JESUS, JESSE AND THE DONKEY

Recently, popular  Evangelist Jesse Duplantis released a video stating that God wanted him to believe him for a new high end private jet. He then proceeded to request that his followers donate towards the purchase of said jet. Much has been said about the propriety or otherwise of a minister of the Gospel flying in private jets; and much more has been said about the idea of Jesse requesting for donations to buy the jet. As a result, I have no interest in getting into that debate. Suffice it to say that there is no such thing as the prosperity Gospel or the poverty Gospel; they are both false misrepresentations of the Gospel

What I do want to address is Jesse Duplantis’ remark that if Jesus had been around in modern times, he would not have been riding around on a Donkey.  This is true, a Donkey is not an appropriate of efficient way of going from one place to another in the modern day and there is no reason why he would choose to ride on such. But Jesse’s statement seems to suggest that if Jesus were around now, he’d be flying in a private jet. He seems to suggest that a donkey in the first century is the equivalent of a private jet. This is a common line of thought among many modern preachers that lean towards the prosperity gospel. They tend to suggest that Jesus was extremely wealthy and lived a glamorous life. I believe I have heard this Donkey-Jet analogy before too.

I can only surmise that Minister Jesse is either speaking out of ignorance or he was being mischievous. I favour the former. By no stretch of the imagination was a donkey seen as a luxury means of transportation in the first century, of course it beats walking to your destination, but it was not a means of transportation for the rich and powerful. As a matter of fact, the whole point of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a Donkey was to be in contrast to how the powerful rulers of his day would ride into town. The Kings of the world would ride on Horses, accompanied by a parade of chariots and carriages. Jesus, the King of Israel (the Universe) rode into the city on the back of a donkey, surrounded by the lowly people. It was a sign of his humility and the upside-down nature of the Kingdom of God. It’s the equivalent of a nation's president driving himself to a state function, in an old-model Volkswagen Beetle no less. While I can neither affirm nor deny that Jesus would have been flying to and fro in the latest Gulf Stream jet (remember I said that the poverty theology is as much a farce as a “prosperity Gospel”) I can say that Jesus did not and does not represent a Kingdom that tries to keep up appearances with the kingdoms of this world, neither is he a King that needs to set himself higher than his subjects.

So my response to evangelist Jesse Duplantis is this; Yes, Jesus would not have been riding a donkey in 2018, but no, that does not mean he would be riding in a private jet either. Most especially if he wanted to enact his triumphant entry.