Skip to main content

Conversations on the way to the Cross 1: The Donkey


Judas Iscariot argues with the other disciples

"Well, I've never been so embarrassed in my whole life!"

"What's up, Judas?  You didn't enjoy all the cheering?"

"A donkey, that's what's up!  A flipping baby donkey!  What kind of animal is that for the saviour of Jerusalem to ride in on?  I told him I knew a guy with a good horse, but oh no, he sends me and Matthew off like a couple of farmhands to get a donkey.  It makes fools of all of us, that's what it does.  No one's going to take him seriously after this."

"Oh, give over.  The crowds loved it!  You heard them - hosanna to the Son of David, and all the rest of it.  And we were right in the middle of it!  I never thought a poor fisherman from Galilee would be able to say that!"

"Well, make the most of it, Andrew.  They might be cheering today, but crowds are fickle things, you'll see.  He should have seized the moment!  Ridden in, stormed the palace, started the revolution.  I told him if he waited, we'd get nowhere.  He wouldn't listen, would he?  Just gave me that funny kind look he has, as if I'm a little child.  And sent me off to get that ridiculous donkey."

"Ah, poor little Judas.  Is your pride hurt by having to lead a donkey about?  Were you born to better things?"

"Shut up, Peter!  This is nothing to do with pride.  Just if Jesus wants to be king, he ought to start acting like one.  That's what I think."

"Maybe he is.  It reminded me of that bit from Zechariah, you know?  How does it go?  'Rejoice, daughter of Zion!  Here comes your king, triumphant and victorious; humble, and riding on a donkey."  Something like that, anyway.  Surely fulfilling ancient prophecy is pretty good for a messiah?"

"Oh, Bartholomew the scholar.  Ancient prophecy's all very well, but it's not much use in the here and now, is it?  What we want is the new world Jesus was talking about, with us all on thrones and the Romans kicked out.  Isn't that what we're following him for?  Isn't it, James?  John?  You two were quick enough to try and bag yourselves the best seats for when Jesus is in charge."

"Hey, that was our mum, not us.  Anyway, you heard what Jesus said about that.  'The last will be first and the first will be last,' - which now I think about it, fits in pretty well with his king-riding-on-a-donkey act.  If you're looking for power and glory, Judas, I think you're following the wrong guy."

"Yes, and that's just what's so frustrating.  He could do anything, Jesus could. Anything!  He's got that spark, that... that.. charisma.  You've seen him!  He just has to crook a finger and people will do what he wants.  If anyone could save this wretched country he could - and I thought he was going to do it!  And then he sat on a donkey and threw it all away.  Just threw it all away."

Matthew 21: 1-11 

Other Conversations from the Cross

2: The Commotion
3: The Authority
4: The Anointing
5: The Betrayal
6: The Burial
7: The Precaution 
8: The Resurrection

Labels:

Comments

Susan Ewing said…
I love this, Martha! Ties so much together. Thanks or sharing it. And keep writing.��
9 April 2017 at 07:13
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Where am I going now? The Portway

I should probably explain why I am pottering around Nottingham and its western suburbs, rather than roaming the Derbyshire countryside. It's not just the abundance of paved paths, although that certainly helps - I recently went on a country walk across a cow field and found myself tiptoeing gingerly across boggy mud cratered with six-inch deep hoof holes. Then I was confronted by a sign which said: Private Property, Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted. I congratulated myself on being on a public right of way, then, a few steps on, consulted the map and realised I wasn't. The path was across a completely different field. nice scenery, though I digress. Apart from the absence of cows and angry landowners, the reason I am walking around Nottingham is that it's the start of the Portway. There is a blog called The Old Roads of Derbyshire , written by a man named Stephen Bailey, who has also published a book of the same name. I can't remember now whether I came across the book fir...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Portway: Lenton to the Bramcote Hills

It was cold. My fingers were cold, and my phone was cold too. The OS map was totally failing to find my location, and the more I prodded it the less feeling I had in my fingers, so I gave up, shoved both my phone and my chilly hands into my pockets, and set off. After all, I knew where I was. This was Wollaton Park. And the path was very obvious. Just follow the avenue of trees... ...past the deer... ...and out through the fancy gates. Crossing a busy road brought me into a neat little housing estate with unusual round street signs. This was built when Wollaton Park was sold to Nottingham City Council in 1925. The old gatehouse, Lenton Lodge, is now estranged from the rest of the park, and stands by itself next to Derby Road. The bridge used to go over the Nottingham Canal, which has now been turned back into the River Leen. The unfortunate river got shoved out of the way whenever someone came up with a new building project. This is not its original course. My hands were warming up sli...
Post a Comment
Read more

Advent 2025: Mercy

I'm going to read the whole Bible. The question came up in my homegroup recently (have you ever...?) and even though large parts of the Bible are embedded in my brain, and even though I'm pretty sure I have read all of it at some point, I have never set out to read the whole thing. My friend Dave read through the Bible several times. He was one of the most Christian men I know, in all the best ways, and he died recently. So. This is for Dave, too. Today is the first Sunday of Advent. I was going to start on December 1st, and I was going to do the obvious thing and start with Genesis, alongside the Psalms. Then I saw something that mentioned reading Luke in Advent (24 chapters: 24 days) and then I had some spare time today and thought why not? so here I am, a day ahead of myself already. Luke 1 is hardly a voyage into the unknown. In the sixth month the Angel Gabriel was sent by God,  the Magnificat and the Benedictus ... all woven tightly into the liturgies of the church. But ...
Post a Comment
Read more