Job 11:12
As the Lord needed the colt on which He rode into Jerusalem, so He needs every sinner. "Not a very complimentary simile to compare us to an ass!" someone may say. We often find that man is compared to animals in the Scriptures. He is compared to a sow for uncleanness (2 Peter 2:22), to sheep for stupidity (Isa. 53:6), to a dog for an object of contempt (Matt. 15:26), and to an ass for wildness and willfulness Gob 11:12). I am, therefore, warranted in using an ass to illustrate the condition the sinner is in, and what the Lord is willing to do for him.
1. IN BONDAGE. As the ass was "tied" (Mark 11:2; Matt. 21:2), so is the sinner under the bondage of sin (Gal. 3:22; Rom. 6:16).
2. WITHOUT GOD. As the ass was "without" (Mark 11:4), not in a comfortable stable, so the sinner is without God in the world (Eph. 2:12).
3. PLACE OF DECISION. As the ass was in a place where two ways met (Mark 11:4), so the sinner is where two paths are found in this life-the broad and the narrow way (Matt. 7:13, 14).
4. USELESS TO GOD AS A SINNER. As the colt had never been ridden on, and therefore had been of no use (Mark 11:2), so the sinner is useless to God, for they who are in the flesh cannot please God (Rom. 8:8).
5. KNOWN BY CHRIST. As the colt was known by Christ before it was brought to Him (Mark 11:2), and He directed where and how it would be found, so Christ knew us before we knew Him. He gives in detail our natural character in Rom. 3.
6. GRACE OF GOD. As the colt was loosed by a power outside itself (Mark 11:2), so the grace of God is the only power that can free us from the consequence and control of sin (Eph. 2:5).
7. POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. As the colt was brought to Christ (Mark 11:7), so the Holy Spirit is the power that leads us to the Lamb of God who takes away our sin (1 Thess. 1:5).
8. USED BY CHRIST. As the colt was used by Christ (Mark 11:7), so those who are brought to Christ are used by Him (Col. 1:29).
9. NEEDED BY CHRIST. As the colt was needed by Christ (Mark 11:3), so He needs all His people to carry out His purposes, even as the Head needs the members of the body to accomplish its will (1 Cor. 12:12).
F. Marsh