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.

-Mark 11:1-11

---

When we think of a king, we probably expect a certain type of king. Maybe someone who will get rid of all the bad things in the world, someone who is very powerful and sits on a golden throne with a very expensive crown, someone who is very different and clearly better than us, someone who could replace a faulty government and make it perfect. If I was living back in Jesus’ time, this is probably the kind of king that I would’ve expected.

But Jesus is not the king that people thought he would be. He was a very humble God who served his people. We see in the passage that He didn’t come into Jerusalem on a chariot with majestic horses but instead, He used and sat on a colt. He didn’t have a red carpet with gold lining coming in but instead, people spread their cloaks on the road. He also didn’t brag about the things that he could do and showed that he was invincible. But instead, he showed how human he was and how he met us at our level. A God who is the highest of all humbled himself and became one of us and served us. He even washed his disciples’ feet. Instead of perishing all the sinners and the bad guys, he himself died to save us sinners who are not worthy. That’s the kind of King he is – a very humble servant leader.

This is something to be celebrated! People celebrated the king who would save us from beyond our comprehension. People back then probably expected him to save them from the Roman government and overthrow them, but Jesus wanted to save us beyond that. He would save us from our sins. And that’s the Hosanna we should shout for even today!

But then in this passage, there will be a quick turnaround in the next chapters. As people are celebrating the king and rejoicing, they didn’t know what was about to happen. That in just a couple of days Jesus would suffer and be humiliated. He would be whipped and get mocked. He would be carrying the cross that he would be nailed to and die. That’s how he is saving us, by taking and carrying our sins. I think this shows us how we can have hope in God as well. Because Jesus transformed all that pain and suffering and made it redemptive. He used that suffering so that he could save us and transform us.

This reminds me of our current situation. Earlier this year we were just celebrating the holidays and we were on vacation enjoying our time with our friends and family. We didn’t know what was about to happen. No one expected that we will be in a global pandemic. Now we are locked in our homes and many are affected and suffering. But we should have hope in God. During this low time, we should remind ourselves of what kind of God we have, who through his pain gave us a chance to live with him in eternity. He was able to transform suffering and gave us peace and joy. He can do that for us today too. We are not stuck in the horrible things that are happening in the world but instead, we can find God in our current situation because he could bring peace and joy to us.