If you’re following our 5x5x5 reading plan, you will have read Mark’s account of the Triumphal Entry. I thought Mark’s account was a bit underwhelming. We give an entire church service to this every year? (But it’s the same basic account in Matthew and Luke except for one thing that Matthew adds – I’ll get to that in a minute.) Note that most of the press is given to the selection of the donkey – verses 1 – 7! Verses 8 – 10 describe the actual “triumphal entry.” Verse 11 is a rather flat close to the story.

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. (verses 1 – 7)

And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” (verses 8 – 10)

And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. (Mark 11.1 – 11, ESV)

What’s the significance of this underwhelming account, mostly about a donkey? I’m not sure. We know Mark’s gospel is Peter’s perspective. Maybe Peter had expected this to be the beginning of the visible Kingdom, and it wasn’t. Therefore, no big deal. Just one more time that Jesus walks away from a big event.

Jesus himself needed to do it to fulfill Zechariah’s prophecy, but he also knew it wasn’t a big deal. He could have been thinking, “These same people are going to clamor for my death in just a few days.” Re Zechariah’s prophecy, Matthew wants us to be sure not to miss it:

This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” (Matthew 21.4, 5, ESV, quoting Zechariah 9.9)

So what is the takeaway? Jesus needed to fulfill prophecy, and the donkey was a big part of it. Jesus didn’t own a donkey, so the three gospel writers take pains to let us know how he acquired a borrowed donkey. And most kings ride into town on a magnificent stallion. The prophet and the gospel writers make it clear that Jesus wasn’t “most kings,” and his “triumphal entry” was on a donkey. He fulfilled the prophecy, rode in, and went “home” with just his small entourage.

Maybe we need to be reminded that God uses ordinary things to accomplish his purposes. My grandson and I just watched The Star, a whimsical animated movie about the birth of Christ, featuring, you guessed it, a donkey. I recommend it if you don’t take it (or yourself) too seriously.

Jesus riding in on a donkey may have been a minor event, but we remember it every year. There will be another event, yet to come, and it won’t be a donkey:

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. (Revelation 19.11 – 16, ESV)