Our family of seven recently got back from a very fun summer vacation. One day, one of our children wanted to go horseback riding, so we found a place to do just that along the beach. As a city guy my entire life, I must admit that I am no cowboy. But, sitting on the horse reminded me of a section in John’s gospel that I was preparing to preach. There, we read about Jesus not walking, as He often did, but instead climbing upon an animal for a ride.
In John 12:14-15 we read, “Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
There are two primary ways that the Bible reveals that Jesus is God: the words that Jesus says and the works that Jesus does.
By climbing upon a donkey for a ride, Jesus knew exactly what message He was sending. For hundreds of years, God’s people had been awaiting the fulfilment of an Old Testament promise. Zechariah 9:9 says, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you;righteous and having salvation is he,humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
In Jesus’ day, a king would ride a horse in times of war or a donkey in times of peace. In riding a donkey, Jesus was revealing Himself as peaceable King come to bring peace between God and man through His death in our place for our sins. Through sin, we have declared war on God. Through Jesus, God has declared peace on us. If you belong to Jesus, you now have peace with God through Jesus Christ. In this world, we have strife, conflict, and war. But, when Jesus our King comes again, all of that will end and the internal, external, and eternal peace of God is all we will ever know forever.
Is there any are of your life that you need to experience God’s peace in today?