Posted on March 8, 2023 by Elizabeth Welte in Freedom Fighters
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9 (NKJV)
If ya’ll needed to know where to find the “Easter Bunny” in the Bible, just turn to The Book of Leviticus 11:6, where we read, “the hare, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you”. Hmm…ain’t no mentionin’ of colorin’ its eggs, weavin’ it a basket to put the colored eggs into, or to observe it as it hops down a bunny trail singin,’ “Here’s the Easter Rabbit hooray, the happy Easter Rabbit hooray.” Nah, none of those shenanigans at all, and there ain’t nothing about marshmallow peeps either, but I’ll be buying those by the batches once they hit the shelves. I have a terrible habit of eating more peeps than I should and then I gotta be careful not to drink coffee to wash them down or I’ll get the jitters somethin’ fierce. Anyway…
Did ya ever wonder why there ain’t an Easter Donkey? I mean, with some clever narrative writing skills by yours truly, I can have that donkey making the skies open up and having it rain jelly beans and Cadbury eggs in no time at all, blessing all the good people worldwide (although I think the Cadburys would cause injury). It doesn’t make it anymore true than a rabbit that circumvents America, dropping off baskets full of candy to all the good children, but it does make it that much more of a lie.
Why? Because the donkey has its place in Scripture and it isn’t in some hodge-podge blend of various Springtime practices, like Easter Dinner having to be ham, potatoes, and some green smelly veggie you ain’t never seen before (or lasagna), followed by a slice of cake full of coconut that’s encased in chocolate, only to end with Charlton Heston on the television demanding of Yul Brynner to “Let My People Go!” Not sure what any of that has to do with, what should rightly be called, Resurrection Sunday, but apparently it’s a tradition in some parts of the world.
“Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.'” — Matthew 21:1-3
With all that nonsense aside, the first thing to take account of is what Isaiah 62:11 says, “Indeed the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the world: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.’” I’m sure this is in His mind as Jesus mounts the donkey, begins His descent down from the Mount of Olives, travels the path towards The East Gate, His gaze at Jerusalem, tears in His eyes, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:42b) Now what’s interesting here is the response from those wacky Pharisees as Jesus enters Jerusalem. They ain’t mocking Jesus for being on a donkey (like we would do here in the 21st century), au contraire’, they see this as a threat. “The Pharisees therefore said to one another. “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.’” (John 12:19)
The religious leaders, that were technically envious of Jesus, saw the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords riding on something that everyone knew meant royalty. It’s been rumored that the Pharisees tried to breed white donkeys so they could also look more like “royalty” as they were riding their donkeys on the way to Temple. So, to see Jesus being overwhelmingly received, while riding that UNCLEAN donkey and folks yelling, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of The Lord; Hosanna in the highest” as they laid down palm branches, musta really got the Pharisees going. “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace!” Hmm…
Just like us, those wacky Pharisees had a prophecy handed to them through the prophet Zechariah. We can only read it like a bunch of Monday morning quarterbacks, but the Pharisees, they shoulda been looking for Ben Josef instead of Ben David. So, when the Prince of Peace shows up on donkey instead of the king of war on a horse (you can turn to Revelation 19:11-13 for that one) Zechariah’s prophecy is the furthest thing from their minds. Why? Jesus wasn’t in their plans to rid The Jews of The Romans. Period. This wasn’t and isn’t the proper perspective of salvation.
So, if you’re looking for a chocolate covered coconut bunny, but instead get a chocolate donkey (with a Cadbury filling I hope) this Resurrection Sunday know that your King is coming to you; He is just, having salvation, lowly, and riding on a donkey! I just hope that you don’t lay down that plastic basket straw for His arrival, palm branches work better on a donkey’s hooves. Amen?
Written by Chris Hughes: Chris is a child of El Elyon, a son, a husband, and a father. He has an education in Biblical doctrine and is a graduate of The Colony of Mercy, 11/2003. He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008. You can email him at cphughes515@verizon.net.
Think About This : “The only sin God cannot forgive is the sin of rejecting Christ. Turn to Him in repentance and faith and He will forgive.” — Billy Graham.
The Daily Bible Reading: Numbers 34-36. You can download our 2023 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here.
This Week’s Verse to Memorize: “Forever, O Lord, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers+32-33&version=ESVYour word is settled in heaven. 90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides.” Psalm 119:89-90
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