God has a need!

When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, “Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it? ’ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it.’ ”

Luke 19:28‭-‬31 NKJV

Jesus is now headed for Jerusalem and this week He was going to be crucified. Before the journey begins, Jesus sends His disciples to a village to procure a donkey and He says if anyone was to ask why, then the response should be "Because the Lord has need of it'. This incident is recorded in all the three synoptic gospels. Is there a significance to Jesus needing a donkey ? And below are three that I find:

1. This is to fulfill the prophecy spoken through Zechariah that the King will cone riding a donkey

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.

Zechariah 9:9 NKJV

2. Donkey is a symbol of peace and while a horse is a more majestic animal worthy of a King, it represents war. Jesus came to bring peace between man and God and to declare that the war between man and God is over!

3. Lastly, a donkey is a lowly simple animal of the common man. Jesus came to preach good tidings to the poor and heal the sick. God is associating with humanity in its present circumstances

For more than a decade the words "Because the Lord has need of it" rang in my head whenever I would read this passage of scripture. Just think about it, the creator of the universe created the worlds by the word of His power. Just the word. Yet here Jesus is saying He has need for a donkey to ride to Jerusalem. He humbled himself and submitted to the authority of the order established on the earth. An order that He established! He could command the donkey but He said He had a need! He needs a donkey that can carry Him even today. There are spiritual lessons we can draw from this story that we can apply to our lives; some of which I share below:

1. The Lord has need for a donkey to spread the message of peace and reconciliation. To be the Christ ambassador

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

II Corinthians 5:20 NKJV

2. The Lord has need for a donkey that will humble itself and let Christ on it's back and to count all its accomplishments in the flesh a loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ.

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ

Philippians 3:8 NKJV

3. The Lord has need for a donkey to do His will on the earth without complaining

Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

Philippians 2:14‭-‬15 NKJV

4. The Lord has need for a donkey to bind and lose His will on the earth

I will give you the keys (authority) of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind [forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful] on earth will have [already] been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose [permit, declare lawful] on earth will have [already] been loosed in heaven.”

Matthew 16:19 AMP

On the week that Jesus was crucified, the donkey took Jesus to Jerusalem and all the city was moved saying "Who is this?" And the multitudes said "This is Jesus". (Mt.21:10)

People sang songs, praises and spread their clothes and palm leaves on the streets to welcome the King. Do you think the donkey thought that all this unusual rejoicing was for him? Perhaps not....he knew that it was an extraordinary day and an extraordinary person was riding him and that people were welcoming and cheering the Christ that sat on him! And that, my beloved, made this ordinary donkey extraordinary!

THE LORD HAS NEED FOR THE DONKEY this Palm Sunday