Rabbi Yeshua riding on a donkey

Mashiach’s Donkey:

Matthew 19-23

There is a prophecy in the Tanach about the Messiah riding on a donkey that represents the lowliness of the Messiah. A lot of this is not brought up, but I gotta ask, what happened to the King who rides a donkey? Chabad points out a few things that are very striking to me in regards to this prophecy. This prophecy is very profound, because it sets the stage to Yeshua’s kingship and authority as The Rabbi, a Jew, leading the way for the children of Israel to worship HaShem!

So let’s get into Matthew and glance through the Torah with some consideration of the writings of the rabbis.

There is a question in the Chumash (1/5th of the Torah) that is asked saying: When the righteous wish to live at ease, the Holy One, blessed is He, says to them: Are not the righteous satisfied with what is stored up for them in the world to come that they wish to live at ease in this world too?!

Yeshua calls the crowds and says: “Hear and understand. It’s not what goes into the mouth that makes the man unholy; but what comes out of the mouth, this makes the man unholy.” Matt. 15:10-11

Matthew 15:10–11 TLV

Then Yeshua called the crowd and said to them, “Hear and understand. It’s not what goes into the mouth that makes the man unholy; but what comes out of the mouth, this makes the man unholy.”

When the Canaanite woman meets Yeshua, she stands out in faith though what was said about here should have set her back, she hears and understands that no matter what she shall receive in faith that she is worthy of the gift of God…. Beware of the teaching of the religious leaders that you are not worthy to receive, and stand in faith that even you can be used by God. Towards the end of last weeks message we spoke about what is written in regards to hold like humility. Why is childlike humility so important?

Childlike Humility is something else… When reading, it doesn’t say… be like children in so that you act immature. Rather it talks about childlike humility. In Humility… be like children! A gentleman comes to Yeshua and asks… what good shall I do to have eternal life? Yeshua responds… Matthew 19:17

Matthew 19:17 TLV

“Why do you ask Me about what is good?” Yeshua said to him. “There is only One who is good; but if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

And again in Matthew 19:21-24

Matthew 19:21–24 TLV

Yeshua said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you own, and give to the poor; and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving, for he had much property. Then Yeshua said to His disciples, “Amen, I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

, and this is because when a child shows humility, a child is indeed ready to make an absurd exchange for that which he finds the most value in… hence the parables of doing everything for the newly profound treasure.

The Rabbis talk about a man reaching pure humility as the righteous man. They say that the Mashiach was to be greater than Abraham, higher than Moses, and loftier than the supernal angels (yalkut shimoni). Chabad explains that the Spirit of Mashiach is the same spirit of G-d that hovered over emerging existence into the ultimate state of perfection. In this the rebbes see that the riding of a donkey plays a significant role in reflecting faith and humility/ the Mashiach. The first symbol of humility is seen as Abraham heads for the binding of Isaac with the materials on the donkey…. Faith that God is and God can and withholding nothing from God because though you are, you cannot, but He can

What is Faith? Knowing that God is and God Can

What is Humility? Withholding nothing because though you could be, you are not, because He is.

This is why Yeshua is soooooo important, because while we were yet sinners… Messiah died for us. This was written in such a way to describe the period in between our sin in which we thought we were greater… that our fathers were very great if not greater…. Where Yeshua humbled Himself for us and the point of our transformation into who we are in HaShem. Basically, before Abraham was… at the time he was called Abram, Yeshua called him into righteousness so that Abram might become Abraham. Yeshua makes a statement saying… when the world was formless and void, I called darkness into light; I called the broken to completeness; I called chaos into order, and I called empty/void into fullness and meaning, and purpose. Basically, G-d is so great that He is calling you into that same Shalom so that you can also become a blessing to others.

Yo bro, guess what? Jesus is so Jewish that He, knowing the answer, questions your ideas saying… What is My answer? Literally in the Bible, Yeshua asks… “Am I not permitted to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or is your eye evil, because I am good?” In my own words, Are you okay with God doing what He wants with what He created? And, Are you going to show humility? Or are you going to despise God, because of pride and selfishness. It’s all too sad to see how many of us walk away, and guess who’s there to pick up the burden? Yeshua

Moses had a donkey, and guess the moment he had the donkey? … After God called Him to Egypt! Now it was not Moses who rode the donkey, but his family - the extension of Moses. So in this it is known that Mashiach would ride the donkey so that he would bear the burden (supplies) to the sacrifice, so that His extension (God in the form of man) would journey to the mundane, and His Majesty would bring Shalom as is the purpose of Mashiach!

Check out what is written in the Chabad site in regards to God: “our sages have taught that G-d created the entirety of existence, including the most lofty spiritual worlds, because "He desired a dwelling in the lower world." Our physical existence is the objective of everything He created, the environment within which His purpose in creation is to be realized. G-d desired that we refine and elevate the material existence; that the physical reality, whose concreteness and self-centeredness obscure our inner vision and distort our true priorities, be redirected as a positive force in our lives; that we bring to light the goodness and perfection inherent in all of His creation, including — and especially — the lowliest of His works, the material world. Moshiach's donkey is the material beast harnessed, the physical directed to higher and loftier ends.

This is so Incredible, because Yeshua speaks about His death and resurrection again in Matthew 20:17-19 Then Yeshua reminds the people that He came to serve and give His life as a ransom for many so that all may know that a leader must lead by serving in Matthew 20:25-28

Matthew 20:17–19 TLV

Now as Yeshua was going up to Jerusalem, He took the Twelve aside privately; and on the way he told them, “Look, we’re going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the ruling kohanim and Torah scholars. They will condemn Him to death and hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify. Yet on the third day, He will be raised up.”

Yeshua then moved by compassion so that these blind men would see. Matthew 20:30-33

Matthew 20:30–33 TLV

And here two blind men sitting by the roadside, when they heard that Yeshua was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Master, Ben-David!” The crowd warned them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Master, Ben-David!” Yeshua stopped and called out to them. “What do you want Me to do for you?” He said. They said to Him, “Master, let our eyes be opened!”

Then all of a sudden the children of Israel see Yeshua riding lowly on a donkey, a colt, into the temple… the dwelling place of God (The Highest place) after bringing Shalom and presenting to them the Torah of Adonai. However, Yeshua had some unfinished business, because as a Jew, He was called to Holiness - to revere the Name of HaShem, and many of the Jews had profaned God’s dwelling place. While Moshe burned in anger, because of Israel’s idolatry, Mashiach burned in anger towards the corruption that was taking place in the house of God! But it was not just the overturning of tables that made this moment profound, but it was the Words of Mashiach that change everything…. While Yeshua was angry at what has become of the religious leaders, the blind and lame came into the temple!!! Let me tell you this again… the Blind and the lame came to the temple!! And guess what Yeshua did? He Healed them! And guess what the people were singing? Hoshiana to Ben-David (Rescue to the Son of David)…. Ahhhh, this is crazy! Everything that the prophets were speaking about was literally coming true!! Yeshua riding on the donkey held the same significance of the supplies for the sacrifice so that the children of God may be transformed! Yeshua literally revealed Himself in earthly form to bring physical and spiritual sanctification to Israel first and all the world likewise in order to express the fullness of God. Matthew 21:1-17

Matthew 21:1–17 (TLV)

Now as they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Yeshua sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village before you. Right away, you’ll find a donkey tied up and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Master needs them.’ And right away he will send them.” This happened to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet, saying,

“Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘See, your King is coming to you, humble and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”The disciples went and did as Yeshua had directed them. They brought the donkey and colt and put their clothing on them, and He sat on the clothing. Most of the crowd spread their clothing on the road, and others began cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. The crowds going before Him and those following kept shouting, saying, “Hoshia-na to Ben-David! Baruch ha-ba b’shem Adonai! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hoshia-na in the highest!”

When He entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds kept saying, “This is the prophet Yeshua, from Natzeret in the Galilee.” Then Yeshua entered the Temple and drove out all those selling and buying in the Temple. He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those selling doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of thieves’!” The blind and lame came to Him in the Temple, and He healed them. But when the ruling kohanim and Torah scholars saw the wonders He performed, and the children crying out in the Temple and saying, “Hoshia-na to Ben-David,” they became indignant. And they said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” “Yes,” Yeshua said to them. “Haven’t you ever read,

‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing toddlers You have prepared praise for Yourself’?” Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He spent the night there.

It was in this that I found this beautiful passage from the Midrash (do not mistake it for the Torah, because it is not the Torah):

“Once there was a king who decreed: "The people of Rome are forbidden to journey to Syria, and the people of Syria are forbidden to journey to Rome." Likewise, when G-d created the world He decreed: "The heavens are G-d's, and the earth is given to man" (Psalms 115:16). But when He wished to give the Torah to Israel, He rescinded His original decree, and declared: "The lower realms may ascend to the higher realms, and the higher realms may descend to the lower realms. And I, Myself, will begin" — as it is written, "And G-d descended on Mount Sinai," and then it says, "And to Moses He said: 'Go up to G-d'."

Yes, Mashiach is the One who descended so that all might be able to Go up to G-d! This is how Yeshua is greater than Moses. While Moses was used to bring the Torah to the Children of Israel…. Yeshua comes down with the same Word (nothing rescinded) and brings everyone to HaShem/Himself! He is the Son of Man in which Angels go up and down from heaven to earth and earth to heaven!

Yanki Tabuer in his article says, “The most Abraham could do was to harness the physical to serve the spiritual, to use the donkey to carry the accessories of his divine service. The physical remained as coarse as ever and could not directly be involved in his spiritual life; nevertheless, Abraham took the first step in wresting the material from its inherent self-absorption by utilizing it, albeit peripherally, to assist in his service of G-d. Moses, on the other hand, was embarking on the mission that was to culminate in his receiving the Torah, the medium by which G-d empowered man to dissolve the dichotomy between the higher and lower domains. The Torah instructs and enables us to sanctify even the most mundane aspects of our lives, to integrate our material selves and environment in our spiritual goals. So Moses used the donkey to carry his wife and children. A person's wife and children are an extension of his own self — in the words of our sages, "a person's wife is like his own body" (Talmud, Berachot 24a) and "a child is a limb of his father" (ibid., Eruvin 70b). Beginning with Moses, the material began to play a central and intimate role in our life's work. But Moses marks only the beginning of Torah's effect on the physical world. Ever since, whenever a person uses a material resource to perform a mitzvah — e.g. giving money to charity, using the energy his body extracts from his food to fuel his fervor in prayer — he "refines" these physical objects, divesting them of their mundanity and selfishness. With each such act, the physical world becomes that much holier, that much more in harmony with its essence and function.

Now Messiah Yeshua, the fulfillment of the Torah, rides on the donkey of the material for He heralds a world in which those who have heeded the call would be utterly refined so that they would be in that place where His all-pervasive truth would be made known… where God and man would be made one.

Matthew 22-23 “Yeshua answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who made a wedding feast for his son. He sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they wouldn’t come. Again he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who were invited, “Look, I’ve prepared my meal. My oxen and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast!” ’ “But paying no attention, they went away, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest grabbed his servants, humiliated them, and killed them. Now the king became furious! Sending his troops, he destroyed those murderers and set fire to their city. “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. So go into the highways and byways, and invite everyone you find to the wedding feast.’ And those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all they found, both bad and g…”

In all, Messiah Yeshua though hidden is spoken of in the synagogues and in-between the Rabbi’s. Many Jews believe, and many Jew did not believe. The remnant that heeds the call shall be saved. I pray that all might be saved!

If you are desiring to draw near heeding the call of Messiah Yeshua today, He has come and has given His life for you so that you would know His love for you! Today, step into faith and believe by praying with me… Let us pray!

Now go up, because HaShem Yeshua is with You!