Here again are rough draft sermon notes.
Mark
11:1-14 (and chapter 14)
As they approached
Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent
two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just
as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden.
Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say,
‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’ ”
They went and found a
colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people
standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” They answered as
Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. When they brought the colt
to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. Many people spread their
cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those
who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
“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!”
Jesus entered Jerusalem
and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it
was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
The next day as they were
leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf,
he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing
but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree,
“May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.
The
Triumphal Entry
Repentance
and Forgiveness
As we begin to finish the book of Mark and looking at the life of Christ I want
us to see something that is critical for the Christian faith and the work and
ministry of Jesus: Forgiveness.
I will bet in all the
years of ministry you have never heard someone link Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem
with forgiveness though I am sure that pastors have tacked a plead to accept
Christ on the end of a message on the Triumphal Entry.
However, there is something
we need to understand clearly. Jesus loved his enemies. Jesus wanted to see those
who hated him to change.
As we saw in last week’s
message Jesus gave a truly harsh parable to give a warning to those who wanted
to kill him. He wasn’t condemning he was trying to save. By the way, there were
many religious leaders who did come to have faith in Christ. Some before now
and others in the book of Acts. Jesus knew he wasn’t going to get most of them
to change there were going to be only a few which would ask for forgiveness,
but Jesus offered it to all of them. He gave them a chance while also warning
them of the consequences.
Jesus also made it clear
that this is the life we are to live. We are to love our enemies and try to
bring them to God.
Of course, as I have said
before this doesn’t mean that we allow them to continue to sin or enable them
to do so. But our actions ultimately need to motivated as God’s is by love.
So let’s look at Jesus’
entry.
It would have been proper
in those days when an important religious or Spiritual leader to come to
Jerusalem that those in authority should make certain preparations.
Preparing for Dignitaries:
1. Provide
transportation (mount or carriage)
2. They
should clear a path (during festivals it was hard to do this)
3. Provide
food
Jesus had to provide his
own borrowed mount.
A donkey (never ridden,
no bond, loyal to death)
They saw donkeys in Scriptures
are often (not always) associated with death: Abraham & Issac, Baalam, Sampson,
Disobedient Prophet 1 Kings 13,
Jesus disciples cleared a
path laying out clothes and palm branches.
I’m going to jump ahead a
little in the Story to look at the last thing that the religious leaders should
have provided: food.
In verse 12 and 14 Jesus
goes to a fig tree and finds nothing on it. (Frist fruit not the main harvest) Often
teachers will say this is Jesus demonstrating that the fig tree that was Jerusalem
and it’s religious system had no fruit for the hungry and Jesus was showing in
a physical action, live-action parable you could say, that the Jerusalem and
the temple were going to be destroyed. This is true!
However, there is another
story taking place. Writing from the times say that since the first fruits which
were to be given to the priest weren’t done regularly, they took it on
themselves to go out and clear all of the surrounding trees in the area of the
fruit themselves.
The problem with this is
it wasn’t what God commanded. God said the people were supposed to bring it in
not them go take it. Secondly, this meant there was nothing left for the poor.
Lastly, though the first fruits were for those chosen by God for a purpose now
the religious leaders were the ones deciding who was “chosen.”
Jesus curses the tree (more
on that in a minute)
Return to the Entry
People proclaimed (their expectation)
1.
Hoseana – Lord Save us
2.
Son of David – Earthly Kingdom
Leaders coming in go to
their places of power.
Jesus went to the temple examined
what was happening and left doing nothing. (not the place where the people would
have thought that an earthly King would start his work)
Mark 11:15- 19
Jesus cleanses the temple.
What was going on? Thief specifically from those who couldn’t afford it.
1. Money
exchange (fee involved)
2. Pigeon
bought (market cornered, Priest would proclaim wither of not an offering brought
in was acceptable- what corruption could happen here? Plenty!)
3. Stopped
all sales (put a stop to the sin)
4. Proclaimed
the truth
Withered Tree Mark
11:20-25 “In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered
from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree
you cursed has withered!”
“Have faith in God,” Jesus
answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go,
throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes
that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I
tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it,
and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything
against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you
your sins.”
Jesus has as I said
before did a live-action parable, but also by cursing this tree removed another
place were the Religious leaders could disobey God.
The disciples are amazed
by the miracle not what it represents.
If God does a miracle
there is a reason, even if it is only to show his love.
The disciples are still
amazed at the things Jesus does. Perhaps thinking that they might have that
power too? They had done other miracles.
Jesus gives a simplistic
example of what faith can do but doesn’t stop there (most teachers do).
It is like Jesus is
saying Yes faith can do great things but, first forgive so that you can be.
Remember Jesus is saying this
as they are looking at the symbol of Jesus’ warning and if I could go so far,
His call to repentance and later another call in a parable (which we talked about
last week)
Jesus had every reason to
rail against the Religious leaders or begin to talk more about the power of God
but Jesus switches it all over and tells the disciples to FORGIVE is you hold
anything (right, wrong, indifferent) against ANYONE (EVERYONE!)
Later We see that Jesus
gives a warning in the Last Supper when Judas is there that one will betray
him. Jesus was trying to give Judas, I believe a chance to change. In fact,
when Jesus when speaking about Judas says in Mark 14:21 “But woe to that man
who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been
born,” the word Woe is a lament. Jesus is brokenhearted over what is going to
happen to Jesus.
Jesus is saddened by the
choice of those who choose wrong? Jesus offers them opportunity to forgive
while confronting it. Jesus does these things out of love! Jesus did tell us to
love not just our friends, family, and those like us. (Sermon on the Mount) He called
on us to love those who hate us and forgive.
Jesus didn’t just tell us
to do this he did it himself.
Are you?
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