Evangelist who wants $54M jet says “Jesus Wouldn’t be Riding a Donkey” | thebereancall.org

TBC Staff

A prosperity gospel televangelist is asking his followers to “pray about becoming a partner” to his mission of obtaining a $54 million private jet. The Louisiana-based ministry of Jesse Duplantis, has already paid cash for three other private planes, but he says God told him, “I want you to believe in me for a Falcon 7X.”

Duplantis is hoping to take the word of Jesus to new heights -- with help from a $54 million private jet, CBS News’ Tony Dokoupil reports.  

Duplantis runs a ministry and a church in Destrehan, Louisiana, outside New Orleans. In a video posted to his website last week, he asked his followers for help funding the aircraft, noting that God told him he should have a jet -- but not pay for it.

“I really believe that if the Lord Jesus Christ was physically on the Earth today, he wouldn’t be riding a donkey,” Duplantis said in the video. “He’d be in an airplane flying all over the world.”

(CBS/AP, “Evangelist who wants $54M jet says ‘Jesus wouldn’t be riding a donkey’,”

[TBC: Duplantis has since stated he was not asking his followers to pay for his jet, nevertheless leaving the door open for them to do so, saving, “"Pray about becoming a partner to it if you’d like to, and if you don’t — you don’t have to. But I wish you would."

Of greater concern is his unbiblical belief that “if the Lord Jesus Christ was physically on the Earth today, he wouldn’t be riding a donkey.” Duplantis is in error on a number of points. First, if he was speaking of the first advent of Jesus on the earth taking place today, Duplantis is arguing with the Lord Himself. It was specifically prophesied how the Lord would enter Jerusalem on His way to the Cross.

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zechariah:9:9).

Secondly, the physical body of Jesus after His resurrection was shown in Scripture to be no longer subject to the laws of earth. “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you” (John:20:26). A jet, no matter how expensive, would only slow Him down.]