So, Jesus has been making His way to Jerusalem, and now He’s pretty close.
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 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. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’ ”
Mark 11:1-3 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.11.1-3.NIV
I suspect that Jesus’ disciples may have been used to unexpected instructions from Him by now. Or, maybe this sort of behavior made perfect sense in the first century!
They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it.
Mark 11:4-7 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.11.4-7.NIV
Sure enough, the colt is right there where Jesus said it would be, and the instructions that Jesus had given were sufficient for those nearby.
Did Jesus arrange for this colt to be there ahead of time, or was the colt divinely provided, like the sacrifice for Abraham (see Genesis 22:1-18)? Was there a secret group throughout the centuries that always kept a colt ready for when the Messiah would arrive? I don’t know, but while God can certainly perform miracles, I personally suspect that this was probably just a simple, prior arrangement.
The colt apparently wasn’t saddled, but some cushion from the disciples’ cloaks provided a quick fix. Apparently, in the history of the saddle, it started as mainly cloth, before some of the additions of leather, stirrups, and a pommel that we know today [see Saddle – Wikipedia, and A Brief Saddle History – Buckaroo Leather Products].
Now, I realize that today, gentlemen don’t generally practice the tradition of spreading one’s coat out over a mud puddle so that a lady won’t get her nice clothes dirty. In reality, I’m not sure whether anyone actually did this (outside of the movies or cartoons), but we can at least understand the premise: there are others who we respect enough that we’re willing to sacrifice our convenience, our comfort, or our nice suit coat for them. While my wife would probably object to walking on one of my suit coats, knowing what they cost to clean or replace, I’ve probably offered her my jacket when she was cold a few times over the years. (Usually, she dresses for the weather, though, or we purchase a “souvenir sweatshirt” if we are surprised at how chilly it is.)
Still, whether as a kind gesture or an act of deep love for another person, I think that we can understand what it means to give something up – even something that we really like – for someone we care about. (I know a woman who donated a kidney to her son, which kind of makes jacket-loaning seem pretty trivial, by comparison.)
So, what would you do for Jesus? If He asked to borrow your coat (or hoodie, if that’s how you keep warm), would you share it? If He asked you to love your enemies, would you be willing to pray for them? If He asked you to turn away from a life of sin, would you do so? Reading through what comes next in the gospel of Mark, we find that Jesus gave up far more for us than He asks us to yield to Him, but maybe our acts of gratitude back to Him start with a coat!
From Sunday School lesson prepared for November 16, 2025
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Mark, by Allen Black. © 1995 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 