GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 11-4
We Are Able
Some tasks require specialized tools. I needed to replace a part on our car. The part was in a hard-to-reach recess, and I didn’t have a tool that would fit it, so I went to a mechanic and explained the situation. He told me a special tool was designed for that job. I then went to an auto parts store and explained the situation to the clerk, who led me to a tool rack and selected the correct socket. It was a perfect fit. That particular tool does not fit any other device, and I have used it only once. But the job could not have been completed without it.
As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they stopped near the Mount of Olives. According to Mark, Jesus sent two disciples into a village—most likely Bethphage, which lay on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, just outside Jerusalem—to fetch a colt. Without entering into the difficult question of how Jesus knew about the colt, the point is that he knew he needed a colt.
In the ancient Middle East, colts were symbols of affluence; they were expensive to house, maintain, and feed. When a governor returned from battle, he rode a horse—a symbol of power and conquest. When he wished to project peace, he rode a donkey. Jesus and His disciples had likely walked 100–120 miles from the north to Jerusalem, so He could easily have walked the final couple of miles into the city. The context highlights an important detail: the disciples did not murmur when He asked them to locate the colt. They may have sensed urgency in His voice.
Jesus undoubtedly knew the prophecy: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9) This king, however, would not come as a conqueror riding on a horse, but as the Lord of Peace, on a colt. He had to have a colt. Nothing else would do.
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