Here Comes Jesus

Series: The Gospel Truth

Text: Mark 11:1-25

Introduction: (What?)

Back in the ‘70s we had a “Jesus song” that youth groups loved. It was called “Here Comes Jesus”

“Here comes Jesus, see Him walking on the water, He'll lift you up and He'll help you to stand. Oh here comes Jesus, He's the Master of the waves that roll. Here comes Jesus, He’ll save your soul.” Although people sang as Jesus made His Triumphal entry into Jerusalem for the Passover, it was not a chorus, but rather was Psa 118:26. “Hosanna! He who comes in the name of the LORD is blessed!” Today we don’t anticipate seeing Jesus walking on the water, but rather we expectantly gaze into the heavens, looking for Him to return from His throne in heaven to occupy a throne here on earth during His Millennial Reign.

Explanation: (Why?)

1. Jesus Broke the mold. (vv 1-11)

In both the Old and New Testaments when a conqueror or king entered a city it was with great pomp and circumstance. A conquering general would ride a white warhorse and be preceded by blaring trumpets and followed by his army. In contrast Jesus entered Jerusalem in a much different way.

Today we are constantly reminded of a religion that is diametrically opposed to Christianity…Islam. Steve Lambert, a member of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C. noted the difference in Mohammed entering Mecca and Jesus entering Jerusalem.

“Mohammed rode a warhorse and was surrounded by 400 mounted men and 10,000 foot soldiers. Those who greeted him were absorbed into his movement; those who resisted him were vanquished, killed or enslaved.”

“On the other hand, Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, accompanied by His 12 disciples. He was welcomed and greeted by people waving palm fronds---a traditional sign of peace. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because the Jews mistook Him for an earthly, secular king who would free them from the yoke of Rome, whereas He came to establish a much different, heavenly kingdom. Jesus came by invitation and not by force.”

“When they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, 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 needs it and will send it back here right away.’”

Some things that we surmise from this passage are; 1. The village Jesus spoke of could have been either Bethphage or Bethany. We know that Bethany was the home town of Lazarus, Mary and Martha. If that is the village to which Jesus referred, it is possible that the donkey belonged to Lazarus, and thus the response Jesus told the disciples to make would settle the matter immediately.

2. The colt, “on which no one has ever sat” would be regarded by the Jews as especially suited for holy purposes. The Ark of the Covenant was to be transported by cows that had never been yoked or used for work. The human embodiment of the Ark of the Covenant, Jesus Christ, required an unridden colt for His purposes. Normally such an animal would balk at being yoked, or sat upon, however, where God’s presence was involved, the animal recognized its creator and responded tamely.

“So they went and found a colt outside in the street, tied by a door. They untied it, and some of those standing there said to them, ‘What are you doing, untying the colt?’ They answered them just as Jesus had said; so they let them go. They brought the donkey to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. Many people spread their clothes on the road, and others spread leafy branches cut from the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted: ‘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 heaven!’ He went into Jerusalem and into the temple. After looking around at everything since it was already late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve.”

Jesus, our King of Kings, did not follow the example of conquering generals or preening kings. He broke the mold. He is unlike any leader of any other religion except in one respect…He requires TOTAL SURRENDER from those who would follow Him. Yet He forces no one to surrender.

2. Appearances can be misleading (vv 12-14; 20-25)

“The next day when they went out from Bethany, He was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree with leaves, He went to find out if there was anything on it. When He came to it He found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ And the disciples heard it.”

In this passage we notice several interesting facts. Jesus was hungry…a very human feeling. This speaks to His being totally human although He is at the same time totally divine. The second observation is that the fig tree was growing, not in a grove, but on the side of the road. Also it was “in leaf”. Figs, which normally are ripe in June, also grew with the leaves. Therefore, a fig tree “in leaf” could be expected to have fruit even if it was not the season for fruit. The third observation is that Jesus spoke to a tree within earshot of the disciples. What this is NOT is Jesus in a snit because He didn’t get any figs. It is a carefully crafted scene that would later lead to a great object lesson for His disciples.

We pick up the rest of the story in vv 20-26. “Early in the morning, as they were passing by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. Then Peter remembered and said to him, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.’” What followed is an explanation that does not seem to fit the observation by Peter.

“Jesus replied to THEM (not just to Peter), ‘Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain (the Mount of Olives), be lifted up and thrown into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, everything you pray and ask for---believe that you have received it and it will be yours.’” Whoa!!! Is Jesus the first “name it and claim it” preacher here? By no means. He is however, linking absolute faith in God and His willingness and ability to answer prayer with the act of prayer itself. In order to have such faith, one must pray with right motives (James 4:3) and pray according to the will of God (1 John 5:14). Paul wrote in Phi. 4:6 “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition, WITH THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God,” The inclusion of “with thanksgiving” means that you are assuming the answer is already yours even before the fact. Manley Beasley, late evangelist, used to define faith as “Acting like you’ve got what you ain’t got in order to get it.” We need to pray “faith-sized” prayers. If you don’t have a promise from scripture to hang your prayer on, or if you can’t imagine with the eye of faith that God will answer, then don’t ask. Oh, and BTW, don’t ask if you have an unforgiving spirit. “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing.”

Also in this passage is the unspoken warning against appearing to be something that you are not. The Israelites (scribes and Pharisees, particularly) appeared to be God-fearers. In reality they were not and thus were under the judgment of God. We love to quote John 3:16, but we rarely, if ever, quote John 3:18 which says, “Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is condemned (judged guilty) already.” It is a dangerous thing to pretend to be what you’re not so far as God is concerned. So-called “nominal Christians” really have no place at the table. They will be among those that Jesus spoke of in Matt. 7:21-23. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name and do many miracles in your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’”

That is the reason that I talk about surrendering to Christ rather than accepting Christ. Unless you are surrendered to Him, you quite likely are not doing the will of the Father, and thus will not have a home in heaven.

3. Don’t mess with the LORD’s house (vv 15-19)

“They came to Jerusalem, and He went to the temple and began to throw out those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple. He was teaching them ‘Is it not written, My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of thieves.’”

Some people think that Jesus just threw a “hissy-fit” that day. What they don’t realize is that this was pre-planned by Jesus. He had all night to think about what He was going to do. Remember that after He triumphantly entered the city, He went to the temple and looked around before going back to Bethany for the night. He saw what was going on. Because many people came a long distance to celebrate Passover, it was not convenient to bring a sacrificial animal with them. Therefore there was a market for pre-approved animals to be purchased in Jerusalem. The vendors paid the High Priest a large fee for the privilege of doing business on site at the temple. Also, those coming from other countries had to change their Greek or Roman coins for Jewish or Tyrian coins which were the only coins acceptable to pay the annual half-shekel temple tax. These money changers often charged a 10% to 12% fee for the exchange. Doves were often used by the poor who could not afford a lamb or goat for an offering. The sellers charged exorbitant prices for these birds. Also, the temple became a short-cut for merchants carrying their wares back and forth so that there was a constant hub-bub of noise and movement. This is what prompted Jesus to “clean house” that day. In defense of His actions He quoted from Isa 56:7 “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

At the recent Southern Baptist Convention Willy Rice, pastor of FBC Clearwater, said in his sermon, “Some churches today have more green rooms (where the preacher relaxes before going out to preach) than prayer rooms.” Many of the larger churches today have Coffee Shoppes, cafes, book stores and some even have fitness centers. Several years ago I read that someone who was a member of a large church in Texas who said, “I go to the church seven days a week to work out, get my daily coffee, buy books and other merchandise…and to worship.” I wonder what Jesus would do if He showed up in one of these churches.

As you can imagine, the local clergy, who benefitted from such merchandising, were not happy with Jesus. “The chief priests and the scribes heard it and started looking for a way to kill Him. For they were afraid of Him, because the whole crowd was astonished by His teaching.” Notice that the crowd was not astonished by His actions, but rather by His teaching.

Application: (How should I respond to this message?)

What are you looking for or expecting when you attend church? Do you really look forward to being challenged by God’s Word or are you more interested in being entertained by the musicians or the speaker? One reason that I’m hesitant to give up a service for a music group is because it often becomes more entertainment than Biblical challenge.

Have you surrendered you life to Jesus? If not, today is a great time to pray, “Jesus, I give you my life.”

Have you strayed in your walk with Jesus? If so, this is a great day to get back in step with Him. Confess the sin of straying and receive His cleansing, forgiving touch today.

Is there a broken relationship that hinders your worship? Today is the day to forgive one who has offended you or to seek forgiveness from one you have offended. Do it now in prayer and later face to face or at least on the phone with that one.

Is God impressing you that you should become part of the family of Faith Baptist Church? Come to front as we sing and let me present you to your new family.