Donkey vs. Warhorse

Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey." Zechariah 9.9

On the day we call Palm Sunday, we remember Jesus' humble entry into Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey never ridden before. Followers wave palms and cry "Hosanna" lauding him as the Son of David, spreading their garments down before him. In this way, Jesus fulfilled Zechariah's prophesy that "your king comes to you righteous and victorious."

On the other side of Jerusalem a very different procession is taking place. Pontius Pilate rides into Jerusalem on a decorated warhorse, leading a mighty procession displaying Roman imperial power and authority, symbolizing war and aggression.

A Kingdom of Peace on a collision course with a kingdom of war. That kingdom of Peace turned everything upside down. It isn't about winning; it is about loving.

The poem below humanizes that special donkey who carried the King of Love.

G.K. Chesterton (1874–1936)

The Donkey

When fishes flew and forests walked

And figs grew upon thorn,

Some moment when the moon was blood

Then surely I was born;

With monstrous head and sickening cry

And ears like errant wings,

The devil's walking parody

On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,

Of ancient crooked will;

Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,

I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;

One far fierce hour and sweet:

There was a shout about my ears,

And palms before my feet.

Jane Lazenby Art