Children’s Sermon

Matthew 21:1-11

A Humble Choice

By Lois Parker Edstrom

Object suggested: Winnie the Pooh book. (May be available at your public library.)
Coloring picture of Eeyore

A donkey, sometimes called a burro, looks like this. (Show picture.) You can see they are smaller than a horse.

They have big ears and large teeth that look like the keys on a piano. The sound they make is like nothing you have ever heard before! It is a heehaw noise called a bray and is so loud it can be heard miles away.

Because of the donkey’s big ears, large teeth, and funny heehaw voice, the donkey is sometimes thought of as a comic character and the subject of jokes. Some of you may have seen cartoons of a comical donkey or remember Eeyore, the donkey in the Winnie the Pooh stories.

In spite of all this, the donkey is a useful, helpful animal that has been used for years and years to pull carts and carry heavy loads. The donkey is called “a beast of burden.”

Thinking about a donkey may help us understand a bit more about today’s Bible story. When Jesus returned to Jerusalem he said to his disciples, “Go into the village that is opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them, and bring them to me” (21:2).

Instead of riding a horse into Jerusalem, as a rich, powerful person might do, Jesus chose a humble donkey. By doing this he demonstrated that he lived as a humble man who served ordinary people.

This is a good pattern for us to choose for our own lives.

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible

Copyright 2011, Richard Niell Donovan