King Jesus

Mark 11:1-11

We can certainly debate whether Jesus just knew that the colt would be there or whether He had planned this event in advance with certain men from the village to which Jesus sent His disciples. Regardless, we already know that Jesus is God. We don't have to have this passage in order to prove His omniscience. His omniscience won't fall if we allow the arguments and questions about His foreknowledge in the circumstances of this passage to be set aside.

What is important is that Jesus clearly intended to communicate a message. It looks as though He and His disciples spent the whole day communicating it, for when He gets to the temple in Jerusalem, it is already evening, and He simply turns around and goes back to Bethany. No, this was not just another mode of transportation into Jerusalem. This donkey on which Jesus rode into Jerusalem was more than a physical vehicle; it was a vehicle of communication. And it seems that the people got the message.

This action was intended to communicate the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9:

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king¹ comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Jesus is the King, the Messiah! And He knows it! Zechariah tells us that we should be excited to see our King. How excited am I to know Jesus as my King? I have the most wonderful King in the world, a King overflowing with righteousness, goodness, love, gentleness! And yet I sometimes resent His call to service. How can that be? How lazy am I? How little do I recognize true greatness when I see it? True goodness? Real, genuine truth, beauty, glory? How great do I consider myself to be, that I am too prideful to bend my knees, spread my clothes on the road, and give all for the glory of King Jesus?