Riding A Donkey

UV 3500/10000 Riding a Donkey

And they brought the donkey and the colt, and placed their coats on them; and Jesus sat on the coats.

Matthew 21 v 7


In the Hebrew tradition, the donkey was the preferred vehicle of transport and not the horse like in most cultures around the world. The donkey was used to carry kings like Saul, David, Solomon, prophets like Elijah. It was also used to carry bread or wheat. The Messiah, also according to the prophet Zechariah would come riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. So even while a colt was available, perhaps as an escort, Jesus rode on the donkey. The donkey, quite surprisingly, represents the authority of the Word (Bread) of God. It also represented humility and stability. We are riding a donkey, implying that we are basing our lives and our faith on the authority of the Word of God. We are to be stubborn about our convictions and beliefs based on scripture even as God is certain about His Word and His promises contained therein. We should be like Balaam’s donkey that did not budge even when its master beat it and cajoled it. We should not move to the right or the left of the path that the Word indicates to us.
The expression that has biblical origin- ploughing with the donkey implies that one needs to rely on the word of God, the knowledge of God. This is in sharp contrast with ploughing with the cow, which implies relying on human intellect and knowledge. Though God’s knowledge and ways are higher than man’s ways, God deliberately positions lower than the ways of men. Jesus, though the Son of God and destined to take His place as the Highest King, Highest Priest, Highest Prophet is positioned physically far below all other kings, prophets and priests. He does not have a royal upbringing like Moses, the other great prophet. In the book of Deuteronomy, God forbids yoking the donkey and the cow together to plough. When we mix the ways and knowledge of God with the ways and knowledge of man, we are unwittingly yoking the donkey and the cow and are trying to plough with this incongruous combination. It is like standing with our feet in two boats or on two stools. Instead, we should ride the donkey, stable, certain, sedate and not finicky, moody, proud and temperamental like the horse. A horse can drop its rider either accidentally or intentionally out of a fit of temper or irritability but not so a donkey. It may not move as fast as we would like but it would get us to our destination.


Man chooses the obvious or what strikes the eye as good, the mind as interesting while God chooses the less obvious- what strikes the heart as good. We humans prefer beauty over content, charisma over wisdom. The donkey represented a deliberate choice. An animal that is usually ill treated and looked down upon in all nations except Israel. Jesus chose fishermen and ordinary people as His disciples not scholars. He chose to die for mankind and not allow mankind to die. He chose to accept death penalty on our behalf so that we do not suffer eternal death. Following Jesus is not the glamourous option, not the most obvious choice but it remains the best option.