Closer Look: Why A Donkey?

(5–8 minutes, easy set-up)
Learners will discuss why Christ rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.
Provide index cards and pens.

Divide learners into groups of four or five learners, providing each group with an index card and a pen. Then read Luke 19:30, calling attention to the term colt or donkey. Next, instruct groups to make a list of some of the tasks for which a donkey might be useful. Call for reports after a few moments.

Provide the following information about donkeys:

Six words in Hebrew and two in Greek are translated as “donkey.”
The animal is mentioned more than 120 times throughout the Bible.
In Jesus’ day, these animals were part of the peasant life.
If a donkey ever strayed and fell into a pit, the Pharisees would most likely leave it there because it was of little significance.

Ask: Why, then, would Jesus choose such an animal? (Answer: It demonstrated Jesus’ humbleness; it showed that Jesus’ entry was part of God’s plan.)

To help learners understand the deeper significance of the donkey, share the following:

Hebrew kings rode donkeys when they traveled throughout their kingdoms during times of peace (1 Kgs. 1:33–35).
The king always had a donkey reserved for him that no one else had ever ridden.

Ask: What did Jesus’ use of the donkey communicate to the crowds? (That He was the king; that He had come as the King of Peace; that He was the long-awaited Messiah.)