Surprise Inspection (Mark 11:1-11)

Today is Palm Sunday.

It is always celebrated the Sunday before Easter. It is a day to remember Jesus’ triumphal entry. It is the start of what is called Holy Week, the last week of Jesus’ life, leading up to his death and resurrection.

This Thursday is called Maundy Thursday, which focuses on the washing of the feet. Some churches have Maundy Thursday services.

Then Friday is called Good Friday, which focuses on Jesus’ crucifixion. We will be holding a special Good Friday livestream service at 2:00 PM. Talk about Duane Floro.

Today I want to summarize what happened with this triumphal entry, but then I want us to focus on one part in particular.

I’ve titled this Bible study “Surprise Inspection.” Here’s the question I want to leave in your mind today: Would Jesus be pleased if he inspected your heart right now?

We’re gonna take a poll here: What was Ryan’s first job? (McDonalds, Veterinary Clinic, Subway, Diamond Shine Care Wash)

Sometimes Pat would visit and we’d hurry to clean something or put something away.

A surprise inspection.

Would Jesus be pleased if he inspected your heart right now?

Let’s look at the triumphal entry now. Let me read .

What’s amazing in this event is how it fulfills messianic prophecies and language of the OT.

First, this isn’t a prophecy, but look at this— When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the people shouted “Hosanna! He who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One…,” “Hosanna” is a word that means "please save now" or "please help now." This is a lot like what is written in . “Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord.” (, ESV)

Second— Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a young donkey. This fulfilled the Old Testament scripture of . That verse says: 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. (Zechariah 9:9)

We could say that the Jewish people thought their Messiah, their Savior, their King was coming!

But maybe not— We know they were crying out Save us; maybe some of them remembered — they were focusing on the fact that their king would be coming.

But the way they used palm branches actually showed that they did not really understand who Jesus was. Palm branches were a Jewish national symbol. 150 years earlier, Judas Maccabeus had led the people in a war of independence and defeated the Syrians to give Israel its independence. Judas Maccabeus became King and he adopted the palm branch as a symbol of his victory and Israeli independence.

When the Jewish people laid palm branches in front of Jesus and shouted out to Him to save them, maybe they were thinking that Jesus would be the one to save them from the oppression they were facing from the Romans, like Judas Maccabeus had saved them from the Syrians before.

Why had Jesus come? Whatever their thinking was, we know why he went into Jerusalem. He knew His purpose there to ultimately go to the cross.

Where some people might have been looking for a political king to free them from an oppressive world power, for what was Jesus looking in them?

Did you notice v.11? I read this account again and wondered if I’d ever seen it before! POLL: Where did Jesus go immediately after entering Jerusalem? (Chick-fil-A; the Temple; Lazarus’ house; the Upper Room)

The answer is in v.11— the Temple. Now I want you to picture what happened next. Just illustrate it in your mind right now. Jesus looked around at everything.

Talk about a surprise inspection! Now Jesus had gone from Jericho (10:46) to Jerusalem, and if you look at a map (Keynote), it’s roughly 15 miles. Would be maybe a 6 hour walk or so. Anyway, he gets to Jerusalem and it was already late, so most of the temple activity has stopped. And Jesus went out to Bethany with the twelve.

But the next day, what did he do? Go down to v.15 and he goes into the Temple to overturn the tables and drive out those who sold and bought in the temple. So when Jesus goes in the night before, he is looking around, and he goes back the next day, observes the activity of the temple, and takes some action.

Why? The priority of worship. So many things can hijack our hearts from worshiping. Even good things can become distractions. Money-changers and the selling of animals is happening here. This might not have been wrong in and of itself—

the temple tax was to be paid, and Jewish people were coming in from different areas and would need to be able to exchange their currency.

It would be easier for people to buy animals for sacrifices there instead of traveling with them.

Jesus does say (11:17) that they have turned his house into a den of robbers— so it very well may be that people were taking advantage of others during time. Price gouging.

But I think there might even be more going on here.

But I think there might even be more going on here. Only Mark records Jesus saying in v.17 that his house shall be a house of prayer for all the nations. Mark includes that. Now, if you look at a diagram of the temple complex (Keynote), you’ll see that there was a court of the gentiles. So, a non-Israelite would not be allowed past the court of the Gentiles.

Jesus overturned the tables most certainly not after the Court of the Gentiles. But imagine the scene that Gentiles would have at this point. IF they are gathering, they’re walking into a situation that would appear like an outdoor market, or picture a bazaar— all the noise, commotion, stench of the animals. So if there were Gentiles trying to gather to worship the One True God, they were most likely being hindered.

Isn’t it interesting that the Jesus would say that his house shall be a house of prayer for all the nations?

Jesus knew that what he would do by the end of the week would create direct access for every person to God the Father, Jew AND Gentile.

Let me read you what one commentator wrote:

“By clearing out the traders Jesus literally and symbolically provided a place for Gentiles in the temple of God . . .” (James A. Brooks, Mark, vol. 23, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1991), 186.)

What is Jesus concerned with? Proper worship. In keeping with what he would accomplish through his death and resurrection— that all people can worship our Creator.

Jesus entered Jerusalem and went first to the temple and looked around.

Would Jesus be pleased if he "looked around” in your heart right now?

Would he find you controlled by fear right now, even though He has told us to fear not, and that He is our Prince of Peace?

Would he find you idolizing other things, even good things, to a place of distracting you from properly worshiping and obeying him?

Would he find you trying to work your hardest right now to figure everything out and gain control of your life and world, when he told us that he will give us rest if we just take his yoke upon us?

Would Jesus be pleased if he "looked around” in your heart right now? I want to leave that thought with you on this Palm Sunday. And I want to make sure that if you’re watching this and you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior, that you would consider doing what Jesus told us— to repent and believe.

This is the gospel message, what Jesus did in Jerusalem at the end of the week that we’ve studying.

G.O.S.P.E.L.