#46 The Messiah Parade Series

#46 The Messiah Parade

Series: Mark

Chuck Sigh

July 11, 2021

NOTE: PowerPoint presentation is available for this sermon by request at chuckcsligh@gmail.com. Please mention the title of the sermon and the Bible text to help me find the sermon in my archives

TEXT: Please turn in your Bibles to Mark 11:1

INTRODUCTION

We all love a parade, don’t we? Parades go way back in history. Military parades are as old as armies and navies have existed to intimidate opposing armies and also to celebrate victories over enemies. Major athletic events in Greek days began with a huge parade, and that has carried over to the opening parade at the start of our World Olympics today. Parades were a part of Medieval festivals and coronations of kings and queens.

Today big parades are associated with holidays, especially Thanksgiving, Christmas and Mardi Gras, but even small towns have their own parades for various events, like the homecoming football game or a local fair or festival or, in recent days, a COVID-19 graduation.

In today’s Bible text, we’re going to read about a spontaneous parade celebrating the Messiah’s entrance into Jerusalem. While most parades are the prelude to some exciting event, the Messiah Parade was a prelude to torture, humiliation and death. But it ended in the greatest triumph in all of history—the resurrection, ascension and glorification of Messiah, which resulted in the triumph of God over sin and the grave.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s look at this parade, otherwise known as “The Triumphal Entry,” in Mark 11:1-11.

Chapter 11 marks the beginning of the Passion narrative which extends all the way to the end of Mark’s gospel. This means that fully one-third of the entire book of Mark records the events of the last 7 days of Jesus’ life. The disproportionate amount of space in Mark’s gospel devoted to this brief period in Jesus’ life indicates the significance of Jesus’ final week in understanding Jesus’ purpose on earth and the Godhead’s plan for humanity.

So let’s jump into our text this morning:

I. IN VERSES 1-6 WE SEE INITIATION.

In these verses, Jesus initiates the inevitable events of the Passion week. Jesus is not just standing by, waiting to see what happens. Jesus initiates the events and choreographs each step—all the way to the end.

Look with me first at verses 1-3 – “And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples, 2 And saith unto them, ‘Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye have entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never a man sat; loose him, and bring him. 3 And if any man say unto you, ‘Why do ye this?’ say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightaway he will send him hither.’”

Although Christ’s Messiah Parade was spontaneous from the standpoint of the multitudes on their way to the Passover celebrations in Jerusalem, in fact, Jesus had made elaborate preparations for it.

• First, we know from many scriptures it was pre-ordained in eternity.

• Second, it was prophesied by Old Testament prophets of the coming Messiah.

• And in each of the gospels, we see how Jesus made actual preparation for it.

Verse 1 tells us that they travelled to nearby Jerusalem, Bethphage and Bethany until they got to the Mount of Olives. This is significant because, according to Zechariah 14:4, the Mount of Olives would be where the final judgment will take place and was long associated by rabbis with the coming of the Messiah.

Once there, Jesus sent two disciples into Bethphage, a village close to Jerusalem, with instructions to look for a colt as they entered the village, to untie it and to bring it to Jesus.

R. Kent Hughes points out how critics have often portrayed Jesus as “attempting to turn the wheel of history, only to be crushed Himself.” But the gospel writers do not portray Jesus as a hapless bystander caught up in a maelstrom of events beyond His control. No, Jesus Himself took the initiative in the entrance into Jerusalem and all the events that were to follow. It was all done according to Jesus’ precise foreknowledge and control.

In verses 4-6, the disciples followed Jesus’ instructions: “And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street; and they loosed him. 5 And certain of them who stood there said unto them, “What do ye, loosing the colt?” 6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.”

Mark records the disciples carrying out instructions Jesus had given them, and things happened EXACTLY as Jesus said it would. Well, of course they would! Jesus was Messiah and on top of that, He was God in human form. Foreknowledge would be what you would expect from the Messiah God-man.