So, what might it mean to ride towards the walls of Jerusalem on a donkey? It references Zechariah's vision; but what does it mean? To answer that question, we might need to ask, where else does someone come riding on a donkey? Not just riding on a donkey - that must have been an almost daily occurance. Where, in the official story of God's people, the story that shapes experience as opposed to merely recording experience, does someone ride a donkey?
Governor Nehemiah approaches Jerusalem on a donkey. Why? Because the walls have been thrown down, and lie so devastated that a horse could not pick a path through the stones.
So perhaps, in riding on a donkey, Jesus is saying, Jerusalem, you lie in ruins, but I come to rebuild the ancient walls.
And the upstanding citizens respond, what do you mean, our city is in ruins? Here is Herod the Great's Temple, the largest building in the world. Jerusalem, the centre of the universe. Open your eyes and see!
And they reject the one who comes, picking their way through on a donkey, who would rebuild.
I look at what we have built, our religious grandeur, that looks so impressive; and think that those with eyes to truly see would choose a donkey as their means of moving forward...
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