Sermon Text: Mark 11:1-11
Outline
BIG IDEA: Jesus, God’s Messiah King, comes to Jerusalem in judgment and salvation.
Sermon Notes
As I preach this sermon, it is the beginning of Advent. During the season of Advent, we tend to think of Jesus’ birth. Obviously, Jesus was born. According to Jesus himself, he came to die (Mark 10:45). Mark 11 is the beginning of passion week and an appropriate text to begin Advent season.
Mark can be divided geographically:
- Mark 1-9 – Jesus’ ministry in and around the region of Galilee
- Mark 10 – Jesus’ ministry in the region Judea
- Mark 11-16 – Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem
Mark 11 begins Mark’s account of Passion week. Our text today is about what is traditionally called “the triumphal entry.” As we dig into the text, we will see that the triumphal entry is an unambiguous declaration of Jesus’ kingship.
Big Idea: Jesus, God’s Messiah King, comes to Jerusalem in judgment and salvation.
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” 11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
As Jesus and his disciples drew near to Jerusalem, there was excitement in the air. Each year thousands of Jews from around the world would descend on Jerusalem in order to celebrate the Passover. During the week of the Passover Jerusalem would swell up to three times its normal size. Though the Passover meal would not be observed until Friday, many Jews would come to Jerusalem early in order to ceremonially cleanse themselves and prepare for the Passover.
This particular year, there was great excitement and anticipation because of the word that was being spread about Jesus—a Jewish rabbi from Nazareth that healed the sick, cleansed the leper, and even raised the dead.
We know from John 11 that Jesus had recently raised Lazarus from the dead. As a result, many had believed in Jesus and had returned to Jerusalem with reports of his power to raise the dead. In fact, Jesus’ raising of Lazarus drew so much attention that he had to leave Bethany (where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived) and went to a small area called Ephraim.
So, on Sunday morning, as Jesus prepared to enter Jerusalem, Andreas Köstenberger says it like this: “The Passover crowds in Jerusalem were like a powder keg ready for a spark—filled to the brim with both messianic fervor and hatred of Roman rule.”[1]The Final Days of Jesus, 27.
Jesus approached Jerusalem near the Mount of Olives and Bethphage. Bethphage was located on the slope of the Mount of Olives. Bethany was two miles east of Jerusalem.
In verses 2-3, we see Jesus tell two of his disciples to go into the village in front of you and bring back a colt. The village that Jesus is referring to is probably Bethphage. Notice the detailed instructions that Jesus gives the two disciples
- As you enter the town, you will find a colt tied up.
- The colt has never been ridden.
- You are to untie it and bring it back.
- If anyone asks you what you’re doing, tell them, “The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.”
One of the interesting things about Jesus’ instructions is that the colt would be tied up. The tied up colt goes all the way back to Genesis 49 when Jacob pronounced a messianic oracle upon Judah.
Genesis 49:10-11
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him;
and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
11 Binding his foal to the vine
and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
he has washed his garments in wine
and his vesture in the blood of grapes.
In vv. 4-6, everything happened exactly how Jesus said it would. Mark wants us to see that Jesus is in complete control. All of these events are divinely ordered. Jesus’ journey to the cross is no accident.
In v. 7, the disciples brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it. By throwing their cloaks on the colt, the disciples are making a makeshift saddle.
It’s significant that Jesus sits on the colt as he enters Jerusalem. During Jesus’ ministry, He walked everywhere he went except when he was in a boat. This is the one and only time that Jesus rode an animal during his ministry.
Even more specific, this colt has never been sat upon. Animals that had never been ridden were regarded by the Jews as especially suited for holy purposes.
By his actions, Jesus is communicating his kingship to the crowd at least two things.
First, by riding on the colt, he copied Solomon’s entrance into Jerusalem after he was declared king (1 Kings 1:32-40). During King David’s reign, the donkey was a royal animal. After David’s reign, the Hebrew kings switched to horses.
Second, he fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 that Israel’s future king would come riding on the foal of a donkey.
Zechariah 9:9
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Jesus, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, had a donkey that was tied up brought to Him, fulfilling Genesis 49:10-11. He rode that donkey into Jerusalem as a king from the line of David, fulfilling Zechariah 9:9. By riding a donkey, He presented himself as the new and greater Solomon, identifying himself with the royal line of David.
Thus, the triumphal entry was an unambiguous declaration of Jesus’ kingship.
The triumphal entry was an unambiguous declaration of Jesus’ kingship.
Jesus was in effect proclaiming openly what he has previously told others to keep secret– “I am your King!”
As Jesus entered Jerusalem as a Davidic king, the crowd recognized him as such.
Verse 8 says that the people threw their cloaks and leafy branches on the road. By doing this, the crowd was making a carpet for King Jesus. Today, we might think about rolling out the red carpet for someone of importance.
The crowd, by rolling out the red carpet so to speak, showed that they believed Jesus could be the Messiah. The crowds hoped that Jesus would overthrow Caesar as king!
This is evident by what they proclaimed in vv. 9-10.
The crowd shouted:
And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! comes from Psalm 118:25-26. Psalms 113-118 were sung by Jews during the week of the Passover as well as other religious feasts.
Hosanna is a transliterated phrase of a Hebrew word which means, “save us.” Look at Ps 118:25-26:
Psalm 118:25-26
25 Save us [Hosanna], we pray, O Lord!
O Lord, we pray, give us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
In this context, the word Hosanna means that the crowd was celebrating Jesus as a political, Davidic messiah. The Triumphal Entry takes place at the beginning of Passover week, which brings to mind the Jewish people’s exodus from Egyptian slavery. Just as the Jews were liberated from the Egyptians, the Jews of Jesus’ day anticipated the messianic liberation from Rome’s oppression.
The crowd was crying out to Jesus to save them. The crowd wanted Jesus to save them from Roman oppression.
Isn’t that a temptation for us as well? We think the problems we see in our world are a battle between conservative and liberal, between patriots and globalists. Friends, the Bible says that the real battle is between God and his children and Satan and his children. Ephesians says we do not war against flesh and blood but “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12).
To win a spiritual battle, you need spiritual weapons.
By riding on a donkey, Jesus was not entering Jerusalem as a warrior-king to save the people from Roman rule. Instead, Jesus was going to do something far greater than that. Jesus was going to die as a ransom in order to defeat Satan, sin, and death. That is the victory that every person – whether Jew or Gentile needs.
As Jesus entered Jerusalem as God’s Messiah King, the religious leaders were indignant. Matthew and Luke write that they told Jesus to rebuke and quiet his disciples. Jesus refused to do so.
Jesus’ actions on Palm Sunday set in motion a series of events that could only result in either his overthrow of the Romans and the current religious establishment—or his brutal death. He has crossed the point of no return; there would be no turning back. Caesar would allow no rival kings.
After Jesus entered Jerusalem, verse 11 tells us that he went into the temple. The verse says that “He looked around at everything.” What is Jesus doing?
Jesus, as the Messiah, acted as one who had the authority to inspect the temple and to see if the temple was fulfilling its purpose of leading people to true and sincere worship of God. We’ll look at this in more detail next week. Jesus’ inspection of the temple was a fulfillment of Malachi 3:1.
Malachi 3:1-2
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he [John the Baptist] will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.
Jesus had come to his temple and with him the refining fire had arrived to purify, and the fullers’ soap had come to cleanse (Mal 3:2). Jesus would begin his work with the temple on the next day.
Finally, the text tells us that Jesus went out to Bethany with the twelve. Jesus stayed in Bethany during the final week of his life.
Conclusion
Jesus came to Jerusalem as the promised Son of David, the king of the promised kingdom. The people recognized Jesus as God’s Messiah and cried out for salvation. The problem is that the people thought Jesus had come to purge Israel of Roman rule. Instead, he had come but to purge his people of their sin.
Have you recognized Jesus for who he is, God’s Messiah king?
Have you cried out to Him for save you – not from oppression, poverty, or tyranny but your sins that separate you from God? The gospel is not good news of temporal deliverance but eternal deliverance from the penalty of sin and death.
Big Idea: Jesus, God’s Messiah King, comes to Jerusalem in judgment and salvation.
King Jesus has come, and he will come again. The following chart is from Danny Akin’s commentary on Mark.
References
| ↑1 | The Final Days of Jesus, 27. |
|---|