WEBVTT 00:00:02.670 --> 00:00:04.990 Hello, you're listening to Second City Sermons, 00:00:05.129 --> 00:00:07.969 a ministry of Second City Church in Midtown Harrisburg. 00:00:08.589 --> 00:00:11.029 This epiphany in Lent, we're back in the Gospels, 00:00:11.310 --> 00:00:14.189 specifically the Gospel of Mark. We are seeing 00:00:14.189 --> 00:00:17.390 the revelation of God in Jesus. Mark is showing 00:00:17.390 --> 00:00:21.030 us the true King becomes a servant for us. He 00:00:21.030 --> 00:00:23.769 says right at the heart, the Son of Man came 00:00:23.769 --> 00:00:26.489 not to be served, but to serve and to give his 00:00:26.489 --> 00:00:30.519 life as a ransom for many. And Mark is nearly 00:00:30.519 --> 00:00:33.539 always asking his audience, what do you make 00:00:33.539 --> 00:00:38.700 of that? So what do you make of this good news? 00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:43.219 We'd love to meet you, and we hope you'll consider 00:00:43.219 --> 00:00:45.299 coming and joining with us each Sunday morning 00:00:45.299 --> 00:00:47.399 at 10 a .m. in the heart of Midtown Harrisburg. 00:00:47.899 --> 00:00:50.119 You can find us online at secondcitychurch .org 00:00:50.119 --> 00:00:53.039 and on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. We hope 00:00:53.039 --> 00:00:55.820 you enjoy this sermon. God bless. Now I'd like 00:00:55.820 --> 00:00:58.200 to invite you to open up your Bibles to Mark 00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:01.880 chapter 11. If you don't have a Bible, grab one 00:01:01.880 --> 00:01:03.780 in the pew in front of you. If you don't have 00:01:03.780 --> 00:01:07.219 a Bible, please take it home. If you have a friend 00:01:07.219 --> 00:01:09.040 that you know that might want a Bible, please 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:11.299 take it home, give it to them. You are always 00:01:11.299 --> 00:01:15.439 welcome to take those Bibles with you. So we 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:18.079 just heard from the Gospel of Matthew, the events 00:01:18.079 --> 00:01:20.620 that are going to take place later on in that 00:01:20.620 --> 00:01:22.760 first Holy Week with the events that take place 00:01:22.760 --> 00:01:26.299 there in Jerusalem. Mostly we heard of what will 00:01:26.299 --> 00:01:29.159 happen on that first Monday Thursday when the 00:01:29.159 --> 00:01:30.519 Lord gives them the new commandment that they 00:01:30.519 --> 00:01:33.280 love one another and then the events of Good 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:37.480 Friday But of course that week begins with this 00:01:37.480 --> 00:01:41.459 entry of Jesus into the into Jerusalem that we've 00:01:41.459 --> 00:01:44.579 sort of reenacted in a way together this morning 00:01:44.579 --> 00:01:47.939 We've been in the gospel of Mark the last few 00:01:47.939 --> 00:01:49.560 months and so I thought this morning maybe we 00:01:49.560 --> 00:01:51.760 can spend a little bit of time reflecting on 00:01:52.109 --> 00:01:54.469 that entry into Jerusalem from the Gospel of 00:01:54.469 --> 00:01:58.189 Mark. So that's Mark chapter 11, verses 1 to 00:01:58.189 --> 00:02:01.310 11. I'm going to read it again for us, read it 00:02:01.310 --> 00:02:23.509 for us this morning. on which no one has ever 00:02:23.509 --> 00:02:27.550 sat. Untie it and bring it in. If anyone says 00:02:27.550 --> 00:02:31.069 to you, why are you doing this? Say, the Lord 00:02:31.069 --> 00:02:34.689 has need of it and we'll send it back here immediately. 00:02:36.030 --> 00:02:39.509 And they went away and found a colt tied at a 00:02:39.509 --> 00:02:42.870 door outside in the street and they untied it. 00:02:43.090 --> 00:02:44.750 And some of those standing there said to them, 00:02:44.969 --> 00:02:47.889 what are you doing and tying the colt? And they 00:02:47.889 --> 00:02:50.409 told them what Jesus had said and they let them 00:02:50.409 --> 00:02:54.680 go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw 00:02:54.680 --> 00:02:58.759 their cloaks on it and he sat on it. And many 00:02:58.759 --> 00:03:00.919 spread their cloaks on the road and others spread 00:03:00.919 --> 00:03:03.039 leafy branches that they had cut from the fields 00:03:03.039 --> 00:03:05.039 and those who went before and those who followed 00:03:05.039 --> 00:03:08.580 were shouting, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes 00:03:08.580 --> 00:03:10.979 in the name of the Lord, blessed is the coming 00:03:10.979 --> 00:03:14.740 kingdom of our father David, Hosanna in the highest. 00:03:16.740 --> 00:03:19.719 And he entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. 00:03:20.580 --> 00:03:22.840 And when he had looked around at everything, 00:03:23.379 --> 00:03:25.520 as it was already late, he went out to Bethany 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:29.560 with the twelve. All right. So here is the triumphal 00:03:29.560 --> 00:03:34.520 entry that Palms Sunday long ago when Jesus entered 00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:37.219 into Jerusalem and would make his way to the 00:03:37.219 --> 00:03:41.039 cross that week. This is what we have from Mark. 00:03:42.400 --> 00:03:44.819 And I think there's a few things that are happening 00:03:44.819 --> 00:03:48.189 that we don't. really quite expect. And since 00:03:48.189 --> 00:03:49.650 Mark is actually telling us a few things that 00:03:49.650 --> 00:03:51.150 I don't think we would quite expect, I want to 00:03:51.150 --> 00:03:53.090 present it to you in a way that you might not 00:03:53.090 --> 00:03:54.990 expect. And what I want to do is I want to take 00:03:54.990 --> 00:03:57.669 it from the end to the beginning, okay? I'm going 00:03:57.669 --> 00:03:59.069 to say three main things and they're going to 00:03:59.069 --> 00:04:02.590 begin at the end. You know, Mary Poppins, that's 00:04:02.590 --> 00:04:04.530 not the right place. It's supposed to start at 00:04:04.530 --> 00:04:06.289 the very beginning. But we're going to start 00:04:06.289 --> 00:04:07.750 at the end and we're going to make our way to 00:04:07.750 --> 00:04:10.810 the beginning, okay? And I want us to kind of 00:04:10.810 --> 00:04:12.770 look at this text a little bit with the idea 00:04:12.770 --> 00:04:16.500 of what it's Jesus' perspective. What's Jesus 00:04:16.500 --> 00:04:20.720 seeing and hearing and intending? Okay. So first, 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:24.819 what is he seeing? And the first thing I want 00:04:24.819 --> 00:04:27.480 us to say is that Jesus is examining our places 00:04:27.480 --> 00:04:30.199 of worship. He's examining our places of worship. 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:34.339 Verse 11 seems like a strange little odd detail. 00:04:34.600 --> 00:04:36.379 I said that there's sort of some odd things that 00:04:36.379 --> 00:04:37.600 are happening here. I thought this was really 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:39.740 interesting as I kind of looked at this passage. 00:04:40.120 --> 00:04:43.259 It stood out to me that at the end we're given 00:04:43.259 --> 00:04:45.470 this little section. It just says this, and he 00:04:45.470 --> 00:04:48.069 entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. When 00:04:48.069 --> 00:04:51.750 he looked around at everything, as it was already 00:04:51.750 --> 00:04:53.970 late, he went out to Bethany with the 12th. And 00:04:53.970 --> 00:04:56.769 we can confidently say that Mark intends for 00:04:56.769 --> 00:04:59.949 this to be part of the narrative of the triumphal 00:04:59.949 --> 00:05:02.410 entry of that first Palm Sunday. This is an important 00:05:02.410 --> 00:05:05.310 detail that Mark wants you to see and wants me 00:05:05.310 --> 00:05:07.430 to see. And I can say it fairly confidently because 00:05:07.430 --> 00:05:10.209 one of the things that we see in this short verse 00:05:10.209 --> 00:05:13.639 right here, is a literary device that Mark has 00:05:13.639 --> 00:05:16.079 often used already that we've seen this spring, 00:05:17.139 --> 00:05:19.300 this Latin word inclusio, you know, which means 00:05:19.300 --> 00:05:20.759 the inclusion, the beginning and the end are 00:05:20.759 --> 00:05:23.199 the same thing, which is a clue for you to say, 00:05:23.420 --> 00:05:26.100 hey, take this together. This belongs together. 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:28.959 And so there at the beginning of the text in 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:30.779 verse one, we have Bethany mentioned there at 00:05:30.779 --> 00:05:32.360 the end of the text, we have Bethany mentioned. 00:05:32.639 --> 00:05:35.740 That's why Mark was saying, hey, if you want 00:05:35.740 --> 00:05:38.160 to read well, take this as part of this same 00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:41.389 thing, which I don't know. That seems kind of 00:05:41.389 --> 00:05:43.930 strange. This is a little thing. Jesus goes into 00:05:43.930 --> 00:05:45.310 Jerusalem. He goes to the temple and he looks 00:05:45.310 --> 00:05:47.930 around at everything. He goes, well, it's late. 00:05:48.050 --> 00:05:51.110 Might as well go back. What's going on here? 00:05:52.129 --> 00:05:54.389 I'm saying that he is looking and he's examining 00:05:54.389 --> 00:05:57.810 our places of worship. He goes into Jerusalem. 00:05:57.829 --> 00:06:00.569 He goes to the temple. He looks at everything. 00:06:01.589 --> 00:06:03.649 And my guess is that you likely know that the 00:06:03.649 --> 00:06:07.439 temple was the center place, the center focal 00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:12.779 place, both architecturally and socially of Jerusalem. 00:06:13.500 --> 00:06:15.360 It was the main attraction if you were to go 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:18.060 to Jerusalem. It still actually is the main attraction 00:06:18.060 --> 00:06:20.199 if you go to Jerusalem, the Temple Mount there. 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:23.620 So of course it would make sense to go there. 00:06:24.300 --> 00:06:25.959 It's sort of like our own mountains and things. 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:29.399 The main attractions, they say a lot about us. 00:06:29.560 --> 00:06:32.040 What happens there says a lot about sort of what 00:06:32.040 --> 00:06:34.279 we do in a given place, where we put our energy 00:06:34.279 --> 00:06:36.459 and our time and our hopes and desires and all 00:06:36.459 --> 00:06:40.199 this kind of thing. Think of our own city here, 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:43.560 Harrisburg. The capital is the large building. 00:06:44.500 --> 00:06:46.620 It's rather beautiful driving across the Harvey 00:06:46.620 --> 00:06:49.750 Taylor. seeing it looming large there and how 00:06:49.750 --> 00:06:52.050 much it actually influences for good and for 00:06:52.050 --> 00:06:55.250 ill our city how our city ebbs and flows with 00:06:55.250 --> 00:06:57.410 the capital involvement many of you would not 00:06:57.410 --> 00:06:59.589 even live here if it weren't for the capital 00:06:59.589 --> 00:07:02.329 being present of course think about the towering 00:07:02.329 --> 00:07:04.110 buildings of the financial district of a city 00:07:04.110 --> 00:07:08.250 like new york city or think of lincoln financial 00:07:08.250 --> 00:07:11.610 stadium in philly how much it gives identity 00:07:11.610 --> 00:07:15.490 to the people hopes and aspirations and desires 00:07:15.490 --> 00:07:19.230 and dreams right Not just that they're the main 00:07:19.230 --> 00:07:22.290 attraction they actually are reflections on us 00:07:22.290 --> 00:07:24.970 and what happens in these spaces are reflections 00:07:24.970 --> 00:07:30.350 upon In many ways you could actually say in some 00:07:30.350 --> 00:07:34.290 regard these are modern houses of worship power 00:07:34.290 --> 00:07:39.449 and money strength and beauty The normal things 00:07:39.449 --> 00:07:45.250 of desire and hope But think with me, okay, we're 00:07:45.250 --> 00:07:47.230 not gonna look at all this but some of you will 00:07:47.230 --> 00:07:51.110 know this text Just in just in this chapter alone 00:07:51.110 --> 00:07:55.329 mark chapter 11 We could see very quickly if 00:07:55.329 --> 00:07:59.449 we kept reading that Jesus Goes back to the temple 00:07:59.449 --> 00:08:02.350 and he turns over the tables He drives the money 00:08:02.350 --> 00:08:04.089 changers out mark doesn't tell us this but elsewhere 00:08:04.089 --> 00:08:05.529 we can read that he had had the whip, you know 00:08:05.529 --> 00:08:09.000 He's driving them out And then actually in the 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:11.439 same chapter, we can see the scribes and the 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:14.500 Pharisees challenging his authority. I think 00:08:14.500 --> 00:08:16.899 right there in this chapter, there's a further 00:08:16.899 --> 00:08:20.459 engagement at the temple with money and power. 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:24.199 Money and power. If we read the next chapter, 00:08:24.199 --> 00:08:27.040 chapter 12, we could hear him give the parable 00:08:27.040 --> 00:08:29.360 of the talents, which again has to do with what 00:08:29.360 --> 00:08:34.059 you've been given, right? And then be questioned 00:08:34.059 --> 00:08:37.940 actually right afterwards. about paying taxes 00:08:37.940 --> 00:08:42.200 to Caesar, the coin, the money that's reflecting 00:08:42.200 --> 00:08:49.799 power and authority, politics. Jesus isn't just 00:08:49.799 --> 00:08:53.539 going to the temple because, I don't know, where 00:08:53.539 --> 00:08:56.500 else should I walk around? I guess I've made 00:08:56.500 --> 00:09:01.320 it. Let's do some sightseeing. He's examining 00:09:01.320 --> 00:09:05.100 our place of worship. Which is to say he is examining 00:09:05.100 --> 00:09:10.120 where we place our hopes, right? Where are we 00:09:10.120 --> 00:09:14.620 placing our loves? What holds maybe the possibility 00:09:14.620 --> 00:09:23.080 of something new to come? We would do well to 00:09:23.080 --> 00:09:26.120 allow the Lord to examine our places of worship, 00:09:26.659 --> 00:09:32.179 right? Our places where we're placing hope. Maybe 00:09:32.179 --> 00:09:34.379 to come into our homes and into our hearts and 00:09:34.379 --> 00:09:37.220 into our wallets and into the rest and look around 00:09:37.220 --> 00:09:42.179 a little bit Where are they placing their hopes 00:09:42.179 --> 00:09:46.340 and their desires and Frankly like it's if truth 00:09:46.340 --> 00:09:50.820 be told We are not very different than this original 00:09:50.820 --> 00:09:53.419 dynamic, right? It is dealing with things like 00:09:53.419 --> 00:09:56.159 politics and power and authority and finances 00:09:56.159 --> 00:09:58.240 and all the rest These are actually very easily 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:04.350 the same list that we would write today. Places 00:10:04.350 --> 00:10:08.110 where we put our hope, our worship. Seems to 00:10:08.110 --> 00:10:10.169 be the world we live in, the air we breathe is 00:10:10.169 --> 00:10:13.149 the same air they breathe. The water that we 00:10:13.149 --> 00:10:16.929 swim in was the water they swam in. These are 00:10:16.929 --> 00:10:19.870 all telling us the same thing that we grab for 00:10:19.870 --> 00:10:24.309 our hope and for our worship. Okay, so Jesus 00:10:24.309 --> 00:10:27.210 looks and he sees these things. He examines them. 00:10:29.159 --> 00:10:32.299 But the previous narrative doesn't have him so 00:10:32.299 --> 00:10:37.919 much examining but listening, okay so It's the 00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:40.240 first so the last narrative has to do with Jesus 00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:43.200 looking the first the middle narrative has to 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:46.840 do with Jesus hearing and I want us to Just title 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:49.480 this little section middle section Jesus hearing 00:10:49.480 --> 00:10:52.879 our cries to save which is also coming at actually 00:10:52.879 --> 00:10:56.879 our desires right in our hopes so Yeah, this 00:10:56.879 --> 00:10:58.799 little section and really this is probably I 00:10:58.799 --> 00:11:00.559 mean really if you want to put it down It's it's 00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:03.820 more or less just verse 9 and 10 Which is really 00:11:03.820 --> 00:11:06.559 kind of odd because we think of the cries of 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:09.139 those Anna as the primary kind of thing that's 00:11:09.139 --> 00:11:11.279 happening the text But mark actually just give 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:14.139 us a little bit But I want to give you a little 00:11:14.139 --> 00:11:16.159 context because what would have happened really 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:19.340 is that thousands and thousands Thousands of 00:11:19.340 --> 00:11:21.059 people would have been surrounding and making 00:11:21.059 --> 00:11:24.100 their way into Jerusalem the crowds there in 00:11:24.100 --> 00:11:26.700 Jerusalem for any festival would have been significant 00:11:26.700 --> 00:11:31.259 We don't really really know an exact number of 00:11:31.259 --> 00:11:33.100 how many people lived in Jerusalem at the time 00:11:33.100 --> 00:11:37.259 of Jesus a good estimate is around 50 ,000 people 00:11:37.259 --> 00:11:40.320 so, you know, by the way, that's largely just 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:43.960 the Exact it's a little bit smaller than the 00:11:43.960 --> 00:11:46.820 bound the official boundary of the city of Harrisburg 00:11:46.820 --> 00:11:51.519 but about 50 ,000 and we aren't exactly sure 00:11:51.519 --> 00:11:55.019 and But we think actually that when these festivals 00:11:55.019 --> 00:11:58.259 would happen for any festival that might swell 00:11:58.259 --> 00:12:01.460 to twice that But for Passover most people think 00:12:01.460 --> 00:12:03.639 that would have that would have swollen to about 00:12:03.639 --> 00:12:06.879 three times that So, okay, you've got that city 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:08.759 that's used to having you know, 50 ,000 people 00:12:08.759 --> 00:12:13.169 and also most likely There's around 150 ,000 00:12:13.169 --> 00:12:16.909 people in and around Jerusalem. It makes more 00:12:16.909 --> 00:12:19.450 sense why they would have been out in Bethany, 00:12:19.490 --> 00:12:21.389 which would have been about two miles away from 00:12:21.389 --> 00:12:23.389 the temple. It'd be like from here to Italian 00:12:23.389 --> 00:12:26.149 Lake, about two miles away. People would have 00:12:26.149 --> 00:12:28.029 not been able to stay in the city. And so they're 00:12:28.029 --> 00:12:29.370 coming in and going out and all this kind of 00:12:29.370 --> 00:12:32.710 thing. So it would have been undoubtedly true 00:12:32.710 --> 00:12:34.389 that crowds would have constantly been going 00:12:34.389 --> 00:12:39.299 out and around the city. But what's also true 00:12:39.299 --> 00:12:41.299 and we get the little glimpse of this we actually 00:12:41.299 --> 00:12:43.759 heard some of this even in our narrative What 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:46.299 would have also been true because of this is 00:12:46.299 --> 00:12:47.740 that we would have they would have been more 00:12:47.740 --> 00:12:51.159 police patrolling police Roman soldiers, right? 00:12:51.700 --> 00:12:53.919 They would have been wondering because what would 00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:56.279 so often happen is that the times of festivals 00:12:56.279 --> 00:12:58.000 would have been the times of religious riots 00:12:58.429 --> 00:13:00.769 I mean, these are the stories that gave identity 00:13:00.769 --> 00:13:02.850 to the people of God. They were the ones that 00:13:02.850 --> 00:13:05.169 were brought out from slavery, brought to freedom, 00:13:05.169 --> 00:13:06.990 and now they're under the control of another 00:13:06.990 --> 00:13:13.049 ruler, Rome itself, Caesar. Anyway, there's little 00:13:13.049 --> 00:13:16.490 to no question that when crowds shouted out, 00:13:16.549 --> 00:13:19.289 Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name 00:13:19.289 --> 00:13:21.090 of the Lord, blessed is the coming kingdom of 00:13:21.090 --> 00:13:25.750 our father David, Hosanna in the highest. What 00:13:25.750 --> 00:13:29.039 they wanted was, well, What was reflected in 00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:34.960 the temple? Power. David, a new king. Politics. 00:13:35.639 --> 00:13:38.919 Greater authority. Our king. Not these other 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:43.820 would -be pilots and all the rest. What they 00:13:43.820 --> 00:13:47.399 wanted was for the kingdom to come in the same 00:13:47.399 --> 00:13:51.500 ways that we are all so often desiring. Save 00:13:51.500 --> 00:13:57.100 us by these things of strength. finances, and 00:13:57.100 --> 00:14:01.419 all the rest. Hosanna is not just a shout of 00:14:01.419 --> 00:14:04.539 praise. What I'm saying is that it's actually 00:14:04.539 --> 00:14:07.100 a call for hope. It's reflective of our hopes 00:14:07.100 --> 00:14:11.019 and our desires. We kind of shout it as a praise 00:14:11.019 --> 00:14:13.480 thing. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna means 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:19.100 save us. Save us. And Jesus has just looked upon 00:14:19.100 --> 00:14:22.779 their temple. and seen that the people of God 00:14:22.779 --> 00:14:25.419 themselves are looking for their salvation in 00:14:25.419 --> 00:14:28.539 the same way that the world has always looked 00:14:28.539 --> 00:14:37.759 for. Strength, power, money. So Jesus goes into 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:39.700 the temple to examine their place of worship, 00:14:39.960 --> 00:14:42.740 which is their place of hope. Here in the middle, 00:14:42.820 --> 00:14:45.700 they are hearing their cries, save us, which 00:14:45.700 --> 00:14:50.340 is a cry of hope. And they're all bound up in 00:14:50.340 --> 00:14:53.919 this power play. Maybe this will be our time. 00:14:54.659 --> 00:14:57.179 Maybe this will be our time and our day when 00:14:57.179 --> 00:15:05.700 we get our man on the throne. Fact is that Jesus 00:15:05.700 --> 00:15:08.960 knows their inclinations and frankly He knows 00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:11.200 our inclinations. He knows their hopes. He knows 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:14.779 our hopes. He knows what they worship. He knows 00:15:14.779 --> 00:15:18.360 what we're inclined to worship. He knows that 00:15:18.360 --> 00:15:21.480 they are inclined to run after the throne. Maybe 00:15:21.480 --> 00:15:23.919 we're inclined to run after the White House. 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:28.179 We're inclined to run after beauty and bank accounts 00:15:28.179 --> 00:15:32.019 and all the rest. He knows that they thought, 00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:34.080 just like we thought, that the way up is the 00:15:34.080 --> 00:15:39.039 way up. Get on the pedestal. Make a name for 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:43.340 yourself. Go viral. Then your life will have 00:15:43.340 --> 00:15:50.120 meaning. And yet, no doubt knowing that this 00:15:50.120 --> 00:15:55.320 is the way of our hearts, the first movement, 00:15:55.500 --> 00:15:58.080 which has actually the bulk of this passage, 00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:02.019 is Jesus telling us that the way up is the way 00:16:02.019 --> 00:16:05.779 down. Glory comes through humility, resurrection 00:16:05.779 --> 00:16:09.200 through the cross. So at the end, I said, he 00:16:09.200 --> 00:16:13.460 looks around, right? He examines our places of 00:16:13.460 --> 00:16:16.299 worship. In the middle, this little middle section, 00:16:17.069 --> 00:16:21.730 He's hearing our cries for salvation, which is 00:16:21.730 --> 00:16:25.450 to say our hopes and our desires. But in this 00:16:25.450 --> 00:16:27.590 first section, which is the bulk of our text 00:16:27.590 --> 00:16:30.049 from Mark, of what happened that Palm Sunday 00:16:30.049 --> 00:16:33.950 long ago, he's actually instructing us in the 00:16:33.950 --> 00:16:39.870 true way of salvation. Okay, so I said that there 00:16:39.870 --> 00:16:42.210 were a few odd things that sort of stood out 00:16:42.210 --> 00:16:44.629 to me. When I was reading this passage this week, 00:16:44.629 --> 00:16:46.570 one of them was like I mentioned that he goes 00:16:46.570 --> 00:16:48.909 to the temple. It's a little detail that seems 00:16:48.909 --> 00:16:51.830 So small and easy to go over but actually it's 00:16:51.830 --> 00:16:54.509 important for mark And then I thought well another 00:16:54.509 --> 00:16:56.690 really strange thing is how short of a time we 00:16:56.690 --> 00:16:59.690 are given of the actual Like procession itself 00:16:59.690 --> 00:17:01.370 and the cries. It's not a lot of time. There's 00:17:01.370 --> 00:17:04.670 two verses here But the other thing that really 00:17:04.670 --> 00:17:08.529 really stood out to me Is that mark gives us 00:17:08.529 --> 00:17:13.859 so much detail? About getting this cult this 00:17:13.859 --> 00:17:19.140 little donkey cult He puts so much emphasis on 00:17:19.140 --> 00:17:25.380 this Of course overall what we see is that Jesus 00:17:25.380 --> 00:17:28.460 is the one in control and That he wants this 00:17:28.460 --> 00:17:30.480 whole procession done in a way that he under 00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:32.660 he wants to communicate something content They 00:17:32.660 --> 00:17:35.220 say his intent behind it. He's instructing us 00:17:35.220 --> 00:17:37.480 in who he is and what his salvation looks like 00:17:37.480 --> 00:17:39.910 right? He's orchestrating it That's supposed 00:17:39.910 --> 00:17:44.349 to be a big, big theme here. There's a divine 00:17:44.349 --> 00:17:48.869 orchestration taking place. The only words in 00:17:48.869 --> 00:17:51.829 this whole story from our Lord himself are the 00:17:51.829 --> 00:17:56.150 words of how, where to get the donkey. And what 00:17:56.150 --> 00:17:59.150 to do about it, which just seems so odd. Why 00:17:59.150 --> 00:18:02.190 not speak to all these crowds who are gathered, 00:18:02.289 --> 00:18:04.970 who are shouting hosannas? Why not say something 00:18:04.970 --> 00:18:07.839 when you're looking around the temple? Hey guys, 00:18:07.859 --> 00:18:09.279 I'm gonna be back tomorrow. I'm gonna be flipping 00:18:09.279 --> 00:18:11.119 some tables. You better be there. I don't know 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:13.940 something else instead the only words we get 00:18:13.940 --> 00:18:21.599 from our Lord in this passage Donkey The details 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:25.660 of course that that do Tell us about his divinity 00:18:25.660 --> 00:18:27.880 in a way. He's seeing things that the normal 00:18:27.880 --> 00:18:30.539 human would not see He gives us details like 00:18:30.539 --> 00:18:32.660 it's tied up outside. That would have been different 00:18:32.660 --> 00:18:34.500 actually Donkeys wouldn't have typically been 00:18:34.500 --> 00:18:36.200 tied up outside of buildings. I didn't know that 00:18:36.200 --> 00:18:41.859 until I read that this week. It hadn't been written. 00:18:42.059 --> 00:18:46.119 That was a detail that he said. And his disciples 00:18:46.119 --> 00:18:49.799 wouldn't have known that. He knew that. And all 00:18:49.799 --> 00:18:52.339 these details, they really, they matter for who 00:18:52.339 --> 00:18:55.000 he's trying to communicate himself as. He's trying 00:18:55.000 --> 00:19:00.400 to instruct us. The Mishnah, which is the writing 00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:02.579 down of the oral Jewish tradition, said that 00:19:02.579 --> 00:19:08.000 only kings could ride an unwritten horse. So 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:11.039 an unwritten donkey would have been kind of a 00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:15.839 declaration of royalty. Jesus entering into the 00:19:15.839 --> 00:19:19.960 great city of David on an animal itself would 00:19:19.960 --> 00:19:25.059 have been a declaration of royalty. Jesus just 00:19:25.059 --> 00:19:27.799 Jesus response to the questions the men are asking 00:19:27.799 --> 00:19:30.279 right? Why are you doing this their response? 00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:33.559 What was the Lord has needed? That would have 00:19:33.559 --> 00:19:38.640 been a declaration of royalty Jesus Is kind of 00:19:38.640 --> 00:19:43.180 through all this he's saying I am the king I'm 00:19:43.180 --> 00:19:45.400 the one who actually sees things that you don't 00:19:45.400 --> 00:19:48.400 even understand who's orchestrating this in a 00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:50.539 way that is going to communicate Here is the 00:19:50.539 --> 00:19:55.210 king entering So for all this that speaks to 00:19:55.210 --> 00:19:58.109 our hopes for salvation and all the rest, one 00:19:58.109 --> 00:20:00.509 thing that he is saying is, hey, this came to 00:20:00.509 --> 00:20:03.569 you that you were desiring. This is me. And yet 00:20:03.569 --> 00:20:06.670 he's doing it in a way that's also head scratching. 00:20:06.750 --> 00:20:09.470 This isn't how it's supposed to be. Not if powers 00:20:09.470 --> 00:20:14.589 come the ways that we think power comes. One 00:20:14.589 --> 00:20:17.089 of the things that is most intent, one of the 00:20:17.089 --> 00:20:18.630 things that Jesus is most intent on is that it 00:20:18.630 --> 00:20:23.750 is this donkey, this colt. Matthew and John make 00:20:23.750 --> 00:20:26.190 clear for us what Mark only kind of alludes to 00:20:26.190 --> 00:20:30.309 here, and that Jesus is making good on this prophecy 00:20:30.309 --> 00:20:33.329 of Zechariah that we heard Nicole read for us 00:20:33.329 --> 00:20:36.029 earlier from the Old Testament reading. Zechariah 00:20:36.029 --> 00:20:41.630 9 says this, say to the daughters of Zion, behold 00:20:41.630 --> 00:20:44.410 your King is coming to you. That's what Jesus 00:20:44.410 --> 00:20:46.569 is saying, I'm coming to you and I'm the King. 00:20:47.910 --> 00:20:54.670 Then Zechariah says this, humble. Everybody else 00:20:54.670 --> 00:20:58.049 wants the pomp and circumstance, right? Shout! 00:20:58.930 --> 00:21:04.549 Take down Pilate! Do away with Caesar! Come with 00:21:04.549 --> 00:21:10.549 fanfare! Jesus says, I'm a king, but fulfilling 00:21:10.549 --> 00:21:15.109 Zechariah 9, humble, mounted on a donkey, on 00:21:15.109 --> 00:21:24.619 a colt, the full of a beast of burden. inside 00:21:24.619 --> 00:21:26.140 cover of your bulletin there's a quote there 00:21:26.140 --> 00:21:30.859 from Martin Luther it says this look at him he 00:21:30.859 --> 00:21:35.500 rides no stallion which is a war animal and he 00:21:35.500 --> 00:21:40.519 comes not with feral pomp and power but sits 00:21:40.519 --> 00:21:44.200 on a donkey which is no war animal but which 00:21:44.200 --> 00:21:48.339 is ready for burdens of work that will help human 00:21:48.339 --> 00:21:52.490 beings There but thereby he shows that he does 00:21:52.490 --> 00:21:56.230 not come to terrify people to drive or oppress 00:21:56.230 --> 00:22:00.069 them But to help them to carry their burdens 00:22:00.069 --> 00:22:09.690 and take them on himself Your king is coming 00:22:09.690 --> 00:22:14.809 Now your hope is here what Jesus is saying your 00:22:14.809 --> 00:22:17.950 king is coming your hope is here the true object 00:22:17.950 --> 00:22:24.839 of your worship is me. But I'm not what you expect. 00:22:29.859 --> 00:22:36.720 Zechariah says he's humble. That is more of a 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:38.799 quote from the Greek Septuagint which does use 00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:40.960 the word humble, but actually the Hebrew word 00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:43.960 actually there in Zechariah is often translated 00:22:43.960 --> 00:22:52.619 afflicted. mounted on a donkey. He comes way 00:22:52.619 --> 00:22:58.279 down. Not as the beast of battle, the horse, 00:22:59.160 --> 00:23:03.680 but the beast of burden, the donkey. Friends, 00:23:03.720 --> 00:23:07.500 this is our savior. This is how he wants you 00:23:07.500 --> 00:23:12.559 to understand what he is doing. He is not like 00:23:12.559 --> 00:23:15.000 the other saviors that you so often run to, that 00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:20.549 I so often run to, that we all do. All of those 00:23:20.549 --> 00:23:23.609 are saying that the more you have, the more you'll 00:23:23.609 --> 00:23:33.910 get. Grab. Take. He's unlike our would -be saviors. 00:23:34.730 --> 00:23:37.130 He's unlike the places where we so often go for 00:23:37.130 --> 00:23:40.849 worship. And the places of power, the places 00:23:40.849 --> 00:23:46.410 of pomp and circumstance, and look at me. Now 00:23:46.410 --> 00:23:48.390 Jesus says and he's going to be enacting this 00:23:48.390 --> 00:23:49.970 of course throughout the week, but he begins 00:23:49.970 --> 00:23:54.730 it right here He says the way up is the way down 00:23:54.730 --> 00:24:02.650 The way to glory is through humility of Philippians 00:24:02.650 --> 00:24:12.089 chapter 2 My throne will come after my affliction 00:24:12.089 --> 00:24:18.720 Right here He is setting us. He's setting us 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:24.180 up. This is where I'm headed. I'm telling you, 00:24:24.740 --> 00:24:27.420 this is the good news of Christ, but it's also 00:24:27.420 --> 00:24:32.220 frankly what God invites you into. He who would 00:24:32.220 --> 00:24:35.700 gain his life must lose it. This is the way the 00:24:35.700 --> 00:24:37.700 world really works. We think it works the opposite 00:24:37.700 --> 00:24:42.799 way. Jesus says, no. I'm coming to you humble, 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:49.009 afflicted. I'm a king that goes low before I 00:24:49.009 --> 00:24:54.730 go up. And he says, follow me in it. Follow me 00:24:54.730 --> 00:24:57.349 in it. What we're going to see, of course, through 00:24:57.349 --> 00:24:59.470 this week as we gather together, as we gather 00:24:59.470 --> 00:25:01.390 on Monday, Thursday, is the Lord actually takes 00:25:01.390 --> 00:25:03.910 the place of the servant, right? Washing his 00:25:03.910 --> 00:25:06.430 disciples' feet. He will make his way to the 00:25:06.430 --> 00:25:10.690 cross, the place of the thief and the murderer, 00:25:11.289 --> 00:25:15.680 taking our sins upon himself. All over. This 00:25:15.680 --> 00:25:19.140 is our Lord telling us, instructing us who He 00:25:19.140 --> 00:25:22.460 is and the right object of worship. That the 00:25:22.460 --> 00:25:26.759 King of glory comes and He comes humbly, lowly 00:25:26.759 --> 00:25:33.440 afflicted for us. Let me pray for us. Lord, we 00:25:33.440 --> 00:25:35.940 come to this text in Mark and it's so different 00:25:35.940 --> 00:25:39.059 than what we might expect. And yet how consistent 00:25:39.059 --> 00:25:44.220 it is. With what you teach us and how necessarily 00:25:44.220 --> 00:25:47.400 consistent it is because we so often think the 00:25:47.400 --> 00:25:55.180 very opposite Jesus this week would you Through 00:25:55.180 --> 00:25:58.380 your humility and live in our hearts that we 00:25:58.380 --> 00:26:01.799 might walk in your ways with the humble people 00:26:01.799 --> 00:26:05.359 Who glory in the reality that we have a crucified 00:26:05.359 --> 00:26:09.220 Savior something that would have been humiliating 00:26:09.900 --> 00:26:12.380 For anyone living at the time would have been 00:26:12.380 --> 00:26:16.619 an absurd claim And it is today too Lord. I pray 00:26:16.619 --> 00:26:20.880 that we would find our joy and our life Not in 00:26:20.880 --> 00:26:26.039 the places of power But the place of humility 00:26:26.039 --> 00:26:30.559 the person of humility and affliction or Jesus 00:26:30.559 --> 00:26:36.640 himself whose name we pray Thank you for listening 00:26:36.640 --> 00:26:39.599 to second city sermons podcast We hope this sermon 00:26:39.599 --> 00:26:41.880 has encouraged you to worship God and to celebrate 00:26:41.880 --> 00:26:45.059 the gospel of Jesus. Please consider subscribing 00:26:45.059 --> 00:26:47.720 to this podcast and joining us in person each 00:26:47.720 --> 00:26:50.559 Sunday at 10 a .m. You can find us online at 00:26:50.559 --> 00:26:53.019 SecondCityChurch .org and on Instagram, Facebook, 00:26:53.200 --> 00:26:56.000 and YouTube. Thanks again for listening. God 00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:56.319 bless.