Turn with me in your scriptures to the gospel according to Mark. We are in chapter 11, and we have before us this morning, verses one through 11. If you are able, I invite you to stand with me in honor of God's word, and I'll read in your hearing these 11 verses from chapter 11 of the gospel according to Mark. This is the sacred word of Almighty God. Let us hear with reverence and heed. Now when they drew near Jerusalem to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, and he said to them, go into the village opposite you, and as soon as you have entered it, you will find a colt tied on which no one has sat Loose it and bring it. And if anyone says to you, why are you doing this? Say, the Lord has need of it and immediately he will send it here. So they went their way and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street and they loosed it. But some of those who stood there said to them, what are you doing loosing the colt? And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the kingdom of our father, David, that comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna, in the highest. And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when he had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, he went out to Bethany with the 12. Thus ends the reading of God's holy word. Let us pray for his blessing on the preaching of it. Let's ask his blessing. Most Holy Father, we pray that you'd put forth your word to our hearts as it is preached. We pray that we may receive it with hearts made ready for this ordinance. And we pray that by the Spirit's work, this word should work its way into the heart and bear much fruit. And that to the glory of Christ, whose word this is. We ask these things in his name and for his glory. Amen. You may be seated. Mark has recorded Christ's push towards Jerusalem and his continuing instruction along the way regarding his mission. The disciples have not fully grasped this message. They apparently expect conflict and danger in pursuit of their continued vision of a political and military conquest. They are eager for the power and prestige they expect will come with the victory of this powerful Messiah. But Christ has repeatedly clarified to them His mission will bring Him to give His life a ransom for many. He will be handed over to Jewish and Gentile authorities. He'll be abused, finally put to death, but then he will rise again on the third day. Repeatedly, Christ has instructed them with regard to the leadership to which they are called and the priorities of his kingdom. These have to do with lowliness and servanthood. They must shed their worldly notions of grand power and self-promotion, they must be like Christ, not coming to be served, but to serve. And as this has been unfolding, we've reached here a turning point with Christ's encounter just prior with blind Bartimaeus. We saw, we examined that, This blind beggar had a lively faith in Jesus. He recognized Jesus as the true Messiah. Indeed, as the Son of David. This faith is met in this beggar with the blessed sight of Jesus as he is healed. Bartimaeus is healed and granted his vision. But we should notice that Christ does not quiet Bartimaeus' proclamation of who Jesus is. That had been frequently met in the past with commands that were quieting of those declarations. Not so now. The cry went up to Jesus as the messianic king, the son of David, and Jesus receives it. And that publicly, then Bartimaeus is called to him and submission by Bartimaeus is proclaimed when he responds to Jesus as Rabboni, meaning my master, my Lord, who he has already declared as Messiah, as the son of David. The secrecy is ending. Christ has diligently controlled his message, taught with clarity his mission and method in that message. The time has come for Messiah to be revealed in this mission, and now without the secrecy and restraints. The passage before us presents this revelation of Christ in his triumphal entry. And we'll consider that in three points. Much to unpack in these three points. First, the cult. Second, the crowd. And third, the court. First, the cult. Second, the crowd. And finally, the court. First, as we consider this section about the cult, notice the place. Verse one, the first part now, when they drew near Jerusalem to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives. As you compare the gospel accounts, it becomes apparent that Mark is not being exhaustive in details here regarding Christ's time as he comes to Jerusalem. Rather, he's focusing our attention on the critical accomplishments of Christ's final week. The city of Jerusalem would have been packed for the celebration of Passover. So pilgrims would stay not only in Jerusalem, but also in the surrounding areas. Those cities surrounding Jerusalem, as those cities are mentioned in this passage. Bethany was a city on the Mount of Olives. It was about two miles east of Jerusalem. And we find elsewhere that this city was also where Jesus' friends, Lazarus, Mary, and Martha lived. So he likely stayed with them while he was in Bethany. And the positioning here mentioned is important. It's noteworthy. Bethany, there, is on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, east of the Temple Mount, overlooking it, And that significance will come up again as we move through this passage. And note not only the place Mark records, but also the preparation with regard to the cult. Verse 1, as it continues, Down to verse three, he sent two of his disciples and he said to them, go into the village opposite you and as soon as you have entered it, you will find a colt tied on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. And if anyone says to you, why are you doing this? Say, the Lord has need of it. And immediately he will send it here. Christ is demonstrating he is in complete control of his approach, these preparations for the approach to Jerusalem demonstrate that this is not just some random set of events. Unusual as they may seem in these instructions, Jesus is preparing diligently every detail for his public presentation in the triumphal entry. He has every detail under his control. He knew where they would find the colt as he sent them. He told them precisely what to say when they encountered any questioning. And the language of what they should say is important as well as he's making these preparations with regard to getting that colt. The Lord has need of it, they are to say. That word Lord can be the word for master, as the one who's the owner. That's a word you would use for the owner of the cult. But clearly, we know when we compare the Gospels, that's not the meaning of the word Lord here. Rather, it has a different meaning. Very important meaning. Jesus is unfolding who he is now without restraint. The word means the Lord who is in fact Messiah. The authoritative one. majestic one, that Lord has need of it. And note the power of the word. Jesus said it would be so. As soon as they speak the word, the Lord has need of it. They release it to them. How unusual that would be, were it not for the fact that we see Jesus is in full mastery of the situation. His power is on display, even as he prepares for his triumphal entry. He's already displaying the power of the divine Messiah. He but speaks the word through the one sent, and it does his will. Marvelous preparation, demonstrating his messianic authority. He has command, we see, of all the resources that he is determined to use in His messianic purpose. Now that's very important for us to note. Surely it would be a comforting reminder to the original hearers, should it not be to us as well. Christ's will, His purpose, will order and supply what is needed for His mission and glory as we serve Him. Surely Mark wants us to see that. The power of Messiah on display in what seems like an unusual set of circumstances. Our master has every detail in order. Walk according to his word and his will. He will provide by his sovereign power all that he has purposed to display in us his servants His glory. Do we walk that way? It's a glorious and brief picture that we should follow. He sends them with an unusual purpose. Are we not the oddballs in the world? Yet, this should encourage us. Every detail is not there to meet our comfort needs, not there to work out according to our purposes. walk according to his will, and be assured of this, he will order and supply absolutely everything needed according to his purpose for his mission of his glory. And he deems to work it in our obedience. Is that what we're about? Do we go seeking to do his will and trusting his provision? Surely this is, as it were, a microcosm of our call. and our life. And we've noted the place and the provision we need to notice, or the preparation we need to notice the prophecy. And of course, the first and most obvious one is here before us, but we have several that we need to note. The most obvious one is his own prophecy. Go, you'll find these things, this will happen, do these things, and this will happen. It fell out exactly as the sovereign God in the flesh said. Jesus is manifesting his power, his messianic power, as the prophet. Verses four through six give us that glorious display. So they went their way and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. But some of those who stood there said to them, what are you doing? Loosing the colt. And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded, so they let them go. Christ's, first of all, Christ's own declaration of what would happen is fulfilled precisely as he said. The first token of his prophetic power. His prophetic and indeed his kingly office are on display. The Lord has need and it's immediately provided by the powerful word of the great prophet. But there's a second prophetic fulfillment, verse 7, then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it and he sat on it. We're being built up here to see that great messianic prophecy from Zechariah 9 at verse 9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you. He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey. Occult the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9.9. Note here, what is declared of Messiah, the supreme king, the powerful prophet? How is he described? Well, yes, he is the joy and rejoicing of Jerusalem, the powerful king. And just as Messiah said, what is he known for? As Zechariah prophesied, lowly and riding on a donkey. So we must note the lowliness of the messianic king as Jesus unfolds now in public revelation what he has taught about the messianic mission. I am, he says as it were, the glorious king. I am the promised prophet and I am not what you men think Messiah will be. I have so much more than that, my power and presence made visible to you in lowliness. And yet, from lowliness to broadcast, declared majesty, there's a root of that prophecy in Zechariah, those later prophets, That promise from Zechariah 9 finds its way all the way back to the words spoken by Jacob of Judah about the coming king. Remember from Genesis 49, when he was declaring those closing words upon his sons, what did he say of Judah all the way back in Genesis 49? that comes to life in the words of Zechariah and now is realized in Jesus. Hear those words from Jacob about Judah. In Genesis 49 at verse eight and following, Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise. Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion's whelp. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion, and as a lion, who shall rouse him? The scepter, that token of royalty, shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh comes. and to him shall be the obedience of the people. Binding his donkey to the vine, he washed his garments in wine and his clothes in the blood of grapes. So much richness of the prophecy of Messiah to come now unfolding in the fulfillment from this root to Zechariah now upon a cult. as Messiah rides. The kingly office of Christ, here as we consider Zechariah's prophecy fulfilled, also has a couple of other kingly fulfillments on display for us here in the text. First, the prerogatives of a king. Jesus is exercising those prerogatives very openly so that the message won't be missed. You remember the promised king? I am that king. Note not just that I ride the colt as the lowly king promised, but note what I did. I exercised kingly office in commandeering the colt. They would have readily seen that when he said, the Lord has need of it, and it was released to him. There's an exercise of kingly authority. Everyone understood. A person of that level, that capacity of authority, could always commandeer a beast of burden. All he had to do was speak the word. And it was required to release it to him. This happens, as it were, marvelously as a fulfillment of his messianic power. But they wouldn't have missed this. The king has said, I have need of it. Immediately, it's delivered to him. This demonstrates a kingly prerogative. And another kingly display that Christ intentionally puts before them is that tradition that no one may ride on the king's beast of burden. Only he may ride upon it. What did Jesus say when he sent them? A cult upon which no one has ridden. Again, he's making it very clear, poetically, but very clear, what power he's exercising. Yes, I am a king. and that's my beast of burden. Go get it for me. No one has ridden upon it because the king is the only one who may ride upon it. It's mine. Again, they couldn't have missed his intentional display of kingly prerogatives. How marvelous the display of his power, but as Zechariah said, in all lowliness. And verse eight unfolds to us a third prophetic display as he rides that colt here, verse eight, and many spread their clothes on the road and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Here's that third prophetic allusion. They well-versed in the Old Testament history would not have missed it. There was a king who was prophesied And he came to relieve Israel of a wicked king by great power. And when he ascended the throne, in keeping with the prophecy that had been put forth by the authority of God through the prophet, those who received him now as the promised king, bringing relief from wickedness, laid their cloaks on the ground that he would walk on them. Surely that historical record would be clear in their mind. Surely it's why they acted as they did. That record was from 2 Kings 9, verse 13, the ascension of King Jehu. Then each man hastened to take his garment and put it under him on the top of the steps. And they blew trumpets saying, Jehu is king. They were in, as it were, Old Testament fashion, laying out the red carpet for this one of such royalty that his feet should not touch the ground. Let us put our cloaks down. Let us put that underneath the steps of the king that will elevate him in keeping with his anointing. So the people, not only do you have the cloaks upon the otherwise unsaddled colt, but the cloaks go on the ground before the colt so that the royal one will ride with the clear demonstration that he is the anointed as prophesied. Let him ride in royal fashion. And they cover the ground before him. And so here we have, as it were, a prophetic allusion, something that they had in mind of a promised king, anointed and ascending, relieving the people of God of a wicked dominion. This is fulfilled in Jesus. And he embraces the display of that fulfillment, no longer hiding the message. That message is now pouring forth, and the crowd, our next point, receives it. Verses 9 and 10, then those who went before and those who followed behind cried out, saying, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. It's the words that echo Psalms that would have been on their lips as pilgrims. From Psalm 118, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. The Hosanna declaring salvation hoped for in Him and filling it in with the full and now public manifestation of Messiah, the King after the line of David. Those things surprisingly declared as it were like seeds sown from the mouth of blind Bartimaeus, a man of faith. come to fruit here in this crowd as Messiah fulfills all these things of prophecy, all these allusions to His kingliness, all this elevated hope and glory of salvation. And so it pours out now from the crowd. That glory is manifest as Messiah enters Jerusalem. But we need to trace another line. As the crowd is broadcasting the glory of Messiah pouring forth from Psalm 118, Hosanna's in the highest because the divinely appointed Messiah, the King, the Son of David is in their midst. What is Jesus doing in this glorious manifest provision? Well, he is in more than one place described. As we see him described in Hebrews, Jesus, who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Chapter one, verse three. What is Jesus called here? He is the brightness of divine glory. Why does that matter? It's not the only place where Jesus is said to be the glory of God embodied. This is critical to understand because of what Jesus is doing in entering Jerusalem and where we're going with this. What Jesus is doing has in view something marvelous. You see, as you think back to the establishment of the presence of God on earth in the midst of his people, where was that first gloriously manifest? We read it recently in the Pentateuch. Remember, Moses was given the blueprints. They built the tabernacle. And in the institution of God's work in the tabernacle, what happened? The glory of God came and filled the tabernacle. The presence of God was manifest in the brightness, the splendor, the glory that now took up residence in the holiest place. It shouted of gospel grace, recovery by redemption, pictured in Old Testament forms, shadowy forms, but glorious forms. That continued. He wasn't done there. The vision was given to David, blueprints to pass on to Solomon in building a temple, that temple altogether glorious, was the next stage of God taking up his residence in a saving and powerful and glorious way, what happened at the institution of the ministry at the temple. The same thing happened again, only even more glorious. The glory of God came into the temple so that no one could stand. It was so brilliant. They fled. And the glory of God took up residence in the temple in the holiest place, above the mercy seat, there where the ark was placed. In keeping and in answering Solomon's prayers and the institution of the temple's purpose. But you know there was a tragedy, don't you? Something happened. That temple was no longer standing. It had been destroyed in 586. Something happened in keeping with the word of prophecy given to Ezekiel in a vision. Can you remember what that was? Because it's altogether important to see what God is doing in the flesh here. See, Ezekiel had a vision of that final judgment. And as bad as the siege and slaughter was, as horrifying as the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar was, you know what was really the death stroke? The horrifying thing revealed to Ezekiel in chapter 11 at verse 23. As he was seeing the vision, He records, and the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain which is on the east side of the city. The glory left. The glory went up out of Jerusalem. The glory departed from the temple. It went east. Overlooking the Temple Mount, where was that? It was the Mount of Olives. Ezekiel's vision saw the glory depart. And in this part of the vision, it rested for a time there on the Mount of Olives, overlooking the destitute Temple Mount. The glory had left all the destruction, the damnation, the judgment that poured out, paled as it were in what this meant. That mountain, the Mount of Olives, is the mountain from which Jesus rode into Jerusalem. Do you hear it? Do you see what's happening? He, who is the glory of God, has returned. He's returned to the temple that was rebuilt with promise. We don't have a declaration like what happened under Moses in the rebuilding of the temple, though there are great promises. the rehabilitating of the sacrificial system and the power and purpose of God reinstituted in the rebuilding of the temple. We don't have Solomon's glorious institution in that rebuilding. Though they must not despise the day of small things, the prophets said, surely it was important that the temple had been rebuilt. And the Herod had been expanding it, making it all the more glorious, but it did not have the glory that it needed like it would have now. Glory rides into Jerusalem. The glory that had departed has returned. And that brings us to our last point, the court. You see, Jesus rode into Jerusalem and revealed himself now openly, and yes, Messiah should receive the open, loud, glorious, saving declarations. Hosanna! For indeed, this is the fulfillment of prophecy. This is altogether important in redemptive history. But Jesus wasn't done as the glory entered Jerusalem, no, no. The closing verse, verse 11. And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when he had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, he went out to Bethany with the 12. Now yes, we can understand very practically that Jesus is here preparing for what will come next. as a part of his messianic mission. He is going to go to that temple in all power to purge his temple. Again, this is in keeping with what has been said of Messiah. But here we mustn't miss that final display orchestrated by Christ, that entry into Jerusalem, that triumphal entry, the glories poured out by the crowds. We know they ended up being a fickle proud, weren't they? Yet it was right that those glories be broadcast, that that entry be triumphant for Messiah. But he wasn't done as he entered and heard the shouts of glory riding in regal fashion that portrayed the lowliness and majesty in one. No, that trip ended when the glory returned to the temple. Now that day was complete. Now that part of his mission was manifest. Jesus, the return of the glory that had departed. Now, that's marvelous that he had orchestrated with such prophetic and kingly authority all these displays for us, but Mark would also have us see the very practical purposes of this record, for generations to come. Those who first read it, even we who now read it, remember that temple to which the glory returned is not now the temple. Jesus, who is the temple, has made us his dwelling place. He said so. Destroy this temple and I'll rebuild it in three days. And then, as it unfolds, This, the resurrected temple embodied in Jesus, says, I will find my dwelling place, that promise of the covenant of grace, in the midst of the earth, dwelling in my people, in worship, where two or three are gathered, there am I in their midst. The glory is here in the manifest power of Jesus by the Spirit and His ordinances. Do we believe and live in keeping with that? Jesus has set it all up and inspired Mark and the gospelers to record it so that we can live in light of this glory. You see what he did? He takes up the word, he fills it up in himself, unfolds it to his people and dwells in the midst of the temple. We just saw that happen. and it's still happening today if you by faith have the spirit in you working such faith to see this glory. Jesus is here by power entering his place where his presence dwells in the midst of the earth in keeping with the promise of redemption. Do you know what you lay hold of here? What treasures you have? Mark records it for us. Surely those suffering in lowliness in Rome, receiving this, could lay hold of it and say, Jesus is ours. The glory of God in the flesh has made us alive and is in our presence as we worship him. By this strength, we can continue. By this strength, you can continue. He is yours. Savior, He is your glory manifest for the saving of your souls, the strengthening of your purpose for the manifest presence of His glory. Do you believe it? Do you lay hold of it? Let us pray. Most Holy Father, we need the work of the Spirit by this word to enliven us to this reality so that we will live according to it. We need this power and presence manifest so that we will not fail in our calling. This passage displays to us the kingly and prophetic power of Messiah. And we have that here. Mark records it by the spirit that we may be encouraged and strengthened by it. His word, our great prophet, is unfolded to us in his ordinances. His presence, altogether glorious in the midst of his people, is the divine presence, empowering us for service. And yet, how little we make of this. Oh God, forgive us. And this power can indeed grip our hearts. It must grip our hearts. We pray that this word spoken by Jesus will be with that power we saw displayed in relation to the cult. Only may that power be applied to us. Work in us who are so naturally dead and dark, that life and glory of Jesus. And so empower us according to his appointments to live for him. gloriously according to his appointments. We ask this in his name. Amen.