[0:00] So, speaking of kings, the lion is known as the king of the jungle.
[0:11] What? Somebody say something else? Beasts? Oh, okay. So, the lion goes to the rhino and says to him, who is the king of the jungle?
[0:27] And the rhino says, oh, lion, it is you. He goes then to the hippo, and he asks the hippo, who is the king of the jungle?
[0:38] The hippo says, oh, lion, it is you. You are the king of the jungle. He goes to the elephant, and he asks the elephant, who is the king of the jungle? The elephant wraps his trunk around the lion, throws him high into the air, catches him, and slams him against a tree.
[0:57] For his answer. The lion shakes it off, gets up groggily, and weakly says, well, if you don't know the answer, you don't have to get so mad.
[1:12] Who is the king? The true king? Who appears to be king? Who is said to be king? But who is the real king of the jungle? It's a tiger.
[1:24] Did you know that? It's a tiger. No. Tigers are bigger and stronger than lions, but never mind. What is it that makes a king? What is it that makes a king?
[1:40] Israel was waiting for its king, the Messiah, the Son of David. They were waiting and looking for him to come to set up the kingdom, to set them free from their enemies.
[2:01] When Jesus comes, when Jesus comes, with music, when Jesus comes, he is not the kind of king the Jews are looking for.
[2:23] He is not. He does not come riding in on a horse to proclaim war. He comes riding in humbly on a donkey to proclaim peace.
[2:34] He does not come in glory. He comes in humility. In Mark chapter 11, we come to a passage that we typically call Palm Sunday.
[2:52] Or the triumphal entry. It is a passage recorded in all four Gospels. It is so important. It is recorded in all four Gospels.
[3:04] It is the turning point that marks the last week of the life of Jesus Christ. It is the day typically called Sunday, though it didn't happen on a Sunday, when Christ enters and will end his life that week.
[3:22] In John 12, we are told that this event happened five days before the Passover. Which if you hold to the traditional Passover and count back five days from Thursday, which is the traditional, remember, Good Friday is the tradition when Jesus died on Friday, so Thursday would have been the Passover.
[3:46] Count back five days, you are on Saturday. So the earliest he could have entered Jerusalem was Saturday. But what if Passover wasn't Thursday, but rather Wednesday?
[3:57] And what if Jesus did not die on Friday, but rather on Thursday? Which is the more accurate understanding. I'm not biased, but I think that's what's true. So if you count back five days from Wednesday, you end up at Friday, when he enters Jerusalem.
[4:15] And as we're told, it's already late as he enters the temple. That means Friday evening is the beginning of Sabbath. So it's already late, so he goes back to Bethany.
[4:28] The other thing I want you to know about this triumphal entry is the Gospel of John tells us that it happens right after two important events.
[4:46] In John chapter 11, there is the death and resurrection of Jesus' friend known as Lazarus, which stirs up a lot of curiosity and belief about who this Jesus is.
[5:03] So part of the crowd that is following him is stirred up by that miracle. And the day of, that was, well, it was a few days before, the day before the triumphal entry is when Jesus is anointed with the costly oil by Mary, the sister of Lazarus.
[5:24] And so we're told that a large crowd, John tells us a large crowd who had heard about Lazarus' resurrection has come out to meet Jesus, and they're bringing palm branches.
[5:40] The Gospel of John, by the way, is the only one that tells us about palms. So we call it Palm Friday, Sunday, whatever we call it, Palm. One of those things.
[5:51] Mark doesn't mention palms. He mentions leafy branches. So that's the setting. So in Mark chapter 11, we enter the final week of Jesus on earth, which culminates in a deadly end to his journey, which he has been on, remember, since the end of chapter 8 of Mark.
[6:17] Now the Gospel of Mark. Remember, the journey began in the first eight chapters asking the question, who is this Jesus? And remember, Mark's way of displaying Jesus is not like Matthew, where he set out to prove and give evidence that he's the Messiah.
[6:35] Mark simply tells the story and lets the people show the reaction. And so we see people reacting to Jesus as he does things of authority.
[6:46] They say, what is this? Who is this man? Who does this? We've never seen anything like this before. And so for those first eight chapters, we see Jesus both teaching, which astonishes people.
[7:00] We see him doing miracles and showing his authority, which astonish people, including the disciples, who see him calm the sea and the wind.
[7:11] And they say, who is this? Another level of who is this? Because how is it that even the wind and the waves obey his voice?
[7:25] So that is John. So the first eight chapters, John, Mark, excuse me, John, Mark, Mark is revealing Jesus and letting the crowd and the reader respond the same.
[7:36] Yeah, who is this? Mark doesn't give us answers. He simply tells us what happened and how people reacted. And then at the end of chapter eight, we come to a great turning point.
[7:50] Because now Jesus begins to reveal himself more directly to the twelve. Remember they are kind of ending the public ministry.
[8:03] Jesus goes up on the mountain and he asks about people's opinions. Who do people say that I am? And then he asks the disciples, who do you say that I am? Who do you believe that I am?
[8:13] And it's Peter's great moment. You're the Messiah. You're the son of the living God. And Jesus, remember, said in Matthew, flesh and blood did not reveal that to you, Peter.
[8:25] You didn't figure that out on your own. The Father in heaven revealed that to you. But you're right. And on you I will build the church. On that rock I will build the church. And then of course, Peter on his high had to keep talking.
[8:43] Because then Jesus, after the confession, Jesus started to reveal that he is the son of man. That he must suffer many things. He will be rejected by the authorities in Jerusalem.
[8:54] He will be condemned and killed and rise on the third day. Three times he gives that revelation. In Mark chapter 8, Mark chapter 9, and Mark chapter 10. And each time the disciples respond poorly.
[9:09] The first time he reveals it, Peter says, No, Lord, I will not let it happen. I rebuke you. To which Jesus said, Get behind me, Satan.
[9:20] You're thinking man's thoughts, not God's thoughts. He reveals it the second time. And what happens? They're afraid to ask him about what he just said.
[9:31] And instead, Jesus hears them arguing on the road about which one of them is the greatest. So we have this Jesus revealing his humiliation.
[9:42] The disciples talking about their glorification. On two different pages. And then in chapter 10 he reveals it again. And this time, it's James and John, the sons of thunder, who come to Jesus and say, We have a request.
[9:54] We want you to do it for us. Please write this blank check. Jesus says, Well, what do you want? He says, We want to sit on your right and your left in your glory. Once again, Jesus has just revealed his humiliation.
[10:07] They're talking about glory. They're just missing. They do not understand. They don't get it. So after the confession of Peter, we have this new focus on the way of the cross.
[10:24] So the first eight chapters of Mark are about who is this Jesus. And then at the end of chapter 8, everything turns upon the confession and Jesus' new revelation about the way of the cross and what kind of Messiah he would be.
[10:38] And now in chapters 8, 9, and 10 of Mark, we have this focus on private teaching to the 12. Teaching them that to follow him means also to die.
[10:50] To follow him means that if you want to be first, you are to be last. If you want to be great, you must be the slave of all. This counter-cultural, totally opposite, upside-down value system.
[11:06] And they're not getting it. They're simply not getting it. Because it is foreign and unnatural to the way they think. But Jesus teaches nonetheless.
[11:17] And the Holy Spirit protects and causes the disciples to remember that teaching and record it now for us to learn from as well. So we come now to this final week of Jesus in Mark 11.
[11:35] And it starts surprisingly, uncharacteristically for Jesus with a dramatic entry into Jerusalem.
[11:46] A dramatic entry into Jerusalem. Think how odd this is for Jesus, who's usually trying to keep things quiet. Right? Doesn't want the publicity.
[11:59] All of a sudden, he is orchestrating a dramatic entry into Jerusalem. What's going on? It's clearly very deliberate.
[12:10] Because he is directing everything. He is giving detail after detail after detail. This is what we will do. So, Jesus' orchestrated entry into Jerusalem reveals two significant fulfillments of Scripture.
[12:30] In the first seven verses, we see the fulfillment of Zechariah chapter 9. And behold, your king comes to you, humble, mounted on a donkey.
[12:42] The colt of a donkey. And then in verses 7 through 10, we see the people's response to Jesus with the shouting and the praising from Psalm 118.
[12:55] Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Another messianic psalm. Two important scriptures of the Messiah fulfilled deliberately by Jesus' orchestration of his entry into Jerusalem.
[13:15] So, let's look at each of those two things. First, we have the first fulfillment from Zechariah 9, which shows us that Jesus is the Messiah who comes as a humble, saving king.
[13:28] He comes as a humble, saving king. Mounted on a donkey. Who brings peace, not war.
[13:42] So, I want you to make some observations here. First thing that we notice in verse 1, in chapter 11, is a bunch of where's. You know, when we read Scripture, we want to answer questions.
[13:55] We want to ask the questions. Who, what, when, where, why? It helps us read the text. Helps us analyze the text. Helps us to inductively pull out from the Scripture what it says instead of reading into the Scripture.
[14:09] So, we ask questions. Who, who is it talking about? What are they doing? When are they doing it? Where are they doing it? Why are they doing it? So, he gives us the where first.
[14:19] Verse 1, when they drew near to, three places are mentioned. To Jerusalem, to Bethphage, and Bethany at the Mount of Olives.
[14:30] So, where? Now, remember, at the end of chapter 10, he had just been in Jericho, healing the blind man, right? Remember blind Bart? Bartimaeus?
[14:43] Calls him son of David, son of David, have mercy on me. Remember? Jesus accepts that title from him. And we see that Jesus heals him and he says, your faith, Bartimaeus, has saved you.
[14:57] So, we see what saving faith looks like in blind Bart. So, he's following. He's part of that crowd. So, they've come from Jericho up to Jerusalem. By the way, that's coming from the east to the west.
[15:10] So, this is north, right? Over here. So, it's coming from the east to the west. Jericho is about 1,000 feet below sea level. In the valley where the Nile, Nile, not Nile, sorry.
[15:26] Thank you. Jordan River comes, right? From Mount Hermon all the way down to the Dead Sea. Comes through that valley, the Jordan Valley. This is all below sea level.
[15:37] So, they're coming from Jericho all the way up to Mount Olives, which is 3,500 feet ascension. That is a 20-mile walk, hike.
[15:52] Okay? So, you literally are going up to Jerusalem. You are ascending. Okay? So, they go up to the Mount of Olives. At the top of the Mount of Olives are a couple of villages.
[16:04] One called Bethany. One called Bethphage. Bethany, we know, is about two miles from Jerusalem.
[16:17] Bethany is where Lazarus and Mary and Martha live. It's where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. So, reading John, we get the picture that Jesus has already made the climb up to Bethany.
[16:32] He's been residing there for at least a few days before he comes down. In fact, John tells us it's...
[16:43] The anointing was six days before the entry into Jerusalem. And that then the triumphal entry is five days before Passover.
[16:56] Bethany is the home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus. It's also the home of Simon the leper in John chapter 12. The day before where Mary anoints the feet of Jesus.
[17:09] So, that's the where. Now, I want you to notice the what. This is kind of what stands out. I want you to notice that Jesus is directing everything.
[17:23] He's orchestrating. He is deliberately planning or pulling this all together. Notice. Verse 1.
[17:35] When they get there, he sent two of his disciples. He said to them, here's a task for you to do. Go into the village in front of you.
[17:47] And when you get there, immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt. The colt will be tied up. The colt will be one on which no one has ever ridden.
[17:59] Which means it's a sacred colt. Which means it's been set aside. Set apart. Prepared. A colt appropriate for a king to ride on.
[18:10] As Solomon did. As Jehu did. He will be tied up. Untie it and bring it.
[18:22] And then Jesus, in verse 3, anticipates questions. If anyone says to you, why are you doing this? Because it looks like they're stealing. Right? Right? Or you say, hey, who's taking that colt?
[18:35] Here's your answer. If they ask you, tell them the Lord has need of it. And that will solve the problem. And what happens?
[18:45] Verse 4. Tell them, by the way, it's only borrowed. We will bring it back immediately. Not taking that. I'm just going to borrow the colt.
[18:56] Just need it for a quick ride. And then we'll bring it back. Okay? So he does tell them that. And so what happens? Verse 4 to 6. It happens just like Jesus said it would. They go.
[19:07] They find the colt. They find it tied up. They untie it. Somebody asks them the question. They give them the answer. And they bring the colt to Jesus. So all these details. It unfolds just as Jesus said.
[19:21] It's as if Jesus knew something. It's as if things had been prepared ahead of time. Isn't it?
[19:35] It's as if the owner of the colt knew that they were supposed to have it tied up outside. That a quick question and answer would resolve the problem. Oh, the Lord. Okay, got it. Had Jesus made arrangements with this person beforehand?
[19:49] We're not told that. Did Jesus simply know this and the Lord had arranged it? Could be. We're not told. Either way, it elevates who Jesus is. He's sovereign.
[20:01] He's in charge. He's directing every detail. And it's deliberate. So thirdly, we ask the question why.
[20:14] When, where, why? Why is this doing? Why is Jesus doing this? Why this dramatic action? Which is unusual for Jesus. Jesus doesn't orchestrate things.
[20:27] He doesn't, when he heals people, doesn't make it a big deal. He's usually quite, you know, don't tell anybody. He raises the little girl. Don't tell anybody. So now he's making drama.
[20:41] And it's deliberate. Obviously orchestrated. Why? I can think of only one thing. It's to ensure that his arrival is noticed.
[20:54] It is a direct challenge to the authorities of Jerusalem. I am claiming kingship.
[21:06] They will recognize the symbology, symbolism, something about symbols. They will recognize the whole donkey thing.
[21:20] And the palm branches or the branches on the ground. They'll recognize exactly what that is. From Zechariah 9.
[21:30] Because that's exactly how the Messiah will enter Jerusalem. From the east. From the Mount of Olives. He will come in through the gate.
[21:46] It's as if one commentator said, it's as if Jesus is throwing down a gauntlet. There you go, guys. That's who I am. What are you going to do? It's as if he's forcing the issue.
[21:58] Because no, there's only five days till Passover and he must die. They're already plotting to kill him. But we're going to make sure this stays on track.
[22:12] Plus, he's fulfilling scripture. And he knows. He's aware of that. He's of course aware. He knows he must do this. This is part of the plan.
[22:23] So why so many details about it though? Why so many details? Why does it just tell us that he got a donkey and rode in? Why all the details about sending the two? Where they'll find it?
[22:34] What they'll see? What they'll find out? What they'll ask and what they'll answer? Why all the details? Because it's pointing to something of deeper significance. We see that many details.
[22:45] There's a reason they're there. It's pointing to something of deeper significance. To a fulfillment. And this action fulfills two messianic prophecies.
[23:02] First of all, it's not in your outline. Well, actually it is at the top of the page. Genesis 49. In Genesis 49. Jacob.
[23:16] Who was renamed Israel. Who had 12 sons. Is prophesying about each of the 12 sons. And the one that stands out is the one called Judah.
[23:29] And he says of Judah in John. Why do I always say John? That's my default. In Genesis 49 he says, The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet.
[23:50] In other words, Judah will be the tribe of the Messiah. Until tribute comes to him. And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. So here comes the king.
[24:02] Now watch the words said of Judah's offspring. Binding his foal to the vine. And his donkey's colt to the choice vine.
[24:14] And what is it that Jesus said about this donkey they will find? He's tied. He's bound. In fact, that's emphasized. When they got there, there he was. Bound.
[24:24] What? Just fascinating. And then he adds, after mentioning the donkey's colt, he says, And he, this Judah, this descendant of Judah, has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes.
[24:46] Now where have I heard of wine and blood and grapes before? Last Supper. Coincidence? Coincidence?
[24:59] Must be. Interesting. Okay. But that's not even the main fulfillment of Scripture. Now Mark doesn't tell us. He doesn't mention that this is a fulfillment.
[25:12] He just, like he normally does, he's just telling the story. He's just laying it out. And the reader's going to ask, why so many details? What's the big deal about this colt?
[25:26] He just presents it. But we don't need to guess what Mark is doing because Matthew tells us explicitly that this was done to fulfill the Scripture in Zechariah 9. The Gospel of John also tells us that when Jesus wrote on the colt, this was written of him and quotes from Zechariah 9.
[25:44] So why don't we look at Zechariah 9? Zechariah 9.9 says this, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion.
[25:56] Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your King is coming to you. Righteous and having salvation is He.
[26:07] See, that's why He's riding a donkey.
[26:31] It's about peace, not about war. He's not bringing a war. He's not going to come and conquer Rome. He's already won a victory. He's proclaiming peace to the nations, to the Goyim, to the Gentiles.
[26:52] His rule shall be from sea to sea, not just in Palestine, and from the river to the ends of the earth.
[27:04] As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
[27:17] That just took on deeper spiritual signification. I'm not here to do an earthly war. I'm here to free you from the waterless pit.
[27:30] I'm here to free you from hell and bondage to sin. That's the kind of king I am. See, Jesus comes doing what Zechariah said He would do.
[27:44] He claims His kingship. He is claiming that He is that king who is righteous and has salvation, who is humble, because He rides on a donkey.
[28:00] Which is, are you familiar with donkeys? Not a real glorious animal. Horses? Magnificent, aren't they? Beautiful.
[28:13] Awe-inspiring. Donkeys? Not so much. I have a little experience with donkeys. Back when I was at the church I was growing up in, and we did the Christmas play, and we did the play, and we did the triumphal entry with the donkeys, Pinot and Cha-Cha.
[28:29] Cha-Cha. And Cha-Cha was a Cha-Cha-Cha. She needed extra shots to be calm. Not a glorious animal.
[28:40] A beast of burden. One that a poor person might have, they could afford one.
[28:52] Somebody made the observation this morning, you know, Jesus, when He was in His mother's womb, when they came to Bethlehem, they rode on a donkey.
[29:04] In the first week of His life, He rides on a donkey. In the last week of His life, He rides on a donkey. I don't know. I don't know. Just interesting. So He claims that His kingdom is from earth to earth, to the end of the earth.
[29:22] He rides a colt of a donkey that emphasizes that He comes to peace, not in war. And He's going to make peace, as we will see, by the offering of Himself on the cross.
[29:39] So it leads us to, how do people respond? How do the crowds respond to these acts? What did people think when Jesus did that? Well, we see the response in verses 7-10, which leads us to a second prophecy being fulfilled in Psalm 118.
[29:57] We see that Psalm 118 tells us that Jesus is the Messiah who is blessed before He is rejected as He comes in the name of the Lord.
[30:13] He is blessed by the crowd. As He enters, He will shortly be rejected as the stone of the temple that the builders rejected and became the cornerstone of a new temple.
[30:35] Let us look at this. First we see the pathway. Verse 7, they bring the colt to Jesus. They throw their cloaks on there. It doesn't say that Jesus directed them to do that.
[30:48] I don't know if they just did it or if Mark just doesn't tell us that He directed that. But they throw their cloaks on there. At some point, I guess they're getting that, okay, He's going to ride the donkey. And then He sits on it.
[31:00] And then what happens? Verse 8, many spread their cloaks on the road and others spread leafy branches, not palms, leafy branches that they had cut from the fields, not the trees.
[31:19] So interesting. A little different detail than the Gospel of John. John talks about bringing palm branches. Here, Luke's just talking, Mark. I'd say any Gospel except for Mark.
[31:31] Sorry, my brain is... Okay. This is what happens when you get older. Apparently. Thank you for confirmation.
[31:45] Pray for me. Thank you. So, what we have a picture of is it's on the road.
[31:55] They're not waving these palms. They're putting them on the road. They're putting their cloaks and the leafy branches on the road to provide a soft carpet for Him to tread on.
[32:14] Get the picture? They're making a carpet. What do we do for our celebrities? We roll out the red carpet to honor them.
[32:26] So we still do that today. That's what they're doing. But it's a little more sacrificial than rolling out a red carpet. It's taking their cloak and throwing it on the ground for this donkey to tread on.
[32:42] Thank you very much. It's a gesture of great respect. It's a royal salute to honor the great incoming king.
[32:53] See, this crowd has very definite expectations now. Now he's finally getting to it.
[33:04] Now he's proclaiming his kingship. We're going into Jerusalem. He's going to take over. And so then we see the procession in verse 9.
[33:15] And those who went before and those who followed were shouting. So we have this procession. Those people before and after. This crowd of disciples.
[33:27] This crowd of Gapalayan pilgrims who have come from the north who are coming to the Passover. And they're coming early before they want to get there before the Sabbath. And there's things they must do for the Passover.
[33:41] They must select a lamb. They've got things, preparations to make. So they come early. Some scholars say, oh, that's too early for them to come. They haven't read what they need to do for the Passover if they're thinking that.
[33:54] So we have this crowd that's following Jesus from Galilee. Many who are his own family. Many who are his followers. People who were aware of him.
[34:05] Blind Bart is there. We know the women were following him. We're told later in chapter 15 of this whole crowd of women that followed Jesus around and provided for his needs.
[34:17] The Marys and the Salome and many other women were told were coming along. They're in the crowd because they're certainly there later when he's crucified.
[34:31] And then we have this crowd, remember, that John tells us about from Jerusalem who had heard about Lazarus' resurrection.
[34:44] So we have a big crowd. A crowd coming from Jerusalem to meet him and a crowd that's been following Jesus from Galilee. So we have this, those before and those after are shouting. And they keep on shouting.
[34:55] They're crying out as Jesus rides in. What is it that they cry out? They cry out praise. In verse 9, the second part of verse 9, they cry out, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
[35:11] Hosanna literally means save us, we pray. Save us, we pray. The word Hosanna comes from the root Yashah.
[35:28] The same root that the word, that the name Yeshua comes from. It's a word that means save. Yashah, Yeshua, Savior.
[35:40] Yashah, the verb, save. Na, we pray. Yashah, na. And in the verb form of the hyphil, it's Hosanna.
[35:55] Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. So it's emphasized. Save us, deliver us, rescue us. What is their expectations? From Rome.
[36:09] From our physical problems. From our hardships. Save us. And then they invoke a blessing on Jesus.
[36:23] Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is he. Blessed. It's a blessing. Blessing on this. They're shouting it to Jesus.
[36:34] Blessed is he. Luke tells us that the Pharisees at this point heard it and rebuked Jesus and said, tell your disciples to stop. And Jesus said, if they stop, the stones would cry out.
[36:52] You can't stop this. And then in verse 10, they add an idea that's not from Psalm 115.
[37:04] Verse 10, they say, blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David. Expectation showing through. Bring that kingdom.
[37:16] Bring that royal kingdom. We want David back. We want someone even better than David. So, they're thinking earthly.
[37:27] They know he is the son of David. He's just been proclaimed the son of David at the end of chapter 10 of Mark. But the words from verse 9 come directly from Psalm 118.
[37:43] Psalm 118 is a psalm that is sung at every festival, every feast of Israel. It is the last psalm that is called the Hallel song.
[37:56] From Psalm 111 through Psalm 118, they either begin or end, most of them, with hallelujah, hallel, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord.
[38:08] So, their songs as they come up and they sing at these festivals. So, Psalm 118 is the last one of the Hallel. It's most likely the one that they sing after Jesus has the Last Supper with them.
[38:25] They sang a hymn and then went out to the Garden of Gethsemane, remember? That's probably what they sang again, Psalm 118. So, I want to look at Psalm 118, just the second half of it, so that you might see the significance of the meaning.
[38:41] The first half of Psalm 118, the first 18 verses of Psalm 118, gives thanks to the Lord for the love of God, proclaims how God is their strength and their song and their salvation.
[38:57] And then the second half of Psalm 118, from verse 19 to the end, is a prayer and praise. And it contains these words from Mark 11, 9.
[39:11] So, listen to the context of the song they're singing to Jesus. Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
[39:23] This is the gate of the Lord. The righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
[39:42] This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Be glad that the stone was rejected. Save us, we pray.
[39:55] Here we go. Hosanna. Save us, we pray. It's a direct translation. O Lord, O Lord, we pray, give us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
[40:08] We bless you from the house of the Lord. The Lord is God and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords up to the horns of the altar.
[40:21] You are my God and I will give thanks to you. You are my God and I will extol you. Oh give thanks to the Lord for he is good for his steadfast love endures forever.
[40:35] I want you to notice the context of that song. What they're singing. it's talking about entering the gate of Jerusalem. Open the gates that I may enter in.
[40:50] The righteous enter the gate of the Lord. They give thanks for the salvation of the Lord. After which soon as he mentions salvation in Psalm 118 he talks about the stone that is rejected.
[41:05] Give thanks for the salvation. How does salvation come? By the stone that is rejected become in the corner stone. This is the Lord's doing. This is the day the Lord has made.
[41:17] That's what they're proclaiming. They don't know it. But that's what they're singing about. This is the day. This is the day he comes. This is the Lord's doing.
[41:35] So Jesus enters the gate with salvation as the psalm said. He is blessed but he's also to be rejected.
[41:49] He is blessed momentarily as he enters but within two days he will be rejected and confronted and plotted against.
[42:02] first. As Jesus enters the crowd cry out the prayer of Psalm 118 save us save us is that your prayer?
[42:17] Save from what? As Jesus enters the crowd cries this out yet within five days he will be given a crown made up of thorns.
[42:33] He will be lifted up not to glory on a throne but he will be lifted up on a cross. He will be called a king but in a mocking way.
[42:46] He is the stone that is rejected. And then I want you just to notice we don't spend time on this right now but notice how this ends. what does Jesus do after this dramatic entry he enters what does he do?
[43:06] Verse 11 he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. The first thing he does is go into the temple and when he had looked around at everything as it was already late he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
[43:22] Well we've just had all this drama all this praise all these crowds he enters Jerusalem and where did the crowds go? If this is not anticlimactic I don't know what is.
[43:40] It's like we expect boom and he comes in and it's eh. It's just odd.
[43:55] Isn't it? He inspects the temple. We're going to look at that next time. What is it about the temple for the next two chapters the temple is going to take prominence? About three chapters.
[44:08] It's going to be in around or about the temple for the next three chapters. Maybe that's significant. Especially as the stone who is rejected.
[44:21] what we do see is that Jesus intentionally presents himself as a humble king. As a savior.
[44:34] Who will be rejected. Who is not wanted. Who is not the kind of king men look for. Today is no different. When we present Jesus as he presents himself.
[44:47] unless people are convicted of their sin they will not be attracted to him. He's not the kind of king that people today are looking for.
[45:03] They want one to solve their immediate problems. And Jesus cares about those immediate problems but he's much more concerned about a deeper issue.
[45:14] So let me ask you two final questions just to meddle a little bit. Do you accept him as he is?
[45:28] As he came. Not redefine him. You accept him as he is. Is he your king? Is he your sovereign? Your lord?
[45:39] Your master? Second, do you accept him as your savior? Not a savior from immediate earthly trouble. But a savior from the watery pit.
[45:55] A savior from your sin and rebellion. A savior from your enslavement to sin and ultimately a savior from the very wrath of a holy God.
[46:09] So believe him. Trust him. Embrace him. Cry out with the crowd. Save us we pray. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
[46:24] Let us pray. Father we thank you for your word. We thank you for Mark presenting to us this Jesus. And he constantly is surprising us.
[46:39] He's always revealing himself. So Father help us to see as he wants us to see him. Help us to believe and embrace him as he reveals himself.
[46:51] We thank you in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you.