Donkey king (John 12:15)

I almost passed on posting this drawing because it seems kinda boring and there are lots of pictures of Jesus on a donkey. However, I've learned that when you're reading something in the Bible and you think “well, this is dumb and boring. I'll just skip ahead” that's when you need to stop and take a second look. Why would Jesus ride a donkey anyway? The standard response is that the event fulfilled the messianic prophecy in Zechariah 9:9. Okay, that's cool, but why would some guy predict that his savior would show up on the animal kingdom's version of the beat up work truck?

Nowadays, donkeys don't get no respect. Derivations of the word are synonymous with rude behavior, stubbornness, and idiocy. That wasn't always the case. Ancient Near East traditions show that the donkey was a royal animal suitable for kings and rulers to enter a city.  Ancient foreign policy also indicates that when a king showed up on a horses he was looking for war, but if he came in peace he rode a donkey. I'm guessing the symbolism would not have been lost on the people at the time. I wonder what it would have meant if Jesus would have showed up riding on a ostrich?


If you knew that the ostrich is symbolic of digestion (among many other things):