Jesus had been clear.
Things were going to change.
Things were no longer going to be as they had been for the last couple of years. In fact, though they didn’t know it or understand it completely, the disciples were approaching what would be the most life-changing week of history.
Holy Week was coming.
Granted. It wasn’t called Holy Week yet. Still, it was coming, and Jesus was trying to get his friends ready for what was to come as they journeyed along to their next destination. Jerusalem.
Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”
~ Matthew 20:17-19
For us, we have the benefit of hindsight. We have the benefit of knowing what happened during that week. We’ve read the Scriptures. We’ve shared the stories. We’ve heard the preachers point to these events time and time again. We have a pretty good grasp on what happened (though I don’t think we can ever completely grasp the full depth and breadth of what Jesus went through and accomplished). The disciples, on the other hand, had no clue.
No clue whatsoever.
This wasn’t the first time that Jesus had shared this information. They had been told before. (Matthew 16:21-23, Matthew 17:22-23) Still, they didn’t get it. Instead, right after hearing what was to become of their Leader, their Teacher, their Rabbi, do you know what they did?
They fought over who among them would be the greatest.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, Jesus. We get it. Suffering. Death. Resurrection. Who gets to sit at your right hand in the kingdom of heaven?”
This was a complete whiff. A strikeout. Shoot, they weren’t even playing the right game. It’s like they were swinging a baseball bat at a soccer ball. Completely and totally off.
And yet…
Jesus still cared for them. Jesus still proceeded to the cross for them. Jesus was still beaten and battered and bruised for them. Even though they didn’t get it, they didn’t understand, they couldn’t wrap their minds around what was going to happen. Even though Jesus knew that they would forsake his love, that they would betray him, that they would run away and deny ever knowing him. Even though Jesus knew that they would not remain faithful. Even though the disciples were confused and hard headed and stubborn and worried about what was in it for them. Even though they were flawed and sinful and not worthy of the Lord. Even though they were all these things and more, Jesus still loved them. Jesus still called them. Jesus still had a role for them to fulfill in his kingdom. Jesus still had a plan to use them. Jesus was still faithful.
And so, we read this as they approached that life-changing week:
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.”
~ Matthew 21:1-3
Can you imagine being one of those two?
Go and untie a donkey and her colt and bring them to Jesus?
Really?
This had to be towards the top of the list of “strange things that Jesus asked the disciples to do.” “Cast your net on the other side of the boat.” “Share your lunch with these 5,000+ folks.” “Come out to me on the water.” “Go get the donkey.”
Go get the donkey?
What donkey?
Whose donkey?
Why a donkey?
Put yourself in their shoes for a moment. They had no idea what was about to happen. No idea what was about to transpire. Sure, they were told that Jesus was going to suffer, die, and be raised to life. Still, they didn’t really know what that meant. They didn’t really understand what that would look like. Plus, Jesus didn’t say anything about Palm Sunday in that prediction! He didn’t let them know that this was going to be a thing, that palm branches would be waved, that cloaks would be laid down on the road. How would you feel if Jesus, all of the sudden, asked you to go and get the donkey? I, for one, might have issues with this request.
A donkey and her colt, Jesus, really?
Perhaps, I’m looking a little too far into this. Perhaps they were familiar with what Matthew tells us next:
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.’”
~ Matthew 21:4-5
Maybe they knew this was why they were being sent to fetch a donkey and her colt…but I doubt it. After all, the disciples did not demonstrate a consistent history of always knowing what was going on in the broader picture of Jesus’ kingdom. In fact, they had consistently demonstrated the opposite. They had consistently shown that they were not aware of the larger aspects of what Jesus was doing, of what Jesus was fulfilling. So, I have my doubts in regards to them knowing in this instance.
And yet…
They went and got the donkey.
They went and got the donkey!
The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.
~ Matthew 21:6-7
They went and got the donkey, and the most important Sunday-to-Sunday stretch of the history of the world began.
Holy Week was kicked off, and life would never be the same because of who Jesus is and because of what Jesus accomplished.
The request was relatively small. The donkey and her colt played a relatively minor role in the story (at least in comparison to the cross and the empty tomb and those things that Jesus did and went through). Regardless, this was an important part of the plan, and it was an important part of the plan that was dependent upon two disciples, who had very little clue at this point, following through on a request of Jesus that had couldn’t have made much sense to them at that time.
“Go and get the donkey.”
The disciples went, and we continue to have it be a part of the most important story that we will ever embrace.
I don’t know how this affects you, but for me, I am filled with hope, with awe, with gratitude, with inspiration, with love.
Why?
I know that Jesus has, can, and will continue to do the same thing in my life, and that I have the opportunity to be a part of a broader story, even if I don’t know all of the details, even if I have failed, even if I don’t always get everything right.
The disciples didn’t know it all. They weren’t perfect. They didn’t always understand. They often fell short even after walking with Jesus for some time. And yet, Jesus still loved them, still called them, and still used them.
The same is true for me. The same is true for us.
We don’t know it all. We’re not perfect. We don’t always understand. Sometimes, we fall short…even after walking with Jesus for a while. And yet…Jesus still loves us, still calls us, still uses us, still asks us to “go and get the donkey”, to take steps of faith, of obedience, to follow after him.
So, I ask you this day, as we prepare for a celebration of Holy Week, will you go? Will you go and get the donkey when Jesus asks? Will you respond in faith? Will you be a part of his story? Will you act, even if you don’t completely understand or even know what you are doing? Will you trust Jesus, even if His direction seems a bit absurd?
Friend, I hope that when Jesus asks me that I will respond in faith, in obedience, in love. I pray that when the Lord asks me, “Chris, go and get the donkey,” that I will hop up and go, regardless of my past mistakes, my misunderstandings, or whether I know the full picture of what is happening. I pray that I will hear the voice of Jesus and go. I pray that you will as well. After all, who knows? In that faith, in that obedience, in getting the donkey we just might find ourselves as part of a much larger story of God’s plan.
~ Pastor Chris
