Christian Living

JESUS THE BORROWER

by GLENN PEASE
02/14/22
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Mark 11:2-3 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”

We all need to borrow something at some point in our lives, and the reason is we need that something and we do not have it, and the only way to get it when we need it is to borrow it from somebody who does have it. Jesus lived on this same human level with us, and He needed things that He did not have. The only solution to His problem was to borrow what He needed from others. In His case He had many needs because He was basically poor and did not have a lot of things. The result is, we see Him borrowing from others more than most of us do this kind of borrowing.

For example, we see Him borrowing a colt in our text, and the reason for it is stated, "The Lord needs it." Why would Jesus need a colt? He was about to make a grand entrance into Jerusalem and He needed to ride in as a fulfiller of the prophecy of Zechariah which reads, "Shout, O Daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you...Lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, a foul of a donkey." Zechariah 9:9

Two other Gospels tell us something more that Jesus says to those disciples: "You will find a colt tied on which no one has sat.” Mark 11:2, Luke 19:30 This colt had never been ridden before. Jesus was the first to ever get on this colt and there was a reason for this. Robert Gibbs explained, "It was a traditional way to introduce a new king to his subjects. The new king would often ride in on the animal ridden by the former king indicating the transfer of rulership. Jesus had his disciples bring an unriden colt because his kingship came from no man but from Jehovah God himself."

Jesus borrowed this unridden colt because it was a symbol of a king coming in peace. "Why didn’t Jesus ride a warhorse, as He did in Revelation? Mark Boda explains: In the ancient Middle Eastern world, leaders rode horses if they rode to war, but donkeys if they came in peace. First Kings 1:33 mentions Solomon riding a donkey on the day he was recognized as the new king of Israel. Other instances of leaders riding donkeys are Judges 5:10; 10:4; 12:14; and 2 Samuel 16:2. The mention of a donkey in Zechariah 9:9-10 fits the description of a king who would be “righteous and having salvation, gentle.” Rather than riding to conquer, this king would enter in peace. Zechariah 9:10 highlights this peace: “I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.”

The point of all this is that Jesus had very specific needs to do the will of His Father, and He knew where He could find the colt He needed and so He sent His disciples to borrow that very specific colt. He was the very Son of God, and yet He needed many things that could only be gotten by borrowing them from His fellow man. Alexander Maclaren wrote, "A King, and yet a pauper-King! A King claiming His dominion, and yet obliged to borrow another man's colt in order that He might do it! A strange kind of monarch! -- and yet that remarkable combination runs through all His life. He had to be obliged to a couple of fishermen for a boat, but He sat in it, to speak words of divine wisdom. He had to be obliged to a lad in the crowd for barley loaves and fishes, but when He took them into His hands they were multiplied. He had to be obliged for a grave, and yet He rose from the borrowed grave the Lord of life and death. And so when He would pose as a King, He has to borrow the regalia, and to be obliged to this anonymous friend for the colt which made the emphasis of His claim. 'Who, though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might be rich."

Jesus was pressed by a crowd on the shore of the lake, and He needed a boat to get off shore to speak to the people. He borrowed the boat of Peter and Andrew to get the position He needed. He did not have His own boat and so He borrowed from His friends. He borrowed a room to lay His head, and borrowed a tomb when He was dead. He had almost nothing of His own, and so He was borrowing almost everything He needed from others. He was a borrower and He still is. He needs our bodies, our hands, our tongues, our eyes, our voices and every gift He has given us to do His will on earth. Lend Him all that you are and be rich in His service. Listen to Proverbs 19:17 "Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done."

God and Jesus want to borrow everything you have to bless needy people, and they will repay you with reward. When they borrow, they repay, and with greater riches than what you have loaned. Look at how Spurgeon responded to this text, "We are to give to the poor out of pity. Not to be seen and applauded, much less to get influence over them; but out of pure sympathy and compassion we must give them help. We must not expect to get anything back from the poor, not even gratitude; but we should regard what we have done as a loan to the Lord. He undertakes the obligation, and if we look to Him in the matter we must not look to the second party. What an honour the Lord bestows upon us when He condescends to borrow of us! That merchant is greatly favoured who has the Lord on his books. It would seem a pity to have such a name down for a paltry pittance; let us make it a heavy amount. The next needy man that comes this way, let us help him. As for repayment, we can hardly think of it, and yet here is the Lord's note of hand. Blessed be His name, His promise to pay is better than gold and silver. Are we running a little short through the depression of the times? We may venture humbly to present this bill at the Bank of Faith." God and Jesus are the greatest borrowers, and wise are we when we become their favorite lenders. Lend to the Lord for He pays the highest interest. This is your best investment.

Jesus confirms this Old Testament teaching in Matthew 25:31-40, "31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."

I was hungry, and Thou feddest me;
Yea, Thou gavest drink to slake my thirst:
O Lord, what love gift can I offer Thee
Who hast loved me first?

Feed My hungry brethren for My sake;
Give them drink, for love of them and Me:
Love them as I loved thee, when Bread I brake
In pure love of thee.1 [Note: T. H. Darlow, The Upward Calling, 218.]

Look you to serve Me but above?
Nay, rather serve Me here below;
Would you on Me heap out your love?
On want and sin your love bestow;

Have I not said it? What you do
To these, My poor, ye do to Me;
Whatever here I take from you
Sevenfold returned to you shall be.

Doubt not if I am here; with eyes
Of mercy know Me, wan and pale.
What! hear you not My anguished cries,
My moans and sighs that never fail!2 [Note: W. C. Bennett.]

In all Christian service you are lending to the Lord, for He longs to borrow all that you have to meet the needs of others. Lend to the Lord and reap your reward. Refuse what He wants to barrow, and end your life in sorrow. Jesus made it clear in Matthew 5:42 that we are to give to the one who begs to borrow from us. "42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." That is what the owner of the donkey and the colt did when the disciples of Jesus came to get them. You can count on it that the owner was greatly rewarded by giving what Jesus needed at that moment. He had what Jesus needed and he let him borrow it. The text implies that the owner would be a happy lender and send the animals directly to Jesus, and that Jesus would likewise send the animals back as soon as they helped Him fulfill prophecy. Both borrower and lender were happy with their partnership in doing the will of God. Jesus went through His life borrowing almost everything along the way, and blessing those who would lend Him what He needed.

Brian Pusateri wrote, "Jesus now sits at the right hand of His Father, but His work here on earth is not over. Jesus still has more He wants to borrow. He wants to borrow our hands to care for the poor and downtrodden. He wants to borrow our feet to travel to see those who are sick or in prison. He wants to borrow our ears to listen to a friend in need or an elderly person who lives alone and just needs someone to talk to. He wants to borrow our lips to proclaim His good news. He wants to borrow our bodies to be His temple on earth. He wants to borrow our hearts to bring us joy. He wants to borrow our minds to bring us peace and comfort. To sum this all up, Jesus wants nothing less than to borrow our lives."
Yes, Jesus is still borrowing our lives and all that we have to accomplish His will on the earth, and that is to bring all to the foot of the cross where they can receive Him as their Lord and Savior. What Jesus did on that cross was His and His alone to give to all who trust in Him to forgive and give eternal life. An unknown poet put it-

They borrowed a bed to lay his head
When Christ the Lord came down;
They borrowed the ass in the mountain pass
For him to ride to town;
But the crown that he wore and the cross that he bore
Were his own - the cross was his own!

He borrowed the bread when the crowd He fed
On the grassy mountainside;
He borrowed the dish of broken fish
With which he was satisfied;
But the crown that he wore and the cross that he bore
Were his own - the cross was his own!

He borrowed the ship in which to sit
To teach the multitude;
He borrowed a nest in which to rest -
He had never a home so rude;
But the crown that he wore and the cross that he bore
Were his own - the cross was his own!

He borrowed a room on his way to the tomb
The Passover Lamb to eat;
They borrowed a cave for him a grave;
They borrowed a winding sheet;
But the crown that he wore and the cross that he bore
Were his own - the cross was his own!

Jesus went all through His life borrowing what He needed, but in the end He accomplished what all mankind now need and so now He is the great giver, for He offers eternal life to all who will come to Him to receive forgiveness of all sin. He who was the greatest borrower is now the greatest giver. Another author put it all in this poem-

At birth he lay in borrowed manger;
in the inn was found no room.
In death's dark hour a friendly stranger
placed him in a borrowed tomb.
So bold and brave, Christ scorned the grave.
His life he gave, the world to save.
He seeks a home - not tomb or manger;
in our hearts let us make room.

At birth the shepherds came to cheer him
told by angels where he was.
At death the crowds turned out to jeer him
dying on a cruel cross.
On that grim day, when sin held sway,
Christ showed the way, our debt to pay;
and still today, if we will hear him,
he will take our pain and loss.

At birth wise men sought to prepare him,
bringing incense, myrrh, and gold.
At death a drug was brought to spare him
as the agony took hold.
The death he died all hell defied;
his mercy wide bridged the divide.
Christ is the gift; we too must share him,
as the saving truth is told.

His birth fulfilled long expectation,
born to save both rich and poor.
His death, removing condemnation,
opened wide the heavenly door.
Now he is king, his praise we sing;
our worship bring, an offering.
This message is our sure foundation,
Christ is Lord for evermore.

John Capon b.1938

Give Him your all as before His feet you fall. Lend to Him your very best, and you will be His eternal guest. Never cease to lend, and you will have an eternal Friend. Jesus the greatest borrower is also the greatest giver.