The Lord Needs It!

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

11 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethanyat the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’” 4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted. “Hosanna![a]” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” 10  “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”“Hosanna in the highest heaven!” 11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

As Jesus draws near to Jerusalem, the place where he would be crucified, we everything he does going forward will have a purpose.  Although the crowds started following Jesus wherever he went, this is one of the first public declarations he will make of his kingship.  And since there were so many Jewish people coming to the Passover festival in Jerusalem, Jesus knew there would be crowds of people coming from all over the world. 

Many call this Jesus' triumphal entry, which is quite an irony considering what a typical triumphal entry looks like.  For instance, 

A triumphal entry was a honor granted to a Roman general who won a complete and decisive victory and had killed at least 5,000 enemy soldiers. When the general returned to Rome, they had an elaborate parade. First came the treasures captured from the enemy, then the prisoners. His armies marched by unit by unit, and finally the general rode in a golden chariot pulled by magnificent horses. Priests burned incense in his honor and the crowds shouted his name and praised him. The procession ended at the arena, where some of the prisoners were thrown to wild animals for the entertainment of the crowd. That was a Triumphal Entry, not a Galilean Peasant sitting on a few coats set out on a pony.

Jesus will show them what a true conqueror looks like, a servant who lays down his life for his subjects.  Jesus could have called down all the angels of heaven and created quite a scene, but he chose to come on a colt, the foal of donkey.  One of the parts of this passage that strikes me is when Jesus sends his disciples to the owner of the colt's house.  When they get there they ask for the young colt and then say to those standing there, "The Lord needs it and will send it back to you shortly!"  When the people heard this they let the colt go with the disciples.  

Though the colt was the owner's, Jesus needed it.  And he released his colt for Jesus' use.  Sometimes we think being the owner of something means I can do whatever I want, whenever I want.  But the owner realized Jesus had a higher purpose.  There are many things in our life the Lord needs.  Our time, our talents and our possessions.  Like the owner we should be ready to say at anytime, the Lord needs it and release what we have to him.