The Donkey Walked In

[00:00:00] Foreign. [00:00:05] It's the day after Palm Sunday. [00:00:08] It's the week that changed everything. [00:00:12] And it all started on Palm Sunday when the donkey walked in. [00:00:17] Thanks so much for taking a few minutes today. Let's breathe together for a second. You ready? In, out. [00:00:27] Palm Sunday, today being Holy Monday, a man rides into Jerusalem on a donkey. Not a war horse, not a chariot draped in gold. A donkey. And the crowd, well, they lose their brain. Coats on the ground, palm branches waving, voices straining, cracking, shouting. Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. And that's what Luke says about it in his gospel, chapter 19, verse 38. [00:00:55] But the religious leaders, the theological experts, the guys with the degrees and the robes and the titles, they are so ticked off. I mean, they're furious. This is not how it's supposed to go, according to them. Even though they spent their whole life studying prophecy that said, 500 years before this, this was going to happen. [00:01:17] But in their mind, it's like, we're out of control. We can't control this guy. This is not how you welcome a king. [00:01:24] But in actuality, that's exactly how they would have welcomed a king. They just wanted a king that was different. You know, they wanted a king that would be like military superiority. They wanted a king that would fix the educational system and the government. They. They didn't want a king that came and said, hey, I've come to give you life and to give it more abundantly. I mean, those theological experts, they pulled Jesus aside and they said, tell these people to stop. Shut this down. This is way too much. [00:01:54] And. And Jesus says, if they keep quiet, the stones along the road will burst into cheers. I mean, he's saying even the rocks knew what he was there for. [00:02:03] Even the stones and the dirt under the donkey's hooves knew Creation itself could feel it. And if you're like a lot of people, you're willing to surrender your position of worship to this king, to rocks. [00:02:16] But even creation knew it. The king had arrived. The king had arrived. But. But here's the scandal. He didn't come for the insiders. He hadn't come to protect the institution of their church. He hadn't come to affirm the people who already had all the answers. [00:02:33] This king, Jesus, he came for everybody else. He came for people like me and you regular, normal people. [00:02:41] There was no way for us to have this path to God prior to Jesus. [00:02:48] There was just no way. Not a hard way, not a difficult way, no way. [00:02:53] Religion tried to build a staircase to God. Philosophers tried to map A path to God. Moralists tried to behave their way to God. And mystics, well, they tried to meditate their way to God, and not one ounce of it worked. And then here comes Jesus on a donkey, which is God, apparently, with a sense of humor. I mean, I don't know about you, but I find that hilarious. [00:03:15] He rides into the center of religious power, Jerusalem, straight through toward his own death. [00:03:21] And he says, with his actions, if you can't climb your way to God, don't worry about it. I'll bring God all the way to you. [00:03:29] Paul said it this way in Romans 5:8. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ Jesus to die for us while we were still sinners. While we were still sinners. [00:03:42] That's fascinating to me. We did not have to get our junk together. [00:03:46] I mean, it wasn't like, hey, I'm coming to you on this donkey to die for you. After you get yourself cleaned up, after you figured out your theology, after you fix your brokenness to addiction or fix that marriage you're in or got your anxiety under control. While we were still sinners, there was no way. So Jesus made one. Not because we deserved it, not because we earned it, not because we finally promised to do better, but simply, grace upon grace. [00:04:19] That's the language that this elevation worship song sings. Even though I don't deserve it, you did it. Even though I couldn't earn it, you give it. This is where the religious machine starts to grind and smoke and fall apart, y'. All. [00:04:33] Because if grace is free, if you cannot earn it, then the whole system built on earning well, it collapses. If God's love really is a gift, what do you do with all your spiritual scorecards? What do you do with all your comparisons? [00:04:48] What about all of those? At least I'm not like those people. [00:04:52] Palm Sunday, y'. All. It's not a kids parade. It's a revolution. It's a king that shows up not with soldiers, not with swords, but with scars that are coming. [00:05:02] He walks or rides into the city that's going to choose to kill him, and he does it with you on his mind. So let me ask you something. Where in your life have you been trying to build your own way to God? Where have you been carrying the pressure to be good enough, holy enough Bible, smart enough to finally get God to like you? [00:05:22] What if the whole point of Palm Sunday is that God already came all the way way to you on a donkey, in weakness, in humility, in vulnerability, so you don't have to pretend you don't have to perform anymore. You don't have to protect your image. You can just drop all the religious act and say, God, I'm just grateful for you. Grateful that you made a way when there was no way. Grateful that you came for me today. [00:05:49] Maybe as you drive or walk your dog or sit at your desk or sit, you know, walk on a treadmill, just whisper that sentence. God, I'm just grateful for you. [00:06:00] Let that be your Holy Monday prayer. [00:06:03] Hey, thanks for spending these minutes with me today. If this has stirred something in you, share it with a friend who needs to be reminded that grace really is a gift. We'll keep walking toward Easter together, one grateful step at a time. Thanks so much. I'm glad you joined me on today's weekday podcast.