The Colt Whereon Never Man Sat
Our Bible passage, introduction to Sunday 24th April’s service and hymns are below.
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Our verses are:
Mar 11:1 And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples,
Mar 11:2 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.
Mar 11:3 And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.
Mar 11:4 And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him.
Mar 11:5 And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt?
Mar 11:6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.
Mar 11:7 And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him.
The Colt Whereon Never Man Sat
It is five days until the Lord Jesus will be crucified and our Saviour has reached the outskirts of Jerusalem. Here amongst the villages that dotted the approach to the Jews’ ancient capital He pauses and prepares for what will be a prophecy-fulfilling entrance into the city proper. Many years before, Isaiah and Zechariah had glimpsed this moment. The prophets knew by divine revelation that when the King of kings came to Zion, glory and gentleness, majesty and meekness, would characterise His arrival.
Fulfilled prophecy
Anticipating this moment Zechariah had written, ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass’. Isaiah declared, ‘Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him’.
The coming Messiah
We are reminded that our Lord Jesus Christ did not arrange His actions to fulfil prophecy. That would be to misunderstand the proper order of things. Rather, the prophets of old were given insight into what Jesus would do when He came. They were given glimpses of the future to encourage believers in their own age, prepare the church in the Old Testament for their coming Messiah, and to bear witness to the true identity of the Lord Jesus, and the meaning of His work.
Divinely ordered events
Matthew speaks of an ass and its colt revealing there were two animals. Mark and Luke mention only the colt. Both were present. When the colt was untied and led away by the disciples the dam followed, and both were ridden upon by the Lord into the city as the prophet foretold.
Omniscience
The Lord’s divinity appears in his knowledge of the whereabouts of the ass and colt, the question set by the owners, and the answer to be supplied by the disciples. Even if the owners were followers of the Lord, it is clear the events of this day were precisely ordered and wonderfully arranged, even to the riding of an unbroken and untamed colt. Do not let that detail pass you by.
His work before Him
As the Lord Jesus approached Jerusalem His great mission loomed before Him. Eager as He was to be about the business of saving His people and winning His Bride, the knowledge of His suffering, pain and sin-bearing must have weighed heavily upon Him. Isaiah’s point about Christ’s work being before Him should not be missed. What marvellous love drove our Great King forward, not to the earthly kingdom envisaged by His disciples, but to blood redemption for His people, and salvation for our souls.
Christ unrecognised
A donkey for a king is more suggestive of mocking a vanquished foe than arriving in majesty to claim a victor’s crown. In Jesus’ time the streets of Jerusalem echoed with the footsteps of marching soldiers and the clatter of Roman horses and chariots. The Saviour brought no army to His coronation. Yet, here is the King of glory, seated on an ass, purposefully displaying the humility of a servant; the attitude of meekness and lowliness that characterised His whole life as the Lamb of God. Having walked His whole ministry Jesus choose this moment to travel by donkey. Why now?
The silent testimony of a subdued donkey
In Christ’s humility there was hidden strength and resolve. Our blessed Saviour was determined to finish the task set before Him, and to secure the victory that would follow. The multitude of visitors to the feast knew Him not, the residents of Jerusalem, the scribes and the Pharisees, Pilate, Herod and all their soldiers failed to see the true identity of the Godman as He made His way towards the city and to the cross. Even His own followers struggled to grasp His purpose.
But underneath Him an unbroken colt walked placidly and subdued into Jerusalem through the boisterous and cheering crowds and up to the temple, carrying on its back its Creator to His triumph.
Our hymns are below.
Hymn 1
Gadsby selection 679
Prayer. Matt. 18. 20; Exod. 20. 24
D. Herbert C.M.
1
Come, thou Almighty Comforter,
And bring upon thy wing
Sweet consolation to each soul,
That we may praise and sing.
2
We want to feel, we want to see,
We want to know thee more;
We want sweet foretastes of thy love,
As we have had before.
3
And shall we come in vain to God?
Dear Lord, that cannot be;
Thy promise stands engaged to come,
And bless e’en two or three.
4
Come, Lord, and grant each soul to feel
Its interest in thy grace;
And give us faith, and hope, and love,
And strength to run the race.
5
[If thou shouldst leave us, we must fall;
Without thee, cannot rise;
For when our Jesus hides his face,
Our hope, our comfort, dies.]
6
Lord, give more faith, more solid faith,
More confidence in thee;
Break off our legal chains, O God,
And let our souls go free.
Hymn 2
Gadsby selection 680
Eternal Settlements. Eph. 1. 3-12; 2 Tim. 1. 9; Tit. 1. 2
D. Herbert C.M.
1
Before all worlds, the glorious plan,
The blest eternal deed,
Was settled by the eternal Three,
That Christ for man should bleed.
2
Astonished angels stand amazed,
That Christ should die for man;
This proves the eternal love of God,
Who gloried in his plan.
3
But what can poor lost sinners say,
When once they get a view;
And hear the blessed Spirit say,
“All this was done for you”?
4
“Why me, why me, O blessed God,
Why such a wretch as me?
Who must for ever lie in hell,
Were not salvation free.”
5
All those that God had foreordained,
These shall and must believe;
Not all the craft of earth or hell
Shall one of these deceive.