Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion,‘Behold, your king is coming to you,humble, and mounted on a donkey,on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
~Matthew 21:1-11
Every time I read this story of the Triumphal Entry, I am amazed that the donkey and colt were tied up waiting for the disciples to come get them. They didn’t have to look for a donkey or plead with the owner to release the donkey. All they had to do was to say, “The Lord needs them.” Even more amazing, the Triumphal Entry was prophesied by Zechariah five centuries earlier. What an example of God’s plan! The crowd spreading palms and crying “Hosanna” was not a spur-of-the-moment event; it was part of the perfect plan of the perfect God.
Holy God, omniscient and omnipresent Lord, I praise You for Your great love for us and Your perfect plan for our salvation. May everyone on earth hear Your Word and believe. In the name of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Ghost forever and ever. Amen.
These daily devotions are available in a book The Grace of God, with all profits donated to Love for the Least to share the compassion of Christ with an unreached world. L4L shares the Good News of the Gospel with the least and unreached by making disciples of Jesus who make disciples (2 Tim 2:2) and by helping to meet the physical needs of the poorest of the poor.