The Man on The Borrowed Donkey

In Matthew 21:2-3, Jesus instructs His disciples: “Go into the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

Disclaimer: I know this one is long, but the donkey was hard to loose. Pun intended.

The donkey, tied and seemingly insignificant, is a reflection of our own lives. We are tied to circumstances beyond our control—our past traumatic experiences, betrayals by those who should have protected us, exploitation, and abuse. We are tied to religious systems that suffocate rather than liberate, organizations that stifle our creativity and individuality, bitterness that takes root in our souls, and poles of despair that hold us captive.

We are tied to governments that prioritize greed over the well-being of the vulnerable, that invest in killing machines rather than the safety and future of children. We are tied to systems that perpetuate inequality, exploiting the weak while empowering the unjust. These ties are heavy, suffocating, and seemingly unbreakable.

Yet, it is to this same donkey, tied and seemingly unworthy, that the call to fulfill a divine purpose comes. Jesus does not dismiss the donkey because it is bound; instead, He commands that it be untied and brought to Him. The mission is not thwarted by the donkey’s limitations; it is carried out through them.

The donkey is a symbol of stubbornness and resistance, much like our own hearts. It represents the part of us that resists healing, refuses to forgive, and hesitates to trust. We fear letting go of the ropes that bind us because, in some twisted way, they have become familiar. But Jesus sees beyond our resistance. He sees our potential, even in our brokenness. He does not call the proud or the perfect; He calls the tied, the bound, the burdened.

The donkey was borrowed, not owned, a poignant reminder that everything we are and have is not truly ours. Our lives, our talents, and even our struggles are borrowed from the One who created us. The donkey’s value was not in its pedigree or appearance but in its willingness to carry the King. Similarly, our worth is found in our surrender to His purpose.

The man on the borrowed donkey rode into Jerusalem, fulfilling a prophecy that declared peace, humility, and redemption. This same man calls us today. He does not ask us to untie ourselves—that would be impossible. Instead, He sends His word and His disciples to loosen the cords that hold us captive. He calls us not because we are free but because we are bound. He sees us tied to our pain, our shame, our guilt, our governments, and our despair, and yet He declares, “Bring them to me.”

Jesus did not choose a warhorse, a symbol of power and might, but a lowly donkey, a creature of humility. This choice speaks volumes about His kingdom. It is not built on force but on surrender, not on domination but on peace. The donkey, once tied and overlooked, became a vessel for divine glory. In the same way, our lives, when surrendered to Jesus, carry His presence into the world.

We may be tied to fear, to relationships that drain us, to systems that fail us, to the bitterness of unresolved wounds, to governments that prioritize profit over people. Yet, Jesus still calls for us. The donkey’s stubbornness did not disqualify it; neither does our resistance disqualify us. He knows the struggles we face. He knows the weight of our burdens, yet He calls us by name and declares that we are needed.

When the disciples untied the donkey, it didn’t resist the call. Somehow, the donkey trusted the hands that led it to the Savior. Likewise, when we allow ourselves to be untied—by grace, through faith—we find ourselves led into a purpose far greater than we could imagine. The same donkey, once tied and insignificant, carried the Savior of the world toward His ultimate act of redemption.

We are like the donkey, tied to circumstances, fears, failures, and systems that oppress, but we are also like the donkey in this: we are chosen. The man on the borrowed donkey is still calling. He calls us to be untied, to let go of what binds us, and to trust Him with our journey. He transforms what is humble into what is holy, what is broken into what is beautiful.

Let Him untie you today. Bring your burdens, your resistance, your pain. The King has need of you, and He will lead you into the fulfillment of your purpose. Trust the hands that untie you and the One who rides with you. The man on the borrowed donkey has chosen you. Will you go?

-Jermy Arnold