The Lord Needs You

Matthew 21:1-11

Introduction

If you are a parent, or have at least spent some time with children, you will know that there is an ongoing lesson that needs to be taught. And that lesson is the difference between a need and a want. They need their favourite blanket. They need a bowl of ice cream. They need a new video game. They need to hang out with their friends. But do they really need all of those things? Isn’t more that they just really want those things? And so parents and other interested adults spend hours trying to teach children the difference between needs and wants.

But as adults, do we really accept that distinction? What is it we really need? We need air to breather, food and water to nourish and shelter to protect. Do we really need anything else? If it goes beyond basic survival, does it shift from a need to a want?

You may be familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs that was published by Abraham Maslow back in 1943. The things that we have been talking about are what Maslow calls basic needs and they are at the bottom of the pyramid. But beyond them, there are psychological needs and self-fulfillment needs. Those are just as much human needs as the other basic needs, even if a human could technically survive without them.

Why do I bring this up? Especially on Palm Sunday? There is a curious story that takes place before Jesus actually makes the journey into Jerusalem. We all know that Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem as the people waved their  palm branches. But where did Jesus get the donkey?

We are given the backstory. Jesus sent to disciples to a certain village where they would find a donkey and its colt. Normally you just can’t take someone else’s animals that are tied up. So Jesus tells them to say: “the Lord needs them.”

But if we as responsible adults were the ones who encountered the two disciples, might we say: “Need? Don’t you mean he wants them?” Technically that would be true. Jesus could have physically entered Jerusalem without a donkey. Did Jesus need them? Yes he did, but to understand that, we need to take a closer look at this story and the character of Jesus.

The Lord Needs the Donkey

Let us look at what is happening in a purely pragmatic way. Jesus must get into Jerusalem because the Father’s plan is for him to be crucified. That is all that really has to happen. Jesus doesn’t need the donkey. Jesus doesn’t need the disciples. Jesus doesn’t need the crowds. Jesus doesn’t need the palms and the cloaks. Jesus could have done all of this much simpler by himself.

But that doesn’t seem to be the way Jesus did things. Jesus didn’t need the core twelve disciples or the larger group that followed him. But early on in his ministry, Jesus did call them and he did use them. Was this just a want? It seems to be more than wanting something, like Jesus wanting a new pair of sandals. Working with others, even though Jesus could do everything himself, seemed to be an important part of who Jesus was.

So by the time we get to the Triumphal Entry, we should be surprised that Jesus doesn’t just sneak into Jerusalem by himself.

Jesus needs the donkey and colt. Why? For one thing, it is a fulfillment of prophecy. But Jesus could have died for our sins on the cross without getting there by a donkey. Yet it was important for Jesus to do it this way to fulfill Scripture. Jesus didn’t technically need the disciples. Presumably, Jesus could have commanded the donkeys to come on their own. But Jesus chose to use the disciples in this event and the ones to follow. It was more than a want. It was a need, in that working with others was an important value of Jesus. This was not something that was frivolous. Even the crowds fall into this category. Jesus didn’t technically need them to get into Jerusalem, and yet they were important to his plan. They proclaimed Jesus as king, even though they didn’t really know what that meant. They cried out Hosanna without understanding the means by which Jesus would save.

When it comes to Jesus’ actions, there is no clear distinction between needs and wants. Jesus could have entered Jerusalem without the donkey, disciples or crowds. But including them was not just a whim. Their inclusion was important because of who Jesus is and how he intended to fulfill his mission.

The Lord Needs Us

This is directly relevant to our experience as a church. The question I want to ask you is this: Does God need us? The answer is both no and yes.

Technically God doesn’t need us. There is nothing we do that God requires. Unlike the pagan gods, our God doesn’t need the worship of humans to gain strength. God doesn’t even need us to share the message. The Holy Spirit could touch individual people and reveal Jesus to them. There are accounts of this very thing happening. God doesn’t need Christian charity as God could care for the physical needs of people without us. It looks like, using the recent phrase, we as the church are not “essential workers.”

Does that mean we should just sit back and let God do all of the work? Why bother telling someone about Jesus? Why bother helping a person in need? Not only could God do it, God could do it far better than we can.

But as we see, there are needs and there are needs. God doesn’t absolutely need us, but God’s inclusion of us in this work is more than a want. Our activity in being the church does not fall into the category of the child who thinks they need a bowl of ice cream.

God needs us, not because of any lack of power on his part, but because God chooses to use human beings. Our worship of God is important. Our work of spreading the kingdom of God is important. Our attempts to make our world a better place through charity and other efforts are important. God needs us.

People may feel that this message is kind of dangerous. If we really accept that God needs us, we will puff up with sinful pride. Before we worry too much about that, we need to remember that Jesus needed a donkey. Being needed by the Lord does not make us better than anyone else.

Conclusion

When we think about the triumphal entry, we focus on Jesus and rightfully so. Jesus is entering Jerusalem as a king. But this is taking that will receive not a crown of gold but a crown of thorns. This king will be lifted up, not on a high human throne, but on a rugged cross to receive a painful death.

Focus on Jesus but remember that he was not alone on that journey into Jerusalem. The Lord needed the donkey, needed the disciples, needed the crowds, not because he couldn’t do it without them, but because he chose to include them and value their participation.

We as the church, are both not needed and needed at the same time. Everything we can do, God can do better. But God chooses to include us in his mission on Earth. Our part has value and is important. The Lord needs us because including us is important to him. If you feel small and insignificant, I want to assure you the Lord needs you and will use you for his glory.