"Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. "If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,'Matthew 21:2-3a
As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, and said to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. "If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' you say, 'The Lord has need of it'; and immediately he will send it back here." They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it. Some of the bystanders were saying to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, Mark 11:1-6a
When He approached Bethphage and Bethany, near the mount that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples, saying, "Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. "If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' you shall say, 'The Lord has need of it.'" So those who were sent went away and found it just as He had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, "Why are you untying the colt?" They said, "The Lord has need of it." Luke 19:29-34So, is Jesus commanding His disciples to steal a donkey? And if He was, is it a big deal? While it may not seem to be that important, the answer to these questions are incredibly significant.
First, if Jesus commanded the disciples to steal, then is calls into questions Jesus claim that He was God. It calls Jesus claim into question because the Bible clearly states that God commands all humanity to not steal:
"You shall not steal." Exodus 20:15
The Bible makes it very clear that God is eternal and never changing, so for Jesus to command His disciples to do something that God forbids would reveal the reality that He was not God.
Second, if Jesus commanded the disciples to steal, that would be sin. And if Jesus sinned, He would be unable to represent us and pay the penalty for our sins on the cross. Therefore, all of humanity would still be separated from the relationship with God that they were created for.
Third, we need to consider what is the definition of stealing. Stealing, by it's very nature, is taking something that is not your own with no intention of returning it. So, if Jesus is God in a bod who is the Co-Creator of the universe, could He steal something that He already owns?
Fourth, we need to consider that if Jesus commanded His disciples to steal, then one could easily say "if Jesus can steal, then why can't we?"
Fortunately for us, the accounts of Jesus life answer this question for us. Let's look at what happens in each of these accounts, beginning with the Gospel of Matthew:
saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. "If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them." Matthew 21:2-4
Notice what happens in this passage. Jesus commands the disciples to go get the donkey. Jesus then explains that when they ask why they are taking the donkey they are to explain that "the Lord has need of them". When Jesus refers to Himself as the Lord here He is identifying Himself as being the Messiah, the King of the Jewish people. Jesus then explains that the owners will respond to this explanation by giving permission to take the donkey.
So, instead of stealing the donkey with no intention of returning the donkey, the owners and crowd give them permission to take and use the donkey. We see this also revealed in Mark's account of Jesus life:
As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, and said to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. "If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' you say, 'The Lord has need of it'; and immediately he will send it back here." They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it. Some of the bystanders were saying to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. Mark 11:1-7
In Mark's account, we see that the disciples were given permission. That does not sound like stealing. And Luke's account of Jesus life affirms the previous two accounts of this story. While Luke did not add the statement about permission, that does not mean that it contradicts the previous two accounts. Instead we see these accounts of Jesus life compliment one another to paint a timeless picture of the life of Jesus fulfilling a prediction made hundreds of years earlier about His life.
So did Jesus command His disciples to steal a donkey? As we can clearly see in these accounts, the answer is a resounding no. Jesus, as God who created the universe, can not steal, because He is the owner of everything. And, as we see in these accounts, the owners and the crowds gave the disciples permission to take and use the donkey. They gave permission because the "Lord has need of them". They gave permission because their Lord and Savior requested them and the crowd and owners acknowledged that reality by giving permission.
To say that Jesus told His disciples to steal does not accurately communicate the timeless truth of this story and gives an extremely false and dangerous impression of who Jesus was and the life He calls us to live.
What do you think? Are there other stories of Jesus life that you have questions about?
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