Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  Zechariah 9:9 HCSB

This scripture passage is Zechariah’s prophecy (in the Old Testament) about Palm Sunday or Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. In Mark 11, Jesus sends two disciples ahead and tells them that they will find a donkey and a colt tied on which no one had ever sat. He instructed them to bring them to Him. He told them if anyone questioned them to say that the “Lord needs it and will send it back right away.”

I am a car person. I notice cars, I tend to formulate theories on what people are like based on their cars. Let’s face it, a car can tell us a lot about a person. When friends from high school ask me about someone we attended school with, my first question is usually, “What did they drive?” This is how I remember people.

Now certainly if we were expecting a king to come into town, we would expect a stretch limo with a royal motorcade, right? We would not expect someone of royalty or high political ranking to come into town on a moped, but this is the equivalent of what Jesus did. If you notice in Mark 11, Jesus is telling them of the donkey and colt that are tied there. He knows this to be a fact. He knows that they have never been ridden. Now if you know very much about horses or mules or donkeys, you will know that jumping on one that has never been ridden is risky. There is a process called breaking the animal which makes them suitable to ride. But the scripture passage says this one has never been ridden. Jesus knew this and chose a young donkey that had never been ridden.

Now on Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on this donkey. People were spreading their robes on the road in front of Him, others were spreading palm branches and they were shouting, “Hosanna, in the highest heaven!” They were worshiping Him as the King He was. They were saying, “The coming kingdom of our father David is blessed!” Just a few days later they would want a career criminal like Barabbas to be released and they would shout, “Crucify Him!” when Jesus stood before them.

Now why would Jesus come in on a young donkey? Why would He not come into the town like royalty? He could have come in on an elaborate carriage or a beautiful horse. Well, the best answer I can give you is that He was demonstrating what we should be doing. He was demonstrating humility. He came into Jerusalem knowing full well the heartache and humiliation that lie ahead. He had been trying to prepare His disciples as best He could. He had lived his life as a humble servant. He had modeled humility so that we may understand the need for humility while we are here on earth. He knew that once his task was done, He would return to glory.

So today, I encourage you to be content with your moped. When we trust in God and we submit to Him with humility and honor and praise, our reward is granted to us for eternity. We endure suffering for a little while, but it can’t compare to the glory that awaits us (Romans 8:18). We are told in Isaiah 40:31 that if we wait upon the LORD, if we patiently trust in Him and humbly serve Him, that we will rise up and soar like eagles.

Jesus humbled Himself, the people worshiped Him, they glorified Him and honored Him and praised Him, but it was short lived. In less than a week they crucified Him. We must realize that whoever we are and whatever we have here on earth is temporary. People are fickle. But oh, the glory that awaits us when we go to spend eternity with God the Father.

Just a few days ago, I lost my aunt. While I grieve her loss and will miss her terribly, I just wonder how awesome this Easter will be for her. My dad died on April 2, 2013. He will be spending his eighth Easter in Heaven. Revelation 21 tells us that there will be no more crying, mourning, or tears. It tells us that we will walk streets of gold surrounded by walls of precious stones and gates of pearl. I don’t think we can fathom what awaits us there.

Both my dad and my aunt Margie suffered illness here on earth, but now they are healed and made whole.

My prayer for you today is that you live a life of humility here on earth. Ride that moped knowing that your limousine with your motorcade is just around the corner. Know that the sufferings we suffer here are nothing compared to the beauty and glory that we will reside in when we spend eternity in Heaven.

Trust in Him today, He will give you peace and contentment to get through these trying times on earth. And when your days on earth are done, He will bring you into glory to spend eternity.

Have a great day!