Palm Sunday, the Donkey's perspective Matthew 21:1-11Palm Sunday, the Donkey's perspective Matthew 21:1-11
The Recovery Pastor Podcast
Shan, the Recovery Pastor, uses the Palm Sunday story and the donkey’s perspective to talk about feeling tied down, chosen, and called to serve. The message links faith, recovery, and everyday struggles with shame, grief, and purpose through humour, scripture, and vulnerable storytelling.
24:33•2 Apr 2026
From Donkey to Spoon: Feeling Chosen When You’d Rather Stay Invisible
Episode Overview
- The donkey in Matthew 21 is used as a picture of people who feel tied up, unseen, or unworthy, yet still chosen for a role in God’s plan.
- Shan compares bondage to sin and destructive patterns with being tied to a post, urging people to push through resistance instead of staying stuck.
- Everyone is described as carrying Jesus in their hearts and into hurting places through honesty, vulnerability, and simple acts of kindness.
- Grace is framed as a gift given to be shared, with misery linked to self-focus and a lack of service toward others.
- Breaking generational curses is connected to standing in faith, refusing to let chaos pass to the next generation, and trusting that God fights alongside you.
“We’re all called to preach the gospel. We just don’t know where God’s going to put our pulpit.”
How do individuals from all walks of life battle addiction? This Palm Sunday message brings together scripture, humour, and raw honesty in a way that speaks straight to people who feel tied down by their past, their habits, or their hurts. Shan, known as the Recovery Pastor, takes Matthew 21:1–11 and retells it from a surprising angle: the donkey’s point of view. Picture the donkey from Shrek narrating the scene and you’ll get the playful tone.
Yet beneath the laughs sits a serious question: what if you’re the one who feels “tied up, never ridden, in bondage, not free to roam,” just like that donkey? Shan shares how this passage became key while training for ministry and uses it to talk about feeling invisible, unworthy, or stuck on the sidelines.
The donkey “did not ask to participate in this moment,” just as many people in recovery never planned to end up front and centre in their own healing story. Still, Shan reminds everyone that “Jesus chose us and he wants us,” meeting people exactly where they are, not where they think they ought to be.
There’s a powerful link to recovery as Shan compares bondage to sin and old patterns with being tied to a post, too afraid to move because of a little resistance. Through gentle humour (like the kitchen utensil game) and some very vulnerable sharing about grief and family wounds, the message keeps circling back to service, grace, and purpose.
A simple spoon becomes the hero, because “all I can do is serve” — just like the donkey whose job was to carry Jesus, not steal the spotlight. Anyone wrestling with shame, insecurity, or feeling “too broken” for faith or ministry may find comfort here, along with a nudge to ask: am I content to stay tied up, or ready to step into the story God has for me?
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