Gospels In Harmony  – The Burden of the Elect

Mat 21:1-11, Mar 11:1-11, Luk 19:28-44, Joh 11:54–12:11

[Study Aired April 13, 2021]

Mar 11:1 And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples,
Mar 11:2a And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, Mat 21:2 and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me, Mar 11:2b whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him.

Mar 11:3 And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.
Mar 11:4 And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him.

Luk 19:33 And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt?
Luk 19:34 And they said, The Lord hath need of him.

Mar 11:6b even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.

Mat 21:4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,
Mat 21:5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
Mat 21:6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,

Luk 19:35 And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon.

Joh 12:12 On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
Joh 12:13a Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him,

Mat 21:8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.

Luk 19:37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;

Mat 21:9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

Mar 11:10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.

Mat 21:10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
Mat 21:11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

Joh 12:16 These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.
Joh 12:17 The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record.
Joh 12:18 For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle.
Joh 12:19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him.

Luk 19:39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.
Luk 19:40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
Luk 19:41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
Luk 19:42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
Luk 19:43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,
Luk 19:44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Mar 11:11 And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.

This week’s study will focus on the first part of this story of Christ sending his disciples to fetch the ass and her colt. As it says in Matthew 21:4, all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. We will look at that prophecy and Lord willing determine the spiritual significance of this prophecy. Here is the prophecy.

Zec 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

The first things we will review are “ass” and “colt”. Here are the definitions.

H2543
חמר חמור-:Original
– Transliteration: Chamowr
– Phonetic: kham-ore’
– Definition:

(he) ass

– Origin: from H2560
– TWOT entry: 685a
– Part(s) of speech: Noun Masculine
– Strong’s: From H2560; a male ass (from its dun red): – (he) ass.
Total KJV Occurrences: 96

H5895
Original: עיר
– Transliteration: `ayir
– Phonetic: ah’-yeer
– Definition:

he-ass, male ass

– Origin: from H5782 in the sense of raising (ie bearing a burden)
– TWOT entry: 1616a
– Part(s) of speech: Noun Masculine
– Strong’s: From H5782 in the sense of raising (that is bearing a burden); properly a young ass (as just broken to a load); hence an ass colt: – (ass) colt foal young ass.
Total KJV Occurrences: 8

From the definition we see that Christ is riding on a burden-carrying male animal just broken to a load. Also we see “ass” has something to do with “red”. Who is this “ass” representing?

Gen 49:8-15 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk. Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon. Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

Here is an excerpt from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia about Issachar.

Issachar is´a-kar (ישׂשׂכר, yissā‛se’khār; Septuagint, Swete Ἰσσαχάρ, Issachár; Tischendorf, Issáchar, so also in the New Testament, Tregelles, and Westcott and Hort, The New Testament in Greek):

(1) The 9th son of Jacob, the 5th borne to him by Leah (Gen 30:17 f).

The Name

His birth is in this passage connected with the strange story of Reuben and his mandrakes, and the name given him is apparently conceived as derived from ‘ı̄sh sākhār, “a hired workman.” There is a play upon the name in this sense in Gen 49:15, “He bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant under taskwork.”

Several things caught my attention. Issachar is the 9th son of Jacob, representing judgment, and the 5th son of Leah, representing grace through faith. Also, being the son of Leah, he was born of the first wife of Jacob, representing the church of Babylon.

The red symbol comes into play confirming the “ass” represents men. Being made from the dust of the earth we are referred to as Adam, which means earthy – red according to Hitchcock.

If we put this all together, we can see the ass represents the elect of God coming out of Babylon carrying the burden of Christ. Here is the prophecy once again.

Zec 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

Christ is riding into Jerusalem, which represents the whole world. The elect represented by the ass is carrying Christ into the world. The elect have a burden, but we are capable of carrying the burden of Christ because we are a beast of burden – the ass. Christ’s burden is great, but it is light as compared to the burdens of this world.

Mat 11:27-30 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

As the elect, we are given the duty of carrying Christ into the world for the purpose of salvation of the world. In this age only the elect are able to see these prophecies come to life. In the ages to come all will see them come to pass.

Zec 12:1-9 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God. In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

By carrying Christ into Jerusalem, we take part in the process of salvation. Christ is traveling toward death in order to give life. His disciples do not understand this at this time but will soon understand it all. As we continue this story in our following studies, we will gain understanding of the process of salvation.

The final thing we will look at in this study is the following verse:

Luk 19:35 And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon.

“They cast their garments upon the colt”. Christ is now sitting above our garments, which represent our righteousness. As we all know our righteousness is as “filthy rags”.

Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Our righteousness is changing because we are carrying Christ. The righteousness of Christ is now our burden, and we are to show this righteousness to the world. The world cannot understand at this time, but there are those who are coming out of the world that will see Christ’s righteousness in us and take on the burden of Christ. The body is continuing to grow day by day and becoming stronger because of the burden of Christ. I will end our study with this Proverb.

Pro 2:1-22 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.