Day 10 - Palm Sunday Mark 11:1-11

Moving closer to Jerusalem, Jesus and the disciples came to the Mount of Olives, taking in the panoramic view of the temple. Jesus sent two disciples to the village to bring back a colt for his journey into Jerusalem.

“If anyone asks you, “Why are you doing this?” say, “The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.”

Mark 10:2-3

Throughout Mark’s Gospel, we’ve seen Jesus repeatedly silence those who wanted to declare him as the Messiah. At this moment all that changed. This was the right time for Jesus to enter Jerusalem as the Messiah, Son of David, and, through his actions, proclaim that he was the fulfilment of the words of the Old Testament.

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!

Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!

See, your king comes to you,

righteous and victorious,

lowly and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Zechariah 9:9

Without saying a word, Jesus communicated to the crowd that he was the King they had been waiting for. I wonder what their expectations were as they shouted their hosannas and laid their garments before the royal procession. I wonder if they thought he would inspire a rebellion to liberate them from Roman oppression. The clue was in his “triumphal” entry, echoing the words of Zechariah, and riding into the city on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Despite any reservations they may have had, the crowd responded with praise for their coming King.

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Mark 11:9-10

Something to think about…

“When Christ entered into Jerusalem the people spread their garments in the way: when He enters into our hearts, we pull off our own righteousness, and not only lay it under Christ’s feet but even trample upon it ourselves.”

Augustus Toplady

We will complete Mark 11, along with Mark 12 in tomorrow’s blog.

Kay Moorby