appearance of the Messiah, the King. For the Messiah was coming to Israel, not only for them, but for them. Alexander the Great came to destroy and ruin, but the righteous Messiah comes to save and atone. The king of the earth comes in grandeur and arrogance, but the Lord from heaven comes on a lowly donkey.

Mark 11:5-6 says, "And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go." The disciples saw a colt tied in the street in front of the gate, and as they were about to untie it, just as Jesus had told them, someone who seemed to be the colt's owner asked, "Take it away, for the Lord has need of it." That is why the disciples said, "The Lord has need of it." The words, "The Lord has need of it" are already a story well known to the Jews, referring to Zechariah's words about the colt. Saying that it is needed by the Lord means offering it to the Lord as a sacrifice.

Jesus visited Bethphage and Bethany often, so he must have known the geography of the area and knew who had donkeys around there. When Jesus arrived in the area, he must have walked around. Bethany also appears in the story of Mary and Martha. It was also the village where Simon the leper lived. Therefore, Jesus naturally gave such instructions to his two disciples.

In John 12:14-16, “And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt. These things were not understood by his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of him. , and that they had done these things unto him.』

The disciples came to understand what their teacher Jesus meant by Zechariah's words, "Your king will come riding on a donkey", only after Christ's resurrection. The king that Zechariah spoke of was Jehovah. However, regarding the words about riding on a donkey, the disciples did not understand the meaning of these words. After Jesus Christ's resurrection, the disciples came to understand through the meaning of the donkey's colt that Jehovah, the King of kings, came to the world in the flesh to atone for the sins of the whole world.

Jesus riding a donkey is a symbolic expression with many meanings. A donkey was an unclean animal and was not used as a sacrifice. However, in Exodus 13:13, it says, "And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem." In Hebrew, the first part (every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb) is

וְכָל־פֶּ֤טֶר חֲמֹר֙ תִּפְדֶּ֣ה בְשֶׂ֔ה 

『Wekal (all) Peter (firstborn) Hamor (donkey) Tipdeh (you will redeem) Bseh (sheep)』

The firstborn of a donkey is killed by breaking its neck. However, a donkey is an unclean animal, so it is not used as a sacrifice, but it can be used in place of a lamb used to atone for sins. During the Exodus, when it was difficult to obtain a lamb without blemish or spot, God was considerate enough to use the firstborn of a donkey. The owner of the donkey readily agreed to offer it to God as a sacrifice, even though it was an animal that had to be killed anyway.

The firstborn belonged to God, and no one was to touch it or ride it. When a firstborn was born, it was to remain with its mother for seven days, and on the eighth day it was to be separated. It was to be bound until its neck was broken or it was to be offered as a sacrifice. Exodus 13:12 『That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the LORD's.』

The image of Jesus riding a donkey, the firstborn, has two meanings. The first is that he is the firstborn (the firstborn). The firstborn is offered to God through death. The Bible tells us that all people in the world must die like this. In fact, before the Exodus, when the angel of death passed by, all the firstborn of Egypt died except for the Israelites who had the blood of the lamb on their doorposts. Although the sacrificial lamb died in their place, the Israelites were also considered dead. Therefore, Jesus riding on a donkey has the appearance of a sinner (the firstborn).

Second, the donkey colt dies a substitutionary death in place of the lamb. Jesus riding on the donkey colt is the lamb that dies a substitutionary death in place of sinners. The donkey colt is the lamb, and Jesus riding on the donkey colt is the lamb. This is the image of the lamb entering the temple of Jerusalem to die a substitutionary death.

During the Old Testament times, the death of the lamb was not a one-time, eternal sacrifice. Sinners offered sacrifices every time they sinned. However, Hebrews 9:15 says, "And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance." The first covenant is when Moses received the commandments from God on Mount Sinai, built the sanctuary, and appointed priests to offer sacrifices according to the law, but Jesus Christ is the mediator of the new covenant. The sins committed under the first covenant meant sins according to the law, and Jesus died to atone for sins according to the law, thereby making a promise of eternal inheritance.

Hebrews 9:24-25 『For Christ has not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;』 In the Old Testament, the high priest had to offer a different blood sacrifice every year, but in chapter 9, verse 28, 『So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.』 He took upon all our sins once and for all, and this is proven through his resurrection. Those who die with Jesus are no longer sinners, but become righteous people who were resurrected with Christ.

In today's church community, we see believers praying and struggling every day for the forgiveness of their sins, but this is because they do not believe in the work of Jesus Christ. They do not think about God's will but put human thoughts in its place. They look at their fleshly self (old man) with their fleshly eyes. However, those who believe in the present resurrection look at their spiritual self (new man) with their spiritual eyes.