Just As He Told Us
“Nothing is ever really gone until your mum can’t find it.”
I read this line in a Fredrik Backman novel and connected with it instantly. Moms know where to find everything.
“Mom, where are my earbuds?” On the table.
“I can’t find my homework folder!” Look on the sofa.
“Where are my white Adidas shoes?” In the kitchen. (Don’t get me started on shoes left in the kitchen!)
Moms possess the superpower to locate lost things. I think it comes from keeping tabs on where the kids are and what they’re doing at all times. We scan our environment, noticing things we must put away. Kids (and dads) know moms know where things are.
Yet we can’t predict where they will be. Even with baskets for electronics, bins for homework, and racks for shoes, we can’t be sure where our kids’ things will end up.
Jesus Knew Where to Find It
Jesus, however, knew where things would be. At the onset of his final Passover week, he sent two of his disciples to find a colt for his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This wasn’t just any colt; no one had ever sat on it. Jesus told them which village to enter and exactly where to find the foal. He even told them what to say when the owner asked them why they were taking his donkey.
Luke 19:32 tells us, “Those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them” (ESV, emphasis mine).
When it came time to prepare the Passover meal, Jesus gave them more specific instructions on what they would find and where to find it. He told them to follow a man carrying a jar of water. When the man entered his home, Jesus instructed the disciples to ask for his room for Passover. He told them they would find the room furnished and ready.
It happened again: “The disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them” (Mark 14:16 ESV, emphasis mine).
While I find it amazing that Jesus knew exactly where to find an unridden colt and a prepared Passover room, I find it equally amazing the disciples went. Who unties a stranger’s donkey? Who follows a man home and asks to use his room? It’s like Bible-time Uber and Airbnb! After three years following Jesus, the disciples seemed to know things would be just as Jesus said.
The Prophets Said It First
Jesus wasn’t the first to reveal what those last days would hold. Old Testament prophets laid out the story for us. Over five hundred years before Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, Zechariah said, “Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9 ESV).
The list of prophecies fulfilled is extensive. For example, in Psalm 41:9, David wrote about betrayal by a friend who shared his bread. Zechariah specifies the price of that betrayal as thirty pieces of silver (11:12–13). Isaiah gives us details of Jesus’s trial and crucifixion (see Isaiah 50:6 and 53:4–7). Even the location of his burial is named (Isaiah 53:9).
This list of fulfilled Scripture strengthens my faith. Like the disciples who found everything just as Jesus said, I am confident I will find things just as God says in his Word. I believe him when he says, “Come to me…and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 ESV). I count on the promise in Philippians 4:19, “You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need” (The Message).
God’s Word is true, friend. Even when we’re unsure of anything around us, the promises in the Bible are a sure thing. We can have confidence that we will find everything just as he told us.
is a small town girl who married a small town man. They have three children. In the quiet minutes of her day, you will find her at the keyboard or curled up with a book–always with coffee. Kelly believes we are created for community and loves to find ways to connect with other women who are walking in the shadow of the cross. She blogs at mrsdisciple.com.
Photograph © Edin Hopic, used with permission
