The Gospel of Mark:
So far it has taken 10 chapters to cover 3 yrs of Jesus’ life on earth…The rest of the book is 6 chapters to cover 8 days!!!
We just finished Advent, Christ entering our world as one of us.On what we know as ‘Palm Sunday’, Christ entered the city where He would be sacrificed for you and me as one of us. The wonder of Advent for me is that God was willing to come as one of us…And now we see Christ headed towards dying as one of us. Christ enters the city surrounded by thousands…Five days later Christ is Crucified.
Every week until Easter we will be looking at what things were a priority for Jesus to show His Disciples & The World during that last week of His pre-Cruxified life. In our text today He is showing His Disciples that He is in control of it all; Big & Small, The contrast of the Majestic and the Minute. This Scripture declares: Big or small, Christ is Lord of all!
The New year is good time to order your life to reflect a Biblical view if Jesus Christ.
Mark 11:1-18 NASB 1995
1 As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, 2 and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ you say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately He will send it back here.”
- Everyone but the 12 were fearful of Jesus going to Jerusalem [10:32]
- He gives very detailed instructions… like He is in control of… Everything!
- The God of Creation & The God of intricate details!
- He is staging a massive gathering and yet gives attention to tiny details
- I wounder if God is like that in each of our lives?
- God wants to involve us in the Big and Small
- God is Big yet willing to be small…
4 They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it. 5 Some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. 7 They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it; and He sat on it. 8 And many spread their coats in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields.
- People don’t just let someone take a valuable animal like that…
- Key thing for the disciples: ‘They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them’
- Obedience to Jesus’ Words & Ways is central to Biblical Christ Discipleship!
- They covered the donkey & the road…Why?
Specific Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy: The coming King!
Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet He is humble, riding on a donkey riding on a donkey’s colt. ~ Zechariah 9:9
9 Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting: “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!” 11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.
- ‘Hosanna’ means: ‘O Save Us!’
- The use of this language by the Jewish people was reserved for The Messiah
- This is the only time Jesus is truly recognized as who He is
- He checks out the temple, perhaps making a plan for tomorrow
- They leave and go to Bethany, most likely staying with Mary, Martha & Lazarus
12 On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. 13 Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.
- It’s Monday and they get up and head back into the city
- Interaction with the fig tree is contrasted with being hailed as the Messiah
- No one is there to see Him come into the city
- The text makes a point to say His Disciples were listening
- At this point they are paying attention to EVERYTHING…after what the’ve seen
15 Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; 16 and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple.
- The 1st thing He did once He entered the city was to address a big wrong
- Christ was doing a big object lesson about justice
- The people who were getting ripped off the most were those coming from afar
- Selling sacrifice animals at inflated prices & giving them a bad exchange rate!
- Besides the ‘Sacrifice Scam’ they were also turning it into a ‘Flea Market’!!
17 And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den.” 18 The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.
- After getting everyones attention He teaches
- Jesus quotes Isaiah 56:7 ‘…For All Nations’
- The context of this passage is about God not excluding foreigners
- Read Isaiah 56:1-8
- It angered the priests & scribes because He was condemning their set-up: They were in charge.
We end with people reacting to Jesus with fear & astonishment. What is your reaction to Jesus today? The whole crowd was astonished, the religious leaders were fearful…and His Disciples were listening and obeying!
What is the Scripture teaching US and what are WE go going to do with it?
What Jesus is showing us:
God controls all circumstances in our lives, as His Disciples we become obedient to Christ’s words and ways. When we do things with His heart & actions, He is glorified and Scripture will come alive in our lives!
Application Action:
Do three small things this week that are specifically obedient to the Words of Christ.
Examples: Turn the other cheek. Store up treasure in heaven. Forgive your Bro or Sis 70 X 7. Receive The Kingdom like a child.
What Jesus is showing us:
Jesus specifically fulfilled prophecies to demonstrate His Messiahship and His personal attention to EVERY detail, that means every detail of your life. Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem is prophetically foreshadowing His second coming. He holds all history & every moment of each of our lives in His hands.
Application Action:
Make a BIG choice that reflects the Big Picture of being Christ’s Disciple, not the ‘American Dream’ of Success, Security & Status. Remember He is coming back!
What Jesus is showing us:
God is paying attention to the Big & Small; from every plant to nations and churches. He is concerned with what we do as individuals and Members of His Body. As His Disciples we do well to listen carefully and apply such principals to our daily lives.
Application Action:
Ask someone in leadership here at Midtown how YOU can be obedient to play a part in making Midtown Church glorify God more.
For the next three months we are going to examine the last last SIX chapters of this book, events that take place over just SEVEN days! As Christ’s Disciples… As His Body… may we LISTEN & OBEY!