Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRODUCTION:

Jesus, His disciples and the crowd were on the road to Jerusalem to celebrate one of the most important feasts in the history of Israel-the Passover.

The Passover was a celebration of God’s redemption of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt.

When they arrived at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of His disciples to the village ahead of them.

He told the disciples, “…just as you enter the village, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden.

Untie it and bring it here.

If anyone asks you, ‘why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”

They found the colt in the street, tied at the doorway.

As they did, some people standing there asked, “what are you doing untying the colt?”

They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go.

When they brought the colt, they threw their cloaks on it to make a saddle for Jesus.

Many spread their cloaks along with palm branches and started to shout, “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.”

Jesus entered Jerusalem, and went to the temple.

He looked around at everything, and since it was late, He went to Bethany with the twelve.

What can we take away from this story?

1.Christ demonstrated His kingship by riding a donkey that had not been ridden before.

“You will find a colt there which no one has ridden.

If anyone asks, ‘tell them the Lord needs it.”

There is nowhere in the story we are told that pre arrangements were made for Jesus to have this donkey.

What is clearly coming out here for us to see is the omniscience of Christ.

He knew all the information about the donkey that it had not been ridden before and where it was tied.

Jesus sent His disciples to the village ahead of them to find a donkey that had not yet been ridden.

This is significant because a donkey for the king was not for just anyone to ride.

It was exclusively reserved for the King.

Mark is conveying to his audience that Jesus is the Messiah, the king of the Jews.

It is important to note that for an animal to be used for a sacred purpose, it must have never been used for any other purpose.

Why did Jesus ride the donkey on this particular day?

He walked everywhere.

But on this day, He decided to ride a donkey that had never been ridden.

Matthew and John tell us that Jesus was fulfilling , “Rejoice greatly, Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!

See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

The Old Testament’s prophecy stated that Israel’s Messiah would come, but it also indicated that His coming would be meek and lowly.

He was coming in peace.

When a king went to battle, he rode on a horse.

When he was coming in peace, he rode on a donkey.

Jesus is here coming in peace.

True peace is only achieved when God and man are reconciled.

The apostle Paul writes in that “since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

True peace comes through a relationship with God and the joy of freely entering His presence.

Christ’s purpose for coming into our world was to bring this peace.

2. Christ demonstrated His kingship over His disciples and their questioners.

2. Christ demonstrated His kingship over His disciples and their questioners.

In , we see the omniscience of Christ on display.

Philip informed Nathaniel that he met the Messiah and invited Nathaniel to come and meet Him.

When Nathaniel was approaching, Jesus said, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.”

“How do you know me,” Nathaniel asked.

Jesus said, “Oh, I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

Jesus revealed His omniscience to Nathaniel.

I wasn’t there but i saw you sitting under the fig tree.

2. Christ demonstrated His kingship over His disciples and their questioners.

The King of the Jews demanded the use of a donkey which had never been ridden before.

He informed His disciples that if they were asked why they were untying the donkey, they should point out that “the Lord needed it.”

The right of the owner shrinks in light of the King’s demand.

Jesus is the creator of the universe.

He owns everything.

In this context, He had enough status to have this done.

I hope we realize that everything we own is for the Lord.

The Lord is the ultimate owner.

This reminds me of , “ The earth is the Lord’s and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.

For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.”

This Psalm points out the sovereignty of God over all He has created.

Christ’s demand for a donkey that had not yet been ridden before highlights that He, the creator of the world, owns all that is within it.

The fact that the disciples did exactly as Jesus commanded them demonstrates the He has kingship over them also.

We know that the disciples, on many occasions failed to obey Christ.

But on this mission, they carried out Jesus’ command without arguing or hesitation.

The Omniscience of God must bring us comfort.

It tells us that Christ knows everything that His children are going through.

The kingship of Christ was also demonstrated over the folks who questioned the disciples’ actions allowed them to take the donkey.

They accepted His words given to the disciples.

If Jesus is The King and Messiah, then we as His followers owe Him an unchallenged allegiance.

Because He rescued us from the dominion of darkness, we owe our lives to Him.

Paul writes in “For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

We see this in , “O Lord, you have search me and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with my ways.”

The Psalmist is conveying to us that God knows everything about Him.

When it comes to Him God is not in the dark.

In , “If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God have discovered it, since He knows the secret of the heart?

3. Christ demonstrated His kingship by accepting the welcome of the crowd.

3. Christ demonstrated His kingship by accepting the welcome of the crowd.

“…many spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut...”

Mark is conveying to his readers that Christ is the Messiah, the long awaited king.

The spreading of cloaks and branches before Jesus is suggests a ceremonial welcoming of a king.

We see this in , when Solomon was being welcome as King.

We also see it in when Jehu was welcomed.

When welcoming a king, it was customary for the people to lay their garments on the road.

Mark is conveying to his readers that Christ is the Messiah, the long awaited king.

The spreading of cloaks and branches before Jesus is suggestive of ceremonious welcome of a king.

We see this in , when Solomon was being welcome as King.

We also see it in when Jehu was welcomed.

When welcoming a king, it was customary for the people to lay the garments on the road.

They were welcoming a King, but which king were they welcoming?

It is oddly reminiscent of how Simon Maccabaeus entered Jerusalem 150 years before, after he had blasted Israel’s enemies in battle.

On the twenty-third day of the second month, in the one hundred and seventy-first year, the Jews entered Jerusalem with praise and palm branches, and with harps, and cymbals, and stringed instruments, and with hymns and songs, because a great enemy had been crushed and removed from Israel ().

It was a conqueror’s welcome they sought to give to Jesus, but they never dreamed of the kind of conqueror he wished to be.

Barclay, W. (2001).

The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Mark (p. 310).

Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.