Donkey

"Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey'" (Zech. 9:9; Matt 21:5).

When we turned on the TV last evening, we stumbled across a show called "Kitchen Nightmares" starring British chef Gordon Ramsey. I had heard of Ramsey's reputation for brutal honesty and harsh treatment of the restauranteurs he came to "save" and really had no interest in ever watching one of his shows, but there was something about last night's episode that caught my attention.

Here's the premise for the show: restaurant owners who find their businesses in trouble call in Ramsey to rough them up and shock them into changes (with plenty of drama along the way). Admittedly, I was slightly amused at the emotional responses this particular owner was giving to Ramsey's rants and criticisms. I couldn't understand why she was so appalled and insulted. Wasn't she aware of his reputation? Didn't she know what she was getting herself into? Was she looking for affirmation and a pat on the back? Warm and fuzzy is not his modus operandi. Of course, this restaurant owner's initial excitement at this celebrity sighting turned to hatred the moment she didn't receive the affirmation she was looking for from Ramsey.

Enter Jesus. Riding on a donkey.

The prophets had foretold that the Messiah would enter Jerusalem in humility and gentleness on the back of a donkey...not the most majestic and powerful image one could conjur up for the arrival of a conquering king. I had always been taught that this "triumphal entry" was a sort of an inauguration for Jesus, a proclaimation that he was King. I am not, however, so sure that Jesus set this scene up for himself to be honored by the people or commissioned as King. He knew who he was.

By riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, he was saying something to the people.

Jesus knew that these bootlicking, fawning crowds would within the week be calling for his death. The crowds were lauding him for political reasons in anticipation of some sort of deliverance from Roman occupation. Jesus mocked their militant expectations by arriving on a donkey to start a week filled with holy defiance resulting in his rejection by men.

On more than one occasion in the Gospels, we see Jesus thinning out the crowds of people who were attracted to him for the wrong reasons. He didn't need a political movement to galvanize his cause. He didn't seek to attract a crowd to legitimize his mission. He didn't tolerate those drawn to him for their own selfish gain. He was focused on the cross, and he was asking us to follow him there.

Not a popular message.

Do we crown Jesus as King and laud him as Lord because he is the champion of our causes? Do we hammer the Jesus of the Gospels to make him fit into our political and social agendas? Do we, with confidence and bravado, march with his banner into our causes to carry out the will of God all the while ignoring the mind of Christ?

What would the Christ of the Gospels -- who rode to his death on a donkey and who asks us to die -- say to us today?