Palm Sunday
The Winged Horse
Faith/Belief defies logic. Definition of defy: openly resist, refuse to obey, to challenge the power of, or, my favorite, to challenge to do something deemed impossible…
From Mark chapter 11
When Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, he instructs his disciples to go to the market and fetch a colt for him to ride through the city streets. The city where he knew he would be killed within a week. In all the other accounts (by Matthew, Luke, and John) and movies about Jesus, they show him entering the city on the back of a donkey, Mark just uses the word “colt”, which is defined as a young male horse. Let’s imagine that it is a young stallion. The breed most common to that area is the Arabian, a smaller, but extra-intelligent, extra-spirited breed designed to thrive in hot desert climates. From a horsewoman’s perspective, there are several points about this story that defy logic and require faith to believe.
A smart person knows one doesn’t climb onto the back of an untrained stallion. If you do, this is what would happen. (Click here to see) Here Jesus defies all logic and does the opposite of what we would do. He gets on and the colt allows it. There’s no mention in the Bible of a bucking bronc as Jesus rides it through the loud, crowded city.
And how do you think a young stallion would respond to crowds coming at it waving long palm fronds? He’d be scared out of his wits! Then he’s expected to walk on the robes the crowd has laid down for him. No. Way. An untrained young stallion would never be willing to do this.
Unless… he was tranquilized. (Say the cynics.) Maybe the colt’s owner ran out of hay that day and fed him dried cannabis. This is unlikely. There’s another possibility. What if the colt knew his rider: Jesus, the son of God. Emmanuel. God with Us. But how would he know? It remains a mystery. But can you imagine the supernatural positive peace vibes that colt received? Way better than cannabis.
In his book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis used the metaphor of a winged horse to illustrate God’s transformative power.* God’s grace can elevate and transform all creatures. To go from a natural horse to a horse that can fly is transformation indeed. To be of any use to man, the horse must overcome his own instincts.
That colt Jesus rode on Palm Sunday had every logical reason to refuse to move forward. The rider’s ask was impossible. But the colt humbly submitted.
Maybe because of the certainty of whom he served, he trusted. The colt’s obedience to Jesus on Palm Sunday defied logic. Often the believer’s journey defies logic. Unless. Jesus was who he said he was.
*NOTES:
Just for fun:
