A very blessed colt of a donkey 529-1 - 10 - 8

Palm Sunday Pastor Bruce of our local Assembly of God Church talked about the donkey that Jesus rode into Jerusalem. First a little background.

Daniel 9:25, “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.”

This was a timeline brought to Daniel by the angel Gabriel; from the time Nehemiah was sent to Judah to rebuild the walls until The Triumphal Entry and when the “Messiah be cut off.”

Jesus sent two disciples to find a tethered donkey, and a colt with her and bring them to Jesus. If the owner asked why, they were to explain that the Lord needed the animals. Jesus would ride into Jerusalem to the cheering of the crowd as they spread palms before him.

Matthew 21:5, “Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.” This was in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”

Pastor Bruce’s points concerning the colt:

1. Jesus choose the younger colt

   a. It was not brainwashed

   b. It was ready to be used

2. The colt was prophesied {Zechariah 9:9)  

   a. Are we, like the colt, the generation to fulfill prophecy?

Joel 2:28-29, “28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29  And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.” 

3. The colt had to be loosed, men had him tied up

a. Like the colt we are too often tied up by the cares and expectation of the world. We need to be set free (set aside) to follow Jesus.

b. Lesson learned, don't let the world (fresh) tie us up.

4. The colt was tied up, but Jesus knew where he was.

a. Jesus unties us as we accept His gift of grace, confess our sins, and repent.

b. The colt obeyed Jesus

c. Jesus turned Jerusalem upside down.

5. More lessons learned.

a. If God can use the colt of a donkey He can surely use us.

b. The colt received no recognition, nor should we, it’s all about Jesus.

As an aside, there is another donkey, a talking donkey, mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Numbers. Balaam was a soothsayer, a “prophet for profit,” for hire. He agreed to use his ability contrary to God’s will.

Balak, king of the Moabites, feared the Israeli so he sent messengers to Balaam and asked him to curse Israeli. God intervened. Numbers 22:12, "And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed."

At first Balaam refused to curse Israel and eventually traveled to Moab but not until after a conversation with his donkey. Numbers 22:28, “And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?” Numbers 22:31, “Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head and fell flat on his face.”  

Balaam did suggest a way for Balak to corrupt Israel through the flesh. However, there was a final blessing, Numbers 24:17, “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.:

There is an earlier reference to a scepter, Genesis 49:10, “The sceptre (H7626) shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh (H7886) come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”

H7626, to branch off; a scion, that is, (literally) a stick (for punishing, writing, fighting, ruling, walking, etc.) or (figuratively) a clan: -  X correction, dart, rod, sceptre, staff, tribe.

H7886, Shiloh, an epithet of the Messiah: - Shiloh.

Biblical references for Christ’s return and rule on earth. 525 - 11 - 2

Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” After Satan bruises Jesus’ heel by masterminding the crucifixion, Jesus defeated Satan by His resurrection and will eventual rule on Earth, presently the realm of Satan.

Genesis 49:10, “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” Scepter, H7626. to branch off; a scion, a stick ruling and more. Once the Sanhedrin lost the authority to pronounce capital punishment they were distraught not knowing that the scepter/Jesus/ future ruler had incarnated.

Micah 5:2, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

Many verses refer to the earth as “My footstool. Footstool, Strong’s G5286 includes “of thee, thine, something under the feet.”

Psalm 110:1, “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.”

Matthew 22:44, “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.”

Mark 12:36, “For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD (Jehovah) said to my Lord (Adoni), Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.” Here the claim is that The Messiah would be both Man and God. As David's Son, He would be human. As David's Lord, He would be divine.

Our Cornerstone is Jesus. H2106, in the sense of prominence.

Psalm 118:22, “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.”

Matthew 21:42, “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?” And again in Matthew 12:10, Luke 20:17 and Act 4:11.

Ephesians 2:20, “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;”

1 Peter 2:6, “Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.”

Jude 1:14, “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,… To execute judgment upon all… 

Daniel 2:44, “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.“ Jesus is the stone that was cut out without hands. He will destroy the four kingdoms of the molten image and rule over the whole earth forever.

Isaiah 61:1-2, “1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;”

At His first incarnation, Jesus came as the suffering Messiah. However, He will return on the “day of vengeance” and claim his kingship.