Context No. 2531 of 4322 · Mark
Context · Reflection
Mark 11:1-6: in context
1When they came near to Jerusalem, to Bethsphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2and said to them, “Go your way into the village that is opposite you. Immediately as you enter into it, you will find a young donkey tied, on which no one has sat. Untie him and bring him. 3If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs him;’ and immediately he will send him back here.” 4They went away, and found a young donkey tied at the door outside in the open street, and they untied him. 5Some of those who stood there asked them, “What are you doing, untying the young donkey?” 6They said to them just as Jesus had said, and they let them go.
As Jesus approaches Jerusalem, he sends two disciples ahead with an odd errand: go into the village, find a colt tied there that no one has ridden, and untie it. If anyone asks why, say, the Lord has need of it. They go, find the colt exactly as he said, and when the owners question them, those words are enough; they let it go.
The whole scene turns on a small phrase: the Lord has need of it. An ordinary young donkey, tied at someone's door, is suddenly wanted for the King's entry into his city, and at that word it is released for the purpose. There is a quiet dignity in being something the Lord has need of. God's work often runs on exactly this, ordinary things and ordinary people, released when he asks for them. The question is whether, when the word comes that the Lord has need of what I am holding, my time, my resources, my very self, I will untie it and let it go.
What am I holding that the Lord has need of, and would I release it freely when the word comes that he wants it?