Before His birth, Jesus traveled on the back of a donkey. He was safely protected from the bumps and crevices on the rugged road. Tucked away in His mother’s womb, it wouldn’t be long and He’d be born to set the wheels in motion for changing the world forever.

The pack animal trudged over difficult terrain. As a very pregnant Mary as her first birth pains began. They traveled about a hundred miles to the city of their ancestor, King, David. The town of Bethlehem was bustling and overcrowded with others who had also come to be counted in the census. God’s plan for salvation was being transported on a beast of burden. Little did that animal know the precious cargo he was carrying. Away from the elements, in deepest humility, the Son of God was born in a barn where animals were sheltered.

Thirty-three years later, that child had grown into a man. His popularity was building every day. People flocked to hear His words of promise and hope for freedom. They thought He’d come to deliver them from their oppressors. They thought He would bring back the glory of King David and establish His kingdom once more. They looked at Him as more than a miracle worker. They saw HIm as one who would bring them earthly glory. Instead, Jesus would send two of His disciples ahead to the city of Jerusalem. He told them to go to the spot where a donkey and her foal would be tied outside the home. He said that if anyone tried to stop them, they should say that the Lord had need of them and they would let them go immediately. This was done to fulfill Zechariah’s prophesy which said:

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold your king is coming to you; righteous and salvation has he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9 ESV

It was time to complete His mission – not the one expected by the people, but the one laid out at the beginning of time by His Father – a plan to deliver the world from the sting of death. Through this young man, the iniquities of the entire world would be laid. He would carry the burden. He would be the perfect sin bearer – the Lamb of God.

In less than a week, this same crowd would shout, “Crucify Him, crucify Him” as His beaten, bloody body was paraded down the same road, carrying the instrument of His execution. This man of sorrows would make His way to Calvary, carrying the burden of the sin of the world on His own back. His death, the final sacrifice, would accomplish what man could never do.

THANK YOU, JESUS, FOR ANOTHER DAY!