Donkeys, Peace, and What We Need

We are all very confident about what we think we need. Not what we want, what we need. We say things like:

• I need this to work out.
• I need that person to change.
• I need the door to open.

The problem is that we actually don’t know what we need. We think we do, but we rarely get it right. And when what we think we need doesn’t happen the way we think it should, we get disappointed or disoriented.

We don’t just bring requests to God, we bring solutions. These aren’t prayers as much as demands. But what if we’re wrong about what we need?

If, Then Statements
We all have a story about what would finally make our lives okay.

• If this changes, then I’ll have peace.
• If this changes, then I’ll finally be able to breathe.
• If I can get around this turn, then things will get better.

And until that happens, we just hold our breath. With if, then statements, our peace, joy, and security in life are connected to something that’s outside our control.

Now, things on your list aren’t bad, but somewhere along the way, those things become functional saviors. Those outcomes are what will save us. We don’t just want salvation, we want a specific version of salvation.

That’s the fallen condition.

We often only come to God for what we think we need. But what if that’s not what we really need?

It’s possible to be passionate about Jesus and still miss the real Jesus.

We want the benefits of the Kingdom without the king of King He actually is.

Nothing in the Bible is accidental. There are no throwaway details, no filtered moments, no random travel choices. Every movement, object, or word is revealing something about who God is and what He is doing. The Bible is not just telling us what happened, it shows us what it means. So, when Jesus makes His entrance into Jerusalem, He is not just getting from point A to point B. He is preaching.

Luke 19
30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” 32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.

Why the Donkey?
If you were the long-awaited Messiah coming to liberate your people with a crowd ready to crown you, you don’t ride in on a donkey. You ride in on a warhorse. That’s what conquering kings did. That’s what power and victory looked like. What you rode in on spoke volumes.

Jesus chooses to ride in on a donkey. He did it on purpose. He did it in public. Why? Because He was coming to meet their actual need and not their perceived need. Before His mouth even opened, He already confronted their expectations.

If Jesus came the way they wanted, He wouldn’t have come the way they needed.

The version of Jesus we ask for naturally is usually the one that makes our lives work best for us.

We ask Jesus to fix our situations, but He comes to fix our separation.

• We ask for relief, God wants to bring resurrection.
• We ask for control, God wants to develop surrender.
• We ask for situations, God wants to change our hearts.

If He gave them what they were shouting for, they would’ve gone back to their homes, still in their sin, still separated from God, and still in need of a savior.

That’s one of the greatest threats to our faith. Not that God says, “no” to our prayers, but that we reduce Him to answering the small things we ask for and miss who He actually is.

Luke 19
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives,the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

All of Creation is moving towards this moment of praising the King. So, their worship, joy, and expectation are real. They’re quoting Scripture, declaring truth, and recognizing Him as the promised King. And yet, they still don’t understand the type of salvation He’s bringing.

You can say the right things about Jesus for the wrong reasons.

It’s easy for us to sing the right songs, quote the right verses, and say the right things about Jesus, yet underneath it all, we’re quietly hoping He’ll just solve all the problems we’ve decided are most important to us.

So, how do we know when we’re doing that?

• If you ask Jesus to fix your circumstances but resist when He starts working on your character.
• You ask Him to remove the hardship, but He keeps forming perseverance.
• We want clarity about the future, but He keeps inviting us into trust.

Are we worshipping Jesus for who He truly is or for who we hope He will be for us?

That’s why the same crowd that shouted “Hosanna!” on Sunday would shout “Crucify Him!” by Friday. Not because Jesus failed. But because He refused to become the kind of Savior they wanted.

Luke 19
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

Jesus weeps over the city. Not because they rejected Him, but because they missed it. He says, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it’s hidden from your eyes.” Throughout Luke’s Gospel, this idea of peace shows up:

• At Jesus’ birth: “Peace on earth” (Luke 2:14)
• When someone is forgiven: “Go in peace” (Luke 7:50)
• Salvation brings us peace with God.

He literally came riding in on a donkey, and that’s a fulfillment of a prophecy in the Book of Zechariah.

Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

A donkey is a symbol of peace. They missed it!

We all have our own idea of what peace looks like.

• The right schools.
• The right career trajectory.
• The right financial stability.
• The right person in office.
• Our plans working.  
  
  

But Jesus rides into moments like that and quietly says, “The peace you are chasing out there is not the peace you actually need.”

You can actually have all those other things and still not have peace with God. We think peace is when life becomes manageable. Jesus says peace is when your soul is reconciled to God.

Do you see Jesus for who He truly is?

Each day comes with our own Costco cart of needs. Things we’re convinced will finally bring us peace. But what we should do instead is bring those things to our King and let Him decide what salvation looks like.

Bring your list to Jesus, but let Him decide what stays on it.

The more we allow Jesus to be the King of our lives, the more we will see Him for who He truly is and what He’s really doing.