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The Blue Letter Bible
Study Resources :: Text Commentaries :: F.E. Marsh :: Readings 1-50 (Abel - Children)
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F.E. Marsh :: 19. An Illustration of Grace

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MATTHEW 21:1-7

As the Lord needed the colt upon which He rode into Jerusalem, so He needs every sinner. “Not a very complimentary simile to compare us to an ass!” says one. 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 a sheep for stupidity (Isaiah 53:6), to a dog as an object of contempt (Matt. 15:26), and to an ass for his wildness and wilfulness (Job 11:12). I am, therefore, warranted in taking the ass as illustrating the condition the sinner is in, and what the Lord is willing to do for him.

  1. As the ass was “tied” (Matt. 21:2), so the sinner is under the bondage of sin (Gal. 3:22).
  2. As the ass was “without” (Mark 11:4)―not in a comfortable stable―so the sinner is without the blessings of the covenant (Eph. 2:12).
  3. 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).
  4. As the colt had never been ridden on, therefore, had been of no use (Matt. 21:2); so the sinner is useless to God, for they who are in the flesh cannot please Him (Rom. 8:8).
  5. As the colt was known by Christ before it was brought to Him (Matt. 21:2), and He directed where and how it would be found; so Christ knew us before we knew Him, and He gives in detail our natural character in Rom. 3:
  6. As the colt was loosed by a power outside itself (Matt. 21:2), so the grace of God is the only power that can free us from the consequence and control of sin (Eph. 2:5).
  7. As the colt was brought to Christ (Matt. 21:7), so the Holy Spirit is the Power that leads us to the Lamb of God, who takes away our sin (Acts 26:18).
  8. As the colt was used by Christ (Matt. 21:7), so those who are brought to Christ are used by Him (Col. 1:29).
  9. As the colt was needed by Christ (Matt. 21:3), so He needs all His people to carry out His purpose, even as the head needs the members of the body to accomplish its will (1 Cor. 12:12).
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