As [Jesus] approached Bethpage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, saying to them, “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. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.”
Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as He had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, ‘Why are you untying the colt?”
They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.
Every once in a while, I read a story in the Bible that catches me off-guard. Somewhat ironically, it’s never the grandiose or miraculous stories. It’s usually a story that is fairly mundane, yet mildly out of the ordinary. The account above is one such story, and it is taken from Luke 19:28-35. It serves as the starting point for the events of what we refer to as “Palm Sunday.”
Jesus pulls back the proverbial curtain and unambiguously announces exactly Who and What He is. He is the Messiah or Christ; He is the promised King!
“Palm Sunday” was a sort of big reveal for Jesus. Throughout the gospels, Jesus made an effort to keep a lid on His identity. By jumping on a previously unridden colt of a donkey, Jesus intentionally fulfills the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9. It reads, “Rejoice greatly Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Through His actions, Jesus pulls back the proverbial curtain and unambiguously announces exactly Who and What He is. He is the Messiah or Christ; He is the promised King!
Generally, when I have read the leading verses in Luke 19:28-35, I’ve treated them as set-up material. They’re just there to get Jesus on the donkey so He can slow-ride His way into Jerusalem in the Parade of Palms. I’ve never paid much attention to the actual interaction that takes place.
“The Lord needs it” is only a reasonable answer if one has accepted Jesus as their Lord.
Jesus sends two of His boys into town to find Him a ride. He tells them that when they enter the village, they’ll see a brand new, mint condition donkey and that they should just grab it and go. Should someone ask what they are doing, which seems like an inevitability, they are to say, “The Lord needs it.” The crazy thing about the story is that the disciples do as Jesus says and the next thing we know Jesus is slow-riding into the big city in a Parade of Palms.
Let’s put this into modern terms, shall we. Imagine for a moment that you are sitting in front of your home one fine Sunday morning. Out of the blue, two weary-worn travelers walk up to your brand new car. They hop in, fire it up, and prepare to head down the road. A bit startled, you shout out, “WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!” Their response: “The Lord needs it.” How many of us are letting them roll on down the highway?
There is no part of our lives that we can rightly withhold from Jesus.
Most of us would probably be asking a few follow-up questions! Even if we assume that the owners knew who Jesus was and were familiar with His disciples, it still feels like a significant ask. What’s so striking to me is that, “The Lord needs it” was a perfectly sufficient answer for the donkey’s owners. It demonstrates that even before Jesus officially revealed Himself to the world, these people recognized the truth and had submitted to Jesus as Lord. “The Lord needs it” is only a reasonable answer if one has accepted Jesus as their Lord.
This story forces us to ask a couple of questions about ourselves. Are we willing to offer Jesus all we have and all we are at a moment’s notice? Is there anything in our lives that we would refuse to offer in His service? In Romans, we read that one of the prerequisites for salvation is declaring with our mouths that Jesus is Lord. If this is true, there is no part of our lives that we can rightly withhold from Jesus. All that we are and all that we have should be offered up in His service.
