Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! (Mark 11:1-11)

11 When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples ² and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. ³ If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’” ⁴ They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it,⁵ some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” ⁶ They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. ⁷ Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. ⁸ Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields.⁹ Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,

¹¹ Then 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.

–Mark 11:1-11 (NRSV)

March 20, 2016 Sermon Notes

Sunday’s worship service began with the children of the church leading the processional waving palm branches. It was a great sight to see. The kids paraded around the sanctuary as we sang “All Glory Laud and Honor.” This is, of course, a Palm Sunday tradition that reenacts Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem a week before his death on the cross and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. This is a story that most Christians know well and as a result Palm Sunday is a high point in the church year.

One of the challenges of reading the Palm Sunday story is that it has become so familiar we do not take the time to really think about what it means. We get so excited about the ritual of the children processing that we ignore the importance of what Jesus was actually doing. We forget what an incredible act of defiance towards both the Roman Empire and the corrupt religious establishment that his Passover procession truly was.

The sermon tried to capture that by contrasting the huge militaristic displays that would have been common from Pontius Pilate and the Roman occupying army at the time of Passover. The celebration of Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt was a time of national pride and celebration. Pilgrims from all over the empire had traveled to Rome. If there was ever a time for Jesus to make a militaristic takeover, this was the time.

Of course, Jesus had other plans. Instead of coming in on a war horse, he came in on a donkey’s colt. Not only did this tie him back to Old Testament prophecy, it was the most non-militaristic form of transportation he could find. In the sermon, I likened it to him choosing to face down the Roman Empire while riding in on a moped. Instead of a armored column, he chose a Vespa. Instead of might and violence, he chose peace, humility, and self-sacrificial love. What clearer sign could there be of the fact that Jesus’ kingdom was unlike anything the world had ever seen?

One of the most surprising things about Mark’s telling of the triumphal entry is something that we do not even think about. In the last few verses Mark tells us that after engaging in this incredible act of political theater, hearing the crowd’s cries for salvation, Jesus rides his non-military transport straight to the temple. Once he got there, he looked around, and did precisely nothing. Mark tells us that it was late when Jesus got to the temple. The savior of the world looked around, and then headed back to Bethany where he had started. Nothing had changed as a result of all the spectacle and excitement. What was the point of everything Jesus had done?

That was the question that we wrestled with at the end of the sermon. We talked about the fact that sometimes God’s timing is very different from our own. We mentioned the fact that sometimes our expectations are completely different from what Christ’s plan for our lives. We talked about the fact that sometimes it seems like God is too late and decides to turn around and go home at the very moment we most need saving.

Fortunately, we live in a post-Easter age. We know that the events of Holy Week are not the end of the story. We know that although the brokenness of the world led Jesus to the cross, the resurrection demonstrated to us that he was able to achieve victory over sin and death itself. All of our frustrations and disappointments are real. We are just as confused as the members of that crowd in Jerusalem. However, the savior who faced down the most powerful empire on the world while mounted on the most non-threatening transport possible showed how incredibly powerful God’s gift of self-sacrificial love truly is.