Monday Devotional: The Triumphal Entry (Mark 11:1-11)
"Lo, your king comes to you."
When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’” They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,
“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”Then 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 (Mark 11:1-11).
We may say we want Jesus, but do we want the real Jesus? Do we want the Messiah who suffered, died, and rose again, who demands everything of us, who calls us even to take up the cross? It’s hard to follow that Jesus. We may want a more comfortable savior, but that is not the savior God has sent us.
As Jesus and the disciples approach Jerusalem, he gives them a prophetic directive. They are to go into the next village, where they will find a colt that has never been ridden. They are to untie it and bring it to him. To those who inquire why they are taking the donkey, they are to say, “The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.” Perhaps they are learning faith, because they follow these strange instructions to the letter. They find the colt, just as Jesus said, they answer the bystanders as he instructed, and they return to him, colt in tow.
There is a sense in which the events ahead are predetermined. Jesus has prophesied his suffering, death, and resurrection three times (8:31; 9:31; 10:33). Now as those events begin to unfold, he orchestrates their fulfillment. Could he, however, have chosen to do otherwise? Could he have put a stop to all this? His prayer in the Gethsemane may indicate as much: “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want” (14:36). Jesus submits to the will of the Father and thus cooperates in the completion of his messianic work.
The word translated “colt” here—pōlos—could mean the colt of a horse or a donkey. In this case, a donkey’s colt is in mind. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is the fulfillment of the messianic prophecy of Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Jesus is the king. He enters Jerusalem in both triumph and humility on the back of a donkey’s colt.
The people along the road know something momentous is happening. In keeping with the prophecy of Zechariah, they welcome Jesus as their coming king. They spread their cloaks and leafy branches across the road and shout:
“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
The word “hosanna” means something like “Save us!” or “Save now!” but it is also a common expression of praise. It is both a plea and a cry of thanksgiving. The people know they need salvation and that Jesus is the one to bring it. What they seem not to understand, however, is what salvation will entail, or what kind of king Jesus will be. The prophecy of Zechariah continues,
He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit (Zech 9:10-11).
The messianic era will be one of peace among the nations. The dominion of the Messiah will be throughout the earth. All of this will be the manifestation of God’s covenant faithfulness.
Yet the crowds greet Jesus with errant expectations. “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!” they cry. In one sense this is true: Jesus is the Son of David (10:48), but the kingdom of David is not coming back—at least, not in the way they think. Jesus has not come to destroy Israel’s enemies and reestablish an independent, unified kingdom. He has come to inaugurate a new reality on earth. This new reality transcends the kingdoms of this world that rise and fall across time. It comes to bear on any kingdom in which it takes root, but it is defined by none.
After entering Jerusalem, Jesus enters the temple and looks around. He is taking stock. The next day he will condemn the temple, berating Israel for seeking forgiveness through sacrifice without the change of heart that constitutes true repentance. The coming kingdom of the Messiah Jesus will involve a different kind of life.
Prayer: God, teach me to follow Jesus in faith and truth. Chasten me when I am tempted to imagine Jesus in my own image.
Questions:
Why do the people imagine that Jesus is going to restore the Davidic kingdom?
Do you think Jesus had a choice in whether or not to go to the cross?
What are some false “Christs” we see in the world around us?
This is a great devotional message following the recent election. Cultural Christianity seems to anticipate a God-ordained political transformation in this country, and yet, God didn’t even provide that for Israel.