“28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “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. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” 32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.” Luke 19.28-34
There was a reason Jesus was not as happy-go-lucky as he had once been. He was nearing the time of his suffering, death, and resurrection. He wasn’t just nearing Jerusalem—he was there. Just outside, near Bethany, on the Mount of Olives.
I’ve been to this exact location multiple times, but never once did someone arrive with a colt for me to ride! Never once did the crowds hail my name and celebrate my arrival. I arrived, rather, on a bus, with a tour guide and fellow pilgrims seeking to remember that which happened so many years ago.
Jesus could have turned back at any point. He could have decided upon another path, sought another destiny, endured another outcome. But Jesus did that which he was called and created to do—he went willingly to the cross. And the week before he dies, he arrives at this very place, at this time, to send his disciples into the village to commandeer a colt to ride and to fulfill the prophecy of his arrival: “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” (Zechariah 9:9).
Jesus was not only enduring God’s will for his life; he was embracing it with joy and confidence. Jesus knew the end of the story, and still he went. He had an idea of the pain, and still he went up to Jerusalem, to the holy place of God, to offer his sacrifice to the Father.
I wonder what God is asking us to sacrifice today. What is he asking us to endure so that we might bring him glory and praise? Each of us has our own path to walk, and it is in the journey, in the travels along the path, that we find meaning along the way. Just as the disciples told the owners of the colt, “The Lord has need of us,” so the Lord has need of your life today. He has need of your obedience, your devotion, your sacrifice.
Will you turn to the Lord and invite him in? Will you call upon his name and seek refuge in his face? Will you walk the path that he has called and commanded of you this day?
“O Lord God, you are faithful and loving. Your love sent Jesus to the cross. Your love calls us each by name. Your love fills me with blessing this day and teaches me obedience along the way. Come now, Holy Spirit, fill me with your power and might. Help me know and appreciate your sacrifice that I might imitate your life. For you are good and your love endures forever.” Amen.