In the Highs and Lows (Mark 11:1-11)

In Mark 11:1-11 we see Jesus approaching Jerusalem, met with both excitement and ambivalence. It prompts a question for his disciples today: will you follow Jesus in the highs and the lows? 

Last week, we saw Jesus leave Jericho where he healed Bartimaeus who promptly begins following Jesus on his march towards Jerusalem.  Today, we’re going to see Jesus on the outskirts of the great city, Jerusalem, and then his triumphal entry.  You might be surprised to learn that after all of the fan fare and excitement surrounding his approach to Jerusalem, the scene ends with Jesus alone in the temple. 

On the Mount

As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the Mount of Olives. This was a place rich in Messianic prophecy, and the time for fulfillment had come.

Mark 11:1-3 (NLT) 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. “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. If anyone asks, ‘What are you doing?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it soon.’”

• Matthew, Mark, and Luke all specifically mention the Mount of Olives.  This is a significant place in the Nation of Israel’s history. 
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) The Mount of Olives rises over 2600 feet above sea level (some 300 feet higher than Jerusalem) and runs north to south on the eastern side of the Holy City. Already before David’s time the Mount of Olives had been a place of worship (2 Sam 15:32). At the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Ezekiel had a vision of the glory of the Lord departing from Jerusalem and settling on the Mount of Olives (Ezek 11:23). According to Zech 14:4 the Mount of Olives would be the site of final judgment, and the rabbis and Josephus (Ant. 20.169) associated it with the coming of the Messiah. Mark, who seldom mentions place names, may mention the Mount of Olives here in order to associate its Messianic significance with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.

Mark 11:4-7 (NLT) The two disciples left and found the colt standing in the street, tied outside the front door. As they were untying it, some bystanders demanded, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” They said what Jesus had told them to say, and they were permitted to take it. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it, and he sat on it.

• Whether Jesus had made prior arrangements with the owners of the donkey colt, or whether supernaturally he knew it would be there and the Spirit of God had warned the owners of its need to be used, we don’t know.  We know that everything played out just as Jesus said it would. Jesus leaves nothing to chance as his date with the cross comes closer.  
• Jesus gives the disciples another opportunity to step out in faith.  Surely, this had to create some anxiety to go and take a colt from an owner.  Even if Jesus had made prior arrangements with the owners of the colt, it doesn’t appear that the disciples were part of that conversation.  They could have been accused of theft.  They could have been rejected in their request to take the colt.  I’m sure there were some “what ifs” going through their mind. They knew the religious leaders were already looking for reasons to arrest Jesus and possibly them.  What if word got back to them about stealing a donkey?  How often do what ifs keep us from following the promptings we receive from God? They were obedient “They said what Jesus had told them to say”.  They didn’t try to overthink it or come up with a better answer.  They just said “The Lord needs it and will return it.”  There’s no more detail.  They don’t say “Jesus of Nazareth” needs it, simply the Lord needs it. I would have wanted to fill in the picture.  Jesus needs it.  You know, the guy that has been giving sight to the blind, making the lame walk, and the deaf to hear.  
• No one had ever ridden the colt.  This means it was unbroken.  Its natural instinct would be to throw anyone who would attempt to ride it.  Instead, it humbly submits to the creator of the universe, demonstrating creation’s obedience to Jesus.  Only a colt or horse that had never been ridden by anyone else was fit for a king to ride in on. 
• Jews were expected to enter Jerusalem on foot when coming to celebrate the Passover. Entering on a donkey would have stood out. 

Triumphal Entry

Genuine worship seeks to please God not ourselves.  So often those following Jesus seemed to be more concerned with how he could bless them.  In this rare occasion they worship him lavishly and at a cost.  Their expectations of what the Messiah would do didn’t take into account all of what the Old Testament prophets had declared. 

Mark 11:8-10 (NLT) Many in the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others spread leafy branches they had cut in the fields. 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! Blessings on the coming Kingdom of our ancestor David! Praise God in highest heaven!”

• Clothing was expensive in Jesus’ time.  People didn’t have closets and dressers full of articles of clothing like we have now.  To lay their clothes on the ground and have Jesus ride over them on a donkey was a genuine sacrifice.  They were truly worshiping Jesus.  He received this worship.  Worship is something only God should receive.  This is another proclamation of the deity of Jesus.  Up to this point in his ministry, Jesus had tried to veil his identity as Messiah in many ways.  Now that the time has come to go to the cross, he is going to openly declare his identity.  He’s going to receive the praise that is due him. This is a major shift in the ministry of Jesus. You can see why Jesus had veiled his identity because as soon as he makes it plain that he’s the Messiah, the religious leaders have him killed. In Luke’s account of the triumphal entry, the Pharisees tell Jesus to stop the crowds from singing his praises.  Jesus replied, “If they keep quiet, the stones along the road will burst into cheers!”  Romans talks about how all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth because of sin and death that man brought into the world.  This is the turning point.  This is where Jesus sets it right on the cross.  Creation is looking forward to this and would jump for joy if the  people were silent.  
• This had to be such a whirlwind for the disciples.  As they see the crowds shouting and lining up the roads and Jesus receiving the praise, they had to be thinking, “Finally.  Now this is what we sign up for.  Jesus is the Messiah and he’s coming to establish his kingdom.”  But at the same time, Jesus has just told them again that he’s going to be delivered over and killed.  It had to be so confusing to them. 
• Mark doesn’t specifically tie Jesus riding in on the colt of a donkey as a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, but Matthew does. In Matthew 21 he said this took place to fulfill the prophecy that said, “Rejoice, O people of Zion![a]  Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!Look, your king is coming to you.    He is righteous and victorious,[b]yet he is humble, riding on a donkey – riding on a donkey’s colt. John’s gospel mentions it is a fulfillment of the prophecy in Zechariah but admits the disciples didn’t realize it at the time it was happening.  
• The Rabbis of Jesus’ day had several different theories regarding how the Messiah would come to Jerusalem. Based on Daniel 7:13, some thought the Messiah would come as a majestic conqueror. Based on Zechariah 9:9, some thought that the Messiah would come in a lowly and humble way, riding on a colt. ii. In the days of Jesus, some Rabbis reconciled these by saying that the Messiah would come humbly to an unworthy Israel but mightily to a worthy Israel. Since Israel considered itself worthy, they only looked for a triumphant, conquering Messiah.
• Only looking at the Daniel 7 portrayal of the Messiah caused so many to miss him. This is why the whole counsel of God is important.  We can cherry pick verses or passages to say almost anything we want them to say.  
  • Let he who is without sin cast the first stone – don’t leave out the end of the story – go and sin no more 
  • The promise Jesus made to the disciples a couple of weeks ago that anyone who had sacrificed for the gospel and kingdom of heaven would receive 100 times as much – don’t leave out the promise of persecution 
• Matthew’s version – Praise God for the Son of David. Images of the Davidic conquering king Messiah, not the suffering servant Messiah. 
• “Hosanna” – Greek literally means save now.  Transliteration of the Hebrew term that means save now! Or please save! It is a term with great emotion.  The crowds are begging for deliverance.  They want deliverance from the Roman empire.  They’re unaware that Jesus came to deliver them from something much greater – sin and death.  
• This is why Jesus came.  He was a teacher, he was a healer, he was  a miracle worker, but his primary mission was to be the Lamb of God that would be sacrificed for the sins of the world. This is the start of the fulfillment of the promise made all the way back in Genesis chapter 3 where God promised that the seed of the woman would have his heel bruised by the serpent, but that he would crush the serpent’s head.  This was going to look like failure, but with his death and resurrection this was ultimate victory over the enemy and over death and sin.  He was, in fact, going to save now, but not in the way they expected. 
• Jesus entered Jerusalem boldly and with much fanfare. He wasn’t trying to sneak in undetected because of the malicious intentions of the religious leaders.  This had to be encouraging for the disciples to see Jesus wasn’t afraid or intimidated by the religious leaders, even though he knew what was going to take place.  
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) The colt is identified in the OT as the mount of the Messiah (Zech 9:9; Gen 49:11).
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) An unbroken beast of burden was regarded as sacred (so Num 19:2; Deut 21:3), which made it appropriate for a king, since according to the Mishnah (m. Sanh. 2:5) no one else may ride a king’s horse.
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) Unlike Matt 21:5 and John 12:15, Mark does not overtly identify Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem with the Messianic quotation from Zech 9:9, with which we readily associate the triumphal entry.
• The secret wasn’t fully out yet for Mark’s readers
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) There are of course subtle Messianic undertones in Jesus’ riding a colt into Jerusalem as the gentle and peaceable Messiah of Zech 9, but it is doubtful whether the crowd or authorities grasped their full significance. Like countless other Passover pilgrims to Jerusalem, Jesus’ entry was apparently regarded by the masses as a pilgrimage rather than as a Messianic triumph.

Anticlimax

After a frenzied entrance that has the whole city electrified, the day ends with Jesus alone in the temple.  It’s easy to mistake enthusiasm for faith and popularity for discipleship.  True followers of Jesus worship him in the highs and the lows.  

Mark 11:11 (NLT) 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.

• Story of a movie or book with horrible, anti-climactic ending
• After Looking Around – this is the same Greek word used in chapter 10 when the rich young ruler walked away and Jesus looked around at his disciples. Definition -closely observe with a sweeping (encompassing) look and with high personal involvement (self-interest). This is so ironic. The temple was the place God had set aside for his presence to dwell among the people.  Now, God in the flesh, would soon be rejected here and plans for his execution would be contrived and carried out.  Jesus knows all of this is coming. 
• Where is all the fanfare?  Where are all the people who were praising him as he entered the city?  Were they afraid of the religious leaders?  Were they already disappointed that Jesus didn’t sweep into Jerusalem and overthrow the Roman occupation?  We know in the very near future the crowds are going to be shouting “crucify him! Crucify him!” How many of those voices were the same ones shouting “Hosanna.  Blessings on the king who comes in the name of the Lord.” ?
• Do we still praise and follow Jesus when he doesn’t live up to our expectations, when he doesn’t answer our prayers the way we think he should? 
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) From his initial visit to the temple in 11:1-11, the breach between Jesus and the temple is evident. He enters Jerusalem triumphantly, but he is not received in the temple triumphantly (as in Matt 21:10-11, for example). The indifference with which he is initially received (v. 11) quickly turns to opposition (11:28), and eventually to his condemnation to death (14:63-64).
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) The entry – and its inconclusive end (v. 11) – accord exactly with Jesus’ foreknowledge and authority. Jesus thus does not enter Jerusalem as an unknowing victim, but with the same foreknowledge and sovereignty with which he traveled “on the way.”
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) It appears to be the moment for him to receive the Messianic kingdom. But ironically, nothing happens. The clamoring crowds mysteriously vanish. In a complete anticlimax, Mark reports that the hour was late and that Jesus departed with the Twelve for Bethany.
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) This text is traditionally called the Triumphal Entry. That is an appropriate designation for Matt 21:1-11 and John 12:12-19, but scarcely for Mark. Matthew says “the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?'” (21:10). Luke reports that the city was so electrified that the stones were ready to cry out (19:40). Mark’s account is noteworthy for what does not happen. The whole scene comes to nothing. Like the seed in the Parable of the Sower that receives the word with joy but has no root and lasts but a short time (4:6, 16-17), the crowd disperses as mysteriously as it assembled. Mark is warning against mistaking enthusiasm for faith, and popularity for discipleship. Jesus is not confessed in pomp and circumstance but only at the cross (15:39).

Close

The scene ends with the fulfillment of yet another prophecy.  The Messiah has come to the temple.  It is another reminder that all things written in God’s Word will come to pass at their appointed time and that all of the Bible points to Jesus. 

• It’s fitting that Jesus was alone at the temple because Jesus alone was able to fulfill God’s plan for salvation. Only he could live the perfect life required. Only he could offer the sacrifice that was sufficient.   
  • 1 Timothy 2:5 There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. 6 He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone.
• Malachi 3:1-3 “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
• He’s coming back.  Those prophecies will be fulfilled, too.  Are we seeking him eagerly?  Are we prepared?