Entering in Triumph
Notes
Transcript
Entering in Triumph
Entering in Triumph
The Triumphal Entry
C.S. Lewis had his world shaken, when his beloved wife, Joy, died of cancer. They had married later in life, finally finding the love of their lives in each other … hadn’t been married very long at all - then she was gone. “WHERE IS GOD?” Lewis was a Christian - tried to honor God in his life and in his writings … so “How can a good God allow this to happen?”
He wasn’t tempted to chuck his belief in God and run into the atheist camp. Here’s what he wrote in his book, “A Grief Observed”:
“Not that I am … in much danger of ceasing to believe in God. The real danger is of coming to believe such dreadful things about Him. The conclusion I dread is not, ‘So there’s no God after all, but, ‘So this is what God’s really like. Deceive yourself no longer’.
Mark’s Gospel is 16 chapters long. Beginning with the first verse of our passage, chapter 11, verse one - and running to the end of the book - 6 of 16 chapters, focus on the last week, the last seven days of Jesus’ life, leading up to Easter - Resurrection Sunday. That means that fully one-third of this Gospel is set during this one week period.
If Mark was a play – 3 acts: 1 Act: … The action here takes place in Galilee, much of it around the Capernaum area. This act invites us to ask, “Who is this Jesus” – so there are lots of miracles – calming the storm, feeding thousands.
That tells you something of the significance of this time. You don’t need to have a Bible college or seminary education to be able to understand that
Second act: 8:22 – the end of chapter 10 … this section is all about clarifying – making clear the real identity of Jesus, so you have Peter’s moment – “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” – Aha! He gets it … but what sort of Christ is he? So Jesus reminds them again and again, “I am on my way to die …”. It also points to the kind of disciples he is looking for – humble, trusting souls -
It’s interesting that God has given us 4 Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And they don’t all follow the same pattern in describing Jesus’ life. Each writer has his own special points that he wants to make about Jesus (they don’t CONTRADICT each other - they just emphasize different aspects of Jesus’ life, according to the questions they want to answer about him). Do you realize that only 2 of the Gospels cover the Christmas story? Matthew and Luke. But when it comes to the week leading up to the cross - Passion week - all 4 Gospels cover it, AND they all slow down the pace and start tracking together. It’s as if they said, “Okay let’s slow right down and make sure everybody gets what’s going on, during these 7 days - - - because if you don’t get THIS … you DON’T GET JESUS.”
That tells you something of the significance – of this time. You don’t need to have a Bible college or seminary education.
Interesting that God has given us 4 Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And they don’t all follow the same pattern in describing Jesus’ life. Each writer has his own special points, he wants to make about Jesus, the Son of God (they don’t contradict each other – they just emphasize different aspects of Jesus’ life according to the questions they want to answer about him). But when it comes to the last week of Jesus’ life – Passion week …. They all start tracking together, they all start following the same events a lot more closely. It’s like they said, “Okay, let’s slow down and make sure everybody gets what’s going on, during these 7 days - - because if you don’t get THIS - - - you don’t get Jesus”.
Do you realize that only two of the Gospels cover the Christmas story? Matthew and Luke. But all four have Palm Sunday and Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Christmas, the Incarnation is critical. But there is nothing that is more important than Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection.
Divide our passage into 3 sections: 1 The Sovereign Leader prepares for His Entry, vv. 1-6; 2 The Servant King Arrives, vv. 7-10; 3 The Savior Survives the Temple, v. 11
1 THE SOVEREIGN LEADER PREPARES FOR HIS ENTRY, vv. 1-6
1 THE SOVEREIGN LEADER PREPARES FOR HIS ENTRY, vv. 1-6
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Our text, this morning, begins in the two villages of Bethany and Bethphage. It’s spring … Passover time. Nearly every devout Jew, who is able, will make the journey from home, travelling along the winding pathways and busy highways that run through the nation, like arteries carrying blood to the heart … these arteries carrying pilgrims to Jerusalem … the beating heart of the nation.
This feast of Passover is a big deal. Excitement is in the air - the buzz is palpable .... In Jesus’ day, the population of Jerusalem is approximately 30,000. At Passover, the number of people swells to hundreds of thousands. Som many cram into the city - that the walls almost burst. There is simply not enough room for all of the visitors to find hotels or rooms in the city. So, many of the pilgrims stay ouside of town, in the suburbs - like Bethany, 3 km to the east and Bethphage, just NW of Bethany.
Jesus and his disciples are making their way into the city on Sunday - the first day of the week. It has been a long day’s journey already. They woke up in Jericho and the group has walked 18 miles (? km), through dry, barrend, dangerous land between Jericho and Jerusalem, a trekk that has seen them climb from sea level to 3000 feet in altitude. It’s time for a break.
Just before they reach Bethphage, Jesus stops the group. He chooses 2 of his disciples - sends them ahead, into the village - and then gives them specific instructions of what to do when they get there.
He tells them, in verse 2, that ‘Immediately as you enter (the village) you will find a ‘colt’ tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.”
And just in case anyone gets concerned, “Hey! Why are you stealing that colt?!” .... because colt theft in Jesus’ day would be much like car theft in our day. Untying a tied up animal on the side of the road, would be the equivalent of crouching under the steering column and hotwiring a car in our day.
“If anyone gets concerned ...”, just tell them, v. 3, “… The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.”
“Don’t worry! We aren’t STEALING IT … we’re just BORROWING IT … FOR THE LORD!!” ..... Well, how can you argue with that?
The disciples do as Jesus says - the neighborhood watch believers their story, and they bring the animal back, just like Jesus said they would.
Don’t miss the sovereignty of JESUS on display here! Mark is subtle - but he’s making it very clear - - - Jesus tells the disciples WHAT to do, WHERE to go, WHAT They will find, WHAT to expect when the neighbors see .... and HOW to solve the problem. And the fact that he tells the disicples to refer to him, in v. 3, as ‘Lord’ … these are all subtle pointers to Jesus’ hidden authority. Even v. 6: “… And they told them what Jesus said … (and then) … they let them go.” They let 2 strange men walk off with a prized animal … just because they said ‘the LORD wanted it’.
“Oh the power of Jesus’ name - the name that calms our fears … that bids our sorrows cease!” THIS JESUS.
When they bring the colt to Jesus, the crowd, gathering around him, which has been steadily growing all along this journey, has become larger than it even was when the disciples left. This is familiar territory for Jesus - Bethany here, this is the home of his dear friends, Mary, her sister Martha - and their brother Lazarus.
Many of the people surrounding him now - saw Lazarus raised from the dead. They know the man … watched him, wrapped in burial clothes and laid into the tomb. The stone - they saw it - - placed in front of the opening. Sealing him in death, forever!
And then they saw that same Lazarus, who had been dead for FOUR days … come walking OUT of that tomb … VERY MUCH ALIVE!
This Jesus has authority over life and death!
And look around at some of the other faces in the crowd - so many faces tell a story: There’s the face of the one whom Jesus set free from demon possession - restored to wholeness and a right mind.
There’s the face of the one, healed of lifelong diseases, the ones who Jesus set free from demon possession - restored to wholeness and a right mind.
There’s the face of the one healed of lifelong diseases, the one ones who had to be carried everywhere they went. He said, “Stand up!” … and they jumped … there are the ones he had set free from crippling guilt over sinful choices - now standing, straight and tall, that burden of guilt … removed!
There are the ones who had been cast-offs from society because their leprosy had rendered them, ‘unclean’ - unfit for human society. He. TOUCHED. THEM. .... and they were. CLEAN.
… When all of these people hear that Jesus is back in town and on his way to Jerusalem - streams of them come running out of houses and fields … they want to finish this journey with him.
This is the Sovereign LORD friends. His word creates a universe … and in Every. Single. Trial … where His name is called upon in simple trust .... He brings healing and life.
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2. THE SERVANT KING ARRIVES, vv. 7-10
The disciples bring the colt back to Jesus … throw their coats over its back, Jesus climbs on and the party sets out.
I’ve been using the word, ‘colt’ - that’s how many of our English translations put it. The Greek word here is ‘polos’, which is a word that can mean EITHER a baby horse, or it can mean a little donkey. Since donkeys were much more prevalent in Israel than horses, this is most likely a donkey.
So, the scene - a crowd, following behind - - with every stride, closer to Jerusalem … the anticipation builds more and more. And, at the center of the crowd … there is Jesus, the peasant carpenter, who has become the great hope of the masses. this is the One who will rescue God’s people from the boot of the Roman oppressor, once and for all! See him there: Jesus, the great HOPE … riding on a .... donkey?!
“What’s wrong with this picture?” That’s what Jesus is asking you to ask - - He isn’t riding into the city on a big war-horse, the way a warrior Messiah would. Here is the great king riding … he has proved his miraculous power - the power of His Word alone … and he’s riding in on an animal that we would associate with a child or a hobbit - not a king!
Why a donkey? To answer that question, look back in your Old Testament, to the book of Zechariah (second to last book in the OT). , The prophet is pointing the people of God to the great Messiah to come. Zechariah 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.”
So, by riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, Jesus is saying, “I AM the MEssiah - the rescuer you have been waiting for, all along, to save you!”
And the people get this. “Wait a second,” you say: “The people are supposed to put all of this together? A DONKEY RIDE is supposed to tell them that this is the king, the Rescuer they have been waiting for?! How can you expect that the people would EVER get that from such an obscure reference from a minor prophet, hundreds of years before?!
And if that’s a problem for you - just remember that the Jews knew their Bible a lot better than many Christians do today.
They didn’t have NETFLIX or Disney Plus, or social media to suck their time away.
We all remember important things we’ve seen or read - even when it’s from years before. I’ll prove it. Let me say 1 sentence and I guarantee that many of you will instantly picture the person who said it and where they said it:
“(Luke) .... I am your father.”
So, where does that come from? Do you realize that the Empire Strikes Back was released in 1980? That’s 40 years ago. But most of you caught that right away. Well, Jews in Jesus’ day didn’t have to.
They did have the Scriptures (our OT) and they read it and memorized it. So, when Jesus comes along, riding on a donkey - the people get it.
Everything that Jesus does, on the way to the cross - every step he takes … it is all purposeful. “But what’s the purpose?” you ask. “Why a donkey? Why a warhorse?”
In our day, it would be like a Royal Procession, where the king wasn’t sitting in the back seat of a Rolls Royce, but driving himself, in a 1999 Honda Civic.
Jesus is making a statement here. He’s saying, “I am a King. I am THE king … but I don’t fit into the world’s categories. I bring together Majesty and Meekness ..... Power and Humility”.
With every stride closer to Jerusalem they get, the anticipation of the crowd builds higher and higher … the Mount of Olives is the official starting point of the journey into Jerusalem. And as the winding road from Bethphage reaches the crest at the top of the Mount of Olives, the eyes of the crowd are greeted by a fresh vista to the west - on a smaller hill ....
… 300 feet below and separated from the mountain by the narrow Kidron Valley. There, in all its glory is … the holy city - - there is Jerusalem! The pilgrims erupt in celebration. There it is!
The rocky pathway down the west side of the mountain is hemmed in by the gnarled wood of the trees in the olive groves, each tree reaching out with its disfigured branches, and hooded with silvery-green leaves.
As the crowd begins the descent down into the valley below - the people spontaneously start celebrating the arrival of Jesus.
Verse 8, “Many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.” Jesus on his royal mount is now traveling on a royal carpet - in this royal procession.
And the chanting begins - verse 9, “And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
From far ahead to far behind, all you can hear are voices, beginning to ring out in the afternoon air - as a mighty choir. One group shouts, ‘Hosanna!’ - - - another group shouts: ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Then the first group shouts: ‘Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David’ Then the second group cries out, ‘Hosanna in the highest!’
Back - and - forth - back and forth go the cries as, slowly and steadily, Jesus the King, approaches the holy city, riding on the back of his borrowed donkey.
Hundreds of years earlier, God promised the Jewish people that a descendant of David would come and sit on the throne of David - and that his kingdom would not only include Israel … it would encompass the whole world.
A universal ruler! And the more the Jewish people are feeling the crushing weight of the Roman overlords boot on their collective neck - the more they long for that Rescuer to come.
Their shouts show the kind of king they’re looking for. When they call out, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” - that comes from .
The context of that psalm - warring nations surround Israel and God rescues His people from the attackers - so they sing this song, thanking God for sending the conquering hero who brings a great military deliverance.
Even the word, ‘Hosanna’ makes the point. That word does not mean what people often think it means: ‘Praise God!’ Some English translations even translate it, ‘Praise God!’ That’s NOT what it means.
It means, ‘Save NOW!’. Hosanna is a cry for help - - “Help us! Save us from Rome!”
They’re looking for a warrior Messiah who comes to shatter, to purge, to destroy - and leave a pile of bodies in his wake.
.... And here comes Jesus, riding on a donkey … deliberately holding together what doesn’t seem to fit together - not to us: MAJESTY AND MEEKNESS … POWER AND PAIN.
Jonathan Edwards:
There do meet in Christ infinite highness and infinite accessibility; infinite justice, yet infinite grace; infinite glory, yet infinite humility; infinite majesty, infinite transcendent meekness; absolute sovereignty, yet perfect submission; infinite all-sufficiency in himself, yet entire trust and dependence on God. He’s a Lion. He’s a Lamb. He’s a rock. He’s a pearl. He’s a mighty Captain. He’s a tender lover. He’s a fragile flower. He’s a mighty tree of life.”
Jesus Christ combines character traits, as Edwards says, that would never be combined in any single person, traits we would consider mutually exclusive, contradictory. Yet he combines them in ways you would never, ever think could be combined in the same person. Majesty and meekness, power and weakness … There’s the character of Jesus Christ, the excellence of Jesus Christ, depicted as he rides into Jerusalem
Jesus is saying, ‘I am a king - but I’m not a king who fits into the world’s categories.’ And the problem so many people have today - is that we want a Jesus to rescue us from every threat of virus, every financial threat -
immediately upon entering the village, there will be a ‘colt’ tied there -
Friend, Jesus is likely not the king you want.
But praise God - He is the King you need!
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3 THE SAVIOUR SURVEYS THE TEMPLE, v. 11
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Jesus and his disciples are making their way into the city on Sunday – the first day of the week. It has been a long day’s journey already. The day began in Jericho and the group has walked 18 miles through dry, barren and dangerous land between Jericho and Jerusalem that has seen them climb from sea level to 3000 feet in altitude. It is time for a break.
Just before they reach Bethphage, Jesus stops the group. He chooses two of his disciples – sends them ahead, into the village – and gives them specific instructions of what to do when they get there. Immediately upon entering the village – he tells them that there will be a ‘colt’ tied there – no one has ever ridden on it – Untie it from its post and bring it back.
And just in case anyone gets concerned – “HEY, why are you stealing that colt?” – I can imagine that colt theft would have been a similar problem in Jesus’ day, just like car-theft is in ours. And untying the animal was the equivalent of crouching under the steering wheel column and hotwiring a vehicle in ours. “If anyone gets concerned – just tell them, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately’.” “Don’t worry - we aren’t stealing it – just borrowing it - - - for the Lord!” Well, how can you argue with that?
The disciples do as Jesus says, the neighborhood watch believes their story and they bring back the animal, just as Jesus said. Please don’t miss the sovereignty of Jesus, on display! Mark is subtle here – but he is making it very clear - - Jesus tells the disciples what to do, what they will find, what to expect when the neighbors see – and how to solve the problem. The fact that he tells the disciples to refer to him, in v.3 as, ‘The Lord’ - - all subtle pointers to Jesus’ hidden authority. Even v. 6, “And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go.“ Oh, the power of Jesus’ name – the name that calms our fears, that bids our sorrows cease - - - This Jesus.
When they bring the colt to Jesus, the crowd gathering around him, which has been growing all along this journey, has become larger than it even was when the disciples left. This is familiar territory for Jesus – Bethany is the home of his dear friends Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus – Many of the people surrounding him now saw Lazarus raised from the dead – they knew the man – they watched him rolled in graveclothes and laid into the tomb – they saw the stone placed in front of the opening –sealing him in death forever – and they saw that the one who was dead for four days came walking out of that tomb VERY MUCH ALIVE. This Jesus has authority …
… Look around at some of the other faces in the crowd – there are faces here – faces that tell a story – there is the face of the one whom Jesus set free from demon possession – restored to a right mind. There is the face of the one he had healed of lifelong diseases, the ones he had given strength to – they had to be carried everywhere they went – he said, “Stand up” and up they jumped - - there are the ones he had set free from crippling guilt over sinful choices – now they could stand with heads high and shoulders back. There are the ones who had been cast offs from society because their leprosy had rendered them unclean – unfit for human society. He touched them and they were clean - -
When they hear that Jesus is back in town and on his way to Jerusalem, streams of them come running out of their houses – and fields – the want to finish this journey with him.
There is the man who just yesterday was blind in Jericho. He cried out to Jesus as the Lord walked by and Jesus stopped for him. Stopped and said, “Your faith has healed you” - - - Now here he is, walking in Jesus train – looking for the first time at the beauty of God’s creation.
This is the Sovereign Lord – friends, His Word Creates a universe – and in every trial, where His name is called upon – he brings healing and life.
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3 THE SAVIOUR SURVEYS THE TEMPLE, v. 11
2 THE SERVANT KING ARRIVES, vv. 7-10
2 THE SERVANT KING ARRIVES, vv. 7-10
mountain by the narrow Kidron Valley, there in all of its glory is the holy city – there is Jerusalem. The pilgrims erupt in celebration - - there it is!
I’ve been using the word ‘colt’ – that’s how many of our English translations put it. The Greek word there is polos, which is a word that can either mean a baby horse, a colt, or it can mean a little donkey. Since donkeys were a lot more prevalent in Israel than horses, we think it was probably a donkey. See them there, a crowd following behind - - every stride closer to Jerusalem the anticipation builds more and more. And at the center of the crowd, there is Jesus, the peasant carpenter – who has become the great hope of masses – This is the one who will rescue God’s people from the boot of the Roman oppressor, once and for all. There is Jesus, the great hope – riding on a donkey.
“What’s wrong with this picture?” is what Jesus is asking you to ask, because he doesn’t ride in on a big warhorse the way kings would. He rides in on a donkey … Here is this great king riding in, and here’s Jesus Christ. He’s the King, and he has proven miraculous power, but he’s riding in on a steed that’s more appropriate for a child or a hobbit.
The reason Jesus chooses a donkey, is that he is telling people he is the one whom Zechariah, the prophet, was pointing to, hundreds of years earlier. In , … When the prophet was talking about the great Messiah to come, Zechariah says, “Rejoice greatly, O Zion. Shout, O Jerusalem. See your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, on the foal of a donkey.” So Jesus, in a way, is saying – “I am the Messiah you have been waiting for all along.”
The people get this. “Wait a second”, you say, “The people are supposed to put those two things together? A donkey ride is supposed to tell them that this is the king – the rescuer they have been waiting for?! How would the people ever get such an obscure reference from a minor prophet of hundreds of years before?”
Remember, the Jews knew their Bible a lot better than most Christians do today. They didn’t have TV or movies or Blue Ray, or ipods or the NY Times bestseller list to compete for their attention. Let me say one sentence and I guarantee that a huge chunk of you will instantly picture the person who said it and the show you saw it on: Here we go: “No soup for you!”. So, where does that come from? Do you realize that the Soup Nazi episode aired in 1995? That’s almost 20 years ago – but most of you caught it right away. Well, Jews in Jesus’ day, didn’t have tv.
They had the Scriptures (Our Old Testament). And they read that – and memorized great chunks of it. So, when Jesus comes in riding on a donkey - - the people get it.
Jesus is doing everything on the way to the cross – he is doing it all on purpose. But still, you ask, “Why would the Messiah ride on a donkey? Why not a warhorse? In our day, it would be like a royal procession today, where the king was not sitting in the back of a Rolls Royce, but driving himself in a 2001 Chrysler Neon. Jesus is making a statement here - - saying , “I am a King, but I’m not a King that fits into the world’s categories. I bring together majesty and meekness, power and weakness.”
With every stride closer to Jerusalem they get, the anticipation of the crowd builds higher and higher - The Mount of Olives is the official starting point of the journey into Jerusalem. And as the winding road from Bethphage reaches the crest at the top of the mount of Olives, the eyes of the crowd are greeted by a fresh vista to the west – on a smaller hill -300 feet below and separated from this mountain by the narrow Kidron Valley, there in all of its glory is the holy city – there is Jerusalem. The pilgrims erupt in celebration - - there it is!
The rocky pathway down the west side of the mountain is hemmed in by the gnarled wood of the trees in the olive groves, each tree reaching out with its disfigured branches, and hooded with silvery-green leaves … As the crowd begins the descent down into the valley below – the people spontaneously start celebrating the arrival of the Jesus – Verse 8, “Many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches they had cut from the fields.” Jesus on his royal mount, is now travelling on a royal carpet – in this royal procession.
Then the chanting begins – v. 9, “And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” From far ahead to far behind, all you can hear are voices beginning to ring out in the afternoon air - as a mighty choir: One group shouts, ‘Hosanna’ - - - another group shouts, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’. Then the first group shouts, ‘Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!’ Then the second group cries out, ‘Hosanna in the highest!’. Back and forth, back and forth go the cries as, slowly and steadily, Jesus the King, approaches the holy city, riding on the back of his borrowed donkey.
Hundreds of years earlier, God promised the Jewish people that a descendant of David would come and sit on the throne of David – and that His Kingdom would not only include Israel – it would encompass the whole world. A universal ruler. And the more, the Jewish people were experiencing the harsh brute of the Roman overlords – the more they longed for that King for David’s Throne. And their very shouts show the kind of king they are looking for:
When the crowd shouts, “Hosanna! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David …” they likely have in mind a book of Hebrew poetry, called the Songs of Solomon, that was written in Jesus’ era – (), “21 Behold, O Lord, and raise up unto them their king, the son of David, at the time known to you, O God, in order that he may reign over Israel your servant. 22 And gird him with strength, that he may shatter unrighteous rulers, and that he may purge Jerusalem from gentiles who trample (her) down to destruction. 23 Wisely, righteously he shall thrust out sinners from (the) inheritance; he shall destroy the arrogance of the sinner as a potter's jar. 24 With a rod of iron he shall shatter all their substance; he shall destroy the godless nations with the word of his mouth. 25 At his rebuke nations shall flee before him, and he shall reprove sinners for the thoughts of their heart.
Our message is entitle, ‘The Triumphal Entry’, because that’s what this text is often called. But this passage would more accurately be called, ‘The Triumphal Approach’.
Do you catch the words used? That’s what the crowds are expecting of Jesus – a leader who will come like the terminator and destroy their enemies with a military onslaught.
The shout, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” – comes from – context of that psalm – Warrring nations surround Israel and God rescues His people from the attackers – so they sing this song, thanking God for sending the conquering hero who brings a great military deliverance.
Even the word ‘Hosanna’ –makes the point. That word does not mean what people often think it means. We read that word and we often think, “Praise God” - some English versions even translate it, ‘Praise God’. That’s not what it means. It means ‘Save - - NOW!’ “Hosanna” is a cry for Help - - Help us! Save us from Rome!! They are looking for a Messiah who comes to shatter, purge, smite, destroy …
Oh, but Jesus comes riding in on a donkey. Do you see what he is doing – Jesus deliberately juxtaposes majesty and meekness, power and weakness.
One of my great heroes of the faith was the American Puritan, Jonathan Edwards. In 1738, he preached a sermon called The Excellency of Christ. It’s based on . It really captured Edwards’ imagination. Let me read . Of course, it’s the vision of John, and it reads this way.
“And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep not, for behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed to open the book.’ So I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne stood a Lamb looking as if it had been slain.” See, John is told to look for a Lion. He looks for the Lion and there, in the midst of the throne, is a Lamb!
Edwards says, “A lion excels in strength and in the majesty of his appearance and voice. A lamb excels in meekness and is sacrificed for human clothing and food. But Jesus Christ is both, because the diverse excellencies of both lion and lamb are wonderfully met in him. Indeed, there is, in Jesus Christ, a conjunction of such truly diverse excellencies as otherwise would be utterly incompatible in the same subject.
In verse 11, something strange happens that you may not have noticed. Jesus arrives inside the city gates and makes his way into the temple precincts. After the way the crowd has built up and the shouts of praise have been rising higher and higher to fever pitch … this is where we would expect the parade to end in the temple or at the governor’s palace - with a massive rally. Isn’t this the perfect time for a coronation?
There do meet in Christ infinite highness and infinite accessibility; infinite justice, yet infinite grace; infinite glory, yet infinite humility; infinite majesty, infinite transcendent meekness; absolute sovereignty, yet perfect submission; infinite all-sufficiency in himself, yet entire trust and dependence on God. He’s a Lion. He’s a Lamb. He’s a rock. He’s a pearl. He’s a mighty Captain. He’s a tender lover. He’s a fragile flower. He’s a mighty tree of life.”
Jesus Christ combines character traits, as Edwards says, that would never be combined in any single person, traits we would consider mutually exclusive, contradictory. Yet he combines them in ways you would never, ever think could be combined in the same person. Majesty and meekness, power and weakness … There’s the character of Jesus Christ, the excellence of Jesus Christ, depicted as he rides into Jerusalem
3 THE SAVIOUR SURVEYS THE TEMPLE, v. 11
But that’s not what happens. Verse 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.”
The problem that so many people have today – is that we want a Jesus to rescue us from what we think our great need is – We need our rights better protected - -
Friend – Jesus is likely not the King you want. But Praise God – He is the King You NEED.
So Jesus gets to the temple, everyone has gone home - it’s late, so he looks around and leaves. What’s going on here?
3 THE SAVIOUR SURVEYS THE TEMPLE, v. 11
3 THE SAVIOUR SURVEYS THE TEMPLE, v. 11
Sounds like some of the family vacations my dad would take us on, as kids - we would be late getting on the road from the campground … then we’d get about 10 miles down the highway, only to realize that we forgot something .... so back we’d have to go and pick it up … then, of course, traffic is thick, so you end up not making as good time as expected.
Then there’s the flat tire on the trailer, so we’re stuck on the side of the Interstate, dad trying to change the tire without getting hit by any one of the stream of semis, thundering past, inches away. And, by the time you get to Disneyland - it’s closed for the night - so you just drive past it on your way to the campground and try to peer over the walls and see Cinderella’s Castle in the distance.
You so badly want to get in for a taste of the ‘happiest place on earth’, as it’s called - but it will have to wait for tomorrow. That would be expected in my house.
… But Jesus isn’t running late. This isn’t His failure to plan.
At the end of chapter 10, the crowd following Jesus is in Jericho. that means many of these people got up early this morning and started the long walk to Jerusalem - that’s an 18 mile hike. They’ve had a great celebration along the way - waving palm branches and shouting at the top of their lungs - Of course they’re tired. So they get to the temple, look around - and then turn, and head off to bed. Is that it? It seems to anti-climactic! But that’s not what’s happening here. this verse is RICH in symbolism.
When v. 11 tells us that Jesus ‘looks around’ at the temple - the Greek word here points to an all-encompassing survey of everything around - like a detective’s full investigation. In other words - Jesus takes a penetrating, investigative look at the very heart of the religious condition of the people.
By the end of this week, the center of everything that God’s people hold dear, will be rendered conpletely irrelevant in God’s eyes. “Tear this temple down and I will rebuild it in 3 days”. Jesus is about to create a new centre of true, God-ordained worship - and it will be HIMSELF.
And He will build this new pathway to God - not through the fanfare of adoring crowds. … He will build it … alone, in His self-sacrificing death. We will focus on His death on Friday, in our Online, Good Friday Service.
But for now - look at v. 11 of our text - - see your Savior, Christian .... not removed from your suffering … not divorced or separated from your fears ....
God’s response to this world’s chaos and sin and suffering … is that HE TAKES RESPONSIBILITY! In the person of Jesus Christ - the Holy God who has been horribly offended by our sin - and the suffering and deformity that our rebellion has brought into His good creation - That very God steps forward … to deal with the mess.
Every time you are tempted to see God as distant - safely secure in heaven, separated from the suffering of our world - unconcerned with your stresses, your anxieties and your fears ....
… Look at Jesus Christ! See him, here in the temple - standing in solidarity with the world and preparing to take responsibility.
And know that He is there - preparing to lay down the very life and body he took up - because He knows your religious failures … and He loved you THAT much!
The Triumphal Entry
I wonder how you are all doing. Judging by what I read online these days, it seems that there are a whole lot of people who are living, in these days, in a perpetual state of fear … trepidation about the days ahead - “Will I get infected by the virus? What about my loved ones with compromised health? What about my job - will I still have one next month, or next week?” And where is God in all of this?
“Can God be good when thousands of people get sick and die from a virus they can’t even see? Where is God and what is He doing?”
C.S. Lewis had his world shaken, when his beloved wife, Joy, died of cancer. They had married later in life, finally finding the love of their lives in each other … hadn’t been married very long at all - then she was gone. “WHERE IS GOD?” Lewis was a Christian - tried to honor God in his life and in his writings … so “How can a good God allow this to happen?”
He wasn’t tempted to chuck his belief in God and run into the atheist camp. Here’s what he wrote in his book, “A Grief Observed”:
“Not that I am … in much danger of ceasing to believe in God. The real danger is of coming to believe such dreadful things about Him. The conclusion I dread is not, ‘So there’s no God after all, but, ‘So this is what God’s really like. Deceive yourself no longer’.”
His temptation was to see God as disinterested, vindictive even … standing with arms folded, or not even paying attention – way up there … while we are down here, suffering. Can you identify?
When you shut God up in the heavens or think ‘hard thoughts of Him’ as the Puritans put it … you insult His character, you show that you don’t understand His identity – and you rob yourself of the comfort and rest that He brings – Oh, He doesn’t answer all of our questions … but He does better than that: HE SHOWS HIMSELF TO US.
So, if you are struggling with unanswered questions right now – let me invite you, on this Palm Sunday morning … to find comfort in the character of God as He reveals Himself to us in the person of His Son, in
READ:
Mark’s Gospel is 16 chapters long. Beginning with the first verse of our passage, chapter 11, verse one - and running to the end of the book - 6 of 16 chapters, focus on the last week, the last seven days of Jesus’ life, leading up to Easter - Resurrection Sunday. That means that fully one-third of this Gospel is set during this one week period.
That tells you something of the significance of this time. You don’t need to have a Bible college or seminary education to be able to understand that this is important.
It’s interesting that God has given us 4 Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And they don’t all follow the same pattern in describing Jesus’ life. Each writer has his own special points that he wants to make about Jesus (they don’t CONTRADICT each other - they just emphasize different aspects of Jesus’ life, according to the questions they want to answer about him). Do you realize that only 2 of the Gospels cover the Christmas story? Matthew and Luke. But when it comes to the week leading up to the cross - Passion week - all 4 Gospels cover it, AND they all slow down the pace and start tracking together. It’s as if they said, “Okay let’s slow right down and make sure everybody gets what’s going on, during these 7 days - - - because if you don’t get THIS … you DON’T GET JESUS.”
Divide our passage into 3 scenes: 1 The Sovereign Leader prepares for His Entry, vv. 1-6; 2 The Servant King Arrives, vv. 7-10; 3 The Savior Surveys the Temple, v. 11
1 THE SOVEREIGN LEADER PREPARES FOR HIS ENTRY, vv. 1-6
Our text, this morning, begins in the two villages of Bethany and Bethphage. It’s spring … Passover time. Nearly every devout Jew, who is able, will make the journey from home, travelling along the winding pathways and busy highways that run through the nation, like arteries carrying blood to the heart … these arteries carrying pilgrims to Jerusalem … the beating heart of the nation.
This feast of Passover is a big deal. Excitement is in the air - the buzz is palpable .... In Jesus’ day, the population of Jerusalem is approximately 30,000. At Passover, the number of people swells to hundreds of thousands. So many cram into the city - that the walls almost burst. There is simply not enough room for all of the visitors to find hotels or rooms in the city. So, many of the pilgrims stay outside of town, in the suburbs - like Bethany, 3 km to the east and Bethphage, just NW of Bethany.
Jesus and his disciples are making their way into the city on Sunday - the first day of the week. It has been a long day’s journey already. They woke up in Jericho and the group has walked 18 miles, through dry, barren, dangerous land between Jericho and Jerusalem, a trek that has seen them climb from sea level to 3000 feet in altitude. It’s time for a break.
Just before they reach Bethphage, Jesus stops the group. He chooses 2 of his disciples - sends them ahead, into the village - and then gives them specific instructions of what to do when they get there.
He tells them, in verse 2, that ‘Immediately as you enter (the village) you will find a ‘colt’ tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.”
And just in case anyone gets concerned, “Hey! Why are you stealing that colt?!” .... because colt theft in Jesus’ day would be much like car theft in our day. Untying a tied up animal on the side of the road, would be the equivalent of crouching under the steering column and hotwiring a car in our day.
“If anyone gets concerned ...”, just tell them, v. 3, “… The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.”
“Don’t worry! We aren’t STEALING IT … we’re just BORROWING IT … FOR THE LORD!!” ..... Well, how can you argue with that?
The disciples do as Jesus says - the neighborhood watch believers their story, and they bring the animal back, just like Jesus said they would.
Don’t miss the sovereignty of JESUS on display here! Mark is subtle - but he’s making it very clear - - - Jesus tells the disciples WHAT to do, WHERE to go, WHAT They will find, WHAT to expect when the neighbors see .... and HOW to solve the problem. And the fact that he tells the disciples to refer to him, in v. 3, as ‘Lord’ … these are all subtle pointers to Jesus’ hidden authority. Even v. 6: “… And they told them what Jesus said … (and then) … they let them go.” They let 2 strange men walk off with a prized animal … just because they said ‘the LORD wanted it’.
“Oh the power of Jesus’ name - the name that calms our fears … that bids our sorrows cease!” THIS JESUS.
When they bring the colt to Jesus, the crowd, gathering around him, which has been steadily growing all along this journey, has become larger than it even was when the disciples left. This is familiar territory for Jesus - Bethany here, this is the home of his dear friends, Mary, her sister Martha - and their brother Lazarus.
Many of the people surrounding him now - saw Lazarus raised from the dead. They know the man … watched him, wrapped in burial clothes and laid into the tomb. The stone - they saw it - - placed in front of the opening. Sealing him in death, forever!
And then they saw that same Lazarus, who had been dead for FOUR days … come walking OUT of that tomb … VERY MUCH ALIVE!
This Jesus has authority over life and death!
And look around at some of the other faces in the crowd - so many faces tell a story: There’s the face of the one whom Jesus set free from demon possession - restored to wholeness and a right mind.
There’s the face of the one, healed of lifelong diseases, the ones who Jesus set free from demon possession - restored to wholeness and a right mind.
There’s the face of the one healed of lifelong diseases, the one ones who had to be carried everywhere they went. He said, “Stand up!” … and they jumped … there are the ones he had set free from crippling guilt over sinful choices - now standing, straight and tall, that burden of guilt … removed!
There are the ones who had been cast-offs from society because their leprosy had rendered them, ‘unclean’ - unfit for human society. He. TOUCHED. THEM. .... and they were. CLEAN.
… When all of these people hear that Jesus is back in town and on his way to Jerusalem - streams of them come running out of houses and fields … they want to finish this journey with him.
This is the Sovereign LORD friends. His word creates a universe out of nothing … and wherever His name is called upon in simple trust … in Every. Single. Trial … He brings healing and life.
2 THE SERVANT KING ARRIVES, vv. 8-10
The disciples bring the colt back to Jesus … throw their coats over its back, Jesus climbs on and the party sets out.
I’ve been using the word, ‘colt’ - that’s how many of our English translations put it. The Greek word here is ‘polos’, which is a word that can mean EITHER a baby horse, or it can mean a little donkey. Since donkeys were much more prevalent in Israel than horses, this is most likely a donkey.
So, the scene – Jesus, a crowd, following behind - - with every stride, closer to Jerusalem … the anticipation builds more and more. And, at the center of the crowd … there is Jesus, the peasant carpenter, who has become the great hope of the masses. this is the One who will rescue God’s people from the boot of the Roman oppressor, once and for all! See him there: Jesus, the great HOPE … riding on a .... donkey?!
“What’s wrong with this picture?” That’s what Jesus is asking you to ask - - He isn’t riding into the city on a big war-horse, the way a warrior Messiah would. Here is the great king riding … he has proved his miraculous power - the power of His Word alone … and he’s riding in on an animal that we would associate with a child or a hobbit - not a king!
Why a donkey? To answer that question, look back in your Old Testament, to the book of Zechariah (second to last book in the OT).
, The prophet is pointing the people of God to the great Messiah to come. Zechariah 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.”
So, by riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, Jesus is saying, “I AM the Messiah - the rescuer you have been waiting for, all along, to save you!”
And the people get this. “Wait a second,” you say: “The people are supposed to put all of this together? A DONKEY RIDE is supposed to tell them that this is the king, the Rescuer they have been waiting for?! How can you expect that the people would EVER get that from such an obscure reference from a minor prophet, hundreds of years before?!
And if that’s a problem for you - just remember that the Jews knew their Bible a lot better than many Christians do today.
They didn’t have NETFLIX or Disney Plus, or social media to suck their time away.
We all remember important things we’ve seen or read - even when it’s from years before. I’ll prove it. Let me say 1 sentence and I guarantee that many of you will instantly picture the person who said it and where they said it:
“(Luke) .... I am your father.”
So, where does that come from? Do you realize that the Empire Strikes Back was released in 1980? That’s 40 years ago. But most of you caught that right away. Well, Jews in Jesus’ day didn’t have movies to compete for their attention.
In verse 11, something strange happens. Jesus arrives inside the city gates and makes his way into the temple precincts. Something very strange happens And just when we are expecting the parade ending at the – when Jesus gets to the temple he goes there alone – well the twelve may have been there – but the crowds are gone. Verse 11, “And when Jesus had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.”
They did have the Scriptures (our OT) and they read it and memorized it. So, when Jesus comes along, riding on a donkey - the people get it.
Everything that Jesus does, on the way to the cross - every step he takes … it is all purposeful. “But what’s the purpose?” you ask. “Why a donkey? Why a warhorse?”
In our day, it would be like a Royal Procession, where the king wasn’t sitting in the back seat of a Rolls Royce, but driving himself, in a 1999 Honda Civic.
Jesus is making a statement here. He’s saying, “I am a King. I am THE king … but I’m not the kind of king you are likely expecting. I don’t fit into the world’s categories. I bring together Majesty and Meekness ..... Power and Humility”.
With every stride closer to Jerusalem they get, the anticipation of the crowd builds higher and higher … the Mount of Olives is the official starting point of the journey into Jerusalem. And as the winding road from Bethphage reaches the crest at the top of the Mount of Olives, the eyes of the crowd are greeted by a fresh vista to the west - on a smaller hill ....
… 300 feet below and separated from the mountain by the narrow Kidron Valley. There, in all its glory is … the holy city - - there is Jerusalem! They can see the Temple – right next to it, they can see the Roman garrison. The pilgrims erupt in celebration. There it is!
The rocky pathway down the west side of the mountain is hemmed in by the gnarled wood of the trees in the olive groves, each tree reaching out with its disfigured branches, and hooded with silvery-green leaves.
As the crowd begins the descent down into the valley below - the people spontaneously start celebrating the arrival of Jesus.
Verse 8, “Many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.” Jesus on his royal mount is now traveling on a royal carpet - in this royal procession.
And the chanting begins - verse 9, “And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
From far ahead to far behind, all you can hear are voices, beginning to ring out in the afternoon air - as a mighty choir. One group shouts, ‘Hosanna!’ - - - another group shouts: ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Then the first group shouts: ‘Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David’ Then the second group cries out, ‘Hosanna in the highest!’
Back - and - forth - back and forth go the cries as, slowly and steadily, Jesus the King, approaches the Royal city, riding on the back of his borrowed donkey.
Hundreds of years earlier, God promised the Jewish people that a descendant of David would come and sit on the throne of David - and that his kingdom would not only include Israel … it would encompass the whole world.
A universal ruler! And the more the Jewish people are feeling the crushing weight of the Roman overlords boot on their collective neck - the more they long for that Rescuer to come.
Their shouts show the kind of king they’re looking for. When they call out, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” - that comes from .
The context of that psalm - warring nations surround Israel and God rescues His people from the attackers - so they sing this song, thanking God for sending the conquering hero who brings a great military deliverance.
Even the word, ‘Hosanna’ makes the point. That word does not mean what people often think it means: ‘Praise the Lord!’ Some English translations even translate it, ‘Praise God!’ That’s NOT what it means.
It means, ‘Save NOW!’. Hosanna is a cry for help - - “Help us! Save us NOW, from Rome!”
They’re looking for a warrior Messiah who comes to shatter, to purge, to destroy - and leave a pile of bodies in his wake.
.... And here comes Jesus, riding on a donkey … Do you see what he’s doing here? He is deliberately holding together what doesn’t seem to fit together - not to us: MAJESTY AND MEEKNESS … POWER AND PAIN. He is the Lion AND the Lamb.
Jonathan Edwards:
“There do meet in Christ infinite highness and infinite accessibility; infinite justice, yet infinite grace; infinite glory, yet infinite humility; infinite majesty, infinite transcendent meekness; absolute sovereignty, yet perfect submission; infinite all-sufficiency in himself, yet entire trust and dependence on God. He’s a Lion. He’s a Lamb. He’s a rock. He’s a pearl. He’s a mighty Captain. He’s a tender lover. He’s a fragile flower. He’s a mighty tree of life.”
Jesus Christ combines character traits, as Edwards says, that would never be combined in any single person, traits we would consider mutually exclusive, contradictory. Yet he combines them in ways you would never, ever think could be combined in the same person. Majesty and meekness, power and weakness … There’s the character of Jesus Christ, the excellence of Jesus Christ, on display as he rides into Jerusalem
Jesus is saying, ‘I am a king - but I’m not a king who fits into the world’s categories.’ And the problem so many people have today - is that we want a Jesus to rescue us from what WE think our GREAT NEED is. We want a Savior to save us from every threat of virus, every financial threat -
Friend, Jesus is likely not the king you want. But praise God - He is the King you need!
3 THE SAVIOR SURVEYS THE TEMPLE. v. 11
Our message is entitled, ‘The Triumphal Entry’, because that’s what this text is often called. But this passage might more accurately be called, ‘The Triumphal Approach’.
In verse 11, something strange happens that you may not have noticed. Jesus arrives inside the city gates and makes his way into the temple precincts. After the way the crowd has built up and the shouts of praise have been rising higher and higher to fever pitch … this is where we would expect the parade to end in the temple or at the governor’s palace - with a massive rally. Isn’t this the perfect time for a coronation?
But that’s not what happens. Verse 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.”
So Jesus gets to the temple, everyone has gone home - it’s late, so he looks around and leaves. What’s going on here?
Sounds like some of the family vacations my dad would take us on, as kids - we would be late getting on the road from the campground … then we’d get about 10 miles down the highway, only to realize that we forgot something .... so back we’d have to go and pick it up … then, of course, traffic is thick, so you end up not making as good time as expected.
Then there’s the flat tire on the trailer, so we’re stuck on the side of the Interstate, dad trying to change the tire without getting hit by any one of the stream of semis, thundering past, inches away. And, by the time you get to Disneyland - it’s closed for the night - so you just drive past it on your way to the campground and try to peer over the walls and see Cinderella’s Castle in the distance.
You so badly want to get in for a taste of the ‘happiest place on earth’, as it’s called - but it will have to wait for tomorrow. That would be expected in my house.
… But Jesus isn’t running late. This isn’t His failure to plan.
At the end of Mark chapter 10, the crowd following Jesus is in Jericho. that means many of these people got up early this morning and started the long walk to Jerusalem - that’s an 18 mile hike. They’ve had a great celebration along the way - waving palm branches and shouting at the top of their lungs - Of course they’re tired. So they get to the temple, look around - and then turn, and head off to bed. Is that it? It seems to anti-climactic! But that’s not what’s happening here. this verse is RICH in symbolism.
When v. 11 tells us that Jesus ‘looks around’ at the temple - the Greek word here points to an all-encompassing survey of everything around - like a detective’s full investigation. In other words - Jesus takes a penetrating, investigative look at the very heart of the religious condition of the people.
Another analogy – not only like a detective’s investigation, but this is the investigation of an owner – looking over His property. Car owner, who has just had his precious vehicle in the shop for repairs – He gets it back and looks it over, to see what kind of shape it’s in.
This is HIS TEMPLE … and by the end of this week, this place, the center of everything that God’s people hold dear, will be rendered completely irrelevant in God’s eyes. “Tear this temple down and I will rebuild it in 3 days”. Jesus is about to create a new centre of true, God-ordained worship - and it will be HIMSELF.
And He will build this new pathway to God - not through the fanfare of adoring crowds. … He will build it … alone, in His self-sacrificing death. He is the Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep. We will focus on His death on Friday, in our Online, Good Friday Service.
But for now - look at v. 11 of our text - - see your Savior, Christian .... not removed from your suffering … not divorced or separated from your fears ....
God’s response to this world’s chaos and sin and suffering … is that HE TAKES RESPONSIBILITY! In the person of Jesus Christ - the Holy God who has been horribly offended by our sin - and the suffering and deformity that our rebellion has brought into His good creation - That very God steps forward … to deal with the mess.
Every time you are tempted to see God as distant - safely secure in heaven, separated from the suffering of our world - unconcerned with your stresses, your anxieties and your fears ....
… Look at Jesus Christ! See him, here in the temple - standing in solidarity with the world and preparing to take responsibility.
And know that He is there - preparing to lay down the very life and body he took up - because He knows your religious failures … and He loves you THAT much!
THREE ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION OR REFLECTION:
1 – What are some of the biggest questions that people have about God during a time of pandemic?
2 – What does it tell you about humanity’s greatest need, that Jesus didn’t ride into Jerusalem on a war-horse?
3 – Our text shows Jesus entering Jerusalem as fully king, but in an unexpected way. How can that reality help you to live in the uncertainties of this week, with joy?
END YOUR TIME IN PRAYER
At the end of chapter 10, the crowd following Jesus is in Jericho. That means they probably got up early this morning and started walking to Jerusalem – it’s an 18 mile walk. So they’ve walked almost 20 miles, they have had a great celebration along the way – and now they are tired – waving those palm branches and shouting at the top of your lungs – that’s tiring. So everyone just headed off to bed?! Seems so anti-climactic. No, that’s not it. This verse is rich, RICH in symbolism.
In chapters 11, 12 and 13, the center of the action in the story is the Temple. See it in v. 15, “And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple …”. Verse 27, And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple …”
12:35, “And as Jesus taught in the temple …” Verse 41, “And he sat down opposite the treasury (box – the offering box in the temple) and watched the people putting money into the offering box.”
13:1, “And as he came out of the temple …”; Verse 3, “And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple …”. Do you see how Everything is going on in these chapters around the temple. Jesus has a mission. He may have entered the city on a plodding donkey, rather than a majestic war-horse, because he is not coming to set up a political kingdom. But make no mistake, there is a battle, and he is about to fire the first shot. This temple will be torn down. By the end of this week, the center of everything that His people hold dear – will be rendered completely irrelevant in God’s eyes – and a NEW CENTER of true God-ordained worship will be set up - - that will be Jesus, Himself.
So the ending of this account of the Triumphal Entry may seem anti-climactic, but it is actually a great piece of story-telling.
Jesus, with the twelve, enters the temple – he looks around - - - the Greek word points to an all-encompassing survey of everything around – Jesus “surveys” the entire temple precincts – examines the spiritual heart at the center of Jewish life – which was the heart at the center of the relationship to God of the entire human race. He takes full stock of Jerusalem’s religious condition - - carefully quietly - - His judgment is coming - - there is a battle that is about to begin intensely … but that battle is not today. That’s what Mark is saying.