2026 Lent Devotions
Monday, March 23
Matthew 21:1-11
1 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” 4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:
5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7 they brought the donkey and the colt and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
“… 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately. …”
One of the things that fascinates me about this story is the willingness of the owner of the donkey and its colt to let some strangers untie and take them. After all, to the owner, these animals were a large investment – not only monetarily but also to his family. It is likely that this donkey and colt represented transportation for he and his family, muscle power for the fields and to pull carts, and, because of the colt, a future income. Just letting it go because someone said, “The Lord needs it” is a surprising outcome.
Sometimes, God asks us to do the strangest things. Perhaps it’s not releasing our beasts of burden to strangers. However, we could be asked to commit our resources to something that is extraordinary and outside our comfort zone. Perhaps, we may be asked to give away some of our possessions to help another person whom we do not know. Perhaps, we may be asked to commit ourselves to a cause that challenges our deeply held values. Perhaps, we may be called to go to places and encounter people completely alien to us so that the Gospel may be proclaimed.
Sometimes, like the story of the owner of the donkey and colt being willing to commit his animals to strangers because “the Lord needs them”, we too may be called to commit ourselves, what we have and who we are, simply because “the Lord needs them.”
Prayer: Holy Lord, you call Your people to commit themselves to Your service. Help me to answer affirmatively Your call to me simply because “You need me”. Amen.