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Here Comes the King!
Mark 11:1-11
When they were approaching 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 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. 3 If anyone says to you, “Why are you doing this?” just say this, “The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.”’ 4 They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, 5 some of the bystanders said to them, ‘What are you doing, untying the colt?’ 6 They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. 9 Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,
‘Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!’
11 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.
Monday 18 March
When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives,
Even by the time of Jesus, the Mount of Olives had for centuries been associated as the place from which Israel’s Enemies would be defeated. All nations have places of symbolic importance. Some are local or national tradition but some have a very strong place in our own hearts and imagination, like a church where someone was married, the site of a house you grew up in but is now demolished, the place your grandpa worked in, a nightclub, a stretch of coast or river, or a football ground. Places have meaning.
Q: Where is meaningful to you?
How might God be present with you in that place?
Tuesday 19 March
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.’ ”
The locals understand what is meant by ‘The Lord needs it’. The people were waiting for a saviour, a Messiah. By borrowing the colt, Jesus is embracing his role as the Messiah King as predicted in the Scriptures hundreds of years before – Zechariah 9:9
‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’
The people had been expecting a messiah for centuries, one who would defeat all of Israel’s enemies.
Q: What do you think the locals were expecting from their messiah when he arrived? Do you think Jesus might have been nervous as he began his descent into Jerusalem?
Wednesday 20 March
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!”
Jesus is making a BIG statement. Riding on the colt, the people throwing down their cloaks and singing in celebration. The arrival of the people’s Champion and the one who is prophesied in Scripture is a direct challenge to the establishment and to the Roman occupiers. Jesus is indicating to the religious leaders that he is the Messiah of Israel. He is saying to the Romans that he is Israel’s true King. Jesus is about to bring the fight! This is theatre, like the walk to the ring before a big fight. An entrance for a King coming to claim his throne.
Reflect: Imagine this scene. Place yourself there in your imagination. Where are you? Walking alongside Jesus and his people, watching from the side of the road, watching from the wall of the city as He approaches?
Thursday 21 March
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!”
The word “Hosanna” for the Hebrews meant ‘Please save us!’. Every person who was shouting or singing was also echoing the cry of generations before them, that the Messiah come and save them. In other words; Jesus, save us! Hosanna was a desperate cry for help. The people had become accustomed to being controlled but it never meant that they liked or wanted it. The people lining the streets of Jerusalem on the Sunday before the crucifixion were desperate for rescue. The Messiah, Israel’s hope, would first come lowly on a donkey, and then become a suffering servant, before He would come finally appear as a conquering King.
Reflect: Have you ever heard anyone testify that they had reached a low-point before crying out to God to save them? Have you ever done that?
Q: How does Jesus free people, even now? What do you need to cry ‘Hosanna’ for today?
Friday 22 March
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.
After the excitement of the parade into town, this verse seems eerily quiet. The King is in His temple but everyone has gone home.
Reflection: It is not enough to be religious. It might look good, sound good, the temple might have good finances, it can give social respectability. The temple looks blessed. It means nothing unless the beating heart of the temple aligns with Jesus’ own heart. The temple Jesus visits was built for him to call home but instead the priests set out to destroy Jesus because they see him as a threat. In the Fathers name, they set out to destroy the Son.
The King has come to town and now he visit’s his temple. No fuss no drama. Jesus looks around, it is orderly, but it is empty. They head back to Bethany, party over.
Prayer: Lord, fill our temples, fill our hearts. Please give us eyes to see and ears to hear. Keep us aligned with you, always, so that when you come we will know you as our King. Amen.
Saturday/Sunday
Psalm 118 A Song of Victory
1 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”
5 Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.
6 With the Lord on my side I do not fear. What can mortals do to me?
7 The Lord is on my side to help me; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in mortals.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.
10 All nations surrounded me; in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
12 They surrounded me like bees; they blazed[a] like a fire of thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
13 I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.
15 There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;
16 the right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.”
17 I shall not die, but I shall live and recount the deeds of the Lord.
18 The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not give me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we beseech you, O Lord! O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God, and he has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you.
29 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
Charles Maasz
CEO
