When Jesus was about to head into Jerusalem for the final days of life, he said to his disciples, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me.”
Why a donkey?
Zechariah had prophesied, “Your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey.” Jesus knew he was fulfilling the Old Testament Scriptures.
But the donkey Jesus requested was no wild donkey. It was tied up. Surely it belonged to someone.
In the ancient world owning animals was a symbol of success. Wealth was measured by the size of a person’s flocks and herds.
So it’s shocking how casually Jesus says of the donkey and its colt, “Bring them to me.” He’d didn’t ask for permission. He didn’t attempt to buy it. Jesus knew God’s word says: “Every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.”
The King of kings does not need to ask us for his wealth. He does not need to barter with us over a certain percentage. Instead, he boldly declares ownership over all wealth. Silver and gold. Cattle and birds. The earth and everything in it. It all belongs to God.
Why do we worry and stress over money when none of it truly belongs to us? The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. The Lord makes rich and poor. Wealth sprouts wings and flies away, as Proverbs says. How much happier we would be to hold wealth and possessions with an open hand, knowing that no matter what tides of wealth come in or go out, God has promised he’ll never leave us nor forsake us.
Christians are the richest people on earth because we have the truest of treasures. Our treasure can never be taken away, not death nor life, angels nor rulers, things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now and forever we are loved by God.
For just one night that donkey’s true owner rode it like a king into Jerusalem. Shouts of “Hosanna” filled the air. Not long after the shouts turned to a different word, “Crucify!”
Jesus rode ahead to the worst of deaths. He was flogged, beaten, spit upon, pierced, and hung on a Roman cross so that we might know with certainty what his love is like. Costly. Sacrificial. Generous. When we have him, we have everything.
© John Rinehart 2026