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Mark | The Making of Christ Followers
Praises Today, Curses Tomorrow
August 12, 2018
Mark 11:1-11
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “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!”
11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
Details, Details (11:1-8)
These instructions given to the two disciples are more than just details. They set the stage for something rather profound that is happening. Jesus seems to be orchestrating a moment to declare something about himself and the work he is about to do in the midst of Jerusalem.
The disciples are told to go ahead into Bethphage and find a colt/donkey tied up who has never been ridden.
A Colt/a donkey, This request seems weird, but Jesus saw it necessary to arrive into Jerusalem this way. He could have simply continued to walk or grabbed the donkey himself but rather he instructs his disciples to fetch the donkey in Bethphage just ahead of them. The instructions are so specific, listen to the text again…“Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’”
The disciples go and find everything just as he said it would be, even down to people asking what they are doing. They explain to the people and they simply let them go! Which I find a little weird, if you saw someone taking another man’s property you might be a little more suspicious! But the people there are satisfied with the disciples response, which is what Jesus told them to say, and the people let them go. I suppose God works in ways just below the surface we cannot see sometimes. Nonetheless, what is up with riding a donkey. Why not a stallion full of power and speed?
Well, as I stated earlier, Jesus is making a statement here. We know what it is like to wear a certain item or drive a certain car, it carries with it meaning and status. The investment banker who purchases the Mercedes instead of a Ford Focus, well he wants to say he is successful. He is saying, “Use me for your investment needs, see I have such and such so therefore I must be successful.” I am not knocking the businessman or making a statement on the right or wrongness of it, I am just saying it makes a statement and the businessman willingly chooses it to say something.
Jesus is being strategic in opting out of the military stallion that would show power. He is saying something very different. How do we know this? Well, we let the Bible have a conversation with itself to help us glean understanding.
In particular…Zech 9:9. This text is a clear understanding of the coming Messiah, anointed one. It was used in Jewish worship to tell of the coming Messiah. It says…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.
This could not be worded any better. This is exactly what was just read for us. This is the exact scene Jesus is creating. This is Jesus, the obedient king to the king of kings, coming to save his people, not from the evil rulers of the day, but the evil sin that rules the heart of his people. That ruler, sin, needs to be slain and their hearts need to come underneath the gracious rule and reign of God. King Jesus remains faithful to God on our behalf, he will do what no other king will do. He is the fulfillment of Zechariah’s description in chapter 9. It has come to pass, it is Jesus.
So with this act, Jesus is placing himself as the Messiah, the one who was told would ride in on a donkey; a donkey, not a military stallion, but a donkey. He is not interested in starting a war but bringing peace through a very different way. He has alluded to his path that would lead to victory, and now it begins. He is walking a very symbolic path that places him as a king, but yet so much more…because he is the true king that is spoken of in Zech., he is the ultimate fulfillment.
You see, Solomon rides a donkey when he is made king, but he is not the true king who is fully righteous and having salvation (1 Kings 1:38-40). Even down to the branches being laid out is something for a king. When Jehu is pronounced king in 2 Kings 9:13, everyone lays their cloaks on the bare steps before him in order that he would not have to walk on them, but he neither can do what King Jesus is going to do. No king in the history of God’s people has been fully what Zech 9 says. So Jesus is placing himself in the path of Kings but yet is different in that he is the ultimate King of righteousness and He has salvation!
From riding a donkey to the branches being laid out before Jesus, all speak of the King’s arrival. But what about the one detail that the donkey has never been ridden. Is there any significance?
OT tells us “that an animal devoted to a sacred purpose must be one that had not been put to ordinary use”* (1 Sam 6:7). This donkey had never been ridden but when the Lord sits upon it, it follows what the Lord says and simply moves. It does not reject Jesus but lets him sit upon him and use him for the most sacred purpose there could ever be. The God-man making his arrival, The Servant King come to walk the chaotic path of peace.
Oh no, these are not mere details, they are announcing the arrival of the King, our King. So…
Praises Today (11:9-10)
The crowd of people who undoubtedly had been following him since Jericho begin to say out loud…Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord (Psalm 118:26, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!). Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David. Hosanna in the highest! (Psalm 148: 1, Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights!).
What must they perceive in order to declare such pointed statements? How do they take these moments as moments that declare God has come and that praise should be given in the highest form for what is happening right in front of them?
Well, it can only be that they rightly perceive him to be the one that scripture has talked about. They have been granted some knowledge and rightly see him as coming in the name of the LORD—which interesting the use of Lord here is equivalent to YHWH! They also announce that he is the great king from David’s line (which we saw last week).
They seem to be “catching the drift” of what Jesus is putting out and celebrating that the time has come to see the fulfillment of God’s promises. A right response for sure, a celebration is wonderful when it is directed towards God’s work; God’s providential moving in history. They must celebrate, and what better way to celebrate than by using God’s very words, by using scriptures themselves.
These Psalms are precious to the people of Israel. They are called a HALLEL…a song of praise; particularity The “Egyptian Hallel” (Pss. 113–118). They are called this because it recounts “God’s activity in the history of Israel beginning with the Exodus” and now in Jerusalem!** God is delivering them…Hosanna indeed. A word to proclaim praise, to affirm God’s word that causes rejoicing, and call out for him to save them. It is happening in their midst!
Oh Church, when God moves we should rejoice. His moving is a sign of grace and we should not hold back in giving thanks, in declaring his good sovereign goodness towards us. We would do well to mark those moments that God moves with great adoration in praise towards him.
But we cannot leave this section without the looming question in the backs of our minds…how and why does it change? This is right praise, a right response to King Jesus, but we know curses are coming. Though there are praises today, curses will come tomorrow. Why? Well, notice verse 11, yet another detail…
Curses Tomorrow (11:11)
Jesus checks out the temple after all the fanfare. This has been his MO for each town he enters. It has been his standard practice to enter the temple of each town and typically teach, heal, and correct. But here he just takes a look around and since it was already late he goes back out of town to Bethany. Where he just came from! But this is his interest, not the fanfare. The…Temple…God’s house, center of religious life is what he is most concerned with. The temple was the standard by which all the other synagogues were based upon. It was the place that spiritual things were to be upheld and disseminated throughout God’s people. Being that it was the center of religious life it set the tone for worship and following God. Unfortunately, as one scholar put it, the temple had become…“A cover for the nation’s spiritual barrenness.”** It was a facade, not what it should be because it was full of iniquity and sin. People had grown far away from God, and the temple was no longer a house of praise to God, but a condemnation of the people’s heart.
Brothers and Sisters…Let not praises today become curses tomorrow!
One is only sustained in their praise as they depend more and more on Christ. Faith is what keeps our praises moving forward. What is in front of them, Jesus declaring peace is at hand, is what is worthy of praise. Hold that thought and let not evil nor circumstance take the focus off him. You see the curses come from the Jerusalem crowd, not the crowd who had made the journey with him from Jericho. It was the crowd who had been swayed and led by those who reject Jesus as their king. They had been swayed…brothers and sisters…
Let us not be swayed by the moving tides of the culture around us. Let us not think less of Jesus when others do, when they make “a lot of sense” but yet they have no room for Jesus. Don’t think more of them than Jesus. He is the center of the story here, he is riding in, not the latest sensible statement. Jesus is the one by which we take our cues from, no other person.
Let us not be turned by the hurts that consume us. Life has a way of being downright terrible. The cards don’t fall in our favor often. Let not these moments take your sight of the God-man who brings peace. His peace does not mean that all things work out perfect, but his peace is a peace that weathers the storm, a peace that settles our souls; that grounds us and brings hope when all is lost.
Let us not be shaken by the shifting sand of circumstances. It has been said the only constant is change. Circumstances change, they are not stable; so, to stand upon them is unwise. Why not stand upon solid ground, upon a solid rock?
Brothers and Sisters, this afternoon you would be wise to write down a list of all God has done for you and simply rejoice over his grace in your life. Secondly, it would be wise to write down what causes doubt—other’s logic, hurts and pains, or your changing circumstances—whatever they are, write them down and pray over them asking God to put Jesus on center stage, not those struggles.
If you are a non-believer, this moment in the gospels is beautiful. All our standing in the streets paying homage to the king and awaiting his authority to bring God’s kingdom, his rule and reign, upon earth. But when their sin is confronted and Jesus makes plain that his work is death, many reject. They are swayed by the pride of many who really don’t want Jesus to interrupt their current situation. To redefine God’s kingdom as those who by faith and repentance come under the rule and reign of God, would be disastrous for the religious rulers. They had a good gig, and Jesus is offering true freedom that breaks the chains of sin and a works-based righteousness.
You might think you have a good gig, you determine what is righteous, what is right before God, you set your own course. Jesus confronts that mindset and says no….I am your righteousness!
Remember the prophecy from Zech, that the one riding the donkey brings righteousness. This is not the only allusion being made here to Jesus being the only means of saving God’s people. In Gen 49:10-11 were the Bible makes it plain that God’s redemption would come from Judah, therefore, keeping his promises going; it states in verse 11 that this king from Judah that God would be, “Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes.” Saying, Jesus is where I have attached my salvation. I have untied your sin in him who is tied to the donkey.
* William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark (NICNT), (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1974), 395.
** Allen C. Myers, The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1987), 456.