ZPCBlog

About the author: Stephanie has been attending ZPC since she was 2.5 years old and joined the church as a teenager sometime in the 90s. She and her husband, Brian, live in Brownsburg with their three sons, Mason, Griffin, and Landon. After 15 years of teaching, Stephanie is now a stay at home mom who enjoys fellowshipping with other moms at MOPS, teaching in the Treehouse on Sunday mornings, and “doing life” with her home group.

Mark 11:1-11

Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples ² and said to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. ³ If anyone says to you, “Why are you doing this?” just say this, “The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.”’ ⁴ They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, ⁵ some of the bystanders said to them, ‘What are you doing, untying the colt?’ ⁶ They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. ⁷ Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. ⁸ Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. ⁹ Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,

¹¹ Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Devotional

In this scripture Jesus is headed to the temple in Jerusalem as the King. The first few verses tell us about the donkey Jesus will ride into the temple. Jesus sent two disciples to the village to untie a donkey and told them if they are asked “Why are you doing this?” say “The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.” Imagine Jesus asking you to do this. Walk into a village, take a donkey that does not belong to you and bring it to him. Would you go willingly? Would you hesitate? Would you run through the list of ways this could go wrong? Maybe even delegate this task to someone “braver” than yourself? The two disciples, who could have been punished for taking a donkey without authorization, put their faith and trust in Jesus and things unfolded just as he instructed. They were asked what they were doing. Jesus prepared them with a response and they were allowed to borrow the donkey. Now, instead of a military king arriving on a stallion as the Jewish people were likely expecting, the people were given a humble and loving king riding in on a donkey. 

As we enter Holy Week are you like the disciples, willing to put your trust and faith in Christ? What kind of king are you looking for to save you? Are you following his instructions and allowing his will to unfold in your life?

Prayer

Heavenly Father,
We come to you at the beginning of Holy Week to ask that you open our hearts to trust in you. You’re our humble and loving Savior. Help us to remember that the world surrounds us with “militant” kings and other distractions that take us away from focusing on you. Equip us with the strength to follow your instructions and keep our eyes on you.
Amen

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