The Misunderstood Arrival

· BODY: Tonight we hit one of the most famous parts of Mark; Jesus entering Jerusalem. This is something that we often remember the week before Easter, because it happened one week before Easter!

o We are going to talk about it tonight though. I think we at times hear some things from scripture so often that we almost become “densensitized” to it. In other words, we lose sight of the grandeur and importance of what is going on.

o I fear that sometimes, at least in my own life, I can do that with this passage.

· As we begin, we read, “Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 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. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of I and will send it back here immediately.”

o Jesus and his disciples draw near to Jerusalem at the time of Passover. Jesus knows what is going to happen. He is going to Jerusalem to be the sacrifice for our sins.

§ We could think of the book of Mark as a big crescendo. It’s all building up to the final events! In fact, roughly 1/3 of the gospel of Mark is spent talking about this final week! We haven’t hit the climax yet, but, we are quickly getting closer to it!

o As Jesus traveled to Jerusalem, at the end of chapter 10, he healed a man. Let’s be clear; at this time of Passover, Jerusalem would be up to 3x larger than at other times! There are many people on these roads as Jesus heals and teaches.

o Even as He faces what He knows will be a brutal death, we still see miracles and the endless love of Jesus!

§ Jesus and the disciples arrive at the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives is extremely significant in scripture and in Jesus’ ministry.

§ Jesus rested there during this final week before finally being arrested here. It is further mentioned by Ezekiel and Zechariah in prophecy about the end times and it is mentioned in 2 Samuel 15 as David flees from Absalom.

· Every time it is mentioned there is trouble brewing and it has a heavy significance in God’s redemptive plan.

o It was a consistent sign of hope for the people of Israel.

o Jesus and His disciples come to the mountain. It is about a mile outside of Jerusalem and overlooks the city.

§ When they arrive, Jesus sends two of his disciples ahead of him with a mission. His disciples are his followers.

· Remember, that’s the meaning of disciple. It’s someone who is ACTIVELY FOLLOWING!

o Why do I add the active part? Well, the disciples literally walked with Jesus and in his footsteps. It was tradition for Jewish disciples to walk in the exact places their rabbi’s walked.

o For us, this is not about physically walking in the same steps, but we are called to live and to walk as Jesus did!

§ As we’ve seen the last two weeks, there is a COST to that; but it is a WORTHWHILE cost!

o Jesus on this day tells his disciples to go to the village in front of him; that is Bethany, and to find the colt that is tied up. No one has ever sat on this colt.

§ This is the only animal that Jesus is ever recorded as having ridden in his public mininstry.

· In some ways, it parallels the way that the Ark of the Covenant; central to the Old Covenant had to be moved.

o The Ark of the Covenant had to be moved with unyoked oxen. Similarly, Jesus rides an unridden colt. Both of these show the significant holiness of what the animals transport.

§ First the Ark; the constant reminder of God’s presence with the people and secondly, Jesus, our high priest and savior; the one who justifies us from our sins!

§ The Ark was great for the people of Israel, but how much greater is our savior; Jesus!

· Verses 4-6 give us a glimpse into what happens next. We read, “And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, ‘What are you doing, untying the colt?’ And they told them what Jesus had said and they let them go.”

o The two disciples do just what Jesus tells them to do! They find the colt in Bethany, they untie the colt, are stopped and they say exactly what Jesus tells them to!

§ Truthfully, it’s no coincidence that Jesus tells them what to say. He knows that the disciples will be stopped and He gives them the exact words to say!

§ Jesus is fully in control of his entrance to Jerusalem.

· The disciples follow what Jesus tells them to do. We all have a choice to make in life and every single day. Will we follow God, or will we do what we want?

o The disciples and the people of the town for now, have chosen to follow God!

· In verses 7 and 8, we see Jesus begin his procession into the city. We see, “They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.”

o The disciples put their cloaks on the donkey for Jesus to sit on as a sign of honor and respect. It’s not quite the royal entrance people would have expected a king to make, but I think we also can see that the disciples are beginning to understand a little more of WHO JESUS IS!

§ And honestly, isn’t this the perfect entrance for Jesus? In Mark 10:45 we read, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

· Jesus is king, but He’s a king unlike any other! He’s a servant-King! He serves the very people that He rules over!

o The crowd themselves spreads out their cloaks on the road and other branches that they had cut. It’s a sign of honor and a celebration of Jesus!

§ At the same time though, as Sinclair Ferguson points out, for the original audience of Mark; a gentile audience, predominantly from Rome, this entrance would seem so strange!

· When roman generals celebrated victories, they had huge victory parades. Jesus comes in utter humility! It’s so different!

o Let’s take a second to think about this crowd though. As Jesus enters Jerusalem, people are hailing Him as savior! They seem to understand who Jesus is. But, underneath it all is an ugly truth.

§ Some of these people would find themselves in the mob about a week later crying out for Jesus to be crucified!

· They didn’t KNOW JESUS! They didn’t FOLLOW JESUS ACTIVELY! They just liked the idea of Jesus!

o For you and I, that should be a convicting challenge! Do we truly FOLLOW JESUS AND KNOW JESUS, or do we just like the idea of Jesus?

o Kyle Idleman wrote a very powerful book about this years ago called Not a Fan. The core challenge is; are you a fan of Jesus, or are you a follower?

§ In other words, do you truly KNOW JESUS AND LOVE JESUS, or do you just know about Jesus and like the idea of Jesus?

· I enjoy watching basketball. This year for my NCAA bracket I chose Arizona. I’m a fan of Arizona for the next month; if they cooperate. But I am not a FOLLOWER! I don’t actually KNOW THEM, I just know a bit about them.

· Choosing Jesus isn’t like picking a bracket! It’s an all-out commitment to FOLLOWING AND TO LAYING DOWN OUR LIVES TO DO SO!

o Many in this crowd though were just fans. They liked the idea. They were intrigued by the concept of Jesus! They didn’t TRULY LOVE JESUS THOUGH!

· In verses 9 and 10 we read their shouts and cries. The crowd yells, “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!”

o Hosanna is a cry coming from Psalm 118 that means, “Save us, I pray!”

§ The crowd is looking at Jesus for their salvation! Remember, this is happening at the time of Passover, where the Israelites remembered being freed from the bondage of Egypt!

· Now, they expect to be freed from the Roman rule and oppression.

o To put this another way; the people are on the lookout for SECOND MOSES.

o As the people yell “Blessed” they are really referring back to Numbers 6:24-27 which says, “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.27 “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

§ The people know that something important is happening even if they are missing the ultimate point!

· There’s many prophecies about the long-term ruler of Israel. For the people who memorized much of the OT, they would see these events and think of passages like:

o 2 Samuel 7:12-16- descendant of David will reign forever!

o Isaiah 9:1-7- Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace

o Isaiah 11:1-10-Righteous protector and King

o Jeremiah 23:5-8- Righteous and Just King of Israel

o Ezekiel 34:23-24- Prince of Israel, descended from David

o Micah 5:2-4- One is coming to shepherd Israel

· Let me be clear, there is no issue with remembering these things; the issue lies in how they interpreted them.

o Instead of seeing how majestic God’s plan was, the people saw FREEDOM, JUSTICE, REVENGE ahead of them and were excited for how THEY WOULD BENEFIT! They missed so much because they couldn’t be content!

· As we close out our passage we see verse 11 staring back at us. Verse 11 says, “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.”

o Jesus goes to the temple upon his arrival. He doesn’t go to the palace to demand a complete surrender of the Roman garrison as many hoped. He doesn’t start a riot in the streets to throw off the oppressive Roman rule.

o He goes to the temple.

§ Why? Because although Jesus hated oppression and although he came to love the people of Israel; he did not come for political reasons! This is something that can be twisted in our current cultural climate.

· Jesus ultimately never came to bring about political change; HE CAME TO SAVE US FROM OUR SINS; something that is far more important!

§ So, Jesus goes to the temple. This is completely different than what anyone expects, but over the next week, he will CONTINUE TO GO TO THE TEMPLE!

· That crowd who welcomed him so gladly, will soon turn on him because HE DOESN’T DO WHAT THEY WANT!

o Let me be clear; this entrance into Jerusalem is just a small preview of what will come when Jesus comes again. In Mark 11, people reject Jesus. As we read in Philippians 2, when Jesus comes again; EVERY KNEE WILL BOW!

§ The Jewish people were right. Jesus will judge the world. God’s timeline just didn’t fit THEIR TIMELINE AND THEIR PLAN!

· That made them angry.

o And inside of that response is a challenge for us. How do we react when our plan doesn’t line up with God’s?

§ Do we throw up our hands in anger? Do we try to take the wheel? Do we try to force our plan through? Ultimately, none of those will succeed.

· One of the major traits of God that we see throughout the Bible is God’s Sovereignty!

o God is sovereign and is in control. Ultimately, this is also paired with HIS GOODNESS!

§ Combined together, we can rest assured that God’s plan is best.

· See, what these people wanted was an earthly victory. They wanted a short-term fix. But there would always be another enemy.

· What Jesus brought was an ETERNAL FIX for a problem far worse than high-taxes! Jesus brought SALVATION FROM OUR SINS!

· What do we take away from this passage?

o I see two things.

§ First, are we fans or followers?

§ Secondly, how we understand our role in the gospel.

o Let’s talk about that first application. For one reason or another, you have come here tonight. Whether it was the promise of a dessert, that something was going on, because you want to learn more about Jesus, or because you want to have fellowship, for some reason you have come.

§ So, let’s speak honestly to each other. Either, you are a fan or a follower. You may think, “but I don’t like Jesus, or what about my neighbor that hates Christians?”

· Even then, they are a fan. It’s like the type of fan-dom that I have for Lebron James. It’s negative, but they are still a fan.

· So, either you are a fan or a follower. A fan knows about something, they like cheering them on. Maybe you think Jesus is a good teacher and nothing more. The Jewish people knew a bit about Jesus.

o They knew he taught. They knew He did miracles. They knew they were interested by Him. They were fans.

§ They were intrigued by how he might help them escape their daily problems.

§ They weren’t FOLLOWERS though! They didn’t actually know JESUS or want to BE WITH JESUS! They didn’t want to SUBMIT TO GOD’S PLAN! They just wanted to be spectators as something amazing happened.

§ The same can be true for us. Do you want to FOLLOW JESUS intimately; being totally in tune with HIM, or do you want to sit back and just watch as something happens?

· Maybe the more common way we see this is in morals. Do you want to let JESUS TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE, or do you just want a set of rules to live by? Do you want to engage with the GOD OF THE UNIVERSE daily? Or do you want to do things your way and figure out God later?

o I know it’s a lot of questions, but the basis of it really is simple. Are you a fan, or are you a follower?

o Secondly, how do we see ourselves in the gospel. This caused numerous problems for the people of Jerusalem, like we talked about with the prophecies in verses 9-10. They loved what they THOUGHT Jesus would do for them.

§ Notice that. They loved what they THOUGHT JESUS WOULD DO FOR THEM! It was about THEM! It was never about JESUS!

· It was all about FREEDOM, JUSTICE, REVENGE, WINNING IN THE END!

· Even though Jesus came to earth to save us, don’t lose sight of who the gospel really reflects! The gospel is ALWAYS ABOUT GOD AND GOD’S PLAN FOR THE WORLD! IT’S ABOUT JESUS!

· So when you think about your faith, about church, about how you approach God, do you approach Him in Faith given that HE IS THE ALMIGHTY GOD OF THE UNIVERSE? Or, do you approach focusing on yourself, thinking about what is best for you?

o That’s what the crowd did. And as they would soon learn, THEIR desires would not be met.

o Let’s say that you’re here tonight and you are feeling like you are a fan, or that you really approach God seeking yourself first; what should you do?

§ I want to invite you to REPENT OF THAT TO GOD AND TO BELIEVE! Repent of your sinful idolatry and rededicate yourself to CHRIST! CALL OUT TO HIM SEEKING FORGIVENESS! GOD IS FAITHFUL TO PROVIDE IT!

§ Let’s pray.