Mark 11:1-11

Mark chapter 11 verses 1 to 11. It's very, very familiar, isn't it? The famous ride of Jesus into Jerusalem on a donkey. Two things I want to say right from the off. Two things immediately. Number one, I want to say this is a lonely ride. It's a lonely ride. And I think that's often overlooked.

Mark 11:1–11

But I want to show you that although Jesus had a great crowd around him, great crowds thronging him, nobody was really with him. He was really on his own.

I wonder if you know that. Sometimes when I talk to people who are going through a really difficult circumstance, and I know that I myself, I can't identify with them.

What I find myself thinking and saying to them is, there is no one who will understand what you're going through except the Lord Jesus Christ. And not only will he understand, but he is able to help you.

And the second thing I notice as I've read these verses about this walk into Jerusalem on that Palm Sunday is everything's upside down. Everything you think is impressive is actually not impressive.

All the things that you think are not impressive are actually very impressive.

I read this week that two art students last year went to a modern art show in Aberdeen.

And they took with them a pineapple, and they left the pineapple on an empty stand at the art show.

They were delighted to find that a couple of days later, when they went back to the show, that the pineapple had been given its own glass case, and had been made part of the art show.

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

Things that are completely stupid become serious, and some things that are serious become stupid.

And so look at Mark 11, and let's look at it under two headings.

First, a lonely ride and a loving word. First of all, a lonely ride.

Chapter 11, verse 1.

And we're on the road to Jerusalem. That's where he's going.

And Jerusalem is the point where Jesus wants to get to. That's the aim of his mission.

He came into this world to save sinners.

And to die on the cross.

He goes to the city, because that is where he'll be crucified.

Look at just chapter 10, and verse 33, just the chapter before.

He says to his disciples,

See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man, that's the way he refers to himself,

will be delivered over the chief priests and the scribes,

and they will condemn him to death, and deliver him over to the Gentiles.

They'll mock him, spit on him, and flog him, and kill him.

After three days he will rise.

And even though the way that Jesus rides into Jerusalem,

with this great crowd around him, singing and shouting,

he is riding to his death.

And it should have registered, shouldn't it, to the disciples?

But it doesn't register at all.

They might have said, he's about to ride in on a donkey.

And it says in the first book of the Bible, in Genesis,

that someone of the tribe of Judah,

and Jesus is from the tribe of Judah,

and they would eventually link donkey and death together,

from that passage, but they don't get it.

They might have gone to maybe the last,

nearly the last book of the Old Testament, Zechariah,

where he says this,

Rejoice, your king comes to you,

humble riding on a donkey.

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

And 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 that took place,

no one obviously remembers the word of God in this context.

In the previous story,

that brilliant story about Bartimaeus in Mark 10,

blind Bartimaeus,

this blind beggar puts one and one together,

and he makes two.

He's been begging,

and suddenly he hears that a king is coming.

A king who is the son of David.

And he recognises that Jesus is acting like the son of David.

He is the son of David.

He puts one and one together,

and he makes two,

and he calls out,

and he cries and relies upon Jesus,

and is healed.

But nobody here puts one and one together.

Now as we think about this Palm Sunday passage,

you and I,

many of us have been to church nearly all our lives,

and we've got Palm Sunday services,

flashbacks,

and memories.

Do you remember when you were in Sunday school,

and you made palm branches,

and you waved palm branches?

I remember that as a boy.

It was a day,

wasn't it,

of celebration in church life,

where everybody got very excited about Jesus.

There seemed to be lots of faith in Jesus.

Lots of recognising him as king.

And really strangely,

a week later,

the crowd all turned against him,

and started a call for his crucifixion.

That's the way I remember it.

Maybe it wasn't exactly like that.

Be like the crowd on Palm Sunday.

I want to say to you,

as I've read it this week,

I want to say to you that

what is going on at the start of Mark 11

is not faith at all.

There's no faith in it.

And actually the message this morning

is don't be like the crowd.

And I think I can prove that to you.

I think I can prove to you

because all four Gospels record

the coming of Jesus into Jerusalem

on a donkey.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,

all talk about it.

So it's a big event.

This is what Matthew says

in Matthew 21.

He finishes with this verdict

from the crowd.

They say Jesus is a prophet.

And I'm absolutely sure

that they've completely missed the point.

They don't say

he is the king.

They don't say he is the Messiah.

They say he's just a prophet.

Luke in his Gospel in chapter 19

finishes with this verdict.

Jesus wept.

He wept and he said to the people,

if only you had known

what makes for peace.

Yet you did not recognise

God's coming to you.

John's Gospel,

chapter 12,

the final sentence there,

the disciples did not

understand what Jesus was doing.

And in Mark's Gospel,

you might have noticed

that he records a number of things

that they said,

that none of the things

that the crowd says

really connect to Jesus.

So I want to ask you

to look with me

at why this is such a lonely ride.

And it's important to think

that it is a lonely ride.

Because Jesus is doing a mission

on his own

that no one else can do.

As we look at verses 9 and 10,

I think it may be

that some of you think,

oh it was so clever

of our minister

to show us these things

that we'd never seen.

And without him,

where would we be

without our great guide

and guru minister?

I want you to know,

perhaps none of you

will say that.

There's always hope there, isn't there?

But I want to say to you,

I am not saying anything

this morning.

I think you couldn't have

figured out for yourself

by carefully reading the text

and looking at

the Old Testament references.

The problem is,

when we come to a familiar story

with this,

we don't carefully read the text.

It's all that.

So first of all,

chapter 11, verse 9.

Hosanna.

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.

What does the word Hosanna mean?

It means save.

Save.

It's the sort of thing

that actually,

the people often cried out

when they gathered together

or marched into Jerusalem.

It's a very general word

calling on God

to save us.

Save us.

Save us from what?

It doesn't say

save us from our sins.

It could be just

save us from our oppressors.

It is general.

Oh God,

save us

from our problems.

There's nothing specific

being said about Jesus

in verse 9.

Hosanna.

Blessed is he who comes

in the name of the Lord.

And we think,

don't we,

ah,

that's obviously

talking about Jesus.

They're recognising

he is the son of David.

But if you go back

to the Psalms,

Psalm 118 verse 26,

Psalms 118:26

it's not talking about Jesus.

It's talking about the pilgrim.

It's talking about

the people of God

who go to Jerusalem.

Blessed is the person

who goes to Jerusalem.

Blessed is the person

who goes to Jerusalem

and ends up in the temple.

It's not specifically

about Jesus at all.

And then verse 10.

Blessed is the coming kingdom.

Well again,

that's just standard language.

Looking forward

to better days

without the Romans,

without the oppressors.

There's no direct link

to Jesus at all.

And the final sentence

in chapter 11 verse 10.

Hosanna in the highest.

Save us.

Save us.

It's vague.

It's general.

It's not related

specifically to Jesus.

It's pretty empty.

And so you need to see

that each of the Gospels

in its own way

is telling us

that Jesus

is on a very,

very lonely ride.

This Palm Sunday,

the crowds

don't understand him.

Not even the disciples

understood him.

They're just having

a standard Passover celebration.

There's no grasp

that Jesus

is the king

at all.

Shocking.

But do you think

it's possible

people could be

so in the dark?

Do you think

it would be possible

for people

to be in a crowd

saying

orthodox things

and singing

things that are

orthodox

but completely

missing

the point

of Jesus

and the person

of Jesus?

Do you think

it might be possible

for that to happen?

Sadly it is.

Think about the

funerals

that take place.

This funeral in the church

can be a very,

very sad funeral

and everybody

in the building

is faced

with the sad

departure

and this great

sadness

and suddenly

a hymn is sung

and they sing

and the song

and the Bible

reading explains

that Jesus

lived and died

and rose

and somebody

will speak

and preach

that Jesus

lived and died

and rose

and somebody

will read the Bible

again

that Jesus

lived and died

and rose

and then you go

to the wake

afterwards

and you discover

that everyone

is standing around

and basically

saying

it's all in the past

there's no future

all but hope

is there

we each drink

and be merry

for tomorrow

we die

but they've got

no idea

who Jesus is

even though

they've been

singing and saying

and listening

nothing has gone in

I heard recently

of a nurse

who went to a funeral

of a hundred year old woman

and the words

of John 14

6 were read

I am the way

the truth

and the life

no one comes

to the Father

but through me

and as the woman

heard that

she said

that is Jesus

she put her faith

in him

and she walked

out of that funeral

believing in the Lord

Jesus Christ

but I tell you

about that

because it is

so so rare

in fact

I can't

think of another

funeral

where I

have heard

of that

happening

think about

Christmas

people pile

into Christmas

services

don't they

still

and they

hear amazing

readings

they hear

that he's

the King

of Kings

that he's

the Messiah

he's the

Saviour

that he is

the one

who gives

second birth

and we discover

who he is

and what he's

come to do

and we sing

about him

and we listen

to him

but nothing

goes in

think about

a normal

church service

where people

sing hymns

they hear

the reading

and they say

the creed

and they hear

preaching

nothing

goes

in

it's possible

it's possible

to be like

the crowds

on Palm Sunday

to be listening

and singing

and not getting

it

and if we

look very

carefully

at Palm Sunday

I think we

are meant

to see

that Jesus

is alone

he is alone

and we're not

meant to despair

of that point

because

because he

is alone

he alone

is the answer

to our problem

he is the answer

to unbelief

and he is the answer

to our sin

and to our lostness

and by the time

he gets to Jerusalem

and to the cross

and he does his work

the curtain of the

temple is torn

in two

and people

start to pour in

one more clue

in Mark 11

that this crowd

is not appreciating

who Jesus is

here in verse 11

when he actually

gets to the temple

that's the meeting

place where people

meet with God

Mark doesn't tell us

anything does he

there's no red

carpet laid out

for him

there's no people

looking for him

no one is

talking to him

he walks in

he looks around

and in Mark's

gospel

that little phrase

looks around

is always

ominous

it is always

ominous

whenever he looks

around

he is looking

for life

he is looking

for faith

you see it

with the victory

in the next passage

and then how

many does he

have when he

leaves with

12

doesn't he

verse 11

no big crowds

it is perhaps

isn't it

the loneliest

ride in the

universe

and I want to

say this to you

because loneliness

is such a big

issue

I don't mean

being alone

I absolutely

love sometimes

to be alone

but to be lonely

is a very

different thing

isn't it

to be lonely

is where you

feel nobody

is really

connecting with

you or caring

for you

and there's no

guarantee for you

that if things

get worse

that there's

going to be

somebody there

for you

it's a terrible

terrible feeling

and especially

if you've lost

a loved one

and you just

have a slight

panic that you

might be left

alone and adrift

loneliness is a

very big thing

and in a city

like ours

loneliness is an

enormous problem

and there's a lot

of loneliness

out there

and in here

it's not surprising

is it

in a world

where people are

told there is

no loving father

there's no loving

father that exists

whatsoever

it's just you

in an empty

universe

no wonder

there's a great

deal of despair

but God has

two answers

to loneliness

and one

is his son

one is his son

who is able

to bring you

immediately

to a heavenly

father

so that you

return to him

and he runs

down the road

to meet you

and to embrace

you

and the other

partial answer

to loneliness

is God's

family

the church

and although

God's family

is made up

of very

sinful people

like me

and like you

and very

imperfect people

it is one of

the ways

in which God

builds

the bridges

of relationships

in this world

as we begin

to show

kindness

and care

for one another

and we never

do it perfectly

but we do it

profitably

that's the

lonely ride

secondly

the loving

word

first few

verses

I don't know

about Mark 11

but you find

yourself scratching

your head

don't you

at them

and say

what is this

here for

why are you

being told

about this

about a donkey

that's tied up

and you're going

to untie it

and somebody's

going to ask

you why are you

untying it

and if they do

ask you

you will say

I'm untying it

because of this

what is that

all about

why has

Mark put this

in the gospel

I don't get it

but here's the

answer I take

Jesus is giving

his disciples

isn't he

in these really

detailed instructions

and then

relaying the

detailed instructions

when they actually

have them

what is Jesus

doing

he is

giving his

disciples

you and I

a reminder

that he can

be trusted

and that his

words can be

trusted

and the reason

I say this

is if you look

at what he says

he says to his

two disciples

in verse 2

remember they've

forgotten the

Old Testament

haven't they

they don't know

what they should

know

they don't know

what's happening

they're not

thinking 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

will find a

coat a donkey

tied on which

no one has

ever sat

untie it

and bring it

and if anyone

says to you

why are you

doing this

say the

Lord is

in need of

it and

we'll send

it back

here

immediately

they went

away and

found a

coat tied

at a

door outside

in the

street and

they untied

it

some of

those standing

there said

to them

what are you

doing

untying the

coat and

they told

them what

Jesus had

said and

they let

them go

the implication

is this

isn't it

Jesus knows

what's in

the future

he knows

what is in

front and

around the

corner

and this

is a

prediction

about the

future that

is going to

be proved

to be true

and it's

going to

prove to be

true in a

matter of

minutes

most of the

promises in the

bible you've

got to wait a

long time for

haven't you

hundreds of

years for

but this

promise is

going to be

fulfilled in

minutes

and therefore

the disciples

would have

said to

themselves

he is

amazing

as they

untied that

donkey and

someone comes

and says

exact words

that Jesus

says

what would

you say

to somebody

that says

I'm going

to ride a

donkey

that's never

been ridden

your reaction

is well don't

attempt to

ride it

it's going

to be a

disaster

but Jesus

is lord of

all and so

this is no

problem

so they turn

up they start

to untie the

donkey and

people say

why are you

untying the

donkey and

they say

dot dot dot

and the

owners of

the donkey

say it's

all yours

it's all

yours

so in other

ways nobody

in the scene

is listening

to the word

of God but

the donkey

owners are

listening to

the word of

God

and when

they hear

Jesus needs

it they say

it's all

yours

they cooperate

and the

fourth thing

in verse

three is

Jesus gives

them the

key as to

who he

is

do you

see what

he says

he says

the Lord

has need

of it

the Lord

needs it

the Lord

needs it

and if you're

familiar with

the gospels

you will know

that Jesus

did not throw

the word

Lord

around about

himself

that's not

how he

usually described

himself

in fact he

rarely described

himself in

that way

most of the

time he

called himself

the son of

man

the son of

man is one

of those

phrases like

Bruce Wayne

or like

Clark Kent

it means a

lot doesn't

it if you're

in the

know

but it

doesn't mean

anything

if you're

not in

the know

and son of

man was a

veiled way

of saying

I am

significant

but I'm

not making

it too

obvious

but here he

says the

Lord needs

it and the

word Lord

is the word

used to

describe God

and so

finally he

speaks to

these two

disciples and

he tells them

go into the

city tell the

owners that God

needs the

donkey

Jesus needs

the donkey

and so these

owners of the

donkey get

the point

but I wonder

if the

disciples got

the point

I don't think

they did

did they

Jesus tells

us

John tells

us that

even as they

marched in

with Jesus

on the donkey

they hadn't

listened to the

Old Testament

and they

weren't listening

to Jesus

and they did

not get it

that Jesus

was on a

lonely ride

even though he

had given

them a

loving word

now this

instruction is

to cause the

disciples

you and I

to say

something like

this

Jesus Christ

he knows

what's in

front of us

this week

and he is

in charge

of the

future

and Jesus

controls

the uncontrollable

his words

are to be

listened to

and they are

to be trusted

and they are

to be obeyed

and he

describes himself

as the

Lord

and so

you and I

have a decision

to make

this morning

what will

we

and our

family

if we

have them

do about

Jesus Christ

and if you

say well he's

just a prophet

you've missed

the point

and if you

say he's a

good man

and a

religious leader

you missed

the point

or will

you say

he is

the Lord

he is

God

and me

and I

and my

family

are only

going to be

safe and

sound

and wise

and well

living under

the lordship

and control

of Jesus

Christ

and that

is the

decision

I read a

book called

The Strange

Death of

Hero

by

Douglas

Murray

he's not

a Christian

and he

says Europe

is dying

because of

two processes

one is that

the whole world

is moving

around

and moving

in everywhere

so that the

views of

everywhere

have arrived

and at the

same time

Europe has

thrown away

its beliefs

and its

values

and he

specifically

mentions

Europe

throwing away

its Christian

heritage

Douglas

Murray

is not

a Christian

by any

stretch of

the

imagination

and it's

not a

really

revolutionary

view of

Europe

but it

is simple

a lot

of views

have moved

in all

over the

place

and the

foundational

issue

has been

removed

and he

says that

is why

Europe

is in

no place

to charter

a course

for the

future

that's why

it doesn't

know what

it's doing

so that

when it

goes to

make a

contribution

to Iraq

or Libya

it's got

no concept

of the

right

way

and so

how can

it

charter

a course

for other

countries

it's trying

to influence

let alone

itself

and what

the book

shows is

a fascinating

book

is the

emptiness

of the

world's

ideas

and we

see that

clearly

don't we

in Mark

11

so clearly

the words

of men

here

in Mark

11

they are

really

really

empty

they're

slogans

that are

being thrown

out

pious

slogans

but you

see this

contrast

don't you

the words

of men

so empty

so futile

and yet

the words

of Jesus

so powerful

so true

so safe

so foundational

we listen

to thousands

of words

each day

most of

which are

completely

useless

in a

week's

time

just

think

of

all

the

things

that

are

being

said

today

that

would

be a

complete

waste

of

space

this time

next

week

and the

words

of

Jesus

are

utterly

utterly

utterly

necessary

next

week

and the

week

after

and the

week

after

that

and the

deeds

of men

are so

empty

all these

religious

actions

all these

waving of

branches

throwing of

cloaks

but there's

no clue

as to who

Jesus

really is

but when

you are

lit up

by the

person

of

Jesus

suddenly

everything

begins

to make

sense

you

understand

that your

future is

under

control

that you

have

promises

to stand

on

and his

deeds

make

your

deeds

worthwhile

and so

Jesus

is on a

very lonely

road

but he's

on a lonely

road for a

reason

he is the

only one who

understands

his mission

he is the

only one who

can do

his mission

and within

five days

he is going

to be

completely

alone

and he

will cry

on good

friday

my god

my god

why have

you

forsaken

me

forsaken

why

because he

will experience

the darkness

that our

sin

deserves

in order

to give us

freely

the salvation

that he

deserves

and so I

need to ask

you

whether you

and I

are a little

bit like

the crowds

we come

and we sing

our songs

and we

have a bit

of a listen

but no

change

or whether

you're really

hearing the

words

of God

that Jesus

is their

king

and their

saviour

and Jesus

is the key

to your

future

and lord

of your

life

and you

need to

surrender

to him

and have

him as

your lord

let me

tell you

what Jesus

Christ is

like

he goes

on a

lonely

road

right to

the end

to make

sure that

you have

a certain

future

he is

forsaken

by God

so that

you need

never be

forsaken

and he

gives a

loving word

to you

and he

promises to

make sure

that you

can have

a certain

present

right now

let's

pray