Who Is Your King?

1. Last month we just celebrated a season of advent leading us up to Christmas. Advent is the season in which we celebrate the coming of Jesus to this world as a baby, born to be a King.

2. This is why the coming of this baby created such a stir in the heavens, a King was being born who would one day be the saviour.

3. Mark some 30 years later shares with us the advent of that King into David's royal city.

4. Jesus had been persistently working his way toward Jerusalem, and now we find out why. There is a connection between Jesus' advent into the world to fulfill the kingly prophecies of the Christ child and His advent into Jerusalem

5. Chapter 11 begins the last third of the gospel of Mark. This part of Mark's gospel focuses on what appear to be the last seven days of Jesus' life.

Mark 11:1–11 ESV

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 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. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’ ” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” 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.

A Colt Only for the King

1. As Jesus Draws Near to Jerusalem

a. He sends two of his disciples to fetch a colt for him, giving very specific instructions. These instructions sound strange, but they are important. jesus was consciously fulfilling prophecy from the OT.

Zechariah 9:9 ESV

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.

b. Most Kings would ride into a town on a magnificent horse, but not the King of the Jews. He came riding on a donkey.

c. The donkey shows some significant things about the nature of the Messiah.

1. A donkey represented peace, when a King would ride a donkey rather then a horse, it showed he came in peace.

2. Humility, a King riding a donkey shows great humility.

d. This prophecy of the Messiah riding into Jerusalem on a donkey was a deeply rooted Jewish believe. Everyone gathered at Jerusalem for the festival would have known this prophecy.

2. Jesus solves the problem of the theft of someone's colt.

a. Just tell them the Lord needs it. The Greek word used here is "kurios" which can simply mean sir or master. It can also mean the supreme ruler. It is rare that Mark uses this term with respect to Jesus, but yet here Jesus uses it to describe himself.

b. The verse could read something like this "Tell them the Sovereign One, the King of the Jews, requires that donkey".

3. The plan comes together.

a. It was common practice that when the King rides into town they would be given a welcome similar to the one Jesus is given. The laying down of their coats and the branches is like the rolling out of a red carpet.

b. The people cried out Hosanna which means "Save Us" or Lord save us. This is derived from Psalm 118 and is a common chant during the festival.

c. It is clear that the people are giving Jesus a King's welcome as he come to Jerusalem. They even reference the coming of King David's kingdom which the Jews also viewed as a sign of the Messiah.

The Return of God's Glory

1. The significance of location.

a. Jesus coming from the Mount of Olives is a very significant peace to this narrative.

b. The Mount of Olives, specifically the village of Bethany looks out across the Kidron Vally, down to the city of Jerusalem, three hundred feet below.

c. In 586 BC, at the time of Jerusalem's destruction and forced exile of its people to Babylon, God gave a vision to the prophet Ezekiel. In that vision, Ezekiel saw the glory of God rise up from the temple in Jerusalem. The glory of God departed from the east side of the city and ascended three hundred feet to rest on the Mount of Olives.

Ezekiel 11:23 ESV

And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city.

2. An Overlooked Significance.

a. Mark's conclusion of this narrative seems very anticlimactic at first glance. After this huge celebration of Jesus entering the city and Mark ends with Him going to the Temple looking around and leaving.

b. But what we overlook is that His destination was not just Jerusalem, it was actually the Temple.

c. The Temple was the place where God use to dwell. God's presence had left the Temple years ago in the time of the exile.

d. Here is the irony in the story: In 586 BC, Ezekiel saw the glory of God leave the Temple, leave the holy city, and ascend to Bethany on the Mount of Olives. At the triumphant entry, Jesus descended from Bethany and the Mount of Olives, entered the East Gate of the Holy City, and went to the temple.

e. Do you see it? In 586 BC, the glory of God left the temple, but when Jesus came, the glory of God came back!

Who is Your King?

1. Jesus rides into town as a King, God's glory returns to the temple. It is clear that Mark sees that Jesus is our King.

2. But do we serve Jesus like a King?

3. Serving a King

a. We have lost the concept of what serving a King looks like.

b. If you were directly serving the king what would that look like?

1. Humility

2. Fear and respect.

3. You would do everything the King asked of you.

c. Do you truly serve Jesus as King? Or has Jesus become someone who serves you?

4. Consumerism King

a. Often we are guilty of serving Jesus in a way that becomes about what we can get from Him, rather then following His every command.

Big Idea: When we profess Jesus as Lord we are saying that we will live our lives under the Kingship of Jesus Christ. Therefore as Christians we have given up our rights to the King!

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