Not just a tag along!
Recently I attended a Palm Sunday Service at our local church. After years and years of attending Palm Sunday services it's rare to hear something new. But that is what happened to me last Sunday. Whether this revelation is new to anyone else I don't know. But all I know is when I get one of those "huh?" moments I get excited because I get to learn something new about my Lord and Savior. So what was it, you may ask?
Our preacher was reading the following scripture:
21 As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 “Go into the village over there,” He said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.” Matt 21:1-3 NLT
Now how many times have you read or heard that passage? A lot I'm sure. Our Pastor had a fantastic message to go with the passage which I won't try to replicate but can be found at https://experiencecfc.com/
The part that I never really noticed or paid much attention to before was this....
“As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me.
Now why is this so interesting to me? Well I never really noticed that Jesus specifically requested that the Donkey and the Colt or Foal be brought to Him. I don't actually recall ever seeing in movies or pictures the fact that there were TWO animals! It's to be noted that not all of the gospels refer to the two animals but the fact that it is told in Matthew, and that it caught my attention, is the purpose of this writing. This intrigued me so I did a little bit of research and there are obviously different interpretations to that specific scripture. But the one that really jumped out at me was the following..
The ancient allegorical sense of the ass and colt is not to be despised: that the ass may signify the Jews, who had been used to bear the burdensome rites and ceremonies of the law; and the colt, the wild and untamed Gentiles, and the coming of Christ, first to the one, and then to the other:
loose them, and bring them unto me, both ass and colt. So the Arabic version reads it, "loose both, and bring them, both to me".
Gill, John. "Commentary on Matthew 21:2"
And Jesus was with them. They both had a part to play in His Triumphal Entry!
Not being Jewish born and yet one of God's chosen daughters this makes me Rejoice! The Bible is full of symbols and rich with juicy nuggets just waiting for us to discover. I know that this is not anything new to some but it was new to me. That is the beauty of the Scriptures, you can read them over and over again, year after year and still find something new to you. Something that may just underline the fact that Jesus did this for you- because He loves you!!!
I'm so thankful that it was not just happenstance that the believing Gentiles or Greeks were included and called His people. But it has been a part of His plan all along and He chose to show it to us through this symbol of the Colt following the Donkey. Jews first and then the Gentiles. That there is a place for us at the Banquet Table is truly something to celebrate. And none of this would be possible without Jesus going to the Cross, dying and on the third day being raised from the dead!
This Easter may we fully rejoice in the gift that The Father has given to us all, through the death and resurrection of His one and only Son, Jesus the Christ!!!
