Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King.

Mark 11:1-11

11 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”

⁴ They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, ⁵ some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” ⁶ They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. ⁷ When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. ⁸ Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. ⁹ Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

¹⁰ “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

¹¹ Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve. 

Reflection

When I was in High School, I was dating a girl for around a year; I then became a Christian. To say our relationship was not “Christ-focused” would be an understatement. Our relationship was completely about us, and nothing else.

A few months after I became a Christian, my girlfriend started to notice a change in the way I was acting. I started going to church more, reading the Bible, and praying. I even told her I did not want to do many of things we had be doing physically. She did not really like that I was changing. In fact, it caused a lot of conflict in my life.

I have always found it a little silly that in churches we always make this day fun, when this text is full of so much conflict. Jesus enters into the city of Jerusalem; he knows what his fate will be in a short week from this point. The religious leaders of the day watch him angrily as he rides a colt into the city. The people who are rejoicing and praising him singing, “Hosanna” will soon be cursing Jesus and calling for his death.

To be honest, I think there is a big part of us that wants to picture Jesus as this happy and peaceful guy that smiled and waved as he entered into the city of Jerusalem on that day. At least there are times when I know that I like to picture Jesus that way; like Jesus is my buddy who is always happy and giving me two thumbs up saying, “love you man.”

Now, do not get me wrong, Jesus loves you and us very much, more than we could ever know. However, Jesus does not just want to be our friend. He wants to be our LORD.

This is a lesson God taught me early in my faith journey. A few short months after I had become a Christian, I sat in a room with my best friend Matt and my youth pastor talking about my relationship with my girlfriend. I remember a majority of the conversation, but one part of the conversation still sticks out in my memory. At one point of the conversation, my youth pastor looked at me and asked me if I was giving God all of myself. If I was allowing God be my LORD.

At that point I envisioned my heart. I pictured a path leading up to my heart with doors opened. In the center of my heart there was a throne. On the throne there sat my girlfriend, with Jesus standing right inside the gate of my heart.

The reason that Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem the way he did was to show that he is the King and Messiah. By entering into Jerusalem in this way, Jesus is telling everyone that he is the savior, the LORD, who the people of God have been waiting for.

One of my wife’s favorite writers tells this story about when she became a Christian. In the story she imagines her life like a house. She says that when she became a Christian, she expected God to come into her life and move a lamp from here to there, or a couch from this side of the room to other. What she did not expect was that two months after God came and lived in her house that one day he would show up outside with a demolition crew to tear up her house and start rebuilding it.

Jesus wants to be our LORD. He wants to be our King. He wants to enter into our lives and tear some stuff up, move some stuff around, and start rebuilding.

After the conversation with my youth pastor and best friend, I knew what I had to do. I had to break up with my girlfriend of a year and four months. She had become an idol in my life. She did not like or respect that I was a Christian. She was trying to get me to live contrary to how God had called me to live.

At the time, breaking up with a person I really cared about was really hard, but it was worth it.

I am not going to lie; when you allow God to start rebuilding your life sometimes it will painful. Other times, it will be amazing. The one thing I can promise is that you were created to serve God and have him be the LORD of your life. When you allow God to be LORD, you will finally live as you were created to.

Questions

1.     Why did Jesus enter the city of Jerusalem the way he did? What was he trying to tell the people of Jerusalem?

2.     Do you relate to the story about Steven’s girlfriend?

3.     Why do you think Jesus wants to be viewed as a King?

4.     What does it mean to make Jesus the King of your life?

5.     Is there any aspect of your life that you are not letting Jesus rule over?

6.     As a family, how can we make sure to keep Jesus the LORD of our lives?

7.     Pray for each other, and for God to help you make him LORD of your lives.