Bible Strands
Matthew 21:3
If anyone questions you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks to his disciples as they prepare to retrieve a donkey and colt from a nearby village. He gives them a precise reply to deliver if anyone questions their actions.
The words — The Greek εἴπῃ (eipē) translates to "may say" or "questions," while ἐρεῖτε (ereite) means "you will say." These verbs establish the conditional nature of the encounter and the mandatory response.
The thread — The text's claim of divine ownership runs through Psalms 50:10, which declares God's possession of all cattle, and Acts 17:25, which states God needs nothing from human hands. Interpreters connect these references to show Jesus' authority aligns with the Father's sovereign provision.
Why it lands — The text commands immediate compliance with a directive that requires no human justification. It asks the reader to act on Jesus' word without demanding prior explanation or proof.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.
Cross-references
- Acts 17:25 Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
- 2 Corinthians 8:1 Now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the churches of Macedonia.
- Psalms 50:10 for every beast of the forest is Mine—the cattle on a thousand hills.
- John 3:35 The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in His hands.
- 2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
- Ezra 1:5 So the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites—everyone whose spirit God had stirred—prepared to go up and rebuild the house of the LORD in Jerusalem.
- Ezra 7:27 Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put into the heart of the king to so honor the house of the LORD in Jerusalem,
- Psalms 24:1 A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein.
- Haggai 2:8 The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, declares the LORD of Hosts.
- John 17:2 For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.