The Grand Marshal, Jesus - Mark 11:1-11

Bruce Goettsche

Union Church of La Harpe Illinois

Mark • Sermon • Submitted 9 months ago • Presented 9 months ago

Mark 11:1–26

0 ratings

· 46 views

Notes

Transcript

Everyone loves a parade. Some parades have extravagant floats, others have singers and dancers, and still, others celebrate local people in the community. Our small-town parades can’t measure up to the extravagance of some of the big parades. But only in small towns do you enjoy getting candy thrown to you by the parade participants. (Can’t you see parents in cities fighting to secure candy for their children? It could provoke a riot.) In many parades, they select a Grand Marshal. The Grand Marshal does nothing except wave at the crowd, but to be chosen the Grand Marshal is a great honor bestowed by the parade organizers. They are chosen because they are viewed as significant in some way.

I’ve always pictured the Triumphal Entry of Jesus like a parade. But, it was far more significant than simply a parade that honored Him. This morning we will look more deeply at this entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. I encourage you to put aside the fact that you hear this story every year, (which can lead us to put our minds in neutral as we read the story) and seek to listen actively and attentively. We are in Mark 11,

As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks, ‘What are you doing?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it soon.’ ”

4 The two disciples left and found the colt standing in the street, tied outside the front door. 5 As they were untying it, some bystanders demanded, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They said what Jesus had told them to say, and they were permitted to take it. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it, and he sat on it.

8 Many in the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others spread leafy branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting,

“Praise God!

Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

10 Blessings on the coming Kingdom of our ancestor David!

Praise God in highest heaven!”

11 So Jesus came to Jerusalem and went into the Temple. After looking around carefully at everything, he left because it was late in the afternoon. Then he returned to Bethany with the twelve disciples.

THE MESSAGE PROCLAIMED

We are told Jesus came to Jerusalem through Jericho, Bethany (the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha), and Bethpage. The latter two towns were about 1 mile apart and 2 miles outside of Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives was a 2900-foot ridge from which you can see the whole city of Jerusalem. What happens as Jesus comes toward Jerusalem is significant for several different reasons.

Jesus fulfills the prophecy in Zechariah. Passover (the equivalent of Thanksgiving or Christmas for us) filled Jerusalem with devout Jews returning to the city for the celebration. In preparation for the Passover meal, Jesus directed his disciples to go and get a particular donkey.

Donkeys were incredibly valuable in farming. To take someone’s donkey would be like taking someone’s car or tractor today. This donkey had to be specific: a colt on which no one had ever ridden. Matthew mentioned that it was a mother and her colt. It had to be a donkey never ridden because only such an animal would be appropriate for such a sacred purpose.

It is possible Jesus had pre-arranged all of this with the colt's owner. However, that does not have to be why they let the disciples have the donkey. It could be that these were followers of Jesus who were glad to give their donkey for his service. There is also a tradition (someone would say, a “law”) known as “royal angaria,” in which a dignitary could request a means of transport from anybody. (see Numbers 16:15; 1 Samuel 8:17).

Usually, pilgrims walked the last stretch of their pilgrimage into Jerusalem. Riding on an animal would be very conspicuous. What is more conspicuous is the association with Zechariah 9:9

9 Rejoice, O people of Zion!

Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!

Look, your king is coming to you.

He is righteous and victorious,

yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—

riding on a donkey’s colt.

This was a prophecy of the triumphant entry of the Messiah. By this act alone Jesus was (without words) claiming to be the Promised Messiah. Anyone who was a student of the Scriptures (and most good Jews were students of the Scriptures) would recognize this as a fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9 especially as they attached it to the rider, Jesus, who was already being spoken of by many, as the One promised by God.

Deeply rooted in the Jewish consciousness of the Old Testament was the promise of the King who would enter Jerusalem as their coming Messiah.

The People Responded with Praise By this time, most people had heard about Jesus. It was hard to keep the various miracles a secret and the latest miracle, bringing Lazarus back from the dead . . . was considered the greatest miracle anyone could perform. And since that miracle occurred just outside of Jerusalem in Bethany, it wouldn’t have taken much to get the crowd going.

The people waved their Palm branches in praise and cried out “Hosanna” which means “Save Now,” it was a messianic cry for deliverance from the occupation of pagan nations. The people threw their coats down on the ground along with some Palm branches to form a “red carpet” of sorts. R.C. Sproul writes,

“That practice also had roots in the Old Testament. When Jehu was anointed king over Israel in place of Ahab, the people blew trumpets, proclaimed him king, then took off their outer garments and put them in Jehu’s path. As he came down the steps after his anointing, he walked over the people’s garments (2 Kings 9:13). That same ritual happened again when the people laid their garments in front of Jesus.” [Sproul, Mark]

The last verse of our text in Mark 10 seems like a “throwaway verse” but it is not.

In 586 BC, at the time of Jerusalem’s destruction and the forced exile of its people to Babylon, God gave a vision to the prophet Ezekiel. In that vision, Ezekiel saw God's glory rise from the temple in Jerusalem. The glory departed from the city's east side and ascended three hundred feet to rest on the Mount of Olives (Ezek. 11:23). Now, the glory of God is coming from the Mount of Olives back into the temple!

We are not naïve enough to think that everyone understood all these things. Certainly, some of those people were celebrating just because celebrations were part of the feast. They followed the crowd without really thinking about what was happening.

When I was young, I stood several times outside the door at the leftfield corner of Wrigley Field. In those days the players' parking lot was across the street from the stadium. Everyone would gather around to get autographs. However, this was also the door and parking lot of all those working for the Cubs organization. The kids standing there converged on anyone who came out that door. On more than one occasion a person would be asked, “Hey, are You anyone?” I am sure many people went home excited about getting a signature, only to discover the autograph was from someone working in the office! It is a fact that people are drawn to a crowd! And I am sure it was no different on this Palm Sunday. Some people were there and didn’t even know what they were celebrating!

Jesus did not come riding into Jerusalem on a white horse which would be seen as a sign of a military victory. He came riding on a foal of a donkey . . . the symbol of peace. Jesus came to draw people to Himself, not turn them against each other.

But at the same time, I think there was one more thing Jesus was doing on this day: He was provoking the religious leaders to action. Many times Jesus said, “My time has not yet come.” But now His time HAD come. The plan for eternity was for Jesus to die at Passover as a sacrificial lamb for the sin of all mankind. The Passover image of a substitute offered as a payment for sin would be the backdrop for the one who was the ultimate fulfillment of that sign originally seen in the Israelites escape from Egypt.

When people will not be motivated in any other way, you need something dramatic. In the Chosen TV series there is the statement from Jesus, “Sometimes you have to stir up the water.” This is what Jesus does with the Triumphal Entry to Jerusalem. To have people boldly proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah demanded action from the leaders. They had to either “get on board” or “get rid of this guy.” They chose the latter. And as we know, they did exactly what the Lord had foretold would take place. Jesus gave up His life as a payment for our sin. He became our Passover Lamb, allowing us to escape sin's bondage and the world’s oppressive expectation. Through His death, we are free from the penalty of sin, from the drudgery and emptiness of the world, and we are set free to be who God created us to be through Christ.

This was a pivotal moment in redemptive history.

Applications

As I said, this is a familiar story. It was a momentous occasion. But, what does it mean to us, practically, here today?

First, the Triumphal Entry called people to a decision, and it still does so today. We have the benefit of hindsight that the Jewish leaders, the leaders of Rome, and even the followers of Christ did not have. We know all the miracles Jesus did and what happened after these events in Jerusalem. We know about His trial, His execution, His burial, and His resurrection. We stand right where the Jewish leaders stood yet with much more information. We too must make a decision on Jesus. Is He the Son of God or isn’t He?

There are many in the world who affirm Jesus as a nice guy. He is seen as a prophet in several world religions and even viewed as God’s Son in the Mormon Church. However, all these views fall short of who Jesus was claiming to be. He claimed to be the UNIQUE Son of God who provides the ONLY way of salvation. Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father, except through me.”

The question facing each one of us is this: do we believe what He says, or do we think we can come to God by

· Being a good person

· Having a sharp theological mind

· Being kind to others

· Or by being “religious”

Maybe to you, the words of Jesus can’t be true because it all seems too easy or too naïve. No matter what you currently believe, Jesus is calling us to get off the fence and make a decision. He either IS who he claimed to be or He is not. Those are the only two options!

Second, we are reminded that Declarations of Faith are Easy, but trusting Christ; living by Faith, is Not. There may have been some of those people waving Palm branches and crying out “Hosanna!” who were also in another crowd the morning of Good Friday. There joined another chorus, this one crying out, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” It is easy to be swayed by the crowd you are in. It is not about whether or not you are “moved” by Jesus, the question is: are you willing to trust Him enough to follow Him?

Many have affiliated with churches only because they wanted to be with their friends. Others have joined because they like the music or the drama or being part of something that seems to be “happening.” They sing the praises of Jesus with their lips, but their hearts are far away. They are really more concerned about sounding good or looking good to those around themthan they are about praising Christ as Lord.

People who “do church” today are often no different than the Jewish leaders who crucified Jesus. They attend classes on the Bible, are experts in the ceremony of worship, and likely also feel superior to those who don’t meet their expectations. But let me remind you that these people were the ones who turned away from Jesus.

The Lord does not merely call us to say the magic words, “I believe in Christ.” He calls us actually to trust and follow Him! He calls us to put all our hope in what He has done on our behalf. He commands us to live and follow Him no matter the storm. He calls us to stand on His promise even when the world is attacking us because of that promise. We are not simply to honor Him with our lips, but we must allow Him to change how we live every moment.

Third, we are challenged to build His Kingdom of Grace and Peace rather than a kingdom of the world. Remember, Jesus came into Jerusalem on a donkey, not on an animal of military strength. He came to bring peace, not conflict.

There are already plenty of angry people in the world. It is true that we are to contend for the faith, but we don’t have to be contentious to do so. Our job is to hold steadfastly to the truth and share that truth with others. We are to reason with them and love them in the name of Christ. We will have to take difficult stands at times. But we don’t have to be hostile as we do so. We can be firm without treating others as inferior or even as they have treated us. Jesus called us to love as He has loved.

And this reminds us that we are building HIS Kingdom of peace not our own. Our job is not to build the biggest church (that is to build an earthly kingdom). We are to build His Kingdom, calling people to Him . . . not to us. The church has largely failed in this area. The world views Christians as competing rather than working with each other. They see us fighting over seemingly minor issues of theology and Christian practice rather than holding fast to our unity in Christ. They see us becoming increasingly political rather than finding our oneness in our common King: Christ. They see us tearing down other believers who aren’t part of their “group.” As a result, the world is often turned away by our worldliness.

Finally, we should be encouraged to celebrate and worship Jesus! If these people praised and worshipped the Messiah, how much more should we? When Jesus was commanded to tell the people to stop what they were saying Jesus said, “If they stop, the rocks will cry out! Worship is a natural response to the supernatural work of God in our lives.

Unfortunately, we often have a confused view of worship today. We think of a “worship service” (like this one) as worship. But merely attending a service is not necessarily true worship. It might have no more significance than going to the grocery store.

Others define worship as singing. We can sing in a worshipful way (which should be our goal), but the singing itself (even if it is with Christian songs) does not mean we are worshipping. We may just be singing because we like to sing (which means it is more for us than for Him!)

Worship is an attitude of the heart. Our entire time here should be worship! The way we sing, the attention we give to God’s Word, and the times of prayer should all be in an attitude of reverence and honor for the Lord. Every day there should be moments we break out in quiet (or not so-quiet) worship. We should be living our lives for the glory of God. Worship comes from being overwhelmed by the grace of God. The focus of worship is the Lord and not anything else.

Set out to be a worshipper!

I was at a conference once. Radio Pastor Steve Brown gave a powerful message. When he finished, the audience started to applaud robustly. He had specially reached us. The music leader jumped to his feet, silenced the crowd, and said, “No, No, Let’s sing!” We sang a couple of verses of Amazing Grace, and it was one of my life's most powerful worship experiences. As I looked around, tears rolled down the faces of these Christian leaders.

After the conference, I wrote the pastor leading the music and asked, “What made you cut off the applause and have us sing instead?” He said, “I have learned that sometimes we respond with applause (or at other times with a song) to escape the spiritual tension or power in our lives. At this time, a song seemed to be a way to embrace or “lean into the tension,” which is the work of the Holy Spirit. We were allowed to embrace that work rather than dispense with it.

Worship is “leaning into the Spirit of God.” We should be doing this with our words, our quiet reflection and listening, our rapt attention to the teaching of His Word, and yes, even in the words we sing. If your heart is right, it won’t matter what “elements” of a worship service are present . . . you will worship because your heart is bending to the work of God’s Spirit in your life. Give Him your mind, your body, and your voice. The King has come, and we should declare “Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” And we should keep doing so until our King returns in glory. And that will be a parade you won’t want to miss!

Related Media

Related Sermons