Mark 11:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’”

NIV: If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.''

NASB: And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he will send it back here.'

CSB: If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this? ' say, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here right away.' "

NLT: If anyone asks, ‘What are you doing?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it soon.’'

KJV: And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.

NKJV: And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.”

"Lord" is from the Greek root word kyrios. It identifies the person who has the authority to make decisions. Jesus has been called "Lord" by the Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7:28), a leper (Matthew 8:2), a centurion concerned about his servant (Matthew 8:6), and the father of the mute, possessed boy (Matthew 17:15), but the word as used by Jews usually refers to God. It's unclear if the men watching over the donkeys know the disciples mean Jesus or if they think random men are using the donkeys for their unknown master. Some scholars suggest that "the Lord" refers to the owner of the donkeys, implying that he was with Jesus and had given his permission.

When we are new believers, we may see amazing things happen in our lives. A sinful addiction may disappear. We may be filled with a sense of peace we didn't expect. We may find God answering our prayers quickly and completely. Those signs are not necessarily going to stay with us. As we see answered prayer, our faith in God should develop. Before too long, God may shift the lesson from "God will provide what I ask Him" to "God will provide what I need, even if it's not what I ask." This is a deepening of our faith that must occur if we are to become mature spiritually. The disciples show some of this faith when they agree—in their limited understanding—to seemingly steal donkeys just because Jesus told them to.

The disciples have precedence for their faith, as Jesus has asked them to do extraordinary things. They have left their homes and successful businesses to follow Him (Mark 1:16–20; 2:13–14; 3:13–14), healed people and cast out demons (Mark 6:7–13), passed out two different miracle meals (Mark 6:33–44; 8:1–10), and walked through Samaria, a land that Jews despise (John 4:1–4). So when Jesus tells them to walk into a town and take possession of a donkey and her foal, they don't seem to be too worried about it.

Mark 11:1–11 records an event included in all four Gospels: that several days before the crucifixion, Jesus enters Jerusalem, welcomed by the people as the Messiah who will free them from Roman rule. Jesus enters on a donkey, fulfilling prophecy and symbolizing the peaceful nature of His first coming. Matthew 21:1–11 ties the triumphal entry to Isaiah 62:11. Luke 19:29–44 records that the Pharisees demand Jesus silence His followers and that Jesus weeps, knowing what happen when the Romans destroy Jerusalem in AD 70. John 12:12–19 goes into more detail about how the disciples don't realize Jesus is fulfilling prophecy (Zechariah 9:9) until after the ascension (Acts 1:6–11).

Jesus and the disciples arrive in Jerusalem a week before the crucifixion, and Jesus begins the last days of His public ministry. They spend their nights on the Mount of Olives and their days in Jerusalem (Luke 21:37). Jesus accepts the accolades designed for a king (Mark 11:1–11), attacks materialistic tradition that keeps people from worshiping God (Mark 11:15–19), gives an object lesson about the fate of fruitless Jerusalem (Mark 11:12–14, 20–25), and reveals the Jewish religious leaders' hypocrisy (Mark 11:27–33). Despite the support of the crowd, Jesus is pushing the leaders toward the crucifixion.

The preceding passages included several miracles and lessons from Jesus. These set the stage for the last, dramatic days of His earthly ministry. In this chapter, Jesus enters Jerusalem to great fanfare and openly confronts local religious leaders for their hypocrisy. Over the next few chapters, Mark will continue to record controversial teachings, leading up to Jesus' arrest and early sham trials, recorded in chapter 14.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.