The Unexpected King

Introduction

Well, good evening.

If you would, go ahead and open your Bible and turn in it with me to Mark chapter 11. Tonight, we're gonna be looking at verses 1 through 11.

And listen, as you're turning there, let me start with a question: Have you ever been excited about something because you thought it was gonna go one way, only to realize later on that you had completely misunderstood what was actually happening?

Maybe you bought something because you thought it would solve a problem, only to discover it wasn't what you expected. Or maybe you've watched a movie where you thought you knew exactly where the story was headed, and then came the plot twist that changed everything. What you expected and what actually happened were two very different things.

That's exactly what's happening in our passage tonight.

Mark’s been building to this moment for ten chapters now. Jesus, He’s healed the sick, He’s cast out demons and calmed storms, He’s fed thousands, He’s raised the dead. And listen, He’s repeatedly told His disciples that He’s on His way to Jerusalem. And so now He finally arrives.

If you were reading this for the very first time, you would probably expect this to be the moment when Jesus publicly takes His throne, right? It feels like the climax…I mean after all, He is entering the capital city. Crowds are gathering. They're shouting His praises. They're treating Him like a king. Everything seems to be building toward a royal coronation.

But that's not what actually happens. In fact, almost everything about Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem is unexpected.

He comes riding in on a borrowed colt instead of a war horse. The crowds celebrate Him, but they misunderstand why He came. And when He finally enters the city, He doesn't march into a palace or confront Rome. Instead, He quietly walks into the temple, He looks around, and He leaves.

It's an ending that almost feels... anticlimactic. But Mark includes every single detail here for a reason.

Tonight, we're gonna see that Jesus is exactly the King God promised—but not the King the people expected. That’s our main idea. And if we're honest, He's oftentimes not the King we expect either. We all have these ideas about what Jesus should do, or how He should work, or what following Him should look like. But again and again, Jesus refuses to fit into our expectations. Instead, He calls us to submit to who He truly is.

…

And so with all that in mind, let's read our text together. If you would, stand with me as we go to God’s Word. Its says this starting in verse 1:

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.

Thank you, you can be seated.

[Prayer]

Listen, the three things I want you to see as we walk through this together is His Arrival, His Mission, and His Judgement. That’s our three points tonight.

And so let’s dig into it together.

I. His Arrival (vv. 1-6)

Again, point number 1…His arrival.

Look again at verse 1.

"Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples..."

Now, if you've been with us as we've worked through Mark's Gospel, you know this isn't just another stop along the journey. This is the destination Jesus had been moving toward all along. Three different times in Mark already, Jesus told His disciples that He was going to Jerusalem, that He would be rejected, that He suffer, die, that He would rise again. Now, He finally arrives.

But here's what's surprising. Nothing about His entrance looks like what people expected.

Think about it. If you were introducing a king into his capital city, how would you picture it going? You'd probably imagine soldiers lining the streets. Trumpets blaring. A magnificent horse. Crowds cheering as the king rides in with all the power and all the splendor of a conqueror. And that's not exactly what happens.

Instead, Jesus tells two disciples to go and borrow a young colt that no one’s ever ridden.

At first glance, that almost seems... insignificant. Why all the details about a colt? Why’s Mark spend so much time telling us about where it's tied up, what to say to its owners, how the disciples found everything exactly as Jesus said?

Well, because Mark wants us to see two things about our King.

First, Jesus is completely sovereign.

Notice how every detail unfolds exactly as He says it will.

"Go into the village..."

"You'll find a colt..."

"If someone asks you..."

"Tell them, 'The Lord has need of it.'"

And that's exactly what happens, right?

Nothing catches Jesus by surprise. He isn't walking into Jerusalem hoping everything works out. He's orchestrating every detail.

Which means the cross later on isn’t an accident. The arrest wasn't a mistake. The crucifixion isn’t a tragedy that somehow got out of God's control. No, Jesus is directing history toward the very purpose for which He came.

I used this quote a few Sunday’s ago but as one theologian famously said, "There’s not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!'"

Even this borrowed colt reminds us that Jesus is Lord over every single detail.

But there's a second thing Mark wants us to notice here as well. Jesus intentionally enters Jerusalem in humility.

This wasn't the only animal available. This was a deliberate choice. Hundreds of years earlier, the prophet Zechariah wrote,

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!... Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey." (Zechariah 9:9)

Jesus knew that prophecy. And so He fulfills it intentionally.

The kings of the nations rode powerful horses into cities after military victories. They wanted everyone to see their strength. Jesus rides in on a donkey.

Not because He lacks power…But because He came to establish a different kind of kingdom. His kingdom wouldn’t be built through violence but through sacrifice. His victory wouldn’t come by taking lives but by laying down His own.

As Sinclair Ferguson writes, "The glory of Christ is seen most clearly in the humility of Christ."

I mean isn't that the upside-down nature of God's kingdom? The King of kings borrows a donkey. The Creator rides one of His own creatures. The One who owns everything enters His city possessing almost nothing.

And yet don't mistake His humility for weakness. The One riding that colt, He’s still the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth.

And so what’s all this mean for us?

I think one of the greatest dangers we face is creating a Jesus who fits our expectations instead of submitting to the Jesus revealed in Scripture.

We naturally admire strength, and success, and influence, and recognition. Just like these Israelites, we want a King who crushes our enemies, who fixes our problems, who makes life comfortable for us.

But Jesus oftentimes works in ways we never would’ve chosen. He calls us to humility, He calls us to serve, He calls us to carry a cross before wearing a crown.

That's not the kind of King the crowds expected. And if we're honest, it's not always the kind of King we expect either.

But here's the good news: because Jesus came in humility the first time, sinners like you and me, we can approach Him with confidence today.

Had He entered Jerusalem merely as a conquering Judge, none of us would’ve had any hope. Instead, He came "gentle and lowly in heart" to seek and save the lost.

Church, don't miss the beauty of this unexpected arrival.

The humility of Christ wasn’t a detour from His kingship. It was the very way He which would accomplish His greatest victory. [Pause]

II. His Mission (vv. 7-10)

Point number 2…we see His mission here in our text.