Donkey

In the movie Shrek 2, the character “Donkey” is characterized as a very lowly animal, not all that important. When a spell is cast, the donkey is changed into a royal steed. He becomes a beautiful, white, stately horse.

Would it surprise you to know that in Bible times, the donkey was viewed as the royal steed? We see this reflected in the Bible. For example, in Judges 8 Gideon is asked by the Israelites to be king. He says no, but later he has a change of heart. He names his son Abimalech, which means “my dad is king,” and we are told he had 70 sons of his own, and his 70 sons rode 70 donkeys. In other words, he treated his sons like royalty.

Or take Zechariah 9, which says, “See! Your king comes to you, riding on a donkey.” Of course he’s riding on a donkey. That’s the royal steed!

So, when Jesus is about to enter Jerusalem, he sends 2 of his disciples to find a donkey that is tied up and that no one has ever ridden, and he tells them to untie it and bring it to him. They do this, and Jesus rides the donkey into Jerusalem. Why? Not because he’s being lowly and humble on a donkey, but because he’s declaring himself KING. And those who went ahead of him knew what he was doing. They shouted, “Hosanna!! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our Father David.” The people understood that Jesus was entering Jerusalem as a king.