Mark 1:1-11

So I want to preach tonight from Mark chapter 11.

Mark 11 · chapter mention

If you've got it in front of you.

And it is Palm Sunday.

And the first thing that I want to say to you is,

! Despite the fact that Jesus had a large crowd around him,

nobody was really with him.

He was on his own.

I don't know how you find it, but sometimes when I'm talking with people who are going through really difficult times,

and like some of you are, and I can't identify myself with what is being said and what has happened,

I find myself thinking and saying to them,

there's no one who will understand this except Jesus Christ.

And the great thing about Jesus is not only will he understand what you're going through,

but he will be able to help you.

The second thing I want you to notice as we begin, as we read these verses about the walk into Jerusalem,

is that everything's upside down.

All the things that are meant to be impressive are not impressive.

And the things that you think are not impressive are very impressive, as we'll see.

I read of two students in Aberdeen who went to an art show in an art gallery,

and they took with them a one-pound pineapple they'd bought in the supermarket.

They left the pineapple on an empty stand in the art show,

and they were delighted a few days later when they went back

to see that the pineapple had been given its own glass case

and had been made part of the art show.

That's the world that we live in, isn't it?

So suddenly things that are really stupid become serious,

and things that are really serious get treated stupidly.

And so if you've got the passage open for you, there's two headings for tonight.

One is The Lonely Road, and secondly, The Loving Word.

Okay?

The Lonely Road and The Loving Word.

And my hope is that this sermon will help us be anchored,

that this week we won't be like a cork bobbing along in the ocean.

So we're on the road to Jerusalem, and Jerusalem is the point of Jesus' mission.

He wants to get to the city because that is where he's going to be crucified.

And so we read back in chapter 10 and verse 33 that he said to his disciples,

we're going to Jerusalem where I'll be handed over to die.

And even though the way that Jesus rides into Jerusalem is the way to death,

and it should have registered with the disciples, they just don't get it.

And they might have thought to themselves,

he's about to ride in on a donkey,

and it says, doesn't it, in the Old Testament,

that somebody from the tribe of Judah,

and Jesus is from the tribe of Judah,

will eventually link donkey and death together,

but they don't get it.

They might have thought that almost the last book of the Old Testament is Zechariah,

and it says this, it says,

Rejoice, your king comes humble riding on a donkey,

but they've obviously not been reading their Old Testament.

And so they don't remember, and they don't register.

And they don't get what Jesus is doing.

And even though we need the word of God to understand the events which take place,

nobody even seems to remember.

In the incident before, Blind Bartimaeus, do you remember?

He put one and one together, and he made two.

He recognized that someone was coming who was called king,

someone was coming who was called son of David,

and Jesus is acting like this son of David,

so he must be the son of David.

He put one and one together, and he made two.

But nobody here on Palm Sunday does that.

Now, when I think of Palm Sunday,

I don't know what you think of.

There are certain hymns which we've missed singing today, aren't there?

Certain hymns which, if you grew up in a church,

you'll remember those choruses.

You'll remember Sunday school lessons

where you made palm branches

and you put your coats on the ground.

And we think often,

Palm Sunday must have been a day

when people really recognized who Jesus was.

When people got very, very excited about Jesus

and there was lots of faith in Jesus.

And then really strangely,

five days later,

they all turn against him.

And they call for his crucifixion.

And I want to suggest to you

that isn't what is happening.

I want to suggest to you

that actually there's no faith at all here.

Everything is completely superficial.

And I think I can prove that to you.

If you look at the four Gospels,

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,

they all record the coming of Jesus

introducing him on a donkey.

It's a big event.

This is what Matthew says in Matthew 21.

He finishes with this verdict from the crowd.

The crowd said Jesus is a prophet.

And I'm absolutely sure they've missed the point.

They don't say he's king.

They don't say he's the Messiah.

He's just a prophet.

If you go to Luke's Gospel,

chapter 19 records the event.

And then it finishes with this verdict

that Jesus wept.

And he said,

to the people,

if only you'd know

what would make for your peace.

You did not recognize God's coming to you.

And John tells us,

in his account,

in John 12,

the final sentence of John 12,

the disciples did not understand

what Jesus was doing.

And Mark's Gospel,

he records a number of things

they said,

but none of the things they said

really connect to Jesus.

I want you to look at me

with me at this lonely ride for Jesus

and why it's important

that it is a lonely ride.

Because Jesus is doing

a mission on his own

that no one else can do.

And as we look at

these verses,

verses

nine and ten,

some of you might think,

isn't our minister

really,

really clever

to show us things

that we've never seen before?

And where would we be

without our great guide

and guru,

pastor?

I doubt you're saying that.

But I want you to notice

that I'm not going to say anything

that actually

if you carefully read the text

and follow up the references

in the Old Testament,

you wouldn't be able to see yourself.

So first of all,

look at verse nine

of chapter 11.

The people call out,

don't they,

Hosanna.

And that word means save.

And it was the sort of thing

that they called out

when they walked

or marched into Jerusalem.

And it was a very general word

calling out to God

to save us.

And it doesn't say,

does it save us from our sins?

It could be just

save us from our Roman oppressors.

It's a general,

oh God,

save us from our problems.

There's nothing specific

being said about Jesus.

And then in verse nine,

and those who went before

and those who followed

were shouting,

Hosanna.

Blessed is he who comes

in the name of the Lord.

Now we read that

and we think that

it's speaking about Jesus.

But if you go to the Psalm,

it's not talking about Jesus.

It's talking about the pilgrim.

The pilgrim who is

on his way to Jerusalem.

Blessed is the person

who goes up to Jerusalem.

Blessed is the person

who goes up to Jerusalem

and ends up in the temple.

It's not about Jesus at all.

Then look at verse 10.

Blessed is the coming kingdom.

And that's just

the standard language

of we're looking forward

to something better.

There's no direct link

to Jesus at all.

And the final sentence

of chapter 11, verse 10,

Hosanna in the highest.

Save us.

Save us.

It's vague.

It's really vague.

It's general.

It's not specifically

related to Jesus.

It's pretty empty.

And so you see,

each of the Gospels

in their own way

are telling us

that Jesus is on

a very lonely ride.

At Palm Sunday,

the crowds don't understand him.

The disciples

don't understand him.

They're just having

standard Passover celebrations.

There's no grasp

that Jesus was the king at all.

Do you think it's possible

for you to be so in the dark?

Do you think it's possible

for people to be in a crowd

and to be saying things

and singing things

that are really orthodox

but actually completely

missing the point

at the same time?

Do you think that's possible?

Think about weddings.

Think about Christian weddings.

There's a hymn, isn't there,

that explains that

Jesus lived and died and rose.

And then there's a reading

from the Bible

that explains that

Jesus lived and died and rose.

And then there's an explanation

of what marriage is.

There's a picture of

Jesus living and dying and rising.

And then there's a sermon,

isn't there,

or a talk.

And they proclaim

that Jesus lived and died and rose.

And then you go to the reception.

And what do people say?

They say,

Minister,

that was a lovely service.

Thank you.

And they pay no attention

to what was being said.

Can I just say,

that was a lovely service.

They were lovely words.

And even though they were singing

and listening,

nothing has gone in.

Think about Christmas.

It's a privilege, isn't it,

that people pile into Christmas services.

And the carols are

so wonderfully full of

rich truth about the Lord Jesus

and who he is,

that he's the King of Kings

and the Lord of Lords.

He's God made man.

He's the saviour of the world.

He's the Messiah.

He's the one who comes

to give second birth.

And we discover very clearly

who he is

and what he came to do.

And people sing

and they listen

and nothing

goes in.

And

well,

think about a normal church service

where people can sing the hymns

and listen to the reading

and confess their sin

and say the creed

and hear God's word

and nothing

goes in.

You see,

it's possible,

isn't it,

to be like the crowds

on Palm Sunday.

To be listening

and saying

but not getting it.

And if we look very,

very carefully

at Palm Sunday,

I think we are meant

to see Jesus is alone

and we are not just meant

to despair at that point.

Because he is alone.

He alone is the answer

to our problem,

the answer to unbelief.

And he's the answer to sin

and he's the answer

to lostness.

And so by the time

you get to Jerusalem

and he is crucified

and he does his work,

the temple of the curtain

opens

and people start

to pour in.

One more little clue

in Mark 11

that this crowd

is not appreciating Jesus

is that in verse 11

when he actually gets

to the temple,

to the meeting place,

that place where people

were meant to meet

with God,

Mark doesn't tell us anything.

There's no red carpet

laid out for him.

There's no people

waiting for him.

There's nobody

talking to him.

It's eerie, isn't it?

He walks in

and he looks around.

And in Mark's gospel

when you read it,

that little phrase

looking around

is always ominous.

It's almost

always ominous.

Whenever it says

he looks around,

what is he looking for?

He's looking for life.

He's looking for faith.

And how many

does he have with him

when he leaves?

Verse 12,

no big crowds.

And so here is perhaps

the loneliest ride

in the universe.

And I want to say this to you

because loneliness

is such a big issue,

isn't it?

It's a big issue always,

but it's a big issue

at the moment.

I quite like being alone.

But being lonely

is different,

doesn't it?

it's when you feel

that nobody

is really connecting

or caring for you.

And loneliness

is when there's

no guarantee

that

if things are going

to get worse

or not,

that there'll be

someone there for you.

That is a terrible feeling.

And you know

that slight panic

that you may be alone

and adrift.

And loneliness

is a very big thing

in our city.

There's lots of loneliness

out there,

isn't there?

And because our world

is told

that there is no

loving Heavenly Father

whatsoever,

it's just you

in an empty universe,

it's no wonder

that there's such

a great deal

of despair.

But God

has two answers,

doesn't he,

to loneliness.

One is his son

who is able

to bring you

and I

immediately

into the Father's

presence

so that you

will return

to him

and he runs

down the road

and embraces you.

And the other

partial answer

to loneliness

is God's family,

isn't it,

that you see

on your screen.

And God's family

is made

up of sinful

people

and imperfect

people.

It's literally

tonight a rogues

gallery.

But it's one

of the ways

that God

builds the bridges

of relationships

in our world,

isn't it?

And we begin

to show some care

and kindness

to one another.

We don't do it

perfectly,

we know that.

But we do it

profitably.

And so that's

the lonely road.

Secondly,

a loving word.

A loving word.

I don't know

what you feel

when you read

the first few

verses of Mark

Mark 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11.

I think

when you read

the first few

verses of Mark

11,

you scratch your

head and you

think,

what is this

here for?

Why are we

being told

all this stuff

about a donkey

that's tied up

and you're

going to go

and untie it

and somebody's

going to say

to you,

why are you

untying it?

And you're

going to say

I'm untying it

because of this.

What is that

all about?

Don't you feel

like calling out

I don't get it?

Well,

let me try

and give you

the answer,

I think.

Jesus is giving

his disciples

a reminder

that he can be

trusted

and his words

can be trusted.

and the reason

is if you

look at what

he says,

just look at

chapter 11

verse 2,

he says

to two

disciples,

remember they

forgot in the

Old Testament,

they're not

thinking,

are they?

They're not

registering,

but he wants

to help them.

So he says

in verse 2,

go into the

village in front

of you and

immediately as

you enter it

you'll find

a colt tied

on which

no one has

ever sat.

Untie it

and bring it.

And

the implication

is this,

Jesus knows

what is in

front.

And Jesus

knows what's

around the

corner.

And in the

future.

And that is

a very definite

prediction of the

future that is

going to prove to

be true in a

matter of minutes.

Most of the

promises in the

Bible that we

have, you've

got to wait a

long, long

time for their

fulfillment.

But this

promise to the

disciples is going

to be fulfilled

in minutes.

So the

disciples might

have said to

themselves, he

is amazing.

Or look at

verse 2

again.

Go into the

village in

front of you

and immediately

as you enter

it, you will

find a colt

tied on which

no one has

ever sat, no

one has ever

ridden it.

And so my

reaction to

that would be

don't attempt

to ride a

colt that has

never been

ridden on.

It's going to

be a disaster.

But Jesus is

Lord of all,

isn't it?

So it's no

problem.

Or look at

verse 3.

And if

anyone says

to you,

why are you

doing this?

Well, you

say to

them, the

Lord is

in need of

it and

we'll send

it back

here immediately.

And they

went away

and found a

colt tied

outside a

street and

they untied

it.

So they

turn up,

they start

untying the

donkey and

the people

say, what

are you

doing?

And they

say, dot,

dot,

dot.

And the

owners of

the donkey

say, it's

all yours.

It's all

yours.

In other

words, nobody

may be

listening to

the word of

God, but

the donkey

owners are

listening to

the word of

God.

When they

hear Jesus

needs it,

they say,

it's all

yours.

They cooperate.

And the

fourth thing is

Jesus gives

them in verse

three, the

key to

who he

is.

Can you

see?

He says,

the Lord

needs it.

The Lord

needs it.

I want you

to know that

Jesus hardly

threw the

word Lord

around.

Most of

the time,

you'll know

that Jesus

called himself

the Son

of Man.

The Son

of Man is

one of those

phrases like

Clark Kent

or Peter

Parker, which

means a lot

if you're in

the know,

doesn't it?

But it

doesn't mean

anything if

you're not

in the know.

And the

Son of

Man was

a veiled

way of

saying, I

am significant,

but I'm

not making

it too

obvious.

And here

he says,

though, the

Lord needs

it.

And the

word Lord

is the

word used

to describe

God.

And so

finally, as

Jesus is

entering into

Jerusalem, he

says to the

disciples, go

and speak to

these people

and tell

them that

God needs

the donkey.

Jesus needs

the donkey.

And so

these owners

of the donkey

get the

point.

But I

wonder whether

the disciples

got the

point.

Probably

not.

John tells

us, doesn't

he, they

didn't get

it as they

marched into

Jerusalem.

They hadn't

listened to

the Old

Testament.

They weren't

listening to

Jesus.

They didn't

get it.

Jesus was

on a lonely

ride.

And even

though he'd

given them

a loving

word, he

now this

instruction is

given to

the disciples

and to

me and

to you

to cause

you and

I to say

something like

this.

Jesus

Christ knows

what's in

front of

us.

He is in

charge of

the future.

Jesus

Christ controls

the uncontrollable

and his words

are to be

listened to.

And his

words are to

be trusted

and his

words are

to be

obeyed.

And he

describes

himself as

the Lord.

And we

need to

make a

decision.

What will

our family

do?

What will

we do

about

Jesus

Christ?

That's the

big question.

Will we

just say

he's a

prophet?

In which

case we

press the

point.

Will we

say he's

a good

man,

he's a

religious

leader?

In that

case we

press the

point.

Or will

we say

he is the

Lord?

God.

And our

family is

only going

to be

safe and

sound and

wise and

well underneath

the Lordship

of Jesus

Christ.

And that

is the

decision,

isn't it?

But can

you notice

with me

here there's

a real

contrast.

The words

of men

and women

are really

empty.

empty.

The words

of men

and women

in this

passage are

really

empty.

Even the

slogans,

the pious

slogans,

they are

empty.

And if you

don't see

that Jesus

Christ and

his words

are crucial,

not only

the words

of men

are so

empty,

but the

words of

Jesus are

so powerful,

so safe,

so true,

so foundational.

And so

isn't it

true that

you and

I, we

listen to

thousands of

words each

day, most

of which

are completely

useless.

And in a

week's time,

no one will

pay the

blindness bit

of attention.

Just think

of the things

that are said

today,

and there

will be a

complete waste

of space

next week.

But the

words of

Jesus will

be utterly

necessary.

Next week.

And the

week after,

and the

week after

that.

And the

deeds of

men,

they're so

empty.

All these

religious

actions,

all these

waving of

palm branches,

all these

throwing of

cloaks,

there's no

clue as to

who Jesus

is.

But when

you are lit

up by the

person of

Jesus,

suddenly

everything

starts to

make sense.

And you

understand that

your future

is under

control,

and you

have promises

to stand

on,

and his

deeds make

your deeds

worthwhile.

And so

Jesus is on

a very lonely

road,

and he's on

a lonely

road for a

reason.

And he is

the only one

that understands

his mission.

He is the

only one that

can do his

mission,

and within a

week he will

be completely

alone.

He will not

even have the

fellowship of

his father

anymore.

he'll be

on the

cross and

he will

cry out,

my God,

my God,

why have

you forsaken

me?

Because he

is going to

experience the

darkness that

our sin

deserves in

order to

give us

freely the

salvation that

he deserves.

And so let

me ask you

tonight,

are you like

the crowds?

A bit of a

song when we

sing?

A bit of a

listen?

A bit of a

song,

but no

change.

Or are you

really hearing

the words of

God that

Jesus is the

King and

the Saviour

and he is

the key to

the future

and the

Lord of

your life?

And you

need to

surrender to

him and

to trust

him.

Let me

tell you what

Jesus Christ

is like.

He goes on

a lonely

road right

to the

end to

make sure

that you

and I

can have

a certain

future.

And he

gives a

loving word

to you.

He's

promised

so that

you and I

can have

a certain

presence.

Right now,

let's thank

him.

Let's bow

our heads.

Let's

bow our heads.

Thank you.