Sunday Sermon

"Coronation"
[Mark 11:1-11]
July 23, 2006 Second Reformed Church

Jesus, the twelve, and others continued their journey to Jerusalem -- to where Jesus said the prophecies would be fulfilled: He would be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they would condemn Him to death. But since the Jews did not have the authority to put people to death at that time in history, they would hand Him over to the Romans, who would mock Him and spit on Him and flog Him and kill Him. And three days later, He would rise.

They reached the Mount of Olives -- that mountain about a mile outside of Jerusalem that was covered with olive trees, and Jesus stopped. And He sent two of His disciples to a nearby town and He told them that as soon as they entered the town, they would see a young colt that had never been ridden on, tied up. And they were to untie it and bring it back to Him.

And if you remember the history of this event as it is recorded in Matthew, you might be thinking, "Something's missing." And you would be right, Matthew records Jesus saying, "Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me" (Matthew 21:2-3).

So which one is right? Did Jesus tell them to get a colt, or a donkey and a colt?

When we read the Scripture, we need to read it as a whole; we need to see how it fits together; we need to harmonize it, because if this is the Word of God, as we confess, then there cannot be any contradictions in it.

Zechariah prophesied that the Messiah, the Savior, would be known because He would ride into Jerusalem "mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey" (Zechariah 9:9b). And this is what Matthew records. So, do we understand that Jesus straddled the mother and baby donkey and rode both of them at the same time? Of course not. What we understand, as Mark records it, is that Jesus rode the colt, the baby donkey, but as Matthew and Zechariah record, the disciples also brought back the mother donkey, because the colt was young and needed his mother.

So understand that if the Scripture seems to contradict, it does not; there must be a way that the Scripture fits together with itself, because God breathed it -- it is His Word, and God does not err.

And Jesus told the disciples that they would be asked what they are doing, and they were to tell those who asked that the Lord had need of the animals, and they would be returned immediately after He had used them. So they untied them and threw their garments over them and brought them back to Jesus.

Why did Jesus want a donkey to ride into Jerusalem? Because riding a donkey through the gates of Jerusalem was symbolic of the arrival of a new king. Zechariah wrote, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey" (Zechariah 9:9).

Why did Jesus want to ride on the colt, the baby donkey, the donkey that had not yet been broken, who had never had a person ride on him before? To subtlely emphasize that He has divine authority over the creation, even over unbroken colts.

So Jesus mounted the colt and began to ride him towards the gates of Jerusalem. First, they went down the Mount of Olives, and then they began the circuitous ascent to the city of Jerusalem. And Jesus' disciples understood the symbolism, and the common people along the road and in the fields understood the symbolism, and they began to throw their garments in the road before the colt, and they cut down leaves and branches and threw them before the colt, just as it had been done in the days of the coronation of King Jehu (II Kings 9:13). They sought to make the way as smooth and as comfortable as possible for the new king to travel on. Here was the new king, and they honored Him by making His way comfortable and smooth.

And the Holy Spirit moved them to cry out with joy and expectation: "Hosanna! Blessed is he that comes in the name of the lord! Blessed is the coming of the kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!"

They cried out: "Hosanna!" which is a Hebrew contraction that means, "Save us, we pray!" They saw the New King and recognized Him to be a Savior of His people. They cried out for His Salvation.

"Blessed is he that comes in the name of the lord!" This is a petition to God for the King Who now came in God's Name. The word "lord" here is kurious, which refers to the legal authority and strength and also refers back to the most personal name of God that God gave to Moses from the burning bush. In other words, they were asking God that this King would be blessed and given all of the legal authority and strength of God Himself, as He honors God by way of that most personal name.

"Blessed is the coming of the kingdom of our father David!" They knew that promise, that "David my servant shall be their prince forever" (Ezekiel 37:25b). God had promised that there would always be a descendant of David on the throne, for all of eternity, and this King, was a descendant of David. And they recognized in Him, David's kingdom coming once again -- Jesus is the legitimate heir to the throne of David, and to his kingdom.

"Hosanna in the highest!" "Save us to the uttermost part of our being, we pray."

And so Jesus rode on, with the crowds praising Him, and praying for Him, and acknowledging Him as their King and Savior, and the Son of David. And He went through the gate, as they continued to lay their garments and branches before Him. He fulfilled the prophecies about His coming into Jerusalem. He symbolically declared His right to rule over all, so no one who saw Him would misunderstand or doubt Who He said He was and the authority He claimed as His Own.

We call this event the "Triumphal Entry." But was it really "triumphal"? Had He achieved victory -- completed all that He came to do? After all, He was riding into Jerusalem on a borrow colt. And it was only His disciples and the common people that were recognizing Him as king. The religious leaders and government leaders didn't receive Jesus as king -- they didn't bring Him to the palace and hold a formal coronation and anoint Him and crown Him. No, what happened? Jesus rode into Jerusalem amidst the cried of the common people and His disciples, and once He had ridden in, He got down off of the colt, and walked around the temple, to see what was going on -- to see if the people were living what they said they believed.

Still, we rightly call it the "Triumphal Entry" for this reason: what Jesus did gave a glimpse of Who He is. He fulfilled prophecy and the people confessed Him to be Savior, King, and Son of David -- the fulfillment of the promises of God regarding the throne in Jerusalem. They believed He is the King.

Do we believe that? Do we believe that Jesus is the King of all Creation, the King of the Universe, the Sovereign Potentate of Time? And if we do, does it make any difference in the way we live? Are we living as thought Jesus is the King -- the King of kings?

Well, what would that look like?

First, it would mean that we believe He is Who He says He is, and we believe what He has said. If Jesus is our King, we will open this Word of God and believe everything it says about Him. We will believe that He is the Incarnate God. We will believe that He is wholly divine and wholly human, at the same time, but without confusion. We will believe that He lived a perfect life under His Own Law, suffered the Wrath of God and Hell for our sin, died, rose, and ascended, crediting our accounts with His Holy Life. And He is coming again. We will believe in Him and what God has told us about Him.

It would also mean that we would openly confess Him -- before each other and anyone and everyone else. If we believe that He is our King, all of our friends and relatives will know that. They will know what we believe. How can we say we believe, if those closest to us don't know?

Thirdly, we will revere Him. We will hold Him in high esteem. We will do everything we can to make sure that His Name is honored and not taken in vain. (Yes, think of the commandment -- do not take the Name of the Lord in vain, which also means, do everything within your means to make sure the Name of the Lord is honored.) Remember, that means more than not using His Name as a curse word. It means being a living representative of His Name. For people look at us and say, "Oh, that's what a Christian is like; that's what Jesus is like." We ought to live and act in a way that makes people understand that Jesus is Holy and Almighty.

Fourth, if Jesus is our king, we must obey Him. Now, there are people in the Christian world today who say it is not necessary to obey Jesus. Yes, it's good, it's profitable, but it's not necessary -- Jesus can be your Savior and you can still be lord of your life. Not so: "And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him" (Hebrews 5:9). Another way to put this would be, "if you do not obey Jesus, He is not your salvation." You do not have Jesus, if you do not obey Him.

Now be careful, because we are still sinners. We ought to be fighting sin, progressing is not sinning, progressing in our sanctification, becoming holy, becoming more like Jesus. The author of Hebrews is not saying that repentant sinners cannot be saved, he's saying that those who do not care about what Jesus has commanded and do not attempt to keep His Commands, these have not been saved, not matter what they say or think.

And fifth, if we serve Jesus Christ as our King, then we will honor His other servants. If we serve Jesus Christ as King, then we will love all those who bear the name of Christ and treat them with the honor due a Christ-bearer. You and I ought to treat other Christians, even the ones that aren't as great as us, even the ones that annoy us, with honor and in love. All those who believe in Jesus Alone are brothers and sisters.

And if we do recognize Him as King and live as though He is King, then we will not be afraid, but we will look forward to that day when He returns, not with symbols and hints, but in His Fullness: "But in those days, after the tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven" (Mark 13:24-27).

Let us pray:
Almighty God and King, we thank You for living under Your Own Law and for fulfilling all prophecy, so we would known and be without excuse that Jesus is the King of Kings. Strengthen our belief, make us bold to confess, teach us reverence, and make us obedient, and may we love each other as much as we love ourselves. May Jesus Christ be praised. Amen.