MARK 11:1-11
THE ROYAL PROCESSION
"A little country boy saw a poster announcing a circus coming to his county seat town. He had never seen a circus. He counted the days. He saved his money. On the last night he could hardly sleep because he was so excited.
"He was up at the crack of dawn. He stood along the street to watch the circus parade. He saw the lions, tigers, and bears. He saw the beautiful horses, the tremendous elephants, the acrobats, the jugglers, the clowns, the circus band. His eyes were large and glistening, and he was thrilled with it all.
"When it was over he stepped out of the crowd, handed the last man in the parade his money, and went back home. Not until years later did he discover that he had never been to a circus and never been inside a big top…" He had only seen the parade! (Not sure of source for this illustration)
Many people who have been to church on Palm Sunday are much like the boy who only saw the parade! They have been to church, they may even have been given a piece of palm. They have heard the music, the "hosannas", and have even gotten a glimpse of the center of attention, the Lord Jesus Christ. But, they have failed to grasp the significance of the Palm Sunday procession. They have failed to understand that the one riding the colt and being acclaimed is none other than the Messiah, The King of Kings, The King of the Universe!
We bring your attention once again to palm Sunday! And we want to bring your attention once again to the first public entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into the city of Jerusalem.
This was the day when our Lord fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9,
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Here was Jesus' public offer as the King, the Messiah. Although there was much outward display, the ones who actually accepted Him as Messiah, as King, were few in number. The King was rejected by those who should have welcomed Him sincerely and truthfully. The Apostle John said in John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
The rejected king did have a mission, a mission that was not understood. His mission was, after this rejection to die for the sins of His people Israel, and for the sins of the whole world.
Isaiah 53:5-6 - But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. [6] All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
The proof that God accepted Jesus' sacrifice of sin for us is evidenced in the resurrection on Easter Sunday. Isaiah alluded to this resurrection in Isaiah 53:10 …when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
There will be a day when the rejected king will come again to Jerusalem, and when His people will welcome Him with open arms. But for us, there is much to learn about His Kingship.
Let's not just caught up in the excitement of the parade this morning. Lets see some important facts about Jesus as the King.
THE AUTHORITY OF THE KING - Vss. 1-6
Vs. 1 - Here we are given the starting point in our story. Our Lord comes to the Mount of Olives near two villages, Bethphage and Bethany. Bethphage was evidently closer to Jerusalem on the Southern side of the Mount. Bethany was evidently on the eastern side.
It is here that our Lord commissions two of his disciples to go on the royal errand of getting the colt for the entry into Jerusalem.
Now we begin to see our Lord's kingly authority. First we see,
§ HIS AUTHORITY OVER HIS DISCIPLES
A disciple was a "learner", who learned from Jesus and submitted himself to Jesus' teachings.
Vs. 2 - Note that our Lord gave specific instructions.
He tells them to go to a certain village, probably Bethphage, and that they would find a colt who was yet to be broken or ridden. The colt was to be untied and brought along.
Vs. 3 - Our Lord, being all knowing, anticipated the question of onlookers, and gave them the answer to give them.
Vss. 4-5 - Note that they went their ways and found things just as Jesus said. And when questioned, they answered just as Jesus told them to.
There is no hint of question on the part of the disciples. They simply submitted to the authority of the Lord Jesus.
If you are one who has trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are His disciple. You are His follower.
Can the Lord Jesus give you orders through His Word and the through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and expect you to respond positively and quickly? He has the authority as your master, as your king, as your teacher, as your Savior, to expect such obedience!
John 13:13 - Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
"A missionary translator was endeavoring to find a word for "Obedience" in the native language. This was a virtue seldom practiced among the people into whose language he wanted to translate the New Testament. As he returned home from the village one day, he whistled for his dog and it came running a full speed. An old native, seeing this, said admiringly in the native tongue, "Your dog is all ear." Immediately the missionary knew he had his word for obedience." Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations, © 1979 by Paul Lee Tan, Assurance Publishers, Rockville, Maryland
Disciple of Jesus Christ, are you "ALL EAR" to your king?
Are you obedient to the one who gave His very life to you?
Not only do we see the authority of Jesus over His Disciples, but we also see,
§ HIS AUTHORITY OVER THE OWNERS OF THE COLT
Perhaps they were believers in and followers of Christ, we don't know. But we do know that when word came to them, they were willing to submit to His authority.
Jesus had given a message to anyone who would ask why they were taking the colt. It was, "THE LORD HATH NEED OF HIM".
Vs. 5 shows us that there were those who questioned the taking of the colt. Luke 19:33 tells us that it was the owners.
Vs. 6 - The disciples tell the owners exactly what Jesus had said,
"THE LORD HATH NEED".
When a king has a need, he has absolute sovereign right, if he is an absolute monarch, to request and expect to get what he needs. After all, as king, it is his.
As the Son of God
As the Messiah
As the one who will reign and judge for all eternity, The Lord Jesus has every right to request of His subjects all that He feels that He needs.
God has chosen to accomplish His work today through born-again Christians, the disciples of Jesus Christ. Therefore, when He has a need and requests something of us, the fact that he needs it, should be enough reason for us to give it.
ü If the Lord has a need for a laborer in foreign missions and He indicates you are to meet that need, DO IT!
ü If the Lord has a need for a witness in a specific place, and you in that specific place, DO IT!
ü If the Lord has a need for funds to support His work, and you have the funds to give, GIVE THEM!
ü If the Lord has a need for someone to help a Christian in trouble and indicates that you’re the one to help, THEN HELP!
Remember, you can't out-give the King! In this case the colt owners were told that the colt would be returned according to the end of Verse 3. When the colt was taken by the disciples, he was not broken. He had never been ridden. When he returned, I feel that He came back broken by the very Son of God.
This leads us to another part of Jesus' authority. Not only did he have authority over the disciples and owners of the colt. We see,
§ HIS AUTHORITY OVER NATURE
The colt which had never been ridden, trained, or broken, performed beautifully under the guiding hand of the Son of God!
The King, the Lord Jesus has authority the colt. As Lord of the Universe, Jesus has control over nature.
Say, if a dumb animal is smart enough to know who his master is, shouldn't we be just as smart?
THE AUTHORITY OF THE KING
Over His Disciples
Over the owners of the colt
Over the colt itself
THE ARRIVAL OF THE KING - Vss. 7-8
Zechariah 9:9 is about to fulfilled. The colt has been secured and Matthew tells us that they brought the mother along too.
Vs. 7 - The colt is brought to Jesus. A pillow or saddle is made of the garments belonging to Jesus' followers.
Vs. 8 - In typical fashion for that day, clothes were laid in His path for the colt to walk on. Mark says that they cut branches.
This word means a "mass of straw, rushes, or leaves strewn over the road."
Matthew uses another word that indicates that tree branches were cut and laid in the road.
It is John who tells us of the palm branches that were laid in his path.
So, who was there for the arrival of the King?
Luke tells us of a large number of disciples.
Mark says in verse 9 that there were those who went before, and those who followed.
John says in John 12:12-13, On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, [13] Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Evidently the large group coming out to meet Him turned around and joined the group already ushering Him into the city.
Compared to how ancient kings and generals would arrive into a city, this was not spectacular by their standards. But it was just as Zechariah said it would be! God's Word is always true.
THE AUTHORITY OF THE KING
THE ARRIVAL OF THE KING
THE ACCLAMATION OF THE KING - Vss. 9-10
Vss. 9-10 - As our Savior entered the city there was much praise and acclaim given to Him.
What do these words in these verses mean? According to Charles Erdman:
"'Hosanna' is a prayer meaning 'save now'.
"'blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,' is a statement that Jesus was the true representative of God;
"'the kingdom of our father David' means that it had been promised to David and by him, and is to reproduce the supreme splendor of his reign.
'Hosanna in the highest' is a prayer that the salvation prepared in highest heaven may descend upon the King and His kingdom." Charles Erdman, The Gospel of Mark © 1966 by W. L. Jenkins, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids Pages 165-166
This was clearly a statement that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah. And most were expecting a political deliverance, not the deliverance from sin, which Jesus did provide.
The political reign will come the next time Jesus enters Jerusalem in the future.
Were all the people in this mob sincere?
I suggest to you that there were at least three groups in this multitude. First there were those who had truly believed in Jesus Christ as their Messiah. This would have included the Apostles. Their praise came from the Heart.
Next, there were those who were at the city for the feast of the Passover, and that got caught up in the excitement of the moment. Perhaps they were willing to welcome anyone that would deliver them from Roman rule. But it was only emotion for them, and the next day, it would be just like nothing had happened.
Finally, there were religious leaders in the crowd. I don't think they were shouting. But they represented Israel as a nation. And the leadership was plotting Jesus' death, not His establishment as King.
According to Luke, when the Hossana's were started by Jesus' disciples, they said to Him, "Master, rebuke they disciples."
Jesus answer in Luke 19:40 was …I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
John A. Martin - "All history had pointed toward this single, spectacular event when the Messiah publicly presented Himself to the nation, and God desired that this fact be acknowledged."
Probably in church this morning we have these same 3 groups of people. There are those of you who have come to worship, and to learn and grow because you are born-again.
There are also those of you who are here, but opposed to the Gospel message, or at least not interested just like the religious leaders of Jesus' day.
And there are those of you who are here who act enthusiastic, who will sing with gusto, but have never truly trusted Christ as Savior. Tomorrow, for you, it will be business as usual.
Jesus asks a penetrating question in Luke 6:46 - And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
There was acclamation to the Lord Jesus, but not everyone was truly accepting Jesus as their Messiah.
Giving Jesus acclaim is one thing in this day and age, but it is not the right kind of acclaim unless you have trusted Jesus as your Savior.
John 3:16 - Quote and Explain.
Make sure that your acclamation of Jesus comes from a heart that has trusted Jesus as Savior.
THE AUTHORITY OF THE KING
THE ARRIVAL OF THE KING
THE ACCLAMATION OF THE KING
THE ASSESSMENT BY THE KING
Vs. 11 - This is not the story of Jesus as a tourist.
This is the Lord Jesus Christ, The Son of God, Israel's Messiah, God in the Flesh.
He is inspecting His Temple!
He is examining the procedures of worship being practiced towards the Heavenly Father.
He has every right to examine, to commend, and to make changes.
And after a night outside the city He returned to cleanse the temple of practices, which did not please Him.
Read Mark 11:15-18
My friend, the Lord Jesus is still the one responsible for assessment.
If you want to be concerned about pleasing anyone, make sure you please Him.
In the beginning of the Book of Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, we find Jesus examining seven churches in Asia. Those churches in Asia were much like our churches today. Seven times in this chapter, He says, "I know". Jesus examines and knows what goes on in each church and inside each Christian.
Jesus made two pronouncements that are worth considering today, knowing that Jesus is still examining His church.
Revelation 2:1-5
Revelation 3:14-16
THE AUTHORITY OF THE KING
THE ARRIVAL OF THE KING
THE ACCLAMATION OF THE KING
THE ASSESSMENT BY THE KING