THE LORD HAS NEED OF IT

We have reached a pivotal point in the book of Mark. Jesus is on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem. He has been here many times, in fact, He has been in the city below many times. When He descends from the Mount of Olives on this day, He will be setting into motion certain events that will climax with His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.

The events we are studying today took place sometime on a Sunday. Before the sun sets the next Friday, Jesus will have been crucified and buried. Before the sun rises on the next Sunday morning, Jesus will have conquered death, hell and the grave by resurrecting from the dead. The events of this day mark the beginning of our Lord’s Passion Week.

Up to this point in the ministry of Jesus, He had always told His men to keep quiet about His identity. Often, when Jesus healed people, He would tell them to go their way and to keep quiet about what had happened to them. Now, there is a change in the Lord’s strategy. On this day, Jesus begins to draw attention to Himself. Why? He does so because He is about to fulfill an ancient prophecy. He does so because He is about to present Himself to the nation of Israel as their King.

Hundreds of years earlier, the prophet Zachariah penned these words, Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Jesus is about to fulfill that prophecy in detail.

THE SOVEREIGN KING OF THE UNIVERSE CONTROLS THE NARRATIVE OF LIFE.

From the moment he enters Jerusalem the prerogatives of deity are present. Jesus is Lord and Master of every detail of His divine destiny. He knows what will happen and when it will happen. It will all go according to plan.

Acts 2:22–24 ESV

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

Just because you don’t know what God is doing doesn’t mean God doesn’t know what He is doing.

John 12:16 “His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.”

We worship a Lord Who is ever in complete control of every situation!

THE SOVEREIGN KING OF THE UNIVERSE HAS NEED OF YOUR LIFE.

Mark 11:3 ESV

If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’ ”

The Lord needed that donkey to fulfill His mission here on earth and he needs us to complete His work on earth. One theologian said “Without God we can’t; Without us God won’t.” The Lord needs us like parents need the help of their children; he invites our participation for our maturation.

Matthew 24:14 ESV

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Romans 10:13–15 ESV

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

The phrase “and will send it back here immediately”, means “The Lord will send the donkey right back as soon as He is finished with him.” In other words, Jesus tells His men to tell the people who owned the donkey that He will return their property as soon as He is through with it.

When that donkey came back, it was better than it was when it left. When it left, it was unbroken and untried. When it came home, it was ready for the saddle. That’s just what the Lord does! He takes when we give Him and when He gives it back, it is far better than it was when He got it.

· Give Him an Abram, a lost pagan, and He will give you back an Abraham, a mighty man of faith.

· Give Him your Jacob, a schemer and a trickster, and He will give you back an Israel, a Prince of God.

· Give Him your Saul of Tarsus, a mean, cruel man, and He will give you back a Paul, a mighty Apostle of God.

· Give Him you Simon, a weak, vacillating man, and He will give you back a Peter, a rock for Jesus.

· Give Him your broken, sin scarred life and He will give you back a new start, a new NATURE AND NAME.