The Lord Needs It

...Jesus sent two of his disciples, 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. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’ ” They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go.

Mark 11:1b–6

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As Jesus approaches Jerusalem from the southeast, He arrives at Bethany and from there sends two of His disciples on ahead to the next village, called Bethphage. Jesus tells these two disciples that they will find a colt tied up in that village and He charges them with bringing it back to Him.

Now, Jesus is no dummy. He knows that people may question His disciples taking this young donkey that does not belong to them, so He tells them exactly what to say if they are questioned. And of course, they were. In fact, Luke’s gospel reveals to us that the people who question these disciples are more than just bystanders, they are the donkey’s owners. And no doubt they think they are being robbed.

‌‌But look at what Jesus told His disciples to say. The two disciples say, “The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.” And that was enough. Whether the donkey’s owners knew Jesus by reputation or whether they were followers of Christ or whether they had never met Him before, we don’t know. What we do know beyond a shadow of doubt is that “The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly” was enough for them.

If Jesus asked you to give, to contribute something of yours to His kingdom, would you do it? If the Holy Spirit whispered to your heart and said “I need you to give that to me do with what I will,” would you obey His prompting? Is there anything you wouldn’t be willing to give if Jesus asked for it? ‌‌Is “the Lord needs it” enough for you?