This Is Your King
Opening Prayer
Dear God, I come before You today with faith and thanksgiving, remembering Your great grace towards me.
Read MARK 11:1–11
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.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Before you read of extravagant praise given to Jesus, spend time settling yourself, shelving today’s concerns so that you can concentrate on him.
We meet Jesus on the road to Jerusalem and on the road to suffering. His approach to Jerusalem, however, has a celebratory air as he joins a pilgrimage to an unidentified festival. Whatever the festival, Mark’s focus is on Jesus. It is his entry on the back of a colt that becomes the cause for ecstatic praise, affirming him as God’s promised King who alone can save his people. It’s a focus to emulate.
From our privileged perspective, this episode is replete with references to Old Testament foreshadowing, confirming the identity of Jesus and causing us to give fresh thanks for the beauty of God’s plan. The colt is an animal “no one has ever ridden” (2), echoing the old covenant animals set aside for a special purpose (cf. Num. 19:2; Deut. 21:3; 1 Sam 6:7). Even its tethering (4) may be an echo of the kingly blessing given to Judah: he who will enjoy “the obedience of the nations” will “tether his donkey to a vine” (Gen. 49:10,11). The cloaks and the branches provide a welcome reserved for a victor, while the chants of “Hosanna” and the direct quotes from Psalm 118 in verses 9 and 10 declare Jesus as the king in David’s line, come to save—the same identification witnessed to by the acutely
sighted Bartimaeus (Mark 10:47,48). We are now part of this story and engaged to help complete it.
The company of the discerning may have been small, the whole scene being more reminiscent of a local town gala than a richly endowed state occasion, but for those with eyes to see, Jesus is the “cornerstone,” rejected by people but precious to God (Psa. 118:22). It is the Spirit-inspired insight of every believer. Jesus’ reconnaissance mission to the Temple (11) reveals a darker side: religion blinded to its Savior.
Apply
Today, resolve to look for a divinely ordered opportunity to tell someone about the greatness of Jesus; how he fulfills all of God’s plans and purposes and fulfills all of your desires.
Closing prayer
King Jesus, I lift my heart, mind and voice, offering my hosannas to You today.
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