Palm Sunday

I am going to preach on Mark 11 for the main reason being that it is Palm Sunday.

And the James passage is great. All the Bible's good. We all know that.

But I think actually there's something that Dave just said that has been resonating all week in preparation.

It's that God really wants to speak in his season.

And if you start hearing something again and again and again, it's probably something you need to listen to.

So as Dave started, he did half of my preach. And then as Michelle prayed, she did the other half.

So I'm going to do it again. This time probably better.

And then we'll... I'm only joking. Obviously I'm only joking.

But we're going to look at narrative. And I'm going to start with a story about my week.

Last week I had an appointment at the doctor's. I booked in.

The week before I managed to get an early appointment so I could just get this over with.

The night before I struggled to sleep, thinking of the white room, the medical equipment,

the professionals who were the only ones who could perform the task ahead.

It was going to affect my entire day.

You can imagine the fear and multiple scenarios that were running through my mind.

Blood everywhere. Intense pain that I couldn't bear.

The day came. I dropped my son into school.

Gave him an extra tight cuddle.

It was going to be hard for me to cuddle him later that day. I'd be all achy.

I went to the surgery.

Sat in the waiting room. I was shaking.

And then my name came up.

Jay Niblett. Treatment Room C.

I had to be brave, I thought to myself.

I walked into the seriously somber face of the nurse.

Have a seat, she said to me.

How could she be so cold?

How could she be so uncaring?

She grabbed the equipment, tightened the strap of doom around my arm,

pulled out the sharp blood drain in a tube.

I couldn't take it.

It was too much to bear.

And then she took my blood.

Gave me a little Miss Kitty plaster and said, off you go.

It's a terrible story.

But I wonder where you thought I was going.

Did you expect such an anti-climax?

No.

So our passage today, Mark 11, the Palm Gospel,

is a reading and a great example of a story that catches you out.

Palm Study is the day we remember Jesus starting his mission in Jerusalem,

leading up to the climax of God's redemptive plan.

The writer Mark is a great storyteller.

The whole Gospel is dramatic and possibly shaped for the crowd rather than the individual.

Everything he writes is purposed and visual.

Our passage follows the healing of blind Bartimaeus,

though he cannot see with his eyes, could see who Jesus is.

And shouts out, Son of David, for healing.

The story of the blind man who can see who Jesus is gives us a hint

that things may not be quite what they seem in what follows.

The message may not be quite what we expect.

Picture the scene.

We're going to run through the passage.

Picture the scene.

Jesus stood on the Mount of Olives,

overlooking Jerusalem and the eastern side of the Temple Mount,

the other side to which Julius Caesar came in,

surrounded by single families,

pilgrims on their way to celebrate the Passover.

And this is the feast where Israel's salvation is remembered.

And hope is placed in their salvation coming again

in the arrival of the Lord's anointed.

Jesus standing on the Mount is the first of the Old Testament imagery

that we see in this story.

This particular image is from a passage in Zechariah 14,

where the Lord God comes as a warrior,

standing on the Mount of Olives at the great battle

when he becomes king over all the earth.

This anointed one, the Messiah,

whom Israel was waiting for,

some would believe would come and defeat the Romans,

claim back the Holy Land for his people,

and all would be right like the days of their father David.

Mark leads us to ask,

could Jesus be that one?

And then we get the donkey story.

Jesus sends two of his disciples on a faith test to get his ride.

Some see this as Mark pointing to Jesus' foreknowledge,

some sort of prophecy,

some sort of preordained power.

Others see it as Jesus just being organized.

It's funny when you read the commentaries,

the breadth of opinions out there.

You've got to be careful what you read.

I read another one that even thought that actually

this was basically Jesus booking an Uber,

if you know what an Uber is.

It's like it's common.

People who could afford it would just get a donkey

because they were lazy.

It's like, not quite sure that's what Mark was getting at,

but I respect you for getting lots of money,

putting that in the commentary.

The disciples, they find everything,

as Jesus said it would be, funny enough.

Jesus will enter Jerusalem,

among the pilgrims,

but not as one of them.

Pilgrims walk.

Luke, the king, will enter on a colt.

Another Old Testament prophecy fulfilled.

And Matthew and Luke really stress this.

They quote Zechariah 9.9,

this idea of,

rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion.

Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem.

Lo, your king comes to you.

Triumphant and victorious is he.

Humble and riding on a donkey.

On a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Mark and Luke stress that.

I'm sorry, Luke and Matthew stress that.

Mark leaves it out.

Now there's loads of reasons people think

that the donkey story's in there.

It could be about him being a king.

It could be about humility.

But what we get from this story

is there's something significant about Jesus.

We need to pay attention to him.

And then we get to the crowd.

The crowds give their coats to this worthy one.

The people cut and wave branches from the trees.

Historically, no one else deserves this honour,

for it is a kingly welcome.

The scene is reminiscent of Israel's last great victory

before the Romans came.

It hints to something called the Maccabeus uprising.

A guy called Judas and another one called Simeon.

And what happens is they defeat the king of Syria.

And they enter Jerusalem and cleanse the temple.

And the people praise.

And they get the waving going on with the branches.

And it's all very exciting.

And they start a hundred-year dynasty of Israel

until the Romans come.

And they get owned.

But there's this reminiscent in this story of that time.

It wasn't that long ago in Israel's story

when God cleaned the temple out again.

When God came in his people

and rebuilt Israel's name.

Is that what's going to happen?

Is that what Jesus is going to do?

This is the backdrop to which Palm Sunday declares

the time of redemption has come.

The similarities in the prophecies.

Is it it?

Well, we know it is it.

We know that when Palm Sunday happened,

we know that it started something that ends at Easter

that changed the world forever.

We know that in hindsight.

But we have to think about Mark's listeners, hearers.

Why is he doing it so differently to the other two?

And the story continues.

The people shout Hosanna.

And again, the Old Testament is signposted.

These shouts of Hosanna come from our psalm.

Psalm 118.

The last of the praise psalms.

In fact, it's a royal psalm.

It's about David.

What has been made clear in the passage

is Jesus is the king.

He is the Messiah Israel has been waiting for.

Can you imagine the anticipation?

They're hearing this story for the first time

when they're retelling it.

When Mark's written this down

for those who weren't there.

The anticipation.

Maybe Jesus will be that one.

Maybe Jesus will finally defeat the Romans.

They lasted quite a while.

But here's Mark's version of the story,

how it ends.

You ready?

Jesus comes down the mount,

surrounded by pilgrims celebrating,

and enters Jerusalem.

Shouts of Hosanna as he enters

and the crowds join in the song.

They're joining to the disciples' hype.

This is the moment.

This is the moment.

Well, where does Mark take us?

Nowhere.

Nowhere.

The story just goes,

we're up.

According to Mark,

nothing significant happens on this visit.

No teachers or Pharisees

come and meet him at the temple.

And the crowd,

in less than a week,

will change their tune

from Hosanna to Crucify.

Jesus just goes on a little walk

around the temple.

And he leaves and heads to Bethany,

probably Mary and Martha's house.

Has a coffee.

That's a bit of ad-libbing.

Don't trust that bit.

It's pretty anticlimactic, right?

Where is the revolution?

Where is the battle

with the religious leaders

as Matthew and Luke jump into?

In Luke, Jesus enters the temple,

all guns blazing,

takes on the teachers of the law,

speaks prophecy,

and cleanses the temple.

Sounds a bit like Judas.

In Matthew,

Jesus again comes into the temple,

cleanses it,

and again we have a clear challenge

to the establishment.

Less peace,

more whips,

tables turned,

and verbal battle.

See, Mark does get there eventually,

but his storytelling

is really important for us.

For some reason,

he's just veered off.

He's gone off-piste.

According to Mark,

this great triumphant moment

isn't what it seems.

This king,

his kingdom,

the revolution,

the restoration of the temple,

it's coming,

but it's not as they expected it to be.

Actually,

Jesus isn't the king

they're looking for at that time,

but he's the king they need.

There will be a battle,

but it will be fought on the cross.

He is the only one

who can bring about their salvation,

but not by simply reclaiming

a little kingdom,

but establishing

an everlasting one.

And this kingdom

will draw in all nations.

What Jesus came to do

was much greater

than they could imagine.

Palm Sunday

isn't the main event.

Easter is.

Mark paints

this very powerful picture

in his version

of the story,

but what are we

to take away from it?

Jesus enters

with a crowd,

but he leaves alone.

Later,

he will enter

Jerusalem again,

yet he will exit

alone,

carrying a cross,

betrayed

and abandoned

by those

who came to save.

even those

who have been

with him the longest.

They will fall away,

leaving Jesus the king

alone to bring about

their salvation

and forgiveness.

He gives us

an example

of what his kingdom

looks like.

He gives us

an example

of how much

he is not

what they expect.

I wonder

where you are

in this story.

See,

for Mark,

when he writes

the gospel,

he expects you

to live in it.

Where am I

in this story?

A book I was reading

recently says

often we like

to put ourselves

in the hero's position.

I don't know about you

when you relive a story

or you think about it,

you put yourself

on the winning side.

Actually,

Mark doesn't want us there.

The story begins

with the crowds

walking down

the mount with Jesus,

celebrating,

dedicated to the cause.

But when it matters,

Jesus is abandoned.

And he will climb

the harder mountain

on his own.

I want you to visualize

that.

He came down

with the crowds,

but he went up

the other side,

that side that

Julius Caesar

came through.

He went up

that side alone.

Golgotha was that side.

If you were there

with Jesus,

would you have been

any different?

Even Bartimaeus,

who saw who Jesus was,

who Jesus is,

was nowhere to be seen

when the passion begins.

He's not mentioned either.

Jesus was alone.

Pretty heavy.

So where's the good news

other than the good news?

Though the disciples

didn't fully understand it,

they were right

about who Jesus is.

Though the crowds

didn't realize

they were singing

the right song.

He is the Messiah.

He is the King.

He is the hope

and salvation

for all created things.

And though they fell away,

as we fall away,

Jesus climbed that hill

alone for them,

for us,

to make us right

with God

and bring about

a new kind of humanity

shaped by his love

and continues to shape us

as we perpetuate

that love to others.

So wherever you are

in this message,

for you the message

is the same.

Jesus knows you

and his journey

to the cross

was for us all.

Whether you are

Bartimaeus,

or a crowd pleaser,

a Pharisee,

or a disciple,

maybe you feel

like Judas sometimes.

Jesus on Good Friday

carried the cross

to bring about

the forgiveness

of sin

and God's kingdom.

And the invitation

to you

is to take your place

in this new kingdom

and be willing

to carry your cross

too.

So later

you're going to come

and grab a palm

cross.

And I want you

to think about this.

Come as you are.

You're welcome.

You're loved.

Come in faith

and in grace.

and then take it

with you

to remind you

that yes,

Palm Sunday

is when we remember

Jesus is the king

and we welcome him.

He is the anointed one

Israel has been

waiting for.

His kingdom

is come

but it is built

on the cross

carrying Christ.

and it will keep

growing

through you

his cross

carrying people.

Amen.