Tunnel Vision: Missing the purposes of Jesus
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Title- Tunnel Vision: Missing the purposes of Jesus
Passage- Mark 11:1-11
Attention-
Tunnels are some of the most fascinating structures to me.
To be able to dig through ground, support it, and travel through
The building and design of them grab my attention
Even though they can be a great help to us tunnels can be very dangerous.
I read about a few...
The Anzob tunnel in northern Tajikistan is only a little over three miles long but is one of the worlds most dangerous tunnels. The tunnel has almost no lighting and only one vent so if there is an accident it is likely you will die due to the level of carbon monoxide.
The Guoliang Tunnel, China is short, about 3/4 of a mile but has been nicknamed "the road that does not tolerate mistakes” by the locals. It is only 13’ wide and 16’ tall that overlooks a straight drop-off of thousands of feet
In contrast to these short, dangerous tunnels Norway has the worlds longest road tunnel.
It is just over 15 miles. If you were to travel at 50 mph it would take 18 minutes to get through.
In spite its length it is one of the safest tunnels in the world.
The darkness is broken by colorful fluorescent lights.
There are emergency exits every 3/4 mile
Speed camera and rumble strips...
Tunnels are amazing feats of engineering
Some have potential hazards
Some are extremely safe and beneficial
Regardless of their size or how safe they are there is a common phrase associated with them all.
That is that someone gets tunnel vision...
They can only see whats ahead of them and not whats going on around them…
Regardless the tunnel we can get so focused on getting to the exit that we become unaware of what is happening around us.
They become blind to whats above them, below them, and around them
Introduction-
The individuals in this account are experiencing tunnel vision
In order to
Jesus is entering Jerusalem as the King of Kings and those around them only see Him as one that can fix their circumstances.
In order to understand what is being played out during this triumphal entry we need to see what is going on first in the context
So before we look specifically at whats going on in Mark 11:1-11 lets get a quick helicopter view of the context.
10:1-12 the Pharisees challenge Jesus authority by way of questioning Him on the issue of divorce.
13-16- In contrast to the well trained Pharisees, Jesus brings to Him the children and uses them to display the faith necessary to believe on Him.
17-22- Jesus is asked what is necessary to obtain eternal life…Jesus shows the incompleteness of the Law to change the heart
23-31- The disciples misunderstanding of Jesus’ purpose and even more specifically we see that Peter even misunderstands.
35-45- James and John completely miss Jesus’ purpose and become consumed with their position when the Messiah establishes His kingdom
46-52- The man on the way from Jericho healed and is healed because of his faith
11:1-11 The Triumphal Entry
12-19 Cursing of the fig tree and cleansing of the Temple, these are symbolic illustrations of the spiritual condition of Israel.
20-26 Jesus used the dried up fig tree as a symbolic representation of what faith can do.
27-33- The Pharisees challenge Jesus’ authority.
These two passages are bookended by the Pharisees challenging Jesus’ authority...
We see the contrast of works versus faith
Right in the center of it all Jesus enters Jerusalem as a king and EVERYONE misses it.
They are so consumed by their circumstances that they miss that....
Main truth- Jesus came to free them from something greater than their circumstances
Jesus came to free them from something with a much tighter hold on them than the Roman government.
Jesus came to free them from the sin that was ruling in their lives
Jesus was come to offer the freedom that no other King could offer
Transition #1-
What specifically is going on in this account of the Triumphal entry?
What is being taught? (Explain the passage and draw out the 1st century truth)
Read versus 1-7
The disciple go into town before Jesus and bring Him a colt.
A young donkey that has never been ridden
This fulfills the prophecy in
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion;
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem:
Behold, thy King cometh unto thee:
He is just, and having salvation;
Lowly, and riding upon an ass,
And upon a colt the foal of an ass.
1- Jesus is establishing Himself as the Messiah and Israel’s king
It was common in that day for a king to ride into a city riding a donkey.
In fact it shows that Jesus is coming in peace, if he were coming to conquer he would have been riding a horse…like He does in …entering on a white horse
2- He was challenging the religious leaders.
Up to this point as the confronted Him he answers their questions and responds with questions of his own
He has yet to make a statement as bold as this to them
This pronouncement is what seems to set their plot of murder into play
It was not only the riding of the donkey but what the people shout as he is entering…Hosannah
This is a compound Hebrew word meaning “save us now”
They were looking to Jesus for deliverance, not the religious leaders
They also associate Jesus with the throne of David
Declaring Him the Messiah
Read versus 8-11
How does this next section tie in with the riding of the donkey?
1- Jesus is establishing Himself as the Messiah and Israel’s king
It was common in that day for a king to ride into a city riding a donkey.
In fact it shows that Jesus is coming in peace, if he were coming to conquer he would have been riding a horse…like He does in …entering on a white horse
2- He was challenging the religious leaders.
Up to this point as the confronted Him he answers their questions and responds with questions of his own
He has yet to make a statement as bold as this to them
This pronouncement is what seems to set their plot of murder into play
It was not only the riding of the donkey but what the people shout as he is entering…Hosannah
This is a compound Hebrew word meaning “save us now”
They were looking to Jesus for deliverance, not the religious leaders
They also associate Jesus with the throne of David
Declaring Him the Messiah
Transition #2-
How do we understand this in our context? (Bridge 1st century truth to today)
So we look at those who wanted Jesus to be their earthly king and say to them “You are missing the point”!!!
We say to the religious leaders “Ministry isn’t about money or status”!
We see the disciples response and think “How could you deny Him when He is about to die for you”?
How could all of these people miss the most significant spiritual conflict of all history…how could be so focused on themselves while Jesus is facing crucifixion?
Tunnel vision
They were concerned with the Roman government being overthrown
They were concerned with their daily bread (rightfully so)
They were concerned with their health
We can make a direct connection between the concerns they were feeling and us
We can make a direct connection between the concerns they were feeling and us
We often get tunnel vision when it comes to politics and who will be the President, Governor, the Supreme Court appointee
We get concerned with the amount of toilet paper and hand sanitizer on the shelves (rightfully so) but sometimes get tunnel vision
Especially now we could become so consumed with this virus that we get tunnel vision about our health
Transition #3-
How do we live this out in our context? (Application of the biblical truth to us personally)
How does this passage speak to our situation today?
We worship and serve the same Jesus that the ones in this passage overlooked
The Jesus they overlooked is the same Jesus that Paul writes in
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
We can forget that Jesus not only created all things but also is the reason all things continue to be
He is the reason that some things no longer are.
He is the Creator, sustainer, sovereign
He didn’t need to come and die to add anything to Himself
He didn’t need to come and offer Himself in order to obtain a higher status
In reality if it was about power, position, about adding to Himself He could have rode into Jerusalem..
Got off the donkey and overthrown Rome
He could have recieved all of the praise of the people
He could have had everything that they wanted Him to take
In the theoretical theological realm everything is about God and glorifying Him
But in the practical sense here none of this is about Him
It is all about them
It is all about Me
And you
And your friends
And your family
If coming to this Earth was about what He could have taken, no one could have stopped Him
But He didn’t come to take or to get He came to give....
Of all the Children’s Bibles we have read as a family I think that The Jesus Storybook Bible sums it up best
Referring to the mocking of the people as He died on the cross this children’s bible says “You see, they didn’t understand. It wasn’t the nails that kept Jesus there. It was love.
The reality of Jesus’ death on the cross is evidence of the love that He has for you
No one would choose to die much less a death by crucifixion
He chose to come…he chose to live the life of a human being…he chose to be beaten and murdered
And he chose it knowing that it would provide a way for us to have our sins forgiven…a way to be reconciled to our Creator…a way to have a future hope in heaven.
Jesus already had all of those things…he didn’t need to add anything to Himself or His circumstances.
He came to give us a way to experience God’s grace in spite of our circumstances.
Conclusion
Review-
Jesus presented Himself on that Palm Sunday as the king that could meet the needs of people like no other king could
Not to advance or better himself…when you are God you have nowhere to advance
He came to give us the chance to recognize our sin, confess it and turn to Him in order to be forgiven, reconciled and headed into eternity with Him
Call to action-
If you have already confessed your sin and turned to Jesus praise the Lord
But maybe its time to take another look at Jesus
Look at him the way the little children did in chapter 10
Set aside the distractions and circumstances of life and take an honest look at Jesus
If you haven’t please take some time this morning to think about eternity…to think about your sin and how it effects you
And call out to him and allow him to forgive you, to cleanse your sins...
Lets not get tunnel vision
Let keep our focus off the circumstances and on the savior