Did Jesus sin by telling the disciples to take a donkey in Matt. 21:1-3, Mark 11:2-3; Luke 19:30–32? There are two main reasons why He did not. First, since Jesus is God in the flesh (John 1:1, 14; Col. 2:9; Heb. 1:8), the Scriptures about God owning everything applies to Him. Therefore, he could not steal because, ultimately, the donkey and colt belonged to Him. Please consider the following verses.
- Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it.”
- Psalm 50:10–11, “For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. 11 “I know every bird of the mountains, and everything that moves in the field is Mine.”
- 1 Cor. 10:25–26, “Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience’ sake; 26 for the earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains.”
So very quickly, we see that God owns everything, even the donkey and colt. Therefore, He could not have stolen them, which was not a sin.
Now, let’s look at the three accounts of the same event in the gospels.
- Matt. 21:1–3, “When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 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. 3 “If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.’“
- Mark 11:2–3, “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. 3 “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. 5 Some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission.”
- Luke 19:30–31, “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. 31 “If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of it.’ 32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as He had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They said, “The Lord has need of it.”
Previous Contact with Jesus?
The phrase the disciples are told to say to the animals’ owner is, “The Lord has need of it.” It doesn’t have any contextual preparation for the owner. Perhaps the owner of the animals had already encountered Jesus, and it was pre-arranged. After all, we see such a pre-arrangement in Mark 14:13-16 where the disciples are told to find a man carrying a waterpot and inquire about a Passover room – which had already been prepared. They were not aware of it, but Jesus was. This is either by supernatural intervention or by previous arrangement.
Permission from the owner
So Jesus tells them that they will find a donkey with a colt. He instructs them to untie them and bring them. Furthermore, if anyone asks what they’re doing, they must say, “The Lord has need of them.” At this, he will permit it. The permission of the owner means it is not theft.
Explanation to the crowd
Mark 11:5-6 says some bystanders were asking why they were untying the colt, and upon the explanation, they permitted the disciples. So it seems that Jesus was giving the disciples instructions as it would relate to the owner and bystanders. Interestingly, the bystanders would agree to let Jesus use the colt. They undoubtedly knew who He was and would know it was never theft. Otherwise, why would “Lord” be used, and why would the bystanders understand so easily?
