Palm Sunday

 Sermon Text: Mark 11:1-10

 Other Readings: Mark 14 & 15

 

  1. What did the crowd mean when they talked about “the coming kingdom of our father David” (v. 10)? Check out 2 Samuel 7:4,5 and 11b-17.
     
  2. Was there significance to the fact that this colt had never been ridden?
     
  3. One commentator said that the welcome Jesus got was “expensive.” Why might he say that?
     
  4. That same commentator also said that Jesus’ welcome was “risky.” Why might he have said that? Consider Mark 11:18 and Luke 23:1-12.
     
  5. The people use rich Old Testament language here, such as Psalm 118:26. Psalm 118 was sung as part of the Passover worship liturgy. Knowing that, what might it say about the crowd’s hearts that they chose use to use to use Psalm 118:26 as part of their welcoming of Jesus?

 

  1. David’s kingdom was sort of “spiritual code” for the coming Messiah’s rule and acts of salvation. It seems that these people were connecting one of the great messianic promises to Jesus!
     
  2. Animals which had not been ridden before were often used as part of temple worship or sacrifice. How fitting, then, that this unridden colt carries Jesus on how way to be sacrificed for us!
     
  3. He notes that these pilgrims would not have been very rich and would not have had luggage full of outfits. So, to throw a garment down on the ground for an animal to ride over was to risk it being ruined and having to get a new one. In some ways, the people are putting their money where their mouth was!
     
  4. We know that the Jewish leaders had been on high alert already. History also indicates that the Roman government had a strong military presence in Jerusalem during festivals, lest the religious fervor spill over into political opportunism. So, when the people hailed Jesus as a sort of king coming into their capital, it could have made both the Jewish leaders and the Roman officials very agitated.
     
  5. Similar to number 1, it may indicate that the people were seeing in Jesus their messianic hopes fulfilled. The rest of the week may indicate that their faith (if there was any) was shallow or that their expectations of the Messiah were incorrect.