Mark 11:1-11

Good evening!  I am blogging to you tonight from Florence, Kentucky.  Made a quick road trip with a friend to Catalyst One Day.  Honestly, we are here for the conference, not for the Skyline Chili and the Chick-fil-a, though those are two bonuses of the trip.   It would have been an even better trip had I had time to connect with my friend David Joe (Sorry, David Joe).  But, its a quick trip.  Its 10:22pm.  Time to get to our scripture for today.

South's SOAP for the Day
S-Read Mark 11:1-11.
O-Before Jesus’ death, people praised Him and what He was bringing to the world.
A-Give proper honor and glory to Jesus as the Son of God.
P-Pray that your actions today properly glorify Jesus.

Today's passage is the beginning of last section of Mark.  Over the last ten chapters we have seen Jesus begin and do ministry in Galilee.  We've seen him pull together twelve guys who struggle to see the fullness of the good news.  We've seen many people healed and restored.  We've read about demons being sent packing and teachers of the Law frustrated.  We've also heard Jesus talk about his coming death on the cross in Jerusalem.  And now, we enter the city.

Jesus begins his entrance into the city from the Mount of Olives.  Its to the east of Jerusalem.  That is an important thing that we will talk about in a few moments.  Second, his entrance is different than anything we've read about so far in Mark.  Before, Jesus moved around by walking or when needed, by boat.  Here, we see Jesus tell his disciples to go get a colt, a colt that hasn't been ridden by anyone yet.  That is significant.  Scholars tell us no one is allowed to ride the King's horse.  This colt fits the bill.  Also, with it being a colt.  It is young.  It is inexperienced.  Its not a trained war horse.  Its a simple colt tied up, waiting to be used.

Jesus even goes so far to tell the disciples what to say if someone questions them about borrowing the colt.  Tell them, "The Lord needs it."  And as he said, people asked.  The disciples responded and brought the colt to Jesus.

Then, the disciples take their cloaks and make a saddle for Jesus.  The crowd that is there with them takes their cloaks and lines the road so that as Jesus rides through, the colt doesn't have to touch the ground.  Scholars note that this references when another king in the Old Testament was inaugurated (1 Kings 9:12ff).  Even greater than that, the people start shouting as Jesus enters the town.

Hosanna!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Blessed is the coming Kingdom of our father David!

Hosanna in the highest!

All through the first ten chapters of Mark's gospel, Jesus is telling his disciples and most everyone he heals to keep quiet about who he is and what he is doing.  That is all done now.  The King of the Jews, the descendant of David, is coming into the city.  Think of the emotion here.  There are probably tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of Jews heading to the city at this time for Passover.  They all know about this messiah that will come.  They know the prophecies.  They are on the edge of their seats waiting.  And here he is.  It is quite the event.

I've heard a sermon or two on this passage.  In one of the sermons, the speaker referenced the bigger picture going on here.  We need to talk about some politics.  Jerusalem at this point is not run by the Jews.  Remember Herod?  He's in control of this region.  He didn't live in Jerusalem.  He probably lived out by the sea.  It was nicer there.  There weren't any Jews.  He didn't have to deal with them there.  He doesn't answer to the Jews.  He answers to Rome.  Rome is in control of everything.  By control, we don't just mean they own it and let the Jews exist in Jerusalem.  No, they control it.  They rule over them.  They oppress them and make sure they don't too out of line.

Jerusalem will fill with people for Passover.  There is reason for Herod and his minions to come to Jerusalem and keep the peace--keep control.  If I'm going to show my power somewhere, I'm going to make an entrance statement.  I'm going to show that I am in control.  When you are ruling a place with an iron fist, you send in an army, so people know not to get out of line.  The army comes from where Herod is staying, to the WEST of Jerusalem.

He and his minions come in power from the west to show who is in control, marching along, with armor and shields clanging as they walk.  I'm sure there was no cheering for them.  Rather, those seeing this procession were probably quiet and respectful, just as Herod wanted it.  Juxtaposed from that entrance is Jesus, the King of the Jews, riding in peacefully on a colt, with no army.  There is no force to show that he should be feared.  The people are not running for cover.  Rather, there are Jews making the way for him to enter better by laying down their coats and crying out "Hosanna!", which is "God save us!"

Yet another thing to think about is the understanding of the messiah.  Over the last few weeks we've mentioned the desired messiah that the Jews were waiting on.  One who would come in and drive out Rome.  One who would raise up the nation of Israel and make it great again, in worldly, empire terms.  I think the people in the crowd shouting for Jesus as he comes in are looking for this messiah.  Maybe they've seen him heal in the past or heard him speak.  Maybe they were in one of the crowds and ate the food he provided.  They've had this gut feeling about him.  They made extra certain that they could come to Jerusalem for Passover to see if he would come in power.  At this point in our story, I think they are caught up in awe of what is happening before them.  They are on the edge of their proverbial seats waiting for the real show of power to start.  They are yelling and screaming to amplify the situation.  I'm sure it was a sight to see.

Mark tells us, though that when Jesus gets into town, everything is quiet.  Nothing is happening.  He goes to the temple, where the action will happen in the next few days, and it seems deserted.  How anticlimactic.

Is Mark making a statement here?  He doesn't tell us how the people responded when Jesus finally made it to the temple.  Was it a pep rally that lasted too long without the actions that the crowd wanted?  Did they walk away broken because the messiah they were looking for didn't show up?  it certainly isn't a blockbuster ending to the parade.

But I think that's the point.  This Jesus isn't what they are expecting.  He's something greater.  Its not the first time they will be shocked this week of the passion.  There is so much more that will happen.  And, through it all, Jesus is going to establish something far beyond what they ever imagined.

So what's the point for us?  Jesus is King.  We need to live our lives with him as the King.  That means, we don't set the rules of what the king is to be.  Rather, we look to the king for the example of what to be, then we follow.

Father, may we fully grasp the idea of following.  May we fully grasp the idea of the first shall be last, and the last shall be first.  Wow us over the next few days as we experience the good news of Jesus coming the way YOU wanted him to come.  Allow us eyes to see and ears to hear.