Luke 19:29-31 states,
“As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
Tipping Point, Point of No Return, Watershed Moment, Life-Altering Event.
As we look back on Holy Week on this Easter Monday, it is helpful to recognize the critical moment that occurred on Palm Sunday, which set in motion Christ’s path to His all-sufficient sacrificial death and resurrection.
On Palm Sunday Jesus sent two followers to bring a colt on which he would sit for his entrance into Jerusalem. By this intentional symbolic action, Christ clearly communicated his kingship to the expectant crowds of Passover pilgrims by fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9:
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Note the insight of Andreas Köstenberger and Justin Taylor in their book The Final Days of Jesus,
“Up to this point in Jesus’s ministry, he could still have managed to live a long, happy, peaceful life, but his actions on Sunday set in motion a series of events that could result only in either his overthrow of the Romans and the current religious establishment—or his brutal death. He has crossed the point of no return; there would be no turning back. Caesar could allow no rival kings.”
The rugged cross, empty tomb, ascension and intercession today on our behalf all have their origins in Christ’s willingness to cross the threshold of mounting the colt that Sunday so many years ago.
What tipping points will we encounter, as followers of Christ, that begin a domino effect of Kingdom Impact, as we live no longer for ourselves “but for Him who died and was raised again our behalf?” (2 Cor. 5:15)
