God on a Donkey

Healthy marriages require healthy faith. As we draw nearer to God, we can draw ever nearer to each other, but we can't have spiritually healthy marriages if there isn't a spiritually healthy...us. Toward that end, while I still hope to include a marriage-related post every week, we will also post two devotions focused on Lent, which begins today, March 5. Paid subscribers will receive their own Lent devotion every Wednesday; all subscribers will receive one on Monday, and then I aim to continue with the regular free posts on Friday.

This Saturday's newsletter will have a link to the Ash Wednesday service I preached at Cherry Hills Community Church. If you've ever wondered about what Ash Wednesday is all about, or why churches today might observe it, this short sermon may serve as a helpful introduction.

I'd love to know, how many of you are observing Lent? If so, what are you giving up? Please reply in the comments.

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“Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:5

God sat on a donkey.

Those who would drive a wedge between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament forget that it was the God of the Old Testament who foretold coming in the flesh and entering Jerusalem on a donkey, in a state of astonishing gentleness.

This was not an accidental occurrence. Warriors rode horses, not donkeys. Donkeys were used to carry burdens, or perhaps—in the case of Mary—a very pregnant woman. But never a conquering king! Just try to imagine a large-scale movie where the attacking army descends a hill into the valley, bumping up and down on donkeys as they brandish their swords! The action movie would become a comedic farce.

Yet in the last week of his life on earth, Jesus specifically instructed his disciples to find a donkey for him to ride on. Jesus was eager to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies and to proclaim his gentleness to the world, just before passion week. He comes as a friend, a Savior, and not as a warlord.