In The Word
Read: Mark 11:1-19
The Triumphal Entry
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 yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ you 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 Some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. 7 They *brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it; and He sat on it. 8 And many spread their coats in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. 9 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 Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; 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 at 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 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 and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; 16 and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. 17 And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den.” 18 The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.
19 When evening came, they would go out of the city.
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.