Last week was a busy week.
At Crosspoint, we were making the final preparations to host our 2nd Annual Easter Eggstravaganza. Preparations had started weeks ago, but there are just things that can’t be done until the week of the event. The Saturday before we had a work day to get our “Backyard” space ready to use. Tuesday, my dad and I, spent most of the day assembling picnic tables for the Backyard. My wife, Christy, was amazing at coordinating the whole thing. Shopping at Sam’s for 500 hot dogs and chips. Mowing and striping the grass field for parking. Friday was setting up and staging everything to go out Saturday morning. 9:45am, the steady stream of cars came and came…hours of preparation culminated between 10am and 1pm of Saturday with over 900 guests enjoying the day with us. And then it was over…and we’re all tired…but amazed at the response God gave us. We certainly pray the impact of the Gospel continues in the lives of those who came.
Our week pales in comparison to Holy Week. But the events of Holy Week did not just begin with Palm Sunday. Planning and preparation had not even started months before, but centuries and millennium before. What God had been planning in eternity for the salvation of souls, would reach its final culmination in a week’s time…from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday.
Like with any event, details are important. Many may not recognize them, but to the planner they are important to carry out. This week, I’d like to reflect on some of the details.
Detail #1: Colt
Would anyone have noticed if Jesus walked into Jerusalem or rode a horse into Jerusalem? Perhaps some would have still paved the way with branches and garments. Yet a significant detail is the donkey. One that probably wasn’t ever ridden. It was the foal of a donkey – so a young donkey.
Yet Jesus knew exactly where to find the donkey. Imagine the disciples sent on this mission to get the donkey and simply say to the owner, “The Lord needs them.” Is this justified stealing? No. It is a detail orchestrated in eternity. Recorded by the prophet Zechariah 500 years before Jesus and played out in real time with an owner of the donkey near Bethphage.
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5 “Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
The mount of Jesus was not just the most convenient. It was a detail that the Spirit of God orchestrated to convey the humility of Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem, not to conquer it, but to serve it.
The donkey wasn’t anything spectacular, but it was a detail that had to be in place for Jesus to bring to completion the salvation of our your soul and mine.
Apply: What other details of Palm Sunday catch your attention? Why are they significant? Read the account in Matthew 21, John 12
Prayer: Jesus, thank you for paying attention to the details to fulfill all prophesy and do all that was necessary for my salvation. AMEN.