The Lord Needs It

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 13th of April, 2025, Palm Sunday, the sixth Sunday in Lent.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Family, we humans can be a needy people, can’t we.  Many of our true needs are a result of our physical stature.  In nature, the full animal kingdom, we are at a decided disadvantage.  We are not the strongest of animals, nor the fastest, nor the best of swimmers.  We’re not very well camouflaged for most settings, so we sort of stand out in plain sight.

Speaking of sight, ours is not all that great, and our night vision is quite limited, as is our sense of smell.  We don’t really have sharp teeth or claws.  We don’t even have nice furry pelts to protect us.  But God blessed us with the best brain and opposing thumbs, and the ability to use them, so we survived and became the fiercest, most deadly creature on earth.  God saw our need and filled it, and He still does.

Do you remember the story of Zacchaeus?  He was the chief tax collector in the city of Jericho, and he may have sometimes taken more than necessary from his fellow Jews, for he was wealthy.  But Zacchaeus was also short in stature – or height challenged, we might say.  When he heard that the Jesus was entering town, he ran out to see this man who everyone talked about.

By the time he got to the main roadway, a huge crowd had already gathered and Zacchaeus couldn’t see over all the other people.  But then he spotted something that could compensate for his need to rise above the crowd: a nearby sycamore tree.  When Jesus and His disciples passed by, the Lord saw Zacchaeus perched up in that tree and told him to come down, that He needed to stay at the tax man’s house that day.  Zacchaeus came down and they all went to his house, where Zacchaeus promised to give half of his possessions to the poor, and to pay back four times as much to anyone he had cheated on their taxes.  And Jesus granted salvation to Zacchaeus and his household.

Did Jesus really need to visit with Zacchaeus to accomplish this?  No, of course not.  But I think Zacchaeus actually had two needs, both filled by God in His way.  First the obvious – he was short and couldn’t see Jesus, but there just so happened to be a climbable tree along the route.  Coincidence?  No such thing.  Coincidence is simply God’s unseen hand at work.  But the greater need was for the man to recognize his sin and repent of it.  God made this possible, too, through the visit of Jesus and His kindness to the man.

Shortly after leaving Jericho, Jesus and His followers headed to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival, for what would be our Lord’s last visit to the city and the end of His earthly life.  It was on this stretch when another incident occurs of a need made known and filled.  But this one is very different.  It took place just outside Jerusalem, at the Mount of Olives.  Please listen and follow along to the Apostle Luke’s reporting of a particular aspect of our Lord’s last visit to the Holy City, from the 19th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 28 through 40, and I’ll be reading from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible this morning…

28 After Jesus had said this, He continued on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 Now when He approached Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, He sent two of the disciples, 30 telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you. When you enter it, you will find a colt tied there that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” 32 So those who were sent ahead found it exactly as He had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?” 34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.” 35 Then they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt, and had Jesus get on it. 36 As He rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37 As He approached the road leading down from the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of His disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen: 38 “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the very stones will cry out!”

--Luke 19:28-40 (NET)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for seeing to our needs, especially those we don’t know we need at the time.  Thank You for working behind the scenes, making things happen for us that some may look at as being mere chance or good luck, although we know better.  But Father, we admit that sometimes we just don’t understand why You do some of the things You do.  Sometimes we don’t even notice the good work You’ve done for us, as individuals or as a people.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  Give us greater insight into Your overall plan.  Help us recognize Your hand at work in our lives.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better grasp the message You have for us this day.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, our worship, and our service.  And please keep us healthy and safe through these trying time.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Back in 1986, Christianity Today magazine published this little anecdote: 

There is a story of a tool company that manufactured drill bits.  Faced with financial losses, company executives gathered to discuss the problem: a declining demand for drill bits.  The CEO challenged his men: "How can we revive the bit market?"  After an embarrassing silence, one member of the team dispelled the fog: "Sir, the market isn't for bits - its for holes!"  The story, though apocryphal, does illustrate a basic but often overlooked truth: "The customer never buys a product.  By definition, the customer buys the satisfaction of a want" (in the words of Peter Drucker).  To put it another way, there are no markets for products - only markets for what products can do.  In contemporary industry, the Xerox Corp. shows this principle in action.  Xerox successfully pioneered the copy-machine industry by leasing copiers at a "per copy" price rather than selling machines outright.  They correctly saw the market was for copies, not machines.

There are four implications to this story: 1) We must constantly evaluate customer needs; 2) We must design products to meet specific needs; 3) We must redesign products as needs change; 4) We must delete products that no longer meet customer needs.

You may be asking what this has to do with our message, or with church at all for that matter.  Well, don't we have a "product" to "sell"?  We were given the critical mission of spreading the Gospel and making more followers for Christ.  We do this by telling folks about Jesus and His mighty works and promises, teaching them all He taught us.  In effect, we are selling people on the idea of salvation and everlasting life through Jesus and Jesus alone.  We must make sure we are making our pitch to meet the need of the non-believers.

In our scripture reading, it almost sounds like Jesus is telling His two unnamed disciples to steal a donkey.  “Go and untie it and bring it here.”  His addition of the “If anyone asks” kind of sounds like He’s giving them an alibi in case they get caught.

Now, we know that isn’t the case, and we can assume the donkey was eventually returned to its owner.  And actually, it would not have been stealing anyway.  At the time, there was a custom called angaria that allowed for an animal to be pressed into service for a “significant figure”.  Jesus was certainly a significant figure, as evidenced by the huge crowds He always attracted.  Saying “the Lord has need of it” allowed the disciples to take the colt by that custom.  But I’m not concerned about the disciples taking the donkey so much as why they took it.

“The Lord has need of it.”  Jesus needed the donkey.  Really???  Did Jesus, fully God while still fully man, really have need of anything, much less a donkey?

You know how much I enjoy “The Chosen” TV series.  One of my many favorite moments in the show is when Jesus calls Simon the Zealot to be one of His twelve.  He takes Simon’s dagger and throws it in the river.  Puzzled, Simon asks if Jesus doesn’t need him to fight for Him, what does He need him for?  Jesus responds, “I have everything I need, Simon.  I don’t need you with Me, I want you to be with Me.”  Jesus didn’t need the donkey to ride in on because He was tired or unable to walk.  He just needed it, or wanted it, so that Messianic prophecy would be fulfilled.

Oh, and did Jesus need for the crowd to shout His praises?  No, because even if the people had remained silent, the very stones would have cried out.

Jesus needs us to better understand the ways of Heaven and of our Father God.  He needs us to carry on His work on earth.  But Jesus is God, one of the three persons of God.  What could God possibly "need"?  Nothing.  If He really needed anything, He could simply create it or make it happen, like ensuring a sycamore tree would grow in exactly the right spot.  But if we substitute “need” for “want”, the question becomes a little clearer.

Jesus wants us to have greater insight into God’s will.  He wants us to carry on His work.  He wants us to have faith, to spread the Gospel, to make more followers.

We are the church, the hands and feet and voice of Jesus, left on earth for a purpose, with a mission.  Hear the words of Jesus as He and His disciples approached another city, as reported by the Apostle Matthew in the 16th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 13 through 19…

13 When Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father in heaven! 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.”

--Matthew 16:13-19 (NET)

Now, Jesus was speaking to Simon Peter here, but He was talking to us, to all of His followers.  He has built His church upon us, and nothing can overpower it.  He fully expects us to withstand and endure any attempt to destroy it, even a pandemic or systematic persecution.

Jesus doesn’t need us to be His church, He wants us to be His church, His body left on earth.  God doesn’t need more people to join Him in heaven, He wants more people to be saved.  He wants us because He loves us.

The Lord doesn’t really need us, but we certainly need Him.  We need Him to continue blessing us, sustaining us, guiding us.  We are His church, but more than that, we are His representatives, His ambassadors, His apostles.  He has sent us out on a mission, and we go out bearing His name: Christians.  The world sees Him through us, through our actions and words.  Let’s make sure we are representing Him well.  For the Lord needs it.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, who wants all of us to follow Him.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for choosing us to believe in and follow Your Son Jesus.  You don’t need us for anything, not to populate Your heavenly home, but You want us there with You, all of us.  So You sent Jesus to redeem us of our sin and offer us salvation.  Father, we admit that sometimes we don’t live the way You want us to live.  Too often we forget that we are Yours, that everything is Yours and we only have what You give us.  Please forgive us those times, dear Father.  You don’t need us – we need You.  Please help us be more like Jesus.  Help us show Your love to others by giving of ourselves, giving of our love freely, unconditionally, sacrificially, just as Jesus gave of Himself for us.  And please help us share our Lord Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what comes our way.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, it isn’t that You’ve ever truly needed anything, even when You walked among us as one of us.  Your needs, like ours, were filled by our Father God.  But there were things You wanted to do, deeds You wanted to accomplish, our Father’s will and plan You wanted to finish.  And now You want us to carry on Your work.  Please help us be better workers, better representatives.  Help us be more like You.  Help us love all others, even those who hate us and wish us harm.  Help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us the deeds to do to lead the lost to You.

And Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.