"...Jesus went forward to go up to Jerusalem. And when He arrived at Beth-Phage and Beit-Anyah, near the mountain that is called Olivet, He sent two of His disciples. And He said to them, 'Go to the village that is opposite us, and when you enter it, behold, you will find a foal that is bound upon, which no man has ever ridden; loose and bring him. And if anyone asks you, Why are you loosing him, thus say to him, 'our Lord has need of him.'" Luke 19:28-31
In my five-month prayer watch in Jerusalem I lived on the mountain called Olivet (Mount of Olives) and I could look down the steep hill behind our house and see Beit-Phage. In fact, I took this picture of a donkey by the roadside very near there! But we might wonder...why did Jesus choose a donkey on which to make His "trumphal entry" into Jerusalem? Why, indeed, the foal (colt) of a donkey?
In Hebraic understanding, the donkey represented VICTORY. A great warrior rode out to battle on a fine stallion, a horse of great strength. But when the battle was won, it is said that he rode back on a donkey, signifying that he brought back the victory and there would be peace. Isn't this a beautiful picture? Our Lord rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, making the statement to all generations that the battle is won through His death and resurrection, and He alone brings shalom.
But wait! There's more! When we dig deeper, there is another astonishing prophetic picture in this little donkey. We know that Ephraim, representing the 10 scattered tribes, or the nations, is symbolized in Scripture as "a wild donkey." And we, the nations, are also referred to in Romans 11 as a "wild olive shoot" that is grafted back into the natural olive tree (Israel). So, what picture do we see here as Yeshua is speaking to His Jewish disciples about this little donkey tied up at Beit-Phage?
In Job Chapter 39 we hear Yahweh, King of the Universe, putting us in our rightful places as His subjects. He says, "Do you know when the mountains give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn? Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth? Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied his ropes?"
Yeshua (Jesus) the Jewish Messiah gave His Jewish disciples very specific instructions: "When you enter the village, you will find a foal that is bound upon which man has never ridden; loose and bring him. And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing him, thus say to him, our Lord nas need of him.'"
This is a little donkey that has never been ridden. He is fresh and pure. He is wild. He is a picture of Ephraim, the Gentiles, we who were "separate from Messiah, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope or without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12). The Lord didn't need us, did He? He rode into Jerusalem, hailed as King of the Jews! He is the Holy One of Israel! The Jewish people cried "Hosannah to the Son of David!" and they laid their garments down before Him on the path.
But then at the end of that journey He was crucified. And the rest of the Ephesians 2:12 passage says, "But now you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Messiah." Romans 11:25 says, "For I want you to know this mystery, my brothers...that blindness of the heart in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Goyim (Gentiles) has come."
How humbled I am at this verse! A partial blinding of the Jewish people was given, so that every possible believing soul throughout all nations could be reached and saved by the Messiah.
Who let the wild donkey go free?
Who untied his ropes?
It was Jesus. He has need of us.
