Seeds for 12/07/2023 - Matthew 21:1-6
Scripture: As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.
Observation: This is the story of Palm Sunday, which begins Jesus’ last week before the cross on that Friday and resurrection the following Sunday, a mere eight days later. It is interesting to note that out of twenty-eight chapters in Matthew’s Gospel, seven of them—one quarter of the story—are dedicated to the last week of Jesus’ earthly life and to His death, and another chapter covers His resurrection. The other three Gospels are weighted in a similar manner. The disproportionate amount of text dedicated to this short period of time underscores the significance of these days.
The disciples have now spent so much time—so much of their life, with Jesus that I imagine them befuddled at the notion that Jesus has other friends! They are given rather odd instructions about where and how to find a donkey and colt and what to do if questioned.
Sometimes we are so aware of and in touch with what we are doing that we forget there’s a world outside of us. Whether or not the disciples felt this way, Jesus’ knowledge of whoever is associated with the donkey and colt is abrupt for us as we read along in the narrative. When did Jesus scout this out? When did He lay out these plans? When did He make their acquaintance? We didn’t know this was in the works until just now!
Here is a truth, and one that is reinforced by the sudden revelation of this hidden vista in the life of Jesus. The Lord has plans in motion that we know not of. Just when we think we have the whole picture, it’s good to be reminded that He’s got a much bigger operation and our part, as significant as it may be is not all there is. We get so wrapped up in the importance of our small slice of what Jesus is up to (and it is indeed important!) that we imagine we see more than we do.
At the same time that Jesus was preaching, teaching, healing, feeding, and training, He apparently had opportunity to make arrangements for this day. In fact, He did such a masterful job of setting it all up that He managed to have the scene fulfill Old Testament prophesy to boot.
The last line grounds us in the appropriate response to learning Jesus’ world was larger than we realized: “The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.”
Application:
When have you experienced a tangible awareness that Jesus is doing a larger work than you realize in your day-to-day life?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, remind us that when we serve you, we are contributing to a much greater kingdom work than what we can see. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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