Return of the King

Muslims, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Christians all believe that Jesus was special. They disagree on just about everything else, but they acknowledge that Jesus is unique and should be honored. Many atheists, agnostics, and buddhists acknowledge the influence of Jesus on the world. Some of them even appreciate his ethics, his wisdom. Others will claim to follow Jesus while rejecting Christianity.

Jews have a bit of a more complicated relationship with Jesus. Some years ago, one writer made the claim that in the midst of so much diversity among Jewish people, the one thing they all had in common is that they reject the notion that Jesus is the Messiah. They may disagree on everything else, but on this they are united: Jesus is not the promised deliverer, he is not the anointed king, he is not fulfillment of the Old Testament promises to Israel.

The reason why their relationship to Jesus is complicated, however, is that while this man may be right about modern Jews, he’s certainly not right about the Jews of Jesus day - the ones who actually saw him do miracles and heard him teach. Many of those Jews did think that he was the Messiah. In fact, after the resurrection, the first Christians were all Jews. Thousands of Jews became convinced that Jesus was in fact the Messiah. The historical record of the early church, starting with the book of Acts, shows that it was the Jews who were make the claim that Jesus is the Messiah, and masses of Jewish people embraced that belief. So it may be true that modern Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah, but that is not true throughout history. Thousands of the Jews who were chronologically closest to Jesus believed he was the Messiah.

Our text this morning is one of the reasons why they did. It describes Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem, which has been called throughout history, “The Triumphal Entry.” The point of this text is to show us, again, who Jesus really is. In a sense, that’s what this entire book has been about. But it’s as if every paragraph, every story, every healing, every miracle, is like turning the diamond to another angle, and examining it’s beauty from a different side. We’ve seen Jesus power. Last week we saw Jesus’ mercy. This morning we will see more of who Jesus is.

Mark 11:1-11. Now when we read the gospels, we have to remember the principle of selectivity. Here’s what I mean: John 20:25 says that if everything that Jesus did was written down, the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. In other words, each gospel writer had to be selective about what they included in their eye-witness accounts. This is why Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are not just Xerox machine copies of one another.

Now they tend to highlight the same things - the events and teachings that stood out as particularly important. Our text is one of those. All four gospels include this in their account of Jesus' life. This is a highly significant event. We read through it so quickly, but it carries some freight. What’s happening here - even in the details - is far more weighty than we often realize.

By looking closely at the details, we get to examine Jesus from some new angles: and we’re going to consider 4 features of the identity of Jesus.

Now they’ve been on their journey to Jerusalem, and now they’re drawing near. Bethphage and Bethany were little towns east of Jerusalem, right there on the Mount of Olives. Don’t think of the Mount of Olives like a mountain, it would not even have been as big as the ones we can see from here, it’s more of a hill. But to get from Bethany to Jerusalem, you would crest the Mount of Olives, you would see the glorious city of Jerusalem, and then you would cross through the Kidron Valley and enter the east gate.

I’ve mentioned the last couple weeks that Jesus would be traveling to Jerusalem with a crowd of pilgrim Jews, returning to Jerusalem to participate in the Passover. And it was common for travelers to participate in the ceremonies and festivals during the day, while retreating to a nearby town for the night. Jesus and his disciples would do just that in Bethany.

For some more context, Bethany is where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived. Lazarus is the one Jesus raised from the dead. In fact, the town Bethany is still occupied, although it’s called El-Azariya, which literally means “the place of Lazarus.” Apparently the resurrection of Lazarus was so remarkable that people stopped referring to the town as Bethany but as the place of Lazarus. Mark doesn’t record that event, but John does, and chronologically, it has already happened. Jesus raised John from the dead in Bethany, and the place would have been buzzing with excitement. In fact, John records that because of Lazarus, many of the Jews were beginning to believe in Jesus, and that the Pharisees and Scribes became even more resolute in their plans to put him to death. What’s kind of funny to me is that they also began making plans to put Lazarus to death, again.

We have to remember that during this time, the Jews had what some have called “Messianic Fever.” Israel is occupied by Rome, and there’s a growing longing for the Messiah to liberate them from oppressors, just like they were saved from Egypt.

And we have to remember that three years prior, John the Baptist swept the land like a tidal wave, all the country was coming to hear him preach, and he was a two trick pony in his preaching: 1) the kingdom of God is at hand, and 2) there is one greater than me that is about the come. The land is feverishly excited about the coming Messiah.

And then Jesus came and he exceeded everyone’s expectations. And now, there’s word that he’s raising dead people back to life. Good luck, Rome, stopping a king whose army cannot die.

So as they head in, Jesus sends two disciples to go into the village to find a colt. It’s going to be tied up, and it’s going to be unbroken - it’s never been ridden. They are instructed what to do if someone questions what they’re doing.

Remember the principle of selectivity: why did Mark choose to include all these verses about this minute details? 7 verses devoted to their plans to get a colt. What is Mark getting at?

This is actually highly significant. To understand what’s going on we have to rewind to 1 Kings 1. You may want to turn there. The scene starts in verse 1 with David being old and about to die. At this point, everyone knows the king will soon be gone, and there’s concern who will rule in his place. In verse 5, “Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, ‘I will be king.’” Adonijah was the fourth son of David, through the woman Haggith.

The only problem was that he wasn’t the true heir to the throne. David had already appointed Solomon to be the next king. But Adonijah’s power play endangered Solomon’s reign. So in verse 15, Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, now much older, goes to David and basically says, “Hey, even though you appointed Solomon as king, Adonijah is trying to take the throne. Verse 20: “And now, my Lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.”

Who’s the true king? Bathsheba is telling David on his deathbed that he needs to make it public, make it clear, that Solomon is the heir to the throne. What does he do? Verse 32: “King David said, ‘Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoida.’ So they came before the king. And the king said to them, ‘Take with you the servants of your lord and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon” (Gihon was a spring in the east of Jerusalem, close to the Mount of Olives).

You see, the question was this: who is the heir to the throne? Who’s the true king? And Solomon was announced as the true king - why? By getting a donkey, riding it through the Kidron Valley into the east gate of Jerusalem.

Additionally, hundreds of years later, Zechariah the prophet, prophesied to Israel, he made a very specific prophecy about the coming Messiah. 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.”

Now you see why there’s so much focus on the colt. Many of us have always thought that the reason Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey is because he was so humble. What’s interesting is that all pilgrims coming to Jerusalem, even if they had ridden horses or mules or donkeys the whole way, it was custom to get off your animal and walk the final segment of the journey from Bethany, up to the Mount of Olives, and into Jerusalem. Jesus intentionally went against the custom. Why? It was not a simple act of humility. It was so that he would be the precise fulfillment of the ancient prophecies about the coming Messiah.

Just as David identified the true king was identified by his entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey, so now the greater Son of David enters Jerusalem on a donkey, in fulfillment of the prophetic promises. Jesus is the promised Messiah.

The first feature of Jesus' identity: Jesus is the Long Awaited Jewish Messiah.

Many Christians have an impoverished view of God, of the gospel, and even of Jesus because they neglect the Old Testament. But the entire Old Testament is the story of a coming one. The whole Old Testament is filled with this Messianic hope. The one who would crush the head of the serpent. The prophet who is greater than Moses. The priest that can make final atonement for sin. The sacrifice that is complete and sufficient. The king who will set up his everlasting kingdom. The deliverer who will rescue his people. Who will it be?

And here, back in Mark 11:7 “and they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it.” This is a non-verbal way of saying it: “Jerusalem, I am the Son of David. I am the Messiah. I am your king.” He knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s the one.

Just by way of application: your study of the Old Testament will enhance your understanding of Jesus. Who he is. What he accomplished. How he did it. The Old Testament provides the backlighting necessary to grasp the fullness of the person of Christ.

Now the second feature about the person of Jesus is this: Jesus is the Lord of History.

Jesus is Lord of history in this sense. All the events of history were coordinated so that Jesus would be born at exactly the right time. I’ll try to demonstrate this briefly. Scholar Harold Hoehner produced a landmark work back in 1979 titled Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ. In it he shows how Daniel prophecies that from when Jerusalem is restored to the coming of the Messiah will be 483 years. We know the dates of Jerusalem’s restoration in 445 BC, because it’s described in Nehemiah 2. And so when you add 483 years to 445 BC, what do you get? You get AD 33, the exact year Jesus died. And Harold Hoehner takes it further, arguing that not only is the year - but Palm Sunday is the exact day, if you calculate those 483 years into days.

In other words, Jesus is showing up right on schedule. Jesus is the Lord of history. His ministry started at exactly the right time. Not to mention the fact that he would be entering Jerusalem during the Passover week, so that he would die on the same day the Jews were making their sacrifices in celebration of the Passover, in order to provide the graphic illustration that he himself is the perfect sacrifice. All of this is in fulfillment of God’s promises and prophecies made in centuries past.

It may have taken thousands of years, but God will not break a promise, he will not leave a detail of his prophecies unfulfilled. Keep that in mind, church, when thinking about his second coming. You can be certain. You can know. How many thousands of years passed, how many generations of Jews were hoping to see their Messiah!

And how many generations of Christians have been hoping for the return of the Messiah. His second coming. He died on the cross, rose again, ascended into heaven, and he promises to return to judge the wicked and establish his kingdom. We are still waiting for that. Will he come? Are we foolish to continue to wait for him? Can we trust him?

Yes - his first coming proves that he is Lord of History, and will come when, in his infinite wisdom, he deems it right.

But notice a third feature: Jesus is Lord of the Details. Verse 2, he instructs them about a village, a colt that’s tied up. He gives these two disciples exactly what they’re supposed to say. And they go and they find it exactly as Jesus said. It’s amazing that Jesus is Lord of history. It’s also amazing that Jesus is Lord of the Details. Think of all the details that had to be just right. How many things could have gone wrong? What if there was no colt? What if they found a colt and the owner wouldn’t let him use it? What if they found the colt tied but they couldn’t undo the knot? What if they found the colt, were allowed to use it, but it had been ridden before?

In other words, for it to work out according to God’s design, all the details of the plan needed to come together perfectly. And everything happens perfectly, but it’s not by chance.

And what’s also clear here is that the disciples still don’t quite know what’s going on. John records that the disciples didn’t understand these things until after the resurrection. And so you have two disciples wandering into a village, having no clue how significant their work was, “I guess Jesus wanted a donkey? Yeah, I’m not sure, that’s what he said!” “What if they think we’re stealing it?” “Jesus told us to tell them the Lord has need of it!”

I find that a bit comforting. That these two confused disciples are doing what they think is ordinary, insignificant work, not realizing that they are right at the center of the most climactic event in the whole of redemptive history. I wonder how often we are trudging along in faithful obedience, confused and wondering how in the world our work even matters - not knowing how critical it is in the grand scheme of his redemptive work.

The fourth feature of Jesus’ identity is that Jesus is divine. Of course, the previous point implies that. He rules history, he rules details, he rules all, why? Because he is God. Christians make the claim that at the incarnation, God took upon himself a human nature. This does not mean that he relinquished his divine nature. It was that he added a human nature.

Notice that he demonstrates his omniscience here. He knew there was a donkey. He knew that the donkey had never been used. He knew that he would be allowed to use it. And the reason it had to be a donkey that had never been used is because it was part of the Old Testament requirements for animals that if they were to be used for holy sacrifices they had to be set apart, and could not have been used in any other way. This donkey was set apart for a holy purpose - not to be a sacrifice, but to carry the final sacrifice.

Additionally, when Jesus told his disciples to say, “The Lord has need of it” he is using the Greek word for Lord, “Kyrios” - which is often a divine title and I think should be taken to refer to Jesus claiming to identify with the Lord God himself.

And look at what’s happening in verses 9-10. The crowds begin 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!”

These are Messianic cries. Hosanna literally means, “God, Save Us Now!” Jesus is being recognized as the “he who comes in the name of the Lord.” And they believe that he is the one who will establish God’s kingdom on earth, as was promised to David in the Old Testament.

So it appears they understood something was unique about Jesus. They recognized his power. They seemed to understand that he was the king to reestablish the kingdom and free Israel from Roman rule. This is why they spontaneously started throwing their cloaks on the ground and getting palm fronds to make a kind of “red carpet” for him.

But at the same time, notice what’s missing. Nothing about forgiveness of sins, nothing about repentance or confession of sin. And notice that in verse 11, by the time he enters Jerusalem, there are no crowds, no shouting, no fanfare, and he goes into the temple. In other words, the people don’t stop everything and follow him, like Bartimaeus did. They melt away once they get to Jerusalem.

In fact, Jesus knew that these shouts were not indicative of true faith, true repentance. Luke records something that happened after the crowds shouting their Hosannas, and before he entered the temple. He records one of the most tender moments in the life of our Lord: that as he crested the hill and saw the Old City of Jerusalem, he wept.

Luke 19:41 says, “And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying ‘Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Judgment is coming because they did not know that they were being visited by the actual Messiah himself, God had come to them, and they would reject him.

But this opens the final feature of the person of Christ this passage reveals to us. Jesus is our perfect example. Whenever we read about Jesus, it is appropriate for us to ask how we can imitate his character. Peter instructs us to do that in 1 Peter 2. He set an example for us.

Think of how brave he is. He knows that sitting on that colt and going into Jerusalem is the first domino that must fall for him to be killed. He is no coward. He bravely sets into motion the very events that will lead to his torture.

How often are we cowardly? When love or obedience is too costly, we choose to stay in our comfort zones? How many people have not heard the gospel because we were too afraid to tell them? How many neighbors are being neglected because we don’t feel comfortable with them?

Aren’t you glad Jesus isn’t like us? He was brave. And don’t you think that one of the ways we imitate him is by bravely acting in love toward others, whatever the cost?

Think of how obedient he is. He has submitted himself to his Father’s will, and is willing to obey to the point of death, even death on a cross. He would later say in the Garden of Gethsemane, not my will, but yours be done. Are we committed to obedience as much as Jesus is?

Let me get really practical about this: I want to give you one practical application for growing in your own obedience: study God’s Word. How can we possibly be obedient to God when we ignore what he’s said? Read to know God and to obey him.

Think of how loving he is. He weeps when sinners reject him, and he marches forward to die for those who do not deserve it. What love!

This is the love that sought us! We marvel at this. I think that many of the crowds who will chant for his crucifixion ended up being saved, and were part of the early church in Acts. In other words, there were people who hated him, and he marched to that cross to die for them.

He does not wait for us to love him before he loves us. He loves us first. Friends, this is the heart of the gospel. Jesus willingly came to lay down his life to make payment for our sins. He suffered in our place. If you’re not a believer - don’t you marvel at this love? Listen, he invite you, right now, to fully and completely trust him.

To have your sins forgiven. To have your guilt before God removed. To have your conscience purified. You can entrust your life to Jesus! And there are over a hundred people here who would tell you, with complete sincerity, “It is worth it! He is so trustworthy!”

They will not tell you that everything became easier when they came to Christ. But they will tell how Jesus comforted them, provided for them, cared for them, led them, and upheld them through all their trials. How loving he has been!

Now church: His love is an example. How loving are you? Do you love those who are in your family? Do you love your neighbor - I mean your actual, literal neighbor. Would they have any idea that you love them? If asked, would they have any reason to believe that you love them?

We should love one another - yes! But Jesus’ love here is particularly for those who do not love him. O, that Jesus would help us to love more freely, like him.

Jesus is the long awaited messiah, Lord of history and lord of details, God incarnate who bravely, obediently, and lovingly laid down his life to provide salvation to everyone who repents of their sins and trusts in him.