Tuesday, August 7, 2018

The King return to Jerusalem





Mark 11:1-11


It has happened, this is what the twelve have been looking forward to for so long, and now it is going to take place.  The world and for a Jew, Jerusalem was the world, it was the only place that counted, and Jesus was back after it seemed so many years since His visit to the temple as a child.  But this time all of Jerusalem would hear that a king had entered Jerusalem; yes the people quoted Psalms 118:25-26, “Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  We bless you from the house of the Lord.”  When they used the word Hosanna, it's meaning is one who “saves us.”

Now let’s take a flashback to Jesus telling the twelve the following; “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.” (Mark 10:33-34)  This was God’s plan but never was the plan the disciples had for Jesus, but what is happening in chapter 11, this is the plan they have been waiting for, and it is taking place.

We are not sure what the village ahead of you is, but some believe it is referring to Bethphage, and that is not important but this is; all that Jesus told the two disciples was as He had said to them, that a young donkey was tied by a door and when they untied it they were asked by the people standing there what were they doing?  They told them what Jesus said to say and took the donkey to Jesus.

Now put yourself in the story as Peter, on a scale of 1-10 and ten is the height of emotions, where is Peter?  With what we know about Peter he is somewhere around a fifteen, and climbing, his dreams for Jesus and the twelve have come true.  The two disciples return with the donkey and put their robes on it for Jesus to have a saddle to sit on.  Others took off their robes and placed them on the ground while still others cut palm branches and put them on the ground, all of the above was the tradition for a king coming to your city.

This is what Mark tells us took place after entering into Jerusalem;  And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple.  And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.”  Bethany was about two miles outside of Jerusalem.

From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice

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