Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
11 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, 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?’ say, ‘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. 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 heaven!”
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
I like to pay attention to new leadership when they start to operate. When there is a new president, governor, mayor, city council, a new pastor, a new fraternity, or sorority president, I watch how they operate to see if I can learn any new leadership lessons from them. What plans and programs will they put in place? What kind of team will they put together? What problem will they work to solve first?
We all look at new leaders to see how they are going to act, what kind of hope and change they will bring about. I imagine that is why people watch inaugurations even if they did not vote for that president, why when a new pastor comes to a church all the business meetings and Bible Studies have strong attendance. I see city council meetings standing room only at the beginning of a new administration, everyone is waiting to see how the new people are going to work.
We see a new leader coming into their own her in this scripture passage, the Gospel of Mark is the oldest of the four gospels, it was written to be read in an assembly of believers. I wonder if that is why it is the shortest Gospel? This Palm Sunday passage is a story found in all four gospels; each gospel emphasizes certain parts of the story more than others. In all the stories Jesus and the Disciples are going into Jerusalem for Passover. Historian Josephus says that many people would come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration, so many that the city of Jerusalem could not hold them, and the visiting worshipers would have to stay in neighboring cities, we don't know exactly where Bethpage was, but we know that Bethany was about 2 miles southeast of Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives was east of Jerusalem.
We are drawing near to the end of the Gospel story but there is still a triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Jesus is coming in announcing himself as the Messiah, the savior who takes away the sin from the world.
This Palm Sunday story takes place at the height of oppression for the people of God. By the time we get to this passage, the people are looking for a savior, practically begging for one. Hosanna literally means save now, or save I beg. Have you ever been so low that you didn’t care where your help came from as long as you got it?
Many have tried before Jesus practically going to war with Romans and they have failed over and over again. There were plenty of people who claimed to be the Messiah before Jesus, but the people were never saved. Judas Maccabeus and many others came looking to overthrow the Roman government with military might, and the people cheered them on, even shouting hosanna, hosanna to some of these other messianic claimants, people who claimed to be the saviors before Jesus did. However they all failed, the previous people looked to save the people by military might, Jesus sought to save the people’s souls.
Jesus put care into his entry, Jesus thought about what he was going to do before he did it. Jesus considered where he was going, who he was going to, and put some care into how he was going to go to the people. Oh, I wish the church would put some effort into how they could reach out to the community instead of always expecting the community to come to them.
Jesus started from the Mount of Olives because Zechariah 14 prophesied that the Messiah would come from there. Jesus told the disciples to go to Bethany and get a colt, a donkey because he knew it would be there and when we look at the old testament kings, they rode on donkeys during peacetime. Taking a donkey during this time would have been like taking a car today. Jesus said if anyone asks you what you are doing? Tell them "the Lord needs it" watch the text here, Jesus hasn't been called Lord in this way until now, that was scandalous because the people would have been hearing Lord when talking about Caesar, not some man from Galilee. Romans would take people's stuff and take people all the time just because they could. However, when Jesus takes something, he is going to return it. A true king doesn’t just take and take, they give as well.
Up until now, Jesus had been operating in secret, heal somebody, tell them to keep it a secret, now he is coming into Jerusalem with fanfare. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, people put out their coats before their king, their ruler because that is what they did in 2nd Kings 9. We call this particular Sunday "Palm Sunday" but the coats and the donkey have a biblical significance to what was happening when Jesus was coming into town. The text doesn't mention palms directly it just says branches. Jesus put care into how he was letting the people know your savior has arrived.
Jesus is letting the people know a true king has come, a true savior has come, not for military victory but a spiritual victory over all of creation. Jesus is here to set the world right with a new world order. Jesus came during the Passover, a time when the Jewish people celebrated being delivered from slavery in Egypt, celebrated freedom from bondage, freedom from oppression. Jesus was here to save the people from the bondage of sin and death.
We can look at how a true king acts, how a real ruler carries themselves. Jesus came to Jerusalem this time to give himself willingly for us. We are a royal priesthood, a chosen generation. Jesus knew what was going to happen when he came into Jerusalem and he came anyway. Jesus knew he would be betrayed but he came anyway. Jesus knew that Peter would deny him, but he came anyway, Jesus knew the people would choose another criminal over him to go free, but he came to Jerusalem anyway. Jesus knew that he would be beaten, bloodied, and bruised but he came anyway. Jesus knew what he had to do, who he had to do it for, and came into town with his head held high to see the Temple and to save the people.
