The owner of a donkey’s colt
The owner of a donkey’s colt.
In Mark, we find the disciples of Jesus talking to some bystanders, but in the other gospels, I thought they talked with the owner.
“So those who were sent left and found it just as He had told them. As they were untying the young donkey, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the donkey? ”
Luke 19:32-33 HCSB
But in John we see Jesus finding the colt.
“Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written:”
In Matthew, they just went and we have no idea if they even talked to anyone.
“The disciples went and did just as Jesus directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt; then they laid their robes on them, and He sat on them.”
Matthew 21:6-7 HCSB
How would you clarify these points in these four accounts of the same story? First, Luke was not there, but he did his research by talking to eyewitnesses of the life of Jesus. Second, only two of the disciples went and we have no idea who it was. So I would say that Luke just inferred that it was the owners. Mark did not know who they talked to so he just assumed they were bystanders. John may have been busy with something else and joined the procession just after Jesus sat on the colt. Matthew was not one of the disciples who went to get the colt, and so in his eyes, they just went and found the colt.
This is the way we should look at all the stories in the gospels. Each person has a unique outlook on the same story. If you listen to an investigative detective you will hear that they do not want the same exact story from eyewitnesses, but they want irregularities in their story. If the stories are exact they will tend to believe that the story is made up. But then if the witnesses have irregularities in their story then they have found the true story. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John each take a different outlook on the life and events of Jesus. Therefore they will remember or notice different details on the same story.
Back to the owners. When they see the disciples trying to steal the colt they begin to stop them, but one of the disciples speaks up and says, “The Lord requires it, and He will return it shortly.” There may have been a discussion between the bystanders and owners about whether they should let it go. Finally, the owners let the disciples take it. They had a discernment in themselves who told them that the disciples were telling the truth. They were being led by God and more specifically the Holy Spirit.
When have we seen God giving a discerning spirit to know if what we are being told is true? I have heard women are more open to this aspect because they feel with their hearts more than men, while men observe with actions. Jimmy Evans with Marriage Today equates the woman with the Holy Spirit in the marriage relationship. (Take a listen here).
Maybe it was the wife of the owner who said listen to them, honey. And he listened to her because she had been found right on a few other occasions.
I need you all to pray for us. We are faced with a decision and my wife is speaking with the discernment that we are talking about today. Pray that we will have the right wisdom to make the right decision.
”When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak whatever He hears. He will also declare to you what is to come.“
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