Mensa Otabil - Jesus Planned Ahead of Time (10/01/2025)
Luke chapter 19, verses 29 to 30: «And it came to pass when he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany at the mountain called Olivet, that he sent two of his disciples, saying, 'Go into the village opposite you; as you enter, you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here.'»
In this passage, we see an aspect of Jesus that we sometimes overlook. We know Jesus as a teacher and a miracle worker, but here, Jesus is a planner. Jesus planned ahead of time; he knew about the coming Passover feast. He knew he had to go to Jerusalem, he knew he had to enter Jerusalem, and he knew he was going to die at the feast in Jerusalem. But he didn’t wait for the events to come to him and overtake him; he actually went to the event. He planned how he was going to go through every phase of this.
We see here that Jesus needed transportation for the trip to Jerusalem. Usually, Jesus would walk from place to place, and that was the normal mode of transportation for him; he walked, and most people did at that time. When he walked, he used his feet, and a few times he would use a boat. When he used the boat, a number of his disciples were fishermen, so he could get both. But this time, he wasn’t going to walk to Jerusalem; he wasn’t going to use a boat to Jerusalem; he was going to go with a donkey.
There is no prior knowledge of anyone having a donkey, so Jesus planned for the donkey. We’re not sure how he knew that the donkey would be there. Was it just another miracle? I don’t think so. I think Jesus planned and had arranged for the donkey to be there; he probably acquired it, maybe bought it, or maybe spoke to one disciple of his who had a donkey. But Jesus had made prior arrangements. The interesting thing is that his disciples did not know about the arrangements he had made. Jesus had a way of organizing things outside of his disciples, and that’s what he did to get this donkey in place.
The important thing we learn from this tiny detail about Jesus Christ is that he planned ahead of time. He knew the word of God; he knew prophecy; he knew how to pray, but he also knew how to plan. Because many times, there are Christians who would say, «Oh, God says it, and it’s going to happen. I believe it will happen,» and they do nothing about it. But here we see Jesus, the Son of God; he knew God had said it, he knew God would accomplish it, but he planned towards it. That is something we must all learn to do: when God has spoken concerning us, or God has given us a promise, or God has given us direction, we don’t just sit down and wait for things to happen. We have to ask the Holy Spirit to give us the wisdom to plan and to work towards the achievement of God’s purpose for our lives.
Jesus knew where the resources he needed for the trip to Jerusalem would be found. As a matter of fact, later on, when it came to the Last Supper, he made a similar arrangement; that is meticulous planning towards the execution of God’s word for our lives. If God has a word for you, if God has a purpose for you, plan towards it, work towards it, gather resources for it, and work towards the manifestation and fulfillment of God’s word in your life. That’s what Jesus teaches us.
In the midst of all the chaos that was going to happen, he took time to plan.
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, your promises are sure. Help me to plan with wisdom towards the things you have promised me. In Jesus' name, Amen and Amen.»
That’s something good to learn today. I will be with you again tomorrow. I am Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.