The King Comes to Jerusalem

Introduction

Tonight we are going to begin the final section of Mark, Mark part 3. Before we dive into this though I want to do a brief recap of what we have seen on the book so far. The beginning of the book showed Jesus being baptized then tempted in the wilderness. The wilderness was a place that they went to a lot in the first part of the book and it was a place where spiritual formation took place, from the temptation to the specific teaching of the apostles. The apostles were called pretty soon into Jesus’s ministry and they are the inner circle of his followers that were specifically chosen by him. They went with him as he declared his message of repenting and believing in the gospel. They also witnessed many miracles that Jesus performed and the book of Mark documents more of them than any other gospel even though it is the shortest gospel. This first portion of the book took part in the northern region of Israel and through it the apostles didn’t really get the message that Jesus proclaimed. In the second part they leave the northern region of Galilee and head south towards Jerusalem. Along the way Jesus performed many miracles and further taught the disciples, as they traveled it is apparent that their understanding is growing but still not to full understanding. This drops us into Part 3 where we will see Jesus enter into Jerusalem.

The themes that have been evident throughout our study of Mark have been; Jesus as the suffering servant king, the deity of Jesus, and the complete power of Jesus. These themes will continue as we go through Part 3 which I have titled “how Jesus becomes King”.

Let’s begin tonight with reading our passage and seeing Jesus enter Jerusalem as he heads ever closer to his death.

Mark 11:1–11 ESV

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 it and will send it back here immediately.’ ” 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. And 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. 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!” 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.

We see in these verses Jesus in his all knowing power organize his arrival into Jerusalem. The king is coming. He gets his disciples to get a donkey that has never been ridden because royalty was not supposed to ride a animal that had been used for common work. After they get it he rides in on it while crowds cheered and threw palm branches and clothes down on the ground in front of him, what a kingly entrance, not even the feet of the animal he was on touched the ground. Once he had entered the city and the great parade of sorts was over he went to the temple and he was not met with as much pomp and celebration, actually we are not told that he was even acknowledged.

Tonight we are going to look at the arrival and the celebration of the King but we are also going to look at the indifference that is shown towards the King. Through it all we want to think about the reason that he is even going to Jerusalem in the first place and we want to think about where we would fit into the story, are we one of the people that was there when he entered the city or are we one of the people that is there as he entered the temple.

Lets think deeply through all of these things and more as we start with the arrival of the King, but first lets pray.

Arrival of the King

Mark 11:1–7 ESV

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 it and will send it back here immediately.’ ” 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. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it.

As they get close to Jerusalem they prepare to enter the city. He is planning a entry though that is not his typical style. Instead of trying to lay low he is planning a kingly entrance into the city, riding on the colt of a donkey. This is not for no reason though, this act further solidifies his title as the Christ because of what it says in Zechariah 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.” The Triumphal Entry was a foretold event that was to happen.

Jesus’s arrival is something that we may not immediately see the significance of but in their cultural context it was a big deal. Jerusalem was the capital city of Israel, it was also the location of the temple. The temple was the house of God, it was where he dwelled, it is where any communication with him was made, it is where sacrifices were offered for sins, it was a big deal. Jesus is God and him going to the temple like this is as though he is going to his home. We will see next week though that he did not like what he saw.

There is more significance for us though than Jerusalem being the capital of God’s chosen nation, or for it being where the temple was located, it is also where Jesus’s eventual death will take place. In this moment there is only a week left before his crucifixion. It will take us more time than that to cover the scripture that leads us to it but here he is close. Salvation is about to be accomplished.

Just as we say with Christmas, if he had never come to earth he could have never died for our sins. If he had not gone to Jerusalem he would not have died for our sins.

Celebration of the King

Mark 11:8–10 ESV

And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 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!”

As Jesus begins to enter in his high kingly way he is celebrated. The people offer spontaneous praises to him. This passage is called the triumphal entry because it is as though there has been a great victory but in reality the great victory is about to happen.

The people throw down their cloaks and palm branches onto the road so that even the donkey that he is on does not have to tough the ground. The sould praises to him shouting Hosanna, this can be compared to shouts in Psalm 118:25 “Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success!” The people are shouting save us!

This is a mighty celebration of the arrival of the king. Here for a brief moment he is regarded as he should be, he is heralded as the king, he is welcomed home. This reaction towards him does not last though. In the course of the next week all will turn on him and it does not take long to start.

Indifference towards the King

Mark 11:11 ESV

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.

Moments after Jesus is hailed as king and made a grand entrance into the city of Jerusalem he goes to the temple. What do we see as he enters the temple? Nothing. He goes in and he looks around and then he leaves. There are no crowds, there is no shouts of praise, there is no one throwing their cloaks on the ground for him. There is actually no one described here at all.

This is a sharp and unexpected turn of events here as you would expect Jesus to receive the highest praise here, you would expect an even greater crowd described here. Rather it is quiet. Things have already started to shift and great struggles are coming but with them salvation is also coming.

Conclusion

The great atonement for a world’s sin was about to be made. He therefore ordered it so that his death was eminently a public death. He overruled things in such a way that the eyes of all Jerusalem were fixed on him, and when he died, he died in front of many witnesses. -J. C. Ryle

Jesus is the great king that deserves our praise. He made a way for salvation, that is no small thing but rather it is the biggest accomplishment in the history of the world by any man. See salvation is needed because we are sinners, it says throughout the Bible that man is fully set on evil and that no one is good. This is a problem and it separates us from God. Separation from the love of God is the biggest problem that we will ever face and without a solution it is hopeless. That is where Jesus comes in, he is the solution. Jesus came to make a way for forgiveness for our sins and he accomplished that through his death of the cross. He was the perfect sacrifice laying down his life in place of ours. This is something to celebrate! Just as he says in the beginning of Mark, to accept this forgiveness you must repent and believe in the gospel. It is through faith and repentance alone that you can be saved, there is no other way. Faith is just believing in Jesus as Lord and trusting in him alone for salvation and repentance is just turning away from your sins, not that you will be perfect but that you make every effort to not sin. This is the reason that Jesus went to Jerusalem, this is the reason that he came to this world. If you have never put your faith in Jesus and repented of your sins there is a judgment coming and it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Repent and put your faith in him today.

If you have repented and put your faith in Jesus I ask you this question; how are you living for him? Are you like the people when Jesus is riding in, shouting and rejoicing in him. Or are you like the people when he is in the temple, utterly silent. Rejoice in the Lord, shout and sing praises to him, give him the glory for all of the good things that he has done. We should be drawing closer to him day by day as the time of his return draws ever closer.