What the Triumphal Entry Reveals | Mark 11:1–11


With Jesus entering Jerusalem, we finally leave the long road of chapter ten.  Whereas Jesus was determined to move forward before despite all that would happen to Him (10:32–34), now He delays outside the Holy City.  He knows that certain preparations must be made to fulfill His mission.

Notice what the Lord knows.  We’ve already seen His foresight of His coming rejection and crucifixion in the previous chapter.  Here, we see more foresight—He knows that a specific kind of donkey is tied in the next town, and He also knows the that the disciples can borrow it without trouble.  There can be no doubt that He also knows Who He is—He allows them to lay down their coats and branches ahead of Him, giving Him a royal welcome and applying the Hosanna chorus to Him from Psalm 118:25–26.  After all, that’s why He awaited the donkey outside Jerusalem—He was fulfilling Zechariah 9:9.

We also notice in this last verse that He looks around the temple in v. 11 and then leaves.  In vv. 15–18, He’s going to cleanse the temple of its unholiness and corruption.  If we wish to see ourselves in the crowd receiving Christ, then we must also be willing to see Him inspecting us for sin and ungodliness.

Notice why the Lord came.  Jesus’s “triumphal entry” is a humble one, purposefully not riding in on a stead.  He could have fulfilled another Zechariah prophecy by fighting all of Israel’s foes and revealing the glory of the Lord on the Mount of Olives (Zec 14:1–7), but this isn’t the time.  He’s not coming to conquer this time, but instead to seek and save the lost, “to give His life a ransom for many” (10:45), fulfilling the suffering servant prophecies of Isaiah 52–53.  If you are worried about your guilt before God, know that He did not come to condemn the world but to save all those who call upon Him for salvation.

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