Mark 11:1-7 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’” They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it.
The above scene fulfills Zechariah's prophecy about the coming Messiah: Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9) According to this word and other prophecies, the coming king would release Israel from the threat of war and bring peace to the land. Messiah himself would free the Israelites by defeating their enemies. He would establish peace in the land of the living. As we see in the above verses, Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, riding on a colt, fulfills this prophecy. He enters Jerusalem riding on a colt, not a warhorse. The colt symbolizes that the Messiah has come to establish peace, not war; reconciliation, not judgment. Of course, Jesus's presence in Jerusalem at this time led to his crucifixion, a seemingly adverse event to this mission of peace and reconciliation, but as we know, Jesus' death and resurrection brought peace and reconciliation between mankind and God. No longer would God's fallen creation have to experience eternal death as a consequence of their waywardness and the loss of God's righteousness. This Jesus riding on the colt truly fulfilled God's plan as Isaiah foretold it so long ago: But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:5-6) He came to take upon himself the sins of all to bring true peace to the hearts of men and women.
In the today's passage, we see two disciples following Jesus' orders very closely. And they found the circumstances of the colt and his environment just as Jesus had told them. Think of the trust these two men put in Jesus when they willingly placed their own well-being in jeopardy by implementing Jesus' orders to them. They could have been accused of stealing this animal. They could have been beaten up or even arrested when they untied the colt. But rather than questioning Jesus' instructions or asking him for money to give to the owner as a reimbursement for taking the colt, they simply followed Jesus' request. They believed in the words of Jesus and his integrity more than they believed in their personal understanding of the situation. We do not know if they understood anything about the prophecy or that they were key participants in fulfilling Zechariah's words of long-ago, but we do know they were willing and obedient servants. They obeyed Jesus rather than following their own instincts. This, of course, is faith. True faith in Jesus is more real than our instincts, our rational thinking. In the natural, we deal with the world according to our past experiences or knowledge, but faith in God and the power of the Holy Spirit surpasses those realities. When Moses followed God's orders to touch the rock in the wilderness for water, he had to perform that act by faith. Moses had to believe that in that arid waterless land, there was a rock where water would gush forth as living water for the people's survival. The disciples went forth on Jesus' command, literally believing there was a real colt somewhere ahead to untie and bring back to him. Faith, unlocks the door to God's work. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1) Without faith, we cannot please God, and we will receive nothing from him.
How many times do we stop God's hand of blessing because we do not believe He is telling us what to do? How many times do we think the unction in our souls to help someone is just a natural concern or emotion of ours? How many times do we fail to pray because we see the situation as impossible to overcome? How many times do we not discern the voice of God, allowing the self-talk of doubt and disbelief to drown out the still small voice of the Holy Spirit? Recently, Dad was praying for our grandson who is a composer of classical music. He was experiencing some difficulties in his life at the time. As Dad prayed for him, he heard the Spirit's still voice in his inner ear say, "I have given him music to sing my song." Dad has always told our grandson that he is playing and writing the music of God, a statement of faith, of course. When Dad heard that voice, he quickly wrote the statement down so he would not forget it. As he wrote it down, he thought, "God, songs have lyrics; my grandson is composing classical music, not lyrical pieces? Then he remembered that somewhere the Bible says the stars sing, so he got his iPad out and looked up where that verse is found. He discovered it was in Job 38. He wanted to read it in the Bible, so He grabbed one of his many Bibles to look up the verse to read it in context. When he opened the Bible he selected, the Bible opened directly to Job 38, not a page near it, no, directly on Job 38. God was telling him, his prayers were being answered. Yes, we can say there was a chance, a tiny probability, for that Bible, of the many he could have selected, to open on Job 38. But we believe it was no random accident: it was a direct answer from God to tell Dad that his grandson is writing God's music, his song! God wants to lead his dear children along. But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. (2 Corinthians 2:14) The Lord is speaking to you, "Yes, go get a colt in the city, you will find it exactly as I say." Can we believe that in our daily lives?
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