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Did Christ Ride 2 Donkeys or 1 Donkey on Palm Sunday (You may be surprised by the symbolism!)

By Dr. Taylor Marshall

For years I was confused about Palm Sunday. In Matthew’s Gospel, we read that Christ rode a female donkey and her baby colt. However, in Mark, Luke, and John, we read that Christ rode a donkey without any mention of the her colt. For some reason, I had imagined that Christ rode the she-donkey and the little colt at the same time – wide straddling both. This seems ridiculous, but I didn’t know how else to visualize what Matthew was describing.

 

I finally found clarity while reading Cornelius a Lapide’s commentary on the passage. According to Lapide, Christ first rode the ass up and down the mount and then rode the colt into the city.

 

There is a practical reason for this. The she-ass would be stronger and more able to go up and down the terrain. Next, the colt would be able to bring him into the city easily.

 

Yet there is a mystical signification is this as well. The she-ass and her colt signify “the two sorts of people of which the world is made up—the Jews, accustomed to the yoke of the Mosaic law, who were represented by the ass; and the Gentiles, living up to this time without the Law of God, and who were denoted by the colt.”

 

The she-ass represents Mother Israel who has been burdened with the Law of Moses. Saint Peter our first Pope described the Mosaic Law as “a yoke…which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear” (Acts 15:10, D-R).

 

The young colt represents the new and untrained Gentiles – the wild olive branch that the Apostle describes as the Gentiles.

 

Christ our Lord rode both to signify that both the Jews and the Gentiles were called to be Christophoroi Christ-bearers.

 

4 Reasons Christ Rode a Donkey

By Dr. Taylor Marshall

Prior to entering Jerusalem, Christ instructed his disciples to acquire for him a donkey (in Matthew’s Gospel a donkey and a colt).

 

First, the prophet Zechariah wrote: “Behold, your king comes to you, triumphant and victorious. He is humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass.” (Zech 9:9)

 

The messianic sign was at once perceived by the crowds who hailed Jesus as their king shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Mt 21:9) Catholics still shout this Davidic salutation every time the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated. It is an acknowledgment that Jesus is the true Davidic Messiah and king.

 

Secondly, an ass is integral to the story of Abraham’s offering of Isaac, a type of the oblation of the First Born Son as a sign of obedience.

 

The third reason is that King Solomon Solomon rode to his messianic coronation on a mule that had once belonged to David (1 Kgs 1:33-44).

 

Fourth, King Jehu rode into Samaria (a kind of false Jerusalem) over the garments of his adherents in order to destroy the temple of the false god Baal (2 Kgs 9:11-10:28).

 

One of the first things Christ does upon entering Jerusalem is bring judgment to the Temple which has become a den of thieves. The typology in this account is rather startling as 2 Kgs chapter nine contains strong messianic language. Like King Jehu, Christ the King comes as a judge over ceremonial regulations.

 

http://taylormarshall.com/2014...-on-palm-sunday.html

 

 

 

Last edited by INVICTUS
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Vic, my Friend,

 

Does it really matter how many donkeys?   The whole point is that our Lord, the Son of God, humbled Himself to ride into town on a donkey -- while Roman generals and conquerors always rode into town on a marvelous white horse, to show their stature.  Jesus did not need that material stature, He is God, so He rode in on a donkey.

 

In the same light, did one woman find the tomb of Jesus Christ empty -- or were there multiple women?   Depending upon which Gospel you read -- you might think there is a contradiction.  But, there is not.  Each writer tells the story with the emphasis he wants to share.   This is a good article expounding upon that:

 

Who Discovered The Empty Tomb?

http://www.biblegateway.com/bl...ered-the-empty-tomb/

 

Question: Why does the Bible say that Mary Magdalene and another Mary discovered the empty tomb, while another Gospel says that only Mary did, while another says that Simon joined them? This to me seems like inaccuracies in the Bible.

 

Lee’s response: It’s important to clarify between a biblical inaccuracy (what others often call a contradiction) and what a Gospel writer simply chose to include or emphasize in his account. A contradiction is to affirm and deny the same thing, at the same time, in the same respect. A contradiction regarding the eyewitness testimony cited would be, for instance, that “only Mary Magdalene went to the empty tomb” – something no Gospel writers say – and “Mary and the other Mary” (Matthew 28:1) went to the empty tomb.

 

To shed a bit more light on the biblical passage you cited, John mentions only Mary Magdalene explicitly at the tomb in his Gospel (John 20:1). But if we read carefully we see in the next verse (20:2) that Mary tells Peter, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb but we don’t know where they have put him!” This supports the other Gospels when they say that other women went to the tomb with Mary, perhaps following closely behind. As the NIV Study Bible says, the we “indicates that there were others with Mary (see Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1, Luke 24:10), though John does not identify them.” So when John wrote his Gospel, he only mentions one woman by name but uses the plural pronoun “we” to indicate that others were with her.

 

So, one donkey or two?  One woman or several?  What does it matter?   The main emphasis should be the Gospel.

 

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

 

Bill

I Believe The Bible

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Originally Posted by Bill Gray:

Vic, my Friend,

 

Does it really matter how many donkeys?   The whole point is that our Lord, the Son of God, humbled Himself to ride into town on a donkey -- while Roman generals and conquerors always rode into town on a marvelous white horse, to show their stature.  Jesus did not need that material stature, He is God, so He rode in on a donkey.

 

In the same light, did one woman find the tomb of Jesus Christ empty -- or were there multiple women?   Depending upon which Gospel you read -- you might think there is a contradiction.  But, there is not.  Each writer tells the story with the emphasis he wants to share.   This is a good article expounding upon that:

 

Who Discovered The Empty Tomb?

http://www.biblegateway.com/bl...ered-the-empty-tomb/

 

Question: Why does the Bible say that Mary Magdalene and another Mary discovered the empty tomb, while another Gospel says that only Mary did, while another says that Simon joined them? This to me seems like inaccuracies in the Bible.

 

Lee’s response: It’s important to clarify between a biblical inaccuracy (what others often call a contradiction) and what a Gospel writer simply chose to include or emphasize in his account. A contradiction is to affirm and deny the same thing, at the same time, in the same respect. A contradiction regarding the eyewitness testimony cited would be, for instance, that “only Mary Magdalene went to the empty tomb” – something no Gospel writers say – and “Mary and the other Mary” (Matthew 28:1) went to the empty tomb.

 

To shed a bit more light on the biblical passage you cited, John mentions only Mary Magdalene explicitly at the tomb in his Gospel (John 20:1). But if we read carefully we see in the next verse (20:2) that Mary tells Peter, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb but we don’t know where they have put him!” This supports the other Gospels when they say that other women went to the tomb with Mary, perhaps following closely behind. As the NIV Study Bible says, the we “indicates that there were others with Mary (see Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1, Luke 24:10), though John does not identify them.” So when John wrote his Gospel, he only mentions one woman by name but uses the plural pronoun “we” to indicate that others were with her.

 

So, one donkey or two?  One woman or several?  What does it matter?   The main emphasis should be the Gospel.

 

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

 

Bill

I Believe The Bible

------------------------------------------------------

please give me the scriptural reference for the reference to Roman generals. I can't seem to find it. 

quote:  Originally Posted by Ubu:
quote:  Originally Posted by Bill Gray:

Vic, my Friend,

 

Does it really matter how many donkeys?   The whole point is that our Lord, the Son of God, humbled Himself to ride into town on a donkey -- while Roman generals and conquerors always rode into town on a marvelous white horse, to show their stature.  Jesus did not need that material stature, He is God, so He rode in on a donkey.

 

please give me the scriptural reference for the reference to Roman generals. I can't seem to find it.

Hi Ubu,

 

Since I was not quoting Scripture, nor sharing theology or Christian doctrine, there is no reason to give Scriptural references.  Besides studying Scripture -- I also love studying history.

 

If I say that Robert E. Lee was a general during the Civil War -- do I need to give a Scripture reference for that?

 

However, when I say that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ -- plus nothing else --  that most certainly deserves a Scripture reference.  Which, by the way is Ephesians 2:8-9 plus many other verses.

 

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

 

Bill

Last edited by Bill Gray

I love studying history also. Some would even say, in a way, I put food on the table by it. 

 

I could take exception to your statement that "Roman generals and conquerors always rode into town on a marvelous white horse, to show their stature", however that is not at issue here.

 

You drew a parallel with the Lord. 

 

So are you reading into scripture what is not there or is this an example of extraBiblical doctrine?

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