Consecrated for a King
As I was reading the story of Palm Sunday, something stood out to me in a way it never had before. In Luke 19:30, Jesus says:
"Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here." (Luke 19:30, NIV)
Only Luke mentions that the colt had never been ridden, and it made me pause. Why was it important for Jesus to ride an animal that was untouched?
My heart and mind wandered back to the Old Testament — specifically Numbers 19 and Deuteronomy 21 — where God gave the Israelites instructions about ceremonial cleansing and the atonement of unsolved murders.
In Numbers 19:2, Moses is commanded:
"This is a requirement of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect or blemish and that has never been under a yoke." (Numbers 19:2, NIV)
The ashes of this pure, unworked heifer were used to create water for purification from sin. The symbolism is striking: the pure cleansing the impure — just as Jesus, the sinless Savior, would later offer Himself for the purification of all mankind.
Similarly, in Deuteronomy 21:3-4, when an unsolved murder happened:
"...the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke and lead it down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer’s neck." (Deuteronomy 21:3-4, NIV)
The community, unable to find the murderer, would still bear guilt unless atonement was made — and it required an animal set apart, one unused for common work.
This connection stirred something deep in me:
Was the unridden colt not only about humility but also about sacredness?
Jesus, riding a consecrated colt, foreshadowed His role as the pure and perfect atonement — not just for the sins we confess, but for the hidden, unsolved, and unclaimed guilt of the world.
It made me wonder:
Are there places in my life where I’ve left sins "unsolved" — hidden things I refuse to confront?
And yet even in those places, Jesus atones.
He is the innocent sacrifice for all guilt, known and unknown.
Both the colt and the sacrificial laws point to this: Jesus’s entrance into Jerusalem was deliberate, prophetic, and holy. He wasn’t just fulfilling prophecy; He was echoing the sacredness required of every offering that had ever come before Him.
This realization led me to ask myself hard questions:
Am I living with that same sacred intentionality?
Have I set myself apart so that God can truly use me?
If Jesus chose to ride into His destiny with such intentional purity, am I keeping my life consecrated, or have I let the world "ride" me first?
The colt was reserved for such a time as this.
I want to live in such a way that when God looks for someone to carry His presence, He sees me ready — pure, willing, and available.
Earlier this morning, as I was rewatching The Gathering by Stephanie Ike, one of the pastors shared a beautiful definition of consecration:
"Others can, I cannot."
Consecration sometimes means restraint — saying "no" to what may seem permissible for others because my "yes" is reserved for God. In abstaining, I am becoming spiritually rich, setting myself apart just like that colt — ready for the King.
Lord, help me to live consecrated for You — pure, willing, and available, set apart for Your sacred purposes.
