In The Word
Read: Mark 11:1-19
The Triumphal Entry
11 And as they *approached 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 opposite you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he will send it back here.” 4 They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they *untied it. 5 And some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them just as Jesus had said, and they gave them permission. 7 They *brought the colt to Jesus and *put their cloaks on it; and He sat on it. 8 And many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:
“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!”
11 And Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple area; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.
12 On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. 13 Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.
Jesus Drives Money Changers from the Temple
15 Then they *came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple area and began to drive out those who were selling and buying on the temple grounds, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; 16 and He would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple grounds. 17 And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard this, and they began seeking how to put Him to death; for they were afraid of Him, because all the crowd was astonished at His teaching.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Jesus entered Jerusalem on a colt, thereby fulfilling Zecheriah 9:9. This was not a usual entry; it was a King’s entry, a King who was bringing victory to His people. This time Jesus did not prevent His followers from demonstrating His honor publicly. The time had come to defeat darkness and death, and while the battle was about to be fought on Calvary, victory was already certain.
As a King returning to His city, Jesus went first to His House, the temple. As He entered, the text says that He “looked around at everything” before he left for Bethany. Then, the next morning as they set out for the temple, Jesus was hungry. Could it be that the hunger Jesus felt as He departed from Bethany was the dissatisfaction He felt by what He witnessed in the one place, the temple, that should have filled Him? Could it be that looking at the fig tree from the distance represented His line of sight toward Jerusalem? From a distance, it looked like it had everything to satisfy, but at a close inspection it was found lacking. Jesus’ dissatisfaction is fleshed out as He purges His Father’s House of corruption.
One day, Jesus is going to return, this time as the conquering King. As in Mark, He will go first to His House and He will expect to be satisfied by what He finds. It will be the Church not the world that will first be judged. (1 Peter 4:17) As the servants of the Most High, we are responsible to maintain the standards of the House. We are to live in anticipation of our King’s arrival. We should live in such a way that when He returns, His Spirit will be filled by the substance of our service.