Why a Donkey?

Jesus sent two disciples saying… “Go to the village…and you will find a donkey tied there… Matthew 21:1-2

Nathaniel nudged Andrew. “He’s getting ready to do something big,” he whispered. “He’s been hinting at it all week. We’re almost to Jerusalem. That’s where it will happen, I just know it. And we’re gonna be in on it!” Andrew nodded, his eyes on the Rabbi. “Yeah, He might be taking over the palace or maybe the temple…” His hand slipped to his side where the reassuring cold of metal met his fingertips. “You remember how violent He got with those moneychangers? Whoa, this is gonna be good! Is your spear sharp—” His words were cut off as Jesus pointed to them both. “I need you to get me a donkey.”

Andrew’s hand fell away from his spear and he darted a look at his companions. They knew what a donkey meant. In ancient Middle Eastern culture, leaders rode war horses when they came to conquer, but sat upon donkeys when they came in peace. By choosing to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, Jesus was openly declaring Himself a King who had come in peace. There would be no more double-speak, vague innuendos, or hidden messages. Jesus was ripping the veil of secrecy from His mission. He had come to conquer, but not in the way that men conquered other men. He would do it through humility and sacrifice. The donkey was a way of publicly announcing that the old ways were gone and a new kingdom had come.

In God’s new kingdom, humility trumps pride, 

peace trumps violence, 

and service trumps entitlement. 

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First Things First

“If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift… go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”  Matthew 5:23-24

The worship band launches into the next song, one of your favorites. You normally get into it, but today you stand, arms folded. Your head is bowed as though you’re praying, but you’re not. You’re steamed. THEY are here, two rows over. How dare they show up at church after what they said! Your brain rehashes the scene while everyone around you lifts their hands and voices in worship. How can you think about God right now when those people are over there? They said you wronged them, but you don’t think so. Maybe a little, but it was no big deal. So you stand there, ruining worship and your day over that “no big deal.”

Jesus said there’s a better way. He told us that when we come before Him to worship and offer gifts, we must first clear our conscience. Notice the interesting way He phrased this command. He did not say if your brother DID something to you; He said if your brother has something AGAINST you. Some fights were not our doing, so we can’t fix them. But when we know we have hurt someone, it’s on us to make it right. We can’t force them to forgive us, but it’s our job to seek reconciliation by humbling ourselves. Only then can we enter wholeheartedly into worship. Only then will God accept our offerings.

Biblical Christianity

…not looking to your own interests, but each of you to the interests of the others. Phil. 2:4

“Yeah, but I like things this way! I can’t believe you’re changing it.” “I don’t want our small group to grow. Those people aren’t like us.” “I should help support missions and our church, but I like nice things.” It would be great if those comments were pure fiction, but they’re not. Every church has its own version of them. Every family does too. Me First! My Wants Should Rule! Of course, we don’t say it like that. We’ve come up with milder ways to express those selfish tendencies. But the motives are still there. The very root of all sin is this: I want what I want when I want it. I’ll do right, as long as it doesn’t infringe on what I want.

What if we let Jesus rule our lives to such an extent that our first reaction to any idea was: “What would Jesus have me do? How can I best represent Him in this situation?” Imagine the transformation in our homes, our churches, and our communities if that was the default response of every Jesus follower. 

Most divorces would never happen. 

Families would live in harmony. 

The church would never need to beg for volunteers because the lists would be filled months in advance. 

Giving would overflow the buckets, every orphan would have a home, and there would be no needy among us. 

Is this utopia? No, it’s biblical Christianity. 

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Prideful Humility

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. 

Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.  Phil 2: 3  

Alphonso flashed his award-winning smile as cameras snapped. “Get a couple more orphans in this shot,” he murmured to his press secretary while resting a manicured hand on a toddler’s fuzzy head. “Alphonso! Alphonso!” journalists shouted. “How much have you donated to this project?” The superstar lowered his gaze in practiced modesty and waved a dismissive hand. “A little over ten million, but really it’s nothing—” Fans cheered from the scarlet-roped viewing area, drowning out the next question. Alphonso exchanged a wink with his accountant. Ten million was a small investment that paid off in publicity. Charity work was rewarding in itself, made him feel like a good person. But it was also tremendously profitable—if you did it right.

“Prideful humility” is a paradoxical term that needs to be added to our dictionaries. Guilted by constant reminders of how blessed we are, we can be tempted to publicly demonstrate our generosity. We’re so used to posting and tweeting every minute detail of our lives that we can forget what true humility looks like. Culture’s attitude is: If you can’t Instagram it, why do it? This verse nails us. We do most things out of selfish ambition and vain conceit, but Jesus reminded us in Matthew 6:3: “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” That means that we should give, serve, love, and forgive quietly and privately because God sees our inward motivations. He wants to reward us for eternity, but He can’t if we’re already rewarding ourselves. When our greatest desire is to please the Lord, it doesn’t matter who else knows. God does. And that’s enough.

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It's NOT Me First?

…not looking to your own interests, but each of you to the interests of the others. Phil. 2: 4

“Yeah, but I like things this way! I can’t believe you’re changing it.” 

“I don’t want our small group to grow. Those people aren’t like us.” 

“I should help support missions and our church, but I like nice things.” 

It would be great if those comments were pure fiction, but they’re not. Every church has its own version of them. Every family does too. Me First! My Wants Should Rule! Of course, we don’t say it like that. We’ve come up with milder ways to express those selfish tendencies. But the motives are still there. The very root of all sin is this: I want what I want when I want it. I’ll do right, as long as it doesn’t infringe on what I want.

What if we let Jesus rule our lives to such an extent that our first reaction to any idea was: “What would Jesus have me do? How can I best represent Him in this situation?” Imagine the transformation in our homes, our churches, and our communities if that was the default response of every Jesus follower. Most divorces would never happen. Families would live in harmony. The church would never need to beg for volunteers because the lists would be filled months in advance. Giving would overflow the buckets, every orphan would have a home, and there would be no needy among us. Is this utopia? No, it’s biblical Christianity.

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Thinking Like Jesus

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: (verse 5)

Whoa! Wait a minute. We know we are supposed to try to BE like Jesus, ACT like Jesus, and LOVE like Jesus. But those are all external behaviors, things we can choose to do. Now, we’re told to THINK like Jesus. That sounds about as possible as leaping over Mt. Everest in a single bound. We’d be more likely to win the lottery without buying a ticket than to have the same mindset, the same attitudes, and the same motivations as the Son of God. Yet, there it is. A command we’re expected to follow. 

So when we’re confronted with an impossible-looking command in the Bible, should we: 

A) treat it as a suggestion?

B) pretend we didn’t see it? 

C) pretend we’re doing it but we’re really not? 

D) ask the Holy Spirit to do it through us?

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If you guessed A-C, you’re wrong, but probably in the majority. If you guessed D, you’re right, but it might not be the way you think. Asking the Lord to “do this through me” is often spiritual code for “It’s God’s fault if I don’t obey Him.” That’s not what it means. Before the Lord can do the impossible through us, we have to be willing to get ourselves out of the way. If we are to have the same mindset as Jesus has, that means we cannot hang on to the old mindset that belongs to us. To think like Jesus means Self has to pack its bags. Self no longer gets to vote or veto. We capture those self-centered, prideful, lustful, envious thoughts, call them what they are, and kick them out. We stop excusing our sin, and agree with God. Then answer D will work.

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Are you willing to have the same mindset as Jesus has? It means surrendering to His right to change your thinking.

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Empty Yourself

…although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Phil. 2: 6-7

Imagine the scene. The Adored One of heaven steps to the portal and looks down. On a faraway planet, the humans He loves are murdering, raping, and stealing from each other, while the religious ones are frantically trying to make themselves righteous enough to impress God. They are all without hope. The Son looks at the Father and hears, “It’s time, Son.” Jesus nods and lifts the ornate crown from His head while a thousand angels gasp in astonishment. The warriors draw their swords. What was happening? The Son removes His royal robes, but when angels rush to serve Him, He holds up a hand. “No, I’m not going there to be served. I’m going to be a servant.” Emptied of His privileges as God, the Son steps through the portal.

When Jesus “emptied Himself,” He willingly set aside everything that kept Him from coming down here and being with us: His rights, His history, His comfort, His own will. He left them in the hands of His Father and would depend upon the Holy Spirit’s power to help Him fulfill His mission. He set the pattern for us. Jesus emptied Himself of everything that kept Him from uniting with us physically, and we must empty ourselves of everything that keeps us from uniting with Him spiritually. We set aside our rights, our history, our comfort, and our own will, leaving them in the hands of the Father, and depending upon the Holy Spirit’s power to help us live for Christ. As Jesus emptied Himself to be one of us, we must also empty ourselves to be one with Him.

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The Opposite Game

“In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people…But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.” Luke 22:25-26

Kids like to play the “opposite” game. Yes means no, up means down, and run means stop. In order to win at this game, you must suspend your normal way of thinking. On a grander scale, God also plays the opposite game. What looks good to us is evil to Him; what seems wise to us is foolishness to Him. In fact, 1 Corinthians 1:27 says that “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” Jesus also said that if we want to be great, we must be the servant of all. In order to walk in harmony with God, we must suspend our normal way of thinking.

Following Jesus means playing the opposite game. That’s why He warned us that if we are serious about being with Him, we have to deny ourselves, take up our cross every day, and follow (Luke 9:23). He is going in the opposite direction of our fleshly desires. We want to indulge in sexual immorality; He says be pure. We want to lie; He says be honest. We want to exalt ourselves; He says be humble. We want to be served; He says serve others. If we refuse to crucify our normal way of thinking, we will never make it as a follower of Jesus, because His way is opposite our way.

 

We can measure our spiritual growth 

                     by how well we are allowing God’s “opposites” to define our normal. 

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Pride on Its Back

Often what we call humility is just pride wearing a different hat. 

When I struggle with temptation or drift off course a bit, I am shocked at myself. I beat myself up over it, feeling that in order to be humble, I must be appalled at my own tendency to sin. But actually, that is pride. Did I think I was beyond such fleshly temptation? Did I consider myself immune to the struggles common to everyone else? Why should I be surprised at this reminder that my sinful flesh as susceptible to temptation as anyone's? 

It is only pride that fuels such indignation when I find myself in a struggle. True Humility acknowledges that I am incapable of any good thing apart from the power of Christ. True Humility is never shocked when I am weak, but is pleasantly surprised when I don't give in. 

Self-recrimination is only pride on its back.

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