“And saith unto them, go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him” (Mark 11:2).
Evidently the colt upon which Jesus sat during His triumphal entry into Jerusalem had purposefully not been used prior to Jesus’ request. The owner seemed to have known of Jesus and had anticipated His need for just such a colt, for he immediately released the colt to the disciples upon their request (vv.3–6). A king who entered a city upon a horse came for purposes of war, but one who entered on a colt came for peace. Since the rider-to-be was identified only as “the Lord” (v.3), we wonder if the owner had not already recognized Jesus as his Lord and King.
An animal which had never before been used was one which had been set aside for some sacred purpose, such as the “heifer . . . upon which never came yoke” (Numbers 19:2), to be offered up as a sacrifice, or the two oxen used to draw the wagon carrying the Ark of the Covenant (I Samuel 6:7). The fact that the colt had not been broken or trained to allow riders posed no problem for the King—the Creator of all animals. The colt submitted to his Master’s touch.
The entire episode was acted out in exact fulfillment of several Old Testament prophecies, most notably Zechariah 9:9 (cf. Matthew 21:4,5). The multitude who spread branches on the trail before Him (v.8) and cried “Hosanna . . . Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord” (vv.9,10) as they would for a reigning king, seemed to claim Him as Lord and King. But their understanding was incomplete, for they also said, “This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth” (Matthew 21:11) and soon some would shout “crucify Him” (Mark 15:13).
May we, like the colt, be completely submissive to our Creator and Lord. JDM
