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MARK 11
The Triumph, The Tree, The Temple
In the preceding chapters, Jesus has been making His way towards Jerusalem, in order to fulfill the prophecies in the Bible about being crucified there… And then rising from the dead three days later.
Isaiah’s prophecy in Ch 50 says His face was set like a flint to go there… His only delays were to bless children and heal the blind.
Mark’s gospel (Ch 9 & 10) tells us that the disciples were beginning to be afraid. Their plans for greatness and fame are being threatened by Jesus’ talk about dying…. But then THIS happens…
The Triumphal Entry
Mark 11:1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage (House of figs) and Bethany, (House of dates) at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; 2 and He said to them, "Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. 3 And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it,' and immediately he will send it here."
4 So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. 5 But some of those who stood there said to them, "What are you doing, loosing the colt?" 6 And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go.
7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. 8 And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
9 Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna! 'BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!' (Psalm 118:26) 10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David That comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" 11 And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.
· Until this time, Jesus had avoided and even discouraged the public pronouncements of Him being the Messiah. WHY?
· Just like He told Mary at the wedding in Cana, It was not yet the time…. In other words, The Father would determine the right time, no one else would be qualified to make this decision.
NOW WAS THE TIME.
· In fact, The Prophet Zechariah had foretold this day that Messiah would enter Jerusalem, on the colt… Hundreds of years earlier he wrote:
· Zechariah 9:9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.”
· NOW… The Disciples catch on that this is the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy… SO… They begin to shout the Messianic greeting from Psalm 118:22…
· 22 The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. 23 This was the LORD's doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save now, (Hosanna) I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity. 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD. 27 God is the LORD, And He has given us light; Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
· The Disciples think that Jesus will ride into Jerusalem on the Royal Colt and head right over to City Hall and take over…
o But… Jesus rides to the Temple. To HIS Temple…
o They missed that part about binding the sacrifice to the altar being the Messiah as well…
· Psalm 118: 24 This is the day the LORD has made…
o Daniel in Dan 9 prophesies this day to the very day…
o This truly was the day that the Lord had planned…. Exactly to the day, Jesus rides in as prophesied by Daniel… On an unbroken colt as prophesied by the Prophet Zechariah…
o In His lifetime Jesus fulfilled 400 prophecies from the Old Testament beginning with His birth in Bethlehem which the Prophet Micah predicted in Micah 5… And ending with David’s account of the cross in Psalm 22…
o Modern day weathermen, with all of their fancy computers, satellites, and technology can’t predict with accuracy the weather tomorrow!!! But God’s Prophets got it right… 400 times.
· The other gospels tell us that the Pharisees were offended at the lavish praise being offered to Jesus at this Royal entry into the City.
o Jesus rebukes them saying that IF the people had not offered the praise… The stones on the ground would have…
o It would have been the first “Stone’s Concert”
· It would be easy to miss the significance of the sacrifice of having your clothes trampled underfoot by the colt…
o People did not have closets full of clothes in these days…
o Their clothes were hand woven, expensive, and few.
o A man’s outer garment may have been worth a month’s pay, and he probably owned one. It may have been a family heirloom passed down from generation to generation… To lay it down for Jesus to ride over was an honest act of praise.
Chuck Smith reads the Donkey, by Chesterton in his commentary
When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born.
With monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil’s walking parody
On all four-footed things.
The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.
Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.
· What an honor for this beast to bear on his back the Son of God. What a privilege that its first burden to bear was the Lamb of God upon whom would be placed the sins of the world.
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
12 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it.
· These fig trees were the kind that FIRST had figs, and then had leaves… SO… If you saw leaves, you expected that there would be fruit as well.
· Leaves meant fruit… And, the first figs were the best.
When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again." And His disciples heard it.
· In the OT, the nation of Israel is symbolized by the fig tree several times. That is what is happening here too… Jesus is prophesying the future fall of Israel.
· If you have Jewish loved ones, you see and hear them talking about their religion, their religious duties, their religious restrictions… They have leaves of religion, but no Jesus… No fruit… No Salvation… No figs, as it were…
· We know that God looks for fruit from His people, NOT just ritual.
NEXT WEEK…
Jesus cleanses the Temple!