Gospel of Mark Study #35

“The Beginning of the End”

Mark 11:1-11

Study #35 in Mark Series

INTRODUCTION:

Sir Winston Churchill was a British politician, well known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940-1945 and again from 1951-1955. In 1953 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Churchill also happens to be one of my favorite characters of recent history. He was a fascinating person and incredibly wise in many ways. Besides being an astute leader, he was a gifted orator and a person who could say a great deal while employing only a minimum of words. During WWII, his was a voice of comfort, reason, courage, and resolve for the British people. With a minimal search you will discover that many books have been written compiling the sayings and writings of Winston Churchill. Even today, many years after his passing from the world scene, his words continue to inspire, amuse, and teach us. 

I am especially thinking of one quote from Churchill that applies to the text we will be examining in the Gospel of Mark. The familiar quote comes from a speech given by Prime Minister Churchill at the Lord Mayor’s Luncheon, at Mansion House, London, on November 10, 1942. In context, he was referring to the British victory over the German Afrika Korps at the Second Battle of El Alamein in Egypt. Concerning that victory, he said: “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

During a great campaign it is difficult to judge the relative importance of any one battle victory, or loss. Not knowing the future, it is hard to assess exactly what role that victory, or loss might play in the grand scheme of things. 

The story of Jesus coming to earth to be the Savior is made up of many parts. There were many victories but there were some apparent defeats as well. But a careful study of the Scriptures will lead you to the inescapable conclusion that God was in control of all the events that took place. Nothing took Him by surprise. Nothing ever slipped out from under His Sovereign hand. Everything went according to His plans and purposes, and everything happened in His perfect time.

However, to an onlooker it sometimes might have appeared like things were flying out of control. Moreover, to the disciples, it must have sometimes felt like things were spinning out of control, especially when they saw Jesus crucified on a Roman cross and buried in a tomb. But was that the end? NO! Was it the beginning of the end? Again, NO! Was it the end of the beginning? Perhaps.

The story of Christianity is still being written. It continues to play out every day as we move toward the end of the age when Christ will return in power and great glory to be established forever as the Great King. Luke, in the first sentence of the Book of Acts, wrote these words: “The first account I composed, Theophilus [referring to the Gospel of Luke], about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.” What is Luke’s point? The Book of Acts and the history of the Church, which continues right down until today, is the continuation of all that Jesus began to do and teach. Looking back, we can clearly see that the trial, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus were not the beginning of the end. They comprised, rather, the end of the beginning. 

TRANSITION:

In our last study we looked at the last few verses of Mark 10 that describe the healing and conversion of Blind Bartimaeus. This event occurred somewhere along the stretch of road between the ruins of the ancient Canaanite city of Jericho and the rebuilt modern Roman city of Jericho. You will remember that I explained that Jesus and His disciples were coming from Galilee and making their way through the region of Perea into southern Judea by way of the Jordan Valley on their way up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover Feast. The route that Jesus chose took Him through Jericho and then on another 15.5 miles up the steep mountain to Jerusalem. But as He was passing through Jericho He stopped and dealt with two men. Both men were lost and in desperate need of Jesus’ touch. Both men came to believe on Him and experienced His miraculous saving power in their lives. Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, had his life totally transformed by the power of God and the touch of Jesus. Zacchaeus, the diminutive tax collector, did not suffer from any physical ailment other than shortness of stature, but despite his business acumen and his great wealth, he too was lost and headed for Hell. Luke 18 records how Jesus saved his soul and put his feet on the road to Heaven.

However, from Zacchaeus’ house Jesus and His disciples left Jericho and started the long climb up that steep mountain road toward Jerusalem. And that is where we will pick up the story today in Mark 11. 

NOTES on the Text:

Verse 1: As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, 

• In comparing Mark’s account with those of the other writers we learn from John 12:1 that Jesus arrived first in Bethany where He and the disciples spent the night, probably at the house of Lazarus and his sisters. Bethany sat approximately 2 miles to the southeast of Jerusalem, not far from the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. They arrived in Bethany on Friday and stayed over until the end of the Sabbath [i.e., Saturday at sundown] because Bethany was more than a Sabbath day’s journey from Jerusalem. Then on Sunday, the first day of the week, Jesus made His entrance into Jerusalem.    

Verse 2: …and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you [= Bethphage], 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.” 

• So, this occurred on Sunday, probably sometime in the morning.
• But how did Jesus know about the donkey colt? It could have been by a previous observation, or it could have been by supernatural perception. We simply do not know because the Bible does not say how He knew. 

Verse 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.” 

• It seems that the Lord knew all about the owner of the donkey, including the fact that he would be amenable to the idea of loaning the donkey to “the Lord.” But think about it. Put yourself in his shoes. If you were him, would you not want a little bit more information and maybe some sort of signed, written document? I would.

Verses 4-6: 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. 

• It is not clear in the text if these so-called “bystanders” even included the owner of the donkey colt. It would be interesting to know if these friends and neighbors of the donkey’s owner even had authority to give them permission to borrow the donkey.
• Matthew records in 21:2 that there were in fact two animals, the colt, and its mother. They brought both to Jesus. 

Verses 7-8: 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. 

• “…and put their coats on it” Some of them laid their colorful outer cloaks on the colt’s back to provide a soft seat for Jesus to sit on. Other people spread their cloaks on the ground over which the donkey would walk making a royal carpet for the procession as Jesus approached the entrance of the city. Still others laid down leafy branches on the roadway. John describes them as “palm branches.”
• What was the significance of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey colt? It was in fulfilment of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9, which was almost universally accepted by Jews as referring to the appearing of the Messiah: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” The donkey was a lowly animal and no Jewish king since Solomon had ridden upon one officially and publicly. But meekness and lowliness were characteristics of Messiah predicted by Zechariah, and now fulfilled by Christ Jesus. 

Verses 9-10: 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!” 

• The crowd surrounded Jesus on all sides. There were some who went out in front of the procession shouting praises and others brought up the rear declaring the same things about Him.
• But what were they shouting? “Hosanna” is a transliteration of the Hebrew expression meaning, “Save, I pray” and is taken from Psalm 118:25. By that time it had come to be a term of praise and acclamation as well as a plea to God for help. “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD” is an exact quotation from the Septuagint [i.e., the LXX, the earliest Greek translation of the OT] of Psalm 118:26. The verse is clearly Messianic in nature, and it is clear in the context that the people understood that very well. They were welcoming Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah. The next phrase makes that fact even more clear. “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David.” They were referring to the Promised Messiah who, according to the covenant God made with David, would rule and reign from David’s throne as his descendent.

Verse 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. 

• That “Palm Sunday” comprised what we might call a reconnaissance mission. Jesus was scoping out the territory. He entered the city to the shouts and accolades of His followers. Then He walked around the city observing all that was going on. He visited the Temple, taking special note of the porches and courtyard area, filled with people selling all kinds of things, trading currency, and selling sacrificial animals. He saw everything and pondered it. He would be back the next day to deal with them. Then He led His disciples back the 2-mile walk to Bethany to spend the night there again. Monday morning would begin the last week of His life. This was the end of the beginning, the fulfilment of all He had come to do. From this point on, Christ abandoned the caution that had caused Him to withdraw from areas of possible crisis. He was no longer keeping Himself aloof from the Jewish leaders. The time had come for Him to present Himself to them as the Servant of Jehovah who had come to suffer and to lay down His life as a ransom for sinners. 

CONCLUSION:

These verses in Mark describe what has come to be called “the Triumphal Entry.” It is entitled as such in nearly everyone’s Bible. But was it really all that “triumphal”? If so, then why did Jesus stand gazing out over the city and weep over it? This tender moment is recorded by Luke in 19:41-44. When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, ⁴² saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace!  But now they have been hidden from your eyes.  ⁴³ For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, ⁴⁴ and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” 

If it was such a triumphal entry, why did it make Jesus so sad? I believe that the answer to that question is found in John 1:10-12. “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.  ¹¹ He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.  ¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” That day should have been a day of great joy for Jesus. The shouts of the children and His followers calling out, “Hosanna to the King! Blessed is the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of Jehovah! Hosanna in the highest!” should have brought Jesus great happiness. After all, didn’t it mean that He was finally getting His due, that He was finally being accepted for who He really was? No. Jesus knew that the city was filled with people who in a few short days would be shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Yet, He went ahead with the plan anyway. He did that for you, and for me.