"Humble and Mounted on a Donkey"
Luke 19:28-40
12/3/06
Todays Gospel text describes the direct fulfillment
of the prophecy spoken by Zechariah in the O.T. where he says, Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of
Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and
endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even a colt,
the foal of a donkey.
For Jesus, the Messiah, the King of the Jews, to
have ridden into Jerusalem on a donkey should have seemed rather odd to
those who witnessed it. After all, a donkey was a beast of
burden, used for threshing grain and for pulling a plow. Still,
it was an economic asset to own a donkey, and the more donkeys one had
the more wealthy he was considered. But here Jesus only rode on
one, and that one He had to borrow. So what kind of King was this
who was entering into the city of Israels kings on an animal that no
king since Solomons days ever rode on? Perhaps the donkey itself
was the clue. Here the donkey represents Christ. As a colt
was gentle in nature, so this King would come in gentleness and
compassion. As donkeys were work animals, so this King was going
to work. As donkeys were used for humble tasks during times of
peace (unlike horses which were used for fighting in wars), so this
Kings task would be a humble one by which He would bring an end to the
warfare between God and men and usher in a time of peace. He
would do this by being bound as the donkey had been with the worlds sin
on the cross, but then by being loosed through His resurrection from
the dead.
The crowds, remembering all the miracles that they
had seen Jesus perform and joyfully praising God for them, readily
confessed Jesus as King saying, Blessed is the King who comes in the
name of the Lord; peace in heaven and glory in the highest! It
was not unlike the announcement that the angels made to the shepherds
on the night of Jesus birth, saying, Glory to God in the highest; peace
on earth, goodwill towards men! There the shepherds were told
theyd find Jesus, their King, in a manger. Not the place one
would expect to find the King of Israel. Now here Jesus is
mounted on a donkey. Again, not the place one would expect to
find the King of Israel.
The place where many were expecting to find Him was
riding on the clouds of heaven, coming with glory, power, and dominion
to set up an earthly kingdom that would never end. Even John the
Baptist had said, One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not
fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit and fire. And His winnowing fork is in His hand to
thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His
barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. But
when John didnt see Jesus doing these things, even he wondered whether
Jesus truly was the Christ or whether they should look for someone
else. Jesus, however, responded by pointing to what He was
doing: the blind were receiving sight, the lame were walking, the
lepers were being cleansed, the deaf were hearing, the dead were being
raised, and the Gospel was being preached to the poor. This King
was extending His kingdom of grace, leading people to repentance and
loosing them from sin and its consequences, so that they might escape
the coming fire of His judgment.
And thats the work that Jesus was coming to complete
as He entered into Jerusalem on a donkey. There in Jerusalem,
just like all the other kings of Israel who came before Him, He would
be crowned and sit upon a throne judging Israel. But for Him that
crown would be made of thorns and that throne would be a cross on
Calvary. And the judgment He would experience Himself.
Instead of punishing His subjects, He would humble Himself and take
their punishment upon Himself in their place. Instead of allowing
you to suffer under Gods wrath, He would suffer that wrath for you as
your substitute. This King was not going to do His lording by
being served, but by serving and giving His life as the ransom price
for our lives. But this King would not stay dead. Death
could not defeat this King. Even death is subject to His
rule. Now risen from the dead and seated at the right hand of God
the Father almighty, His judgment for those who trust in Him is a
declaration that they are righteous. But for those who oppose and
reject Him, the judgment of the chaff on the Last Day is reserved.
This King still comes to us today in the Name of the
Lord to extend His kingdom of grace and loose us from our sins, death,
and the devil as He brings us the salvation that He won for us on His
cross. The donkey has yet another lesson to teach us, and that is
a lesson about ourselves. Here the donkey represents you and
me. Like this beast of burden, we are laden with the burden of
our sins. As this colt was considered to be a lowly, humble
animal, so we must consider ourselves as lowly and humble before God,
confessing our sins and pleading His mercy. Just as this donkey
was bound and could not free itself, so we are bound by the Laws
accusations and condemnation, and we cannot free ourselves from our
slavery under the devil. But just as Jesus gave His apostles the
command to free the donkey, so we are freed too by His command.
The actual word thats used for the word untie in this text is the word
to loose. Here we may be reminded of the loosing that occurs by
way of the office of the keys, which is that authority that Jesus has
given to His Church to forgive the sins of those who are repentant, but
to withhold forgiveness from those who refuse to repent. Through
His called and ordained ministers, Jesus is loosing you today with His
words of absolution. He frees you from the slavery under your old
master, and He becomes your master instead.
As the Lord rode the donkey, so He rides us now,
directing us by His Word. Sometimes He has to use the switch of
His Law to keep us from straying, but He is no tyrant or slave
driver. Even though He is no longer in a state of humiliation
since His resurrection but has been exalted to the right hand of the
Father with all the authority of heaven and earth given to Him, He is
still gentle and humble towards us, feeding us on the green grasses of
His Word and His Sacraments, leading us beside still waters, restoring
our souls. And unlike the donkey who was later returned to its
master, our Lord does not give us back to the devil. God has
transferred us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His
beloved Son. We wander off in the direction of that kingdom of
darkness many times. Apparently, we like being enslaved and bound
by sin. But the Lord continues to come after us, rescuing us
again and again from that former way of life, loosing us with His words
of forgiveness, and bringing us back under His gracious rule in His
kingdom of grace.
Our response to all this is that of the crowds,
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; peace in heaven
and glory in the highest! We rejoice with Zechariah and all the
people of God as our King comes to us with His salvation. The
highest worship we can give this King is to receive His gifts with
praise and thanksgiving. Along with the crowds we praise God and
give Him thanks that Jesus is blessed by God the Father. Jesus
comes in the name of the Lord to speak the words and do the work the
Father sent Him to do. What Jesus does He does in the Fathers
name and by His command. And Jesus perfectly completed all that
the Father gave Him to do; therefore, Hes blessed. But what does
this mean for us? Since Jesus is King, all those who are under
His gracious rule are also under Gods blessing. Jesus comes to
give Gods blessing to you, whom He has baptized and brought to faith in
Him. Now, along with the crowds, we can rejoice that there is
peace in heaven. The angels had announced peace on earth at
Christs birth. So, there is peace both in heaven and on
earth. But what kind of peace? Peace with God.
Because of the work of this King on the cross in atoning for your sins
with His blood, you are now at peace with God. There is no
condemnation for you who are in Christ Jesus. The Laws demands
have been satisfied; Gods wrath has been appeased. Even death
itself cannot keep you from Gods love for you in Christ, and you too
will be raised from the dead just as your King was, and with Him you
will live and reign forever in His kingdom of glory.
And so we too say, Glory to God in the
highest! To ascribe glory to God is to confess that through the
work of this King God has revealed His face to us. Gods face is
no longer hidden behind darkness or turned away from you in wrath, but
He makes His face shine upon you and He looks upon you with
favor. His glory, that is His very self, nature, and attitude
towards you, has been revealed to you in Jesus, and it is one of grace,
mercy, and peace.
Jesus came to Jerusalem humble and mounted on a
donkey to take His throne on the cross in order to extend Gods kingdom
of grace, mercy, and peace over you. Like the donkey which He
loosed for His purposes, so Jesus has loosed you from your sins.
He did this by allowing Himself to be bound with those sins and to pay
the price for them on the cross. Now risen from the dead, He
comes to you with His salvation no longer mounted on a donkey, but
through the humble means of His Word and Sacraments. He is no
tyrant or dictator. He forces no one into His kingdom, but He is
a merciful King who woos you with His words of forgiveness to repent of
your sins and receive Him who comes to you in the Name of the
Lord. Even the stones confess Him as their King and give Him
praise.
At this Advent season, set your eyes upon Jesus
again as your gracious King who humbled Himself to serve you and give
His life as the ransom price for you, that you might live under His
gracious rule in His kingdom now and forever. Amen.