Scripture: Luke 19:28-40
I’m going to tell you a story that stretches back to the spring of 1985, when my family and I were on vacation in London. We went with a group of Shriners, oddly enough… when my dad was “Potentate,” otherwise known as the “Grand Poobah” of Shriners… But we went on a two-week trip to the British Isles.
And while we were in London, we saw the Queen of England herself, Elizabeth II, live and in person… At the time, as a dumb 15-year-old kid, I thought, “Well, this sort of thing must happen all the time. It’s common for the queen to be out and about.” But no… as I now realize from talking to actual English people—the vast majority of whom never see their queen, or now king, in person—I now realize that what I experienced was exceedingly rare. And I took a photo of her at the time, which I would be happy to show you… except the last time I saw it, it was in the top drawer of my dresser back in 1988. I wish I still had it!
But I saw the queen, and she was no farther away from me than those of you who are sitting in the first few rows of this sanctuary! She and the Queen Mother rode by, in a horse-drawn carriage, on their way to Buckingham Palace. Whatever the reason for this display of pageantry, there wasn’t much notice: Our English tour guide was breathless with excitement as he announced the sudden change to the day’s itinerary.
But let me tell you what I liked best about this experience: Standing beside me was an elderly man. He was easily in his eighties. He was wearing his old army uniform… faded, for sure, but freshly pressed. The uniform was now too big for him on his shrunken frame. I imagine he was a veteran of World War One.
But he stood there, at attention, saluting the queen as she passed by. And I’m not exaggerating: there was a tear in his eye.
And I think—I hope—the queen saw him, too. I feel confident she did. This man deserved to be seen by his queen! It was so… sweet. So moving!
And this 85-year-old man had this look about him that said something like this: “I serve at your pleasure. I am here to do your will. Wherever you want me to go, I’ll go. Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do.”
This man was ready—on short notice—to meet his queen… to meet his sovereign… and to do her will.
And I can’t help but think of the participants in today’s scripture. Their King was coming and was now here. And they did what they needed to do in order to be ready to greet him.
Today’s scripture, Luke’s version of the Triumphal Entry, teaches us a great deal about what it means to be a disciple. And it teaches a lot about who Jesus is. Let’s explore this in three points:
Number One: The Colt. Number Two: The Crowd. And Number Three: The King.
But Number One… the colt…
Let’s begin by looking at verses 30 and 31. Jesus tells two of his disciples,
Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, “Why are you untying it?” you shall say this: “The Lord has need of it.”
First, just to clarify, we usually think of a colt as a young horse. We know for sure from the other three gospels this is the colt of a donkey. Also, Matthew and John quote the Old Testament prophet Zechariah, who writes—of Jesus: “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt.” 1
I can’t help but think of the famous “cantina” scene in Star Wars. Remember?Just before Obi Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, C3PO, and R2D2 go to the cantina, they drive their landspeeder through an imperial checkpoint, with the evil stormtroopers. The stormtroopers are looking for the two droids, who happen to be in this landspeeder. The stormtroopers stop our heroes and ask for identification. And it seems like the good guys are about to get caught: And Obi Wan says, “You don’t need to see identification.” And the stormtroopers repeat back to him, “We don’t need to see your identification.” And Obi Wan says, “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.” And the stormtroopers repeat back, “These aren’t the droids we’re looking for.”
Obi Wan is playing some kind of Jedi mind trick… He can, with the power of the force, make these people do what he wants them to do—even against their will!
Is that what Jesus is doing here?
The famous New Testament scholar from a previous generation, the Scotsman William Barclay, certainly doesn’t think so. He completely removes any supernatural element from this event. He says that Jesus had made arrangements with the owners of this donkey some time earlier, and that when he told his disciples to tell them, “The Lord has need of it,” that’s like a prearranged password that Jesus and these owners had worked out.
But not so fast… When would he have made these arrangements? And why the secretiveness? Why weren’t the disciples with Jesus when he made them? Also… Is it the case that so many people ask to borrow this particular donkey from its owners that they’d have to work out some kind of prearranged password with Jesus? And why wouldn’t Jesus just tell the disciples, “I made arrangements with the owners of this donkey. How about you go get get it now?”
Besides, if Jesus made prior arrangements with the owners, why don’t any of the four gospel writers report that?
No… Jesus has perfect, supernatural foreknowledge of what will happen. His Father has revealed to him precisely what will happen. So that’s what he tells his disciples to do. That part, I believe, is supernatural.
But I don’t believe that Jesus is using any Jedi mind trick on the owners of this donkey.
Rather, I believe that these owners are already disciples of Jesus. And when they hear the words, “The Lord has need of it,” that’s all they need to hear! They know that if the Lord is asking them for something, they will freely and willingly obey him.
No Jedi mind trick necessary. And why should there be? Jesus is the Lord of the universe, their king, their Messiah, the Son of God—God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, as the Creed puts it… If the Lord wants something, his disciples’ only response should be, “Yes, Lord.”
No questions asked.
That’s what true obedience looks like.
Don’t mistake that for the counterfeit “obedience” that we often give… The late pastor Tim Keller said that his boys—when they were young—often asked him and his wife why… “Why do I have to do this thing that I don’t want to do?” All of us parents have been there, right? Our commands, especially the unpleasant ones, don’t always make sense to our children. So they want to know why.
I don’t know about y’all, but my mom always had a ready answer, “Because I said so!”
I get the temptation, but I don’t think that’s a sufficient answer. It’s not so much, “Because I said so,” as “Because I should have earned your trust by now… because you should trust me to take care of you, and to act in your best interest.”
But Keller said that one time he told one of his overly curious ten-year-old sons, “I could try to explain ‘why’ to you. But you’re ten… and I’m forty. And even if I could explain it in such a way that it made perfect sense, and you chose to do what I asked, you would no longer be obeying me. You would simply be agreeing with me… agreeing with me that what I’m asking you to do is actually a good thing. Which is not the same as obedience.”
Our Lord doesn’t want us disciples to simply “agree with him.” He wants us to obey him… even when we don’t understand! Because often we won’t understand! We can’t! I mean, Tim Keller talked about the difference between his ten-year-old child and himself, a 40-year-old… But good heavens! The gap in knowledge and wisdom between God and ourselves is infinitely larger than the gap separating an adult parent from a small child!
All that to say, these owners get it! They understand what obedience means. “The Lord needs this colt? He can have it! No questions asked!”
So I’m impressed with these donkey owners. But you know who I’m also impressed with?
The donkey… I’m serious! I want to be more like this colt.
What do we know about this creature, after all? He’s a young donkey. Luke tells us this is one “on which no one has ever yet sat.” Which means that this colt is “unbroken.” No one has trained it yet to be ridden. I’ve seen “bronco busters” in old Westerns on TV; it’s hard to “break” one of these stubborn animals! It’s hard because these animals, like us humans, also have a hard time trusting their master… they don’t understand or appreciatehaving their master ride on their backs!
But notice: there’s no indication in today’s scripture that this little donkey minded having Jesus on his back… He merely submitted to his master, Jesus… served his master… obeyed his master.
It’s almost like this experience is a living parable of Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28 to 30:
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. 2
Jesus’ words here emphasize his gentleness. His yoke is easy. His burden is light. The donkey isn’t being yoked here—although donkeys often were—but the donkey certainly does have to carry a burden… Jesus himself, in this case. And as I said, even though the donkey has never done it before, he doesn’t buck. He doesn’t protest. He submits to the load that Jesus requires him to carry.
And why not? Jesus is gentle and lowly—he’s “the donkey whisperer”—and Jesus’ burden is light.
Are we like this little donkey? Do we happily submit to our Lord and his will?
If Jesus were still physically present to us, and asked us to do something, I feel certain most of us would do it without complaining… or at least try to… no matter how hard. And if I convinced you from scripture that our Lord is giving us disciples a clear, direct command: “The Lord is telling us to do this,” most of us would at least try to do it.
But this gets back to our church’s three-word theme for the year 2025, which I’m going to keep coming back to… What is it?
Fear not, therefore…
Dozens, if not hundreds of times in scripture, God’s people are told not to fear… We’re given dozens or hundreds of reasons not to be afraid… Jesus himself couldn’t be more explicit: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” That’s one of our memory verses for the year: Matthew 10:29 to 31.
Yet we often struggle not to be afraid. And we tend to be way too easy on ourselves when it comes to our personal fears and worries and anxieties… as if Jesus’ many words against fear, and scripture’s many words against fear, don’t really apply to us and our situations. “Yes, I’m anxious and afraid, but I have all these good reasons!”
I want us be impatient with our fears and trust in and pray to the One who tells us, “Fear not, therefore…”
Just imagine… You really don’t have to be afraid! You don’t have to be anxious. You don’t have to be worried. You really can trust in the Lord instead.
With this in mind, what burdens might our Lord be asking you to carry right now? A medical crisis… a family crisis… a marriage crisis… a financial crisis… an unexpected setback in your career, in your education, in your romantic relationship… in your health. Have you been betrayed by people you thought were your friends. Have people you trusted hurt you? Do you feel abandoned and alone?
These are real burdens, to be sure… This is why we as a church need each other: to “bear one another’s burdens,” as the apostle tells us. 3 By all means!
But listen: If you’re a child of God through faith in his Son Jesus, there is no problem or setback in your life that represents any kind of deviation or detour or derailment from God’s perfect plan for your life! He knew all about that problem or setback before he even created you… before he created the universe. Listen to what the author of Hebrews says about Jesus: “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” 4
Listen to what Paul says in Colossians: “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” 5
Needless to say, Jesus has got this under control. He’s using it as part of his plan for your life. It’s part of your purpose. And one part of that purpose, I’m sure, is to glorify the Lord, which you do by showing the world that this problem or setback isn’t you robbing you of your joy… It isn’t touching the supernatural peace that the Lord has given you… It isn’t shaking your trust or confidence in the Lord…
After all, you’re wearing his yoke… not your own. He’s guiding you. He’s directing you. And he knows what he’s doing.
So when the Lord “needs” something from us, as in verse 34—or when he wants something from us, when he wants us to do something burdensome, when he wants us to carry some kind of burden—will we refuse to be afraid and instead trust that he knows what’s best?
This colt and its owners can show us how… And that’s Point Number One…
Number Two… the crowd…
It’s become a truism—we’ve all heard it said and preached—that the “same crowd” of people who hailed Jesus as king on Palm Sunday were calling for his crucifixion just five days later on Good Friday. How ironic, we think!And preachers like me will use this as evidence of fickle human nature and the danger of shallow faith—the danger of seed sown among the thorns and rocks, as Jesus described in his parable.
While there are plenty of other gospel passages that illustrate these dangers, I don’t think this passage in Luke is one of them. The crowd here appears to be sincere in their faith. Yes, there were also enemies of Jesus in this crowd… the Pharisees in verse 39, for instance: the ones who say, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” These Pharisees would have gladly been calling for Jesus’ crucifixion five days from now.
But notice even these enemies of Christ refer to the crowd as his “no-good” disciples… people who already believed in Jesus… people who already had faith…people whose sins were already forgiven… people who were already saved.
Or see verse 37: “the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen.” These were not curious bystanders who’d heard about Jesus and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. They were mostly highly motivated disciples whose lives had already been touched by Christ.
And five days later, on Good Friday, they were probably doing what most of Jesus’ eleven remaining apostles were doing… hiding in fear… heartbroken… dejected… disappointed… confused… angry at this miscarriage of justice. And certainly not expecting a resurrection. In fact, after the Sabbath on Saturday, many of them were probably heading home, like those two disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24.
I’m not saying this to defend the honor of this crowd—to pat them on the back—to give them their props for their great faith… Not at all…
They’re a mess. Just like we’re often a mess!This crowd is full of sinners. Just like… well… just like we’re sinners!
Just like Jesus’ Twelve main disciples, for that matter, were a mess… Just like they were sinners…
On Maundy Thursday, for example, when Jesus is washing their feet during the supper, Jesus says that eleven of the twelve disciples, in John 13:10, are already “completely clean.” Their sins are already forgiven. They are saved. They have eternal life… Judas Iscariot, of course, being the lone exception. And they have eternal life based on what Jesus was going to do on the cross the next day… on Good Friday.
But think about it: Soon after Jesus spoke these words, he took Peter, James, and John to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. These are Jesus’ three closest, most faithful disciples. They’re exactly the kind of prayer warriors that Jesus needed in that moment. And what do they do instead of pray? They fall asleep… three times… in spite of Jesus’ admonishing them to stay awake and pray… Jesus’ three closest disciples… having spent three years with Jesus, living with him, having been taught by him about the power of prayer… having seen the power of prayer at work in Jesus himself! They’re asleep on the job!
And in a couple of hours—when Jesus needs them most—all eleven remaining disciples will abandon their Lord. They will scatter. They will run away in fear. Peter, of course, tries to hang in there; he tries to be brave; he at least follows Jesus to the courtyard outside the house of the high priest Caiaphas, where Jesus is put on trial. That doesn’t end well. As Jesus predicted before he was arrested, Peter denies even knowing Jesus three times!
But not only that… Many times before he was arrested, Jesus told these eleven disciples that he was going to be arrested, tried, crucified, and resurrected. In spite of this fact, the disciples—disciple literally means “student”—proved what terrible students they were! They either didn’t listen to Jesus, or they didn’t understand what he was saying. Because they didn’t go to the tomb on Easter Sunday morning expecting to see the risen Lord. They’re hiding behind locked doors ini fear. Peter and John end up going to the tomb… but that’s only after Mary Magdalene and some other women report that the tomb is empty.
And only one of those two—John, not Peter—believes in the resurrection after witnessing the empty tomb!
We all know about “doubting Thomas,” who doesn’t believe even after his ten closest friends report seeing Jesus… But what about Matthew 28:16 and 17? “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.” Some… not just Thomas. Some doubted.
So I wouldn’t blame you for wondering, “What is wrong with these people?”
Yet these same people are the peopleto whom Jesus speaks those very reassuring words in John 13: “You are already completely clean, already completely forgiven, already a child of my Father, and he couldn’t love you more than he does, and he’s not going to kick you out of his family!”
That’s a remarkable, indeedamazing, kind of grace right there… And it’s available to messed up, badly flawed sinners like you and me… And that’s good news!
And that’s Point Number Two…
And Number Three… the king…
I would be remiss if I didn’t give you a warning: Jesus came the first time—humble, gentle, approachable, accessible, available to everyone—riding on a baby donkey, of all things. Not someone to be intimidated by. As one pastor said, “You know what kind of king comes riding into his capital on a baby donkey—rather than a majestic warhorse? The kind of king who’s about to be slaughtered.”
Yet… The Book of Revelation warns us—using figurative, poetic language—that when Jesus comes a second time, he will be riding a white horse—a warhorse. And…
The one sitting on [this white horse] is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God… From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations… He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. 6
Friends, you do not want to meet our King Jesus riding on this white warhorse unless you’ve first met our King Jesus riding on the baby donkey.
The time between Christ’s first coming and his second—which is this time right now—it’s a season of mercy, forgiveness, and grace. It is the only time that we have to meet the King riding on a donkey—and to receive his gift of mercy, forgiveness, and grace. Please use this time wisely.
So please… make Jesus the King of your life right now.