Palm Sunday CHCC: April 1, 2007
The Kingdom of the Heart
Mark 11-12
INTRODUCTION:
Today is often called “Palm Sunday.” It’s the day when we remember Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem … just 5 days before he would be crucified. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem turned into a gigantic parade. Hundreds of people lined the sides of the road, shouting and singing. They gave him the “red carpet” treatment by laying their own cloaks and palm branches on the dirt path in front of him.
Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem is full of historic precedence. Jesus intended to declare His Kingship by this act. In fact --- even though the background preparations aren’t explained --- it makes sense to conclude that Jesus made prior arrangements with a friend to provide a special colt that he could ride as he entered the City that day.
This was significant to the Crowds because they knew Jesus was fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9: 9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king [b] comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I don’t know about you, but when I picture a donkey I picture a comical animal, like a cartoon character. But in Jesus day this was a fitting animal for a King to ride. When a King went to War he rode a horse. When that same King returned in Peace he would ride a donkey to show that he returned in Peace.
The book of Revelation pictures Jesus riding a White Horse at his Second Coming. But in His first coming, Jesus entered Jerusalem in a humble and gentle manner … riding on a donkey. The crowds welcomed Jesus as their Messiah and King. They shouted out, Hosanna! Which literally means, Save us now! What they wanted to be saved from was the political rule of the Roman Empire. The cheering Crowds did not want a Peaceful King. They wanted Jesus to storm Jerusalem and lead a force that could defeat their Roman oppressors.
On the screen you see a famous photograph of Soldiers in World War II, raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi in Iwo Jima. Since this picture was published in 1945, it has become one of the most significant and familiar images of Wartime Victory. What the crowds wanted from Jesus was similar to what we see in this picture. They wanted Jesus to tear down the Roman Flag and raise the Jewish flag on the Mount of Jerusalem.
What Jesus actually did right after the Triumphal Entry must have confused and frustrated these cheering crowds --- because Jesus did not raise His flag over Jerusalem. In fact, Jesus WAS going to establish his Kingdom, but he was NOT going to raise His banner over any physical territory. Here’s what happened immediately after the Triumphal Entry: Mark 11:11 says, 11Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
That’s kind of anti-climactic, isn’t it? Jesus enters Jerusalem at the head of a giant parade --- with applause and shouts echoing through the streets. The expectations are sky high! Everyone believes something BIG is about to happen! So… Jesus looks around for a few minutes --- then he turns to his disciples and says, It’s getting late, boys --- and he and his men wander off to find a place to spend the night.
Well, as it turns out there is more to that verse than meets the eye. When Jesus looked around the Temple area, he saw some things that did NOT please Him. And he had all night to think about what he had seen. The next morning Jesus entered Jerusalem ready to show just what kind of Kingdom he intended to establish. You see, Jesus’ priority was not to rule over Rome --- or any other Secular Power. The Kingdom Jesus established would be a Kingdom of the Heart.
Today we’re going to look at 3 things Jesus did and said right after the Triumphal entry. These events show the kind of Kingdom Jesus came to establish on earth.
Look at what Jesus did the morning after the Jewish crowds declared Him as their King: 15On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.
1. Jesus Cleanses the Temple, Revealing A Kingdom of Prayer for ALL Nations
The crowds had expected Jesus to drive the Romans out of Jerusalem. Instead, he drove the Jewish merchants out of their own temple. Then he explained, 17 "It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.’ But you have made it ’a den of robbers.’"
Jesus raised His flag over the House of God and declared that from now on, God’s House would be a House of Prayer for all Nations.
You see, the Kingdom of God is not about forcing the Unbelieving World to straighten up. Jesus’ first priority was to get His own people to clean up their act. And that is still his priority today. If we are going to live within the Kingdom of God, we must become people of prayer. And not just any prayer --- prayer for all nations.
The crowds wanted Jesus to establish a political Kingdom for the Jews in Jerusalem. Instead, Jesus raised His Banner over the whole world… every continent, every ethnic group, every language and culture on earth.
Another prophetic passage concerning Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem is found in Isaiah 62:10-11 which says, “Pass through, pass through the gates! Prepare the way for the people. Build up, build up the highway! Remove the stones. Raise a banner for the nations. The Lord has made proclamation to the ends of the earth; “Say to the Daughter or Zion, ‘See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.’”
Both the Isaiah passage and the Zechariah passage stated earlier point to the historic and prophetic significance of this messianic event. Jesus came into the city to raise up his own banner and proclaim his kingship, but not the kind of banner or kingship the people of that day expected. His kingdom is not political, economic, sociological, or ethnic in origin. His kingdom is established in the hearts and souls of God’s children. It is within us that Jesus is crowned king. In our hearts his banner of love is raised. In our prayers Jesus becomes our sovereign Lord. So if we are in the kingdom our prayers go outward beyond our families and to the whole world. If we are in the kingdom it is because the kingdom is within us.
When Jesus cleansed the Temple, he set in motions events that would lead to His crucifixion just a few days later. Verse 18 says at that time the Jewish leaders started actively looking for a way to kill him. And then we have another sort of mundane end to an eventful day in verse 19: When evening came, they went out of the city.
Something interesting happened as they walked back to Jerusalem the next morning. It’s a small event, but it shows us that the Kingdom Jesus was about to establish would be a Kingdom of faith that would produce amazing results.
2. Jesus Curses the Fig Tree, Revealing A Kingdom of Faith that produces Fruit
First we have to back up to the morning BEFORE Jesus cleansed the temple. That first day, as Jesus and his disciples walked from Bethany to Jerusalem, they saw a fig tree in the distance. Jesus was hungry. His mouth probably started watering when he anticipated having some “Figgie pudding” for breakfast. But when they reached the tree, there were no Figs at all … just leaves. Verse 14 says 14Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it.
Now, on the second morning, they took the same route into Jerusalem. They saw the same tree in the distance, but now it was scraggly and brown, withered from the roots. The disciples were astounded. All Jesus had to do was scold that tree and it dried up and withered away. They had to also see the symbolism of Jesus cursing a fig tree.
You see, the nation of Israel was characterized in the Old Testament by two symbols, a grape vine and a fig tree. In both situations, Israel proved herself to be deficient as to living up to God’s original intent for her. Isaiah 5 reveals Israel to be a wild grape vine producing no proper fruit and in Hosea 9:10 both word pictures are seen in the same verse. “When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert; when I saw your fathers, it was like seeing early fruit on the fig tree.” But in their idolatry, they became vile and put themselves under a curse. Jesus’ curse of the fig tree, was consistent with the O.T. symbolism of Israel under God’s curse and revealing what would soon happen to the kingdom of Jesus’ day.
When they saw the dead tree, 21Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!"
The reply Jesus gave shows that even though His Kingdom is Invisible, it is also Powerful. 22"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. 23"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ’Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen; it will be done for him. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
This is an amazing claim. FAITH that can move mountains! The INVISIBLE Kingdom has the power to transform the VISIBLE world … IF we have FAITH. But don’t stop there. This kind of power comes at a price. Verse 25 goes on to say, 25And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."[g]
Once again, we notice that Jesus’ kingdom of the heart is a kingdom of faith and forgiveness, and because of those two powerful elements, it is a kingdom that produces good and pleasing fruit. Contrast that with the normal situation here in the world where fear and bitterness seem to rule over everything; where fighting and getting even are the trump cards played most often. No wonder the people of Jesus day (and ours too for that matter) needed Jesus to come and save them. They were drowning in a pit of despair and depravity from which no other earthly king could possibly legislate or extricate them.
3. Jesus Teaches in the Temple Revealing A Kingdom of Love for God and Others
If you had just a week to live, how would you spend it? Jesus spent the last week of His earthly lifeTeaching about God’s Kingdom of the Heart. His Kingdom is a Kingdom of PRAYER for all people. It’s a Kingdom of FAITH that can move mountains and FORGIVENESS that heals wounded hearts. But more than anything else, Jesus established a Kingdom of Love. Song of Solomon 2:4 says, “His banner over me is Love.” That is the banner Jesus raised when he set up His invisible Kingdom on earth.
The religious leaders in Jerusalem were looking for a way to get rid of Jesus. They tried every trick in the book to trap Jesus into saying something … anything … they could use as an excuse to have him arrested. They knew if they could get Jesus to say anything against Rome, the Roman authorities would arrest him for sedition.
Finally, after a couple of days, they got tired of waiting for the topic to come up. So they brought up the subject themselves. They asked, him, “Hey, should we have to pay tribute to our Roman oppressors?” All this time, the Crowds who had cheered for Jesus during the Triumphal Entry had been waiting for Him to rise up against Rome. Their ears must have perked up as they thought: “Here it comes! King Jesus will finally call for an uprising against Rome!”
But the Crowds who wanted to Crown Jesus, and the Jewish leaders who wanted to Kill him were all disappointed. Jesus asked them to bring him a coin. He asked whose image was on the coin. (It was Caesar.) And he basically said, “Pay your taxes.” Then he moved on to other topics.
Soon after that, one of the Jewish Leaders gave Jesus the opportunity to lay out the Centerpiece for his coming Kingdom. Look at Mark 12:28-34
Mark 12: 28One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"
29"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: ’Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.[e] 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[f] 31The second is this: ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’[g]There is no commandment greater than these."
The man who had questioned Jesus seemed genuinely impressed with the answer. He told Jesus, You’re right! To Love God and others is more important than any other religious rule.
Verse 34 says, When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he told him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And then the verse goes on to say that from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
Jesus had said it all. He had raised the Flag over the territory of His Kingdom.
CONCLUSION:
Isaiah 11:10 predicts the Kingdom that Jesus established on earth. It says, In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.
Some day Jesus will claim the Physical World as His territory. But for now, Jesus will raise the Banner of His Kingdom in only one place … the heart and soul of any person who will invite Him to take ownership of their life.
Is Jesus reigning in YOUR heart today? Have you invited him to take your life as his territory? He will transform your life into a life of Prayer, Faith, Forgiveness, and Love. But Jesus will not be satisfied with only partial victory. With Jesus it’s all or nothing.
Jesus doesn’t want to just be a “Part” of your life. He wants to BE your life. Though many may call Jesus “lord” or “king” only those who submit to him as King and surrender to him their first priority in life, are actually in the kingdom. It is not enough to be “close to the kingdom” as the Jewish teacher was who asked Jesus what was the most important commandment and was amazed by Jesus’ response. We are truly in the kingdom of Christ if his banner over us declares that he is our savior. Is he your savior today? And can others see it written in your heart?
