Expectation And Identity

EXPECTATION AND IDENTITY (Palm Sunday 2012)

Text: Mark 11:1 – 11

Mark 11:1-11  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 be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never 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 straightway he will send him hither.  (4)  And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him.  (5)  And certain of them that 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.  (7)  And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him.  (8)  And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way.  (9)  And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:  (10)  Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.  (11)  And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve (KJV).

EXPECTATION AND IDENTITY

Text: Mark 11:1 – 11

When we think of Palm Sunday, what do we think of? The chances are that we think about celebrations and the parade that they threw for Jesus as He had His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. There were many in that crowd who thought of Jesus as a hero---maybe even a superhero. Max Lucado once wrote that “Heroes mirror society”. (Max Lucado. And The Angels Were Silent. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1987, p. 80). Just look as this crowd along the sides of the roads that day in Jerusalem and you will see that what Lucado says about heroes is most certainly true. It was on this day----Palm Sunday that people had high hopes that Jesus was the hero that they expected. Were they thinking that Jesus was a “freedom fighter” who was sleeping and waiting for his moment to gather an army about Him? Were they thinking that Jesus was an epic hero of some sort? The response of the crowd seems to say yes! Their expectations were high, but the real irony is that they missed an important clue of His entry---riding on a colt.

HEROIC EXPECTATIONS

What do people look for in a hero?

1) Oppression and deliverance: One of the best answers is an old romantic notion in literature of the damsel in distress. Look up that term on Wikipedia and this is what you will find: “The subject of the  damsel in distress, or persecuted maiden, is a classic theme in world literature, art, and film. She is usually a beautiful young woman placed in a dire predicament by a  villain  or  monster  and who requires a  hero  to achieve her rescue.”

2) Classic characters: Consider some of the following princesses (damsels in distress) who have been portrayed in many Disney movies. Some examples of princesses---damsels are Snow White, Bell from Beauty and the Beast, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Jasmin from Aladdin , Ariel from The Little Mermaid,, Tiana from The Princess Frog and Rapunzel from Tangled . My youngest daughter was a big fan of all these princesses when she was a little girl.

3) Rescuers: What goes along with a damsel in distress? There is always some prince or knight hero or rescuer. In literature device of a “damsel in distress”, there is usually some knight in shining armor.

What kind of hero were the people in the crowd expecting during Jesus’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem? Lets preface the answer to this question through an observation made by Max Lucado.

1) Custom made image of heroes: “Heroes mirror a society. Study a nation’s heroes and understand the nation. We honor those who embody our dreams----gang members toast the ruthless, slaves esteem the freedom fighter, and cult members exalt the dominant.” (Max Lucado. And The Angels Were Silent. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1987, p. 80).

2)A caped crusader mentality: When Jesus rode through Jerusalem there were those in the crowd who expected a caped crusader type-of-a hero.

3) A King’s welcome: They gave Jesus the Red Carpet treatment that day. They thought that Jesus embodied their ideals, their hopes and their dreams. A few days later they were giving Jesus His pink slip. What went wrong? What went wrong was that Jesus could not be their hero on their terms.