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The Triumphal Entry

21 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.

Many times, figuring out what God wants us to do is difficult. Other times, we know what God wants us to do, but it’s difficult to follow through, or even know how to follow through with it. In this part of God’s Word, we see Jesus call two of His disciples to go and do something. By taking a close look at this story, we too can learn what it looks like to do what God is calling you to do.

How to do what God is calling you to do:

1. Expect God’s calling

Matt. 21:1-2, John 2:7-8, Luke 5:4-6, Matt. 14:16-18, 17:27, Rom. 8:14, John 14:26

2. Test the calling with Scripture

Matt. 21:4-5, 1 John 4:1-6, 1 Thess. 5:21, 2 Cor. 11:14, 1 Tim. 4:1, Matt. 24:24

3. Don’t let excuses get in the way

Matt. 21:2-3, 2 Cor. 10:5, Heb. 4:12, 1 Pet. 1:14-15, Matt. 25:24-26, Luke 14:18-20

4. Remember that God has been preparing this

Matt. 21:2-3, Eph. 2:10, Est. 4:14, Gen. 45:7-8, 50:20, Rom. 8:28, Acts 2:23, Zech. 9:9, Dan. 9:24-27

5. Understand that God’s calling won’t go away

Matt. 21:2, 6, Rom. 11:29, Jonah 1-3, Num. 23:19, Mal. 3:6, 1 Tim. 4:14, 2 Tim. 1:12

6. Realize that God has given you everything you need

Matt. 21:2-3, 2 Pet. 1:3, 2 Cor. 9:8, Rom. 4:21, 1 Pet. 5:10, 2 Tim. 1:9, Eph. 3:20-21

7. Don’t keep your calling to yourself

Matt. 21:2, 7, 1 Pet. 4:10, Rom. 12:6-8, 1 Cor. 4:1-2, Matt. 18:20

Reflecting on God’s Word

Getting Started

• Take some time to read over Matthew 21:1-7 and pray. 
• Have you ever read or heard about this before? What stood out to you as we were talking about it? 
• What surprised you as we talked about it?
• What thoughts might have been going through Jesus’ disciples’ minds when they heard Jesus telling two of them to go and get the donkey and colt?  
• Have you felt led by God to do something before? What was it? Were you faithful to God’s calling or not? 

Diving In 

1. By now, the disciples are used to Jesus calling them to do things that don’t totally make sense (Read John 2:7-8, Luke 5:4-6, Matt. 14:16-18, 17:27). How open are you to doing what God calls you to do? How can you be more open to the Holy Spirit’s leading in your life? How can you stay open to the Holy Spirit’s leading in your life?  

2. Read 1 John 4:1-6. How likely are you to test God’s callings against Scripture? How could you be more familiar with Scripture in order to test God’s callings against it better? 

3. These 2 disciples could have let any number of excuses get in the way of doing what Jesus called them to do, but they didn’t allow that to happen. How often do excuses get in the way of being faithful to God’s callings in your life? How can you better fight against excuses getting your way? 

4. From the birth of this colt and donkey, to the leading of the owner, and even to the Old Testament prophecies in Zechariah 9 and Daniel 9, it’s evident that God had been preparing this. Read Ephesians 2:10. What has God put in your life to prepare you for what He wants you to do? 

5. Read Romans 11:29. Now take some time to read through Jonah, chapters 1-3. It’s evident that God’s callings don’t just go away when we aren’t faithful. Is there anything that God has called you to do that you haven’t done? 

6. Read 2 Peter 1:3. How does realizing this help you to do what God has called you to do? 

7. Jesus didn’t call just one disciple, He called two. So many times, we can keep God’s callings in our lives to ourselves. Who can you share with what God has led you to do? 

Applying the Scripture

What are your biggest takeaways from this passage of God’s Word? 

• What practical step(s) do you need to implement in your life to apply what God has taught you in this passage of Scripture? 
• How would applying this affect your life and your relationship with the Lord? 
• Who can you ask to keep you accountable to applying this to your life?

Open with prayer.

Go around and give everyone a chance to share about how the past week has been. What’s one highlight? What’s one lowlight?

If your small group has talked about it before, feel free to use this time to hold people accountable to what they’ve asked to be held accountable for previously, and go through the “missional” part of this discussion guide.

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Prayer Time:

Pray for each other in your small group to be faithful take the step(s) that you shared above. Pray for each other and the interactions that they have with those who don’t know Jesus. Pray that God would soften the people’s hearts to what He has for them. Pray that God would give everyone opportunities to share the Gospel.

Staying Missional:

Share spiritual/missional conversations you’ve had where you live, work, and play:

Who did you have a conversation with that took a spiritual/missional turn this week?
What questions did you ask to discover where God is at work in their life, even if they are not aware?
How were you able to share your story of life change or how you have experienced Jesus?
How can you be intentional this week with people where you live, work, and play to have spiritual/missional conversations if the opportunity arises?
Who in your life do you think could be discipleable or open to spiritual/missional conversations?

What’s next?

Discuss the next step for your small group. When will we gather again and what purpose will it fulfill?