11 Jesus 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.
Introduction
We begin this morning the final section of Mark’s gospel. Chapter 1- 8:26 is the first section, in which Mark presents story after story raising the question of who Jesus is. 8:27-10:52 form the second section, which reveals Jesus as the Messiah and teaches what being the Messiah and his followers entail: sacrificial service. Now we come to the time of Jesus’ great sacrificial work of redemption, i.e. of procuring our salvation.
The drama began the moment Peter confessed Jesus to be the Christ (the Greek term for Messiah). Jesus then speaks of his suffering and death to come. After his glorious transfiguration on a mountain on the way down, he speaks again of his suffering and rejection. Yet again, after driving a demon out of a boy, he tells the disciples that he will be betrayed and killed. Finally, while heading to Jerusalem, he makes clear that his suffering and death will take place there.
You probably have noticed before the large amount of attention given to what is basically a week of Jesus’ life. Matthew, Mark and Luke devote from a quarter to a third of their gospels to this period. John reserves half of his gospel to that time. Clearly, what takes place at the end of Jesus’ life and ministry is considered the crucial events of his presence on earth.
Text
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives…We find Jesus and his disciples a couple of miles outside of Jerusalem. They have traveled sixteen miles or so from Jericho. That trip by the way is not an easy one. They would have continually been ascending from 825’ below sea level to 2500’ above. The country is literally desert, what the Bible refers to as wilderness. Israel’s idea of wilderness is far different from ours. We think of untamed forests; Israel thinks of bare, rocky hills.
They would have arrived first at Bethany, which by the way is the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. Bethany is where Jesus will spend at least one night, perhaps more while he is in Jerusalem. Bethpage is on the outskirts of Jerusalem and probably is the village where the donkey colt is found.
Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”
4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go.
If you know me by now, you know that I try to pick up on what seems unique or odd about a passage. What seems odd here is the amount of time and detail Mark spends on the story of getting a colt for Jesus to ride. How big of a deal can that be? To us Gentiles, it means little; but to a discerning Jew of Mark’s day, it was quite significant.
There are three notable elements about this animal chosen by Jesus to ride. We will take them in reverse order given to us. It is an animal, which no one has ever ridden. According to Old Testament precedence, an animal used for a sacred purpose must not have been used previously for common labor. For example, the oxen chosen to carry the Ark of the Covenant out of Philistia and back to Israel had never before been yoked (1 Samuel 6:7). Jesus clearly regarded the work that the colt would do for him was similar.
Second, Jesus makes a point of saying that the colt will be tied. Mark records Jesus’ remark and then repeats specifically that, yes, the colt was tied. What is unusual about the colt being tied? Nothing, which again makes us wonder why Mark would belabor the point. Let me read a passage from the first book of the Bible and see if you catch a connection. It is Genesis 49:8-12. The context is that the last of the three great patriarch’s of Israel, Jacob, has gathered his twelve sons together to impart his blessing. On the firstborn son, Reuben, he ought to have given the blessing of being the pre-imminent over all the other sons. But it is not until he comes to the fourth son, Judah, that he gives such a blessing. Listen to it:
8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you;
your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down to you.
9 You are a lion’s cub, O Judah;
you return from the prey, my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs
and the obedience of the nations is his.
11 He will tether his donkey to a vine,
his colt to the choicest branch;
he will wash his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes will be darker than wine,
his teeth whiter than milk.
The actual Hebrew word, translated to whom it belongs is “Shiloh,” which is preserved in the King James Bible. Jesus is signifying that he is Shiloh, the one to come and take up his scepter. Now, he loosens his tethered, or tied, colt and ride into Jerusalem as her rightful king, the final descendant of Judah who is the true Lion of Judah.
Finally, this colt, as already noted, is not a young horse but a donkey. Even more to the point than this passage from Genesis is Zechariah 9:9:
9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Matthew and John quote this very verse to demonstrate Jesus fulfilling the prophecy that everyone understood as a prophecy of the Messiah’s coming.
Can Jesus’ intention be made any clearer? Have you wondered why he needed a colt to ride in the first place? Always before he walked. Did his feet get too tired just as they reached Jerusalem? No! He intended to enter the holy city as her rightful king and fulfill the scripture’s prophecy.
Before we go on, some may want to know how Jesus knew about the colt being available. Most modern commentators think he had made arrangements beforehand, which is quite possible. And yet, I agree with the older commentators who attribute his knowledge to divine power. After all, this is the same Jesus who told Peter to fish for a specific fish who would have in his mouth the exact amount of coinage needed to pay a tax (cf. Matthew 17:24-27). Whatever, the case Jesus planned his entry on the colt of a donkey.
7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”
“Hosanna in the highest!”
Jesus does not orchestrate this next scene. It is, rather, the spontaneous response of those close to him who love him and the many who are excited by him. When the disciples returned with the colt, they placed their own cloaks on the animal for him to sit on. As people in the crowd see him, they also pay homage by spreading their own garments and branches on the road before him.
Let’s try to visualize this scene. First of all, picture Jesus descending a hill – the Mount of Olives – into a valley and then ascending on the other side into Jerusalem. A wall surrounds the city. Along the western wall, which is the side Jesus is on, stretches the great temple mount with the temple rising above everything. He is probably moving southward to enter the city through its southern gate.
He and the disciples are not alone. Indeed, the road is jam-packed with thousands of pilgrims coming to Jerusalem for the Passover. It is a noisy crowd. They are seeing Jerusalem for the first time. What do they all do? Break into shouts of joy and into singing. They are not the only ones shouting and singing. Citizens of Jerusalem and pilgrims who have already arrived are coming out to welcome them. The people arriving and the people coming out to greet are calling out to one another. They especially enjoy shouting back to each other psalms. Their favorite psalm to recite is Psalm 118. Their interaction might go like this:
The arrivals:
19 Open for me the gates of righteousness;
I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.
The greeters:
20 This is the gate of the LORD
through which the righteous may enter.
The arrivals:
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
The arrivals:
25 O LORD, save us;
O LORD, grant us success.
The greeters:
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.
From the house of the LORD we bless you.
The arrivals:
27 The LORD is God,
and he has made his light shine upon us.
The greeters:
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.
Did you catch the words Mark recorded? The translation for the Hebrew word “hosanna” is “save us.” Then there is “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” This psalm also was sung in anticipation of the Messiah to come. The Messiah is “he who comes.”
These words take on double meaning. They are sung to fellow worshippers greeting one another and celebrating the coming Passover. They are also sung in anticipation of the long-awaited Messiah. Each year at Passover, the hope is rekindled that the Messiah will come and deliver his people from bondage, in this case by the Romans.
Now Jesus appears. Remember how famous and popular he is? Back in Galilee he couldn’t even enter a town publicly and was mobbed everywhere he went. Perhaps in Jerusalem he is not as well known. Perhaps, but he chooses to arrive when Jews from everywhere, including all over Galilee, have also arrived. We can be sure they have spread the news throughout the city about him. By the way, Bartimaeus may still be among the pilgrims. And Jesus’ greatest miracle just happened to be accomplished in nearby Bethany – the raising of Lazarus from the dead. That alone has sent crowds of people out to see Jesus, as John lets us know.
So, there are thousands of people crowding along the road at the same time as Jesus. They are already singing and shouting words of celebration when they see him. And in their joy, they address their words of joy to him. Maybe many believe him to be the Messiah. Probably many are calling out greetings they already would be shouting. We wonder how Jesus can be acclaimed as king by the crowd one day and just a few days later be denounced. They could easily be two completely different crowds. It also probable that many people are calling out greetings that to them mean nothing more that a joyful greeting.
Knowing the size and dynamics of the crowd also helps us understand how such a fanfare can be made of Jesus – even using language that speaks of a king – and the authorities taking little notice of it. Aren’t the Romans alarmed by the crowds proclaiming Jesus as king? They might take some notice, but much of the greetings (made in Aramaic) would have been unheard, not understood, or accepted as part of the general festivities. Also note that once Jesus enters the city gate, the fanfare ends and the people disburse.
But those who do greet Jesus along the way, who love him or simply are excited to see him – they do pay Jesus the proper homage he deserves. Throwing down their cloaks for his donkey to walk over – that is only the honor one shows to royalty. So also is strewing the road with branches. Whether they believe him to really be the Messiah or just a wonderful man, it is clear they truly want to honor him.
That is good worship. It is worship from the heart and the head. It is worship from the heart because it obviously is done in sincere joy and desire to honor. It is worship from the head in that they perform the acts and speak the words appropriate for honor. None of those actions were original. They were the accepted means to honor royalty. The same is true of the words. They spoke the inspired words of Scripture to honor the one who truly came in the name of the Lord.
That is a good lesson for us. We don’t have to be theologians to offer God pleasing worship. We don’t have to have perfect knowledge of him. But we should all know the means he has given to us to worship him well. It is not difficult to read the Scriptures and address our God with the words he has given to us. Nor is it difficult to read his instructions on how to worship and serve him. The Jews were merely doing what had been imbedded in them. What else would they sing but the psalms taught to them since they were infants? What other actions would they have done but those done year after year in celebration of the festivals?
For one moment, they offered to Jesus what he deserved, even though most, if any, understood how appropriate such homage was. For here truly was their king. And he truly was entering Jerusalem to take his rightful place on the throne of God’s kingdom. For through the route of the cross he would reach the throne that awaited him.
Yes, as Jesus entered Jerusalem he fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy that Israel’s king would enter amidst joyful celebration riding on a donkey. He entered to fulfill all of the prophecies, including the one spoken in that joyful psalm – Psalm 118. Perhaps as Jesus was entering, they sang this way:
The arrivals:
19 Open for me the gates of righteousness;
I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.
The greeters:
20 This is the gate of the LORD
through which the righteous may enter.
The arrivals:
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
All together:
22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone.
How little did they know the profound truth they sang!
