I'm thinking today of the verse in Mark, it's
chapter 11, verse 3. It's as Jesus is getting
ready to come into Jerusalem, and it says, If
anyone says to you, Why are you doing this? You
say, The Lord has need of it, and immediately
he will send it back here. And so he's telling
them to go and get what he needed, and that if
someone questioned about why they were taking
it, that they'd be able to say, well, the Lord
has need of it, and that the person would say,
okay, that's fine. The directions here by Jesus
are pretty explicit. In this specific verse,
he's covering what to do if someone asks. Being
equipped with what to do if someone asks is contributive
to comfort, and it removes anxiety. I suppose
they should not have had an anxiety about being
told what to do by Jesus because he was Jesus.
Also, being given explicit direction by Jesus
makes it less likely that they will say or do
something incorrect in the situation. They can
just respond in obedience rather than having
to figure out the next action step. Sometimes
it's like this with Jesus. He has already given
us what we need to know. Sometimes people want
it to be like this with Jesus, but as far as
they can tell, It is not. If his explicit direction
on how to deal with a twist has not already been
forthcoming, then I think it's safe to assume
that either he feels we do not need the direction,
or, as we know, he will be with us in the moment
to provide the direction. I guess I'm saying
that detailed instructions such as this are somewhat
an extra special gift from the Lord. Jesus is
very good to them to use them and to give them
the specific steps in advance of what to do if
a situation and as a situation unfolds. We are
blessed in the Lord Jesus Christ. Follow him
today. Serve in your local church and keep on
keeping on.