Day 305: The Lord Has Need Of It (Matthew 21:1-11)

“If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and he will send them at once.”
—Matthew 21:3

Through the Bible: Matthew 20–21

Yesterday, we saw Jesus stop for a blind beggar outside Jericho. Today, He borrows a donkey on His way in to Jerusalem. Whether it’s a man the world calls trash or an animal tied up by the road, Jesus has a way of turning what others overlook into part of His story of redemption.

Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem begins with a simple errand: “Go into the village in front of you,” He tells two of His disciples, “and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me.”

It’s easy to miss how much faith that required. Jesus is basically telling them to commit grand theft donkey.
If your pastor said, “Go down to the Toyota dealership, hop in one of those new Tundras, and when the manager asks what you’re doing, just tell him, ‘My pastor has need of it,’” would you do it?

And what about the faith of the owner of the donkey? We never think about him. Yet apparently, the moment the disciples said, “The Lord has need of it,” the owner let them go “at once.” That’s faith, too—the quiet kind that doesn’t get a name in Scripture but gets remembered forever. It takes faith to obey Jesus’ strange instructions, but it also takes faith to release what’s yours simply because He asked.

No voice from heaven. No message spelled out in alphabet soup. Just two disciples and the owner of a donkey willing to do something that made no earthly sense.

But then comes the line that changes everything:
“The Lord has need of it.”

Think about that. The One who spoke the universe into existence—the One who owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10)—has need of anything? What could the Creator possibly need from a creature?

And yet, that’s how the story of Palm Sunday begins. Jesus chooses to involve ordinary people with ordinary possessions in an extraordinary purpose. We don’t know which disciples Jesus dispatched for this possible act of larceny. I like to imagine it was a couple of disciples who don’t otherwise get much screen time in the story: “Hey, Thaddeus! I’ve got something for you and Bartholomew to do…”

As for the unnamed owner of the donkey, we know nothing about him. He didn’t write any sermons (or police reports either, for that matter). He didn’t perform any miracles. He just said yes when the Lord asked to borrow what was his.

And in that moment, his donkey carried the King of Glory.

I wonder if he went with his donkey–either to participate in the occasion or simply to make sure he got his donkey back. I wonder if he was one of the ones waving palm branches. I wonder if he was even aware that prophecy from Zechariah had been fulfilled with his own animal:

“Behold, your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)

What a story to tell his grandchildren: The Lord needed something we had, and we said yes.

The same God still works this way. He doesn’t need your wealth, your eloquence, or your credentials. But He invites you to offer what you have—a home, a voice, a few loaves and fish, a borrowed colt. He invites you to offer your reputation, your caution, even your skepticism and doubt—your willing suspension of disbelief.

And every time you say yes, the King comes a little closer to you. One donkey’s hoof at a time.

So ask yourself today: What do I have that the Lord might need?
It might seem small or unimportant. It might seem risky or ridiculous.

But once it’s placed in His hands, nothing is ordinary anymore.

Related Content for this Day

• Day 305: You Will Drink From My Cup (Matthew 20:20-24)
• The Donkey and the Palm (Matthew 21:1-11; 1 Kings 1:6-10, 28-40)
• All Leaves, No Figs (Holy Week Meditation)

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