In this episode, J. Mark explores Mark 11:1-11, the account of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. As Jesus rides into the city on a donkey, the crowds welcome Him with cries of “Hosanna!” This moment is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies that reveal Jesus as the promised Messiah. Listen to this episode where J. Mark unpacks these prophecies and shows how their fulfillment strengthens our faith in Christ.
It is an honor to be with you today as we look into scripture and, with God’s help, understand who God wants us to be. Heralds of Hope produces this program, and our goal is to use media to make disciples. Right now, you are listening to this program. This is one form of media we use to encourage listeners to walk with Jesus and become more like Him.
Today, our lesson in Mark brings us to the beginning of Jesus last week. This passage in Mark 11 is known as the triumphal entry, and in today’s lesson, we will look at a few Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.
Allow this to increase your awe and faith in Scripture. No other book or person comes close to predicting the future as accurately and precisely as the Bible. For many people, this is a major reason they believe in the Bible, and it is a truth that needs to be reckoned with. How can prophecies given 500 to 1000 years ago happen to come true down to the smallest detail? This is God at work. Be encouraged: God’s Word is true, and ALL that God said will happen. Pastor J Mark is here now to share today’s lesson.
There are many things we cannot know about the future. However, we can know some things about the future because the prophecies of Holy Scripture are incredibly accurate. This fact has convinced numerous skeptics that the Bible is true. They set out to prove that the Bible was a man-made document filled with errors. However, as they studied and researched it, they came to the opposite conclusion. It is God’s inspired Word to us.
Our text today, from Mark 11:1-11, focuses on the last week of Jesus’ life. It contains prophecies about Jesus, given many years before He came to earth. Join me as we look at several prophecies fulfilled in the Triumphal Entry. I’ve titled our study “The King is Coming.”
Follow along as I read Mark 11:1-11.
1 Now, when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples;
2 and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it, you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it.
3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it,’ and immediately he will send it here.”
4 So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they untied it.
5 But some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?”
6 And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go.
7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it.
8 And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
9 Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David, that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
11 And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.
This text shows us the fulfillment of several prophetic ASPECTS of Jesus’ ministry. These should strengthen our faith and confidence in God’s promises.
The First ASPECT is,
The Method of His Transportation
The Scriptures prophesied that Jesus would be a King from the beginning. The angel told Mary that Jesus would sit on the throne of His Father, David. The magi asked, “Where is He, who was born King of the Jews?” Micah declared that Jesus would be “the Ruler of my people, Israel.”
Now, after thirty years or so, that promised king is about to enter David’s royal city. Jesus, the disciples are approaching Jerusalem. As they do so, the opening sentence of the text mentions two villages: Bethphage and Bethany. Bethany was the town of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, close friends of Jesus.
Here, Jesus gives two disciples an interesting command. “Go into the village directly ahead of you. You will find a colt that has never been ridden tied there as soon as you enter it. Untie the colt and bring it to me.” How would you have responded to Jesus’ command? “Would you repeat that for us? Are you asking us to steal a donkey colt?”
Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament Messianic prophecies that said the Messiah would enter the city riding on a donkey. Zechariah 9:9 says, “Rejoice, Jerusalem, your King comes unto you lowly and riding on a donkey.” That prophecy was well-known, even though it was given approximately 500 years before Jesus was born. He was to come riding on a donkey.
Zechariah’s prophecy has its roots in Genesis 49:10-11. “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the people’s obedience. Binding his donkey to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine and his clothes in the blood of grapes.” Deeply rooted in the Jewish consciousness was this hope of the Messiah who would enter Jerusalem on a donkey.
Jesus told the disciples that this donkey colt had never carried a rider. I learned of a stipulation in Jewish history that no one was ever allowed to ride the king’s horse or donkey without special permission.
Jesus knew the disciples would be questioned when they untied the colt. So, Jesus told them, “If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it,’ and immediately he will send it here.” And the scene unfolded precisely as Jesus said it would.
The owners of the colt protested the taking of their property. However, when the disciples told them the Lord needed the colt, they released it. Undoubtedly, the colt’s owners had heard of Jesus before. So, they gave their permission.
The disciples took the colt and returned to Jesus. Then they removed their outer garments and placed them on the donkey so Jesus wouldn’t have to ride bareback. Those in the crowd spread their garments on the ground for the donkey to walk on.
Others broke off palm tree fronds and spread them on the road. Jesus is very aware of what is happening. His conduct on this occasion could have but one meaning. It was the public proclamation of himself as the Messiah. Now, at last, his “hour” has come. The message of the prophets was being fulfilled.
And just as His method of transportation had been prophesied, so too was the message of exaltation that greeted Him.
Another ASPECT is,
The Message of His Exaltation
The crowd’s unrestrained enthusiasm shows they realized what was happening. They expected Jesus to set up His rule and drive the hated Romans out of their land.
Luke’s record tells us that the crowds and Jesus got their first glimpse of Jerusalem at this point in the procession. At this point, the worshippers burst into loud Messianic praise and acclamation for all the mighty works they’d seen – Lazarus, Bartimaeus, and more.
The adoring crowds of pilgrims cry out, “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our Father, David, that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
Messianic fervor is animating the people. Recall the incident about a year before this, in John chapter 6, after the feeding of the 5,000; the people attempted to take Jesus by force and make Him King. Then, Jesus left the crowds and went to a solitary mountain to be alone. It was not the right time for a coronation. But now IS the time.
“Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is the kingdom of our Father, David, that comes in the name of the Lord Hosanna in the highest.” This was the loftiest style in which He could be saluted as the promised Deliverer. This message had been written centuries before. Now, those cries of acclamation burst from the lips of the excited throng as Jesus made His way toward Jerusalem. Their message was, “The King is coming.”
Yet, within a week, Jesus was rejected and crucified. However, the next time He comes, His acclamation will be genuine and complete!
The Final ASPECT is,
The Meaning of His Observation
In His typical abbreviated way, Mark says that Jesus entered the city and the Temple and observed all that was happening. Mark’s conclusion is anticlimactic. It’s as though Jesus came into Jerusalem, went to the Temple, looked around, and returned to Bethany. However, a crucial detail is essential to our understanding of this event.
In Ezekiel’s prophecy, around 586 BC, he saw a vision of the glory of God leaving the temple and the holy city and descending upon Bethany on the Mount of Olives. Now, the One whom the Scriptures define as the brightness of the glory of God comes from Bethany, from the Mount of Olives, goes into the Holy City, and goes to the Temple.
In Ezra chapter three, when the foundation of the second Temple was laid, many of the older men who had seen the glory of Solomon’s Temple wept. However, the prophet Haggai made an interesting prediction in chapter two of his book.
“Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing? Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord; ‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
He then made this promise. “‘The glory of this latter temple (the Temple Jesus visited) shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
All along, we’ve been waiting for Jesus to arrive in Jerusalem. We’ve been looking at that since He announced to His disciples that He was going to the Holy City to suffer and die. But Jerusalem was not His ultimate destination. His ultimate destination was His return to the Father.
In 586 BC, the glory of God left the temple. Now, in our text, the glory of God temporarily returns, but very few understood that the king was the King of Glory, who was about to meet the destiny to which He was called.
Today, we have examined the method of His transportation, the message of His exaltation, and the meaning of His observation. The fulfillment of these prophecies should strengthen our faith and give us confidence that the promises yet unfulfilled will be, in due time, fulfilled in their entirety. Yes, the King is coming! Are you ready?
Thanks, J Mark, for showing us how Jesus’ first coming was predicted many years before He came. There were many years when it hadn’t happened, but then, on this day, scripture was fulfilled: Jesus came into Jerusalem on a donkey. Now think about Jesus second coming. Some scoff at the promises of His return; so far, they have been right, but one day very soon, Jesus will come back, and those who are looking for Him will be ready.
How can we make sure we are ready for His second coming? Would your life change at all if you knew Jesus was coming next week or next month? If you have any other comments or questions about this lesson, here are a few ways to contact us. Our email address is [email protected], and our website is heraldsofhope.org. There you will find “contact us,” under the partner tab on the top right. Click on that to message us directly. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
We looked at many passages about Jesus first coming, and it was good. It’s encouraging to see how accurate the Bible is. And in closing, here is a verse about Jesus ‘ second coming. I don’t claim to know how all of this will happen, but I assure you, I can’t wait till it does. This verse is from Zechariah, “And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley.” How incredible! Let’s be ready for this.
