SECTION TWO AND IN Mark 11:1 to 12:44 1. THE ENTRY Mark 11:1-11 (Matthew 21:1-11; Luke 19:29-44; John 12:12-19) 1 And when they draw nigh unto Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives,--[Jesus and his disciples were now on the way to Jerusalem from Jericho, and, approaching the city, they came unto Bethphage and Bethany. They were villages close together, near the Mount of Olives, two miles out from Jerusalem. Of the former place we know but little. It is not mentioned elsewhere than here, and in corresponding places in Matthew 21:1 and Luke 19:29. It must have been a small village, and tradition says it was above Bethany, halfway between that town and the top of the Mount of Olives. Bethany was the home of Lazarus--whom Jesus had a few weeks before raised from the dead--and of his sisters. John (John 12:1) says that Jesus "six days before the passover came to Bethany." When he reached Bethany he stopped with Lazarus, Martha, and Mary, as was his custom. John (John 12:2-7) says: "They made him a supper there: and Martha served; . . . Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. . . . Jesus therefore said, Suffer her to keep it against the day of my burying." The next morning Jesus sent two of his disciples to procure an ass for him to ride into Jerusalem.] he sendeth two of his disciples,--Their names are not given, but remembering the vividness of Mark's account, and the probability that Peter was his eyewitness authority in these scenes, it is very likely that Peter was one. John may have been the other, though his history does not sound like that of an eyewitness. They were two employed in preparing for the Passover. (Luke 22:8.) They were sent in advance to make arrangements for his royal entry into Jerusalem. It is not certain who the two disciples were. 2 and saith unto them, Go your way into the village that is over against you:--McGarvey, who visited the place, says "Not necessarily Bethphage, but a village opposite to them as he spoke. The writer well remembers a spot on the road from Bethany to Jerusalem which meets all the conditions of the narrative." and straightway as ye enter into it,--The description was very definite. As soon as they entered the edge of the village they would, without inquiring of any one, find that for which they were sent. ye shall find a colt tied,--Mark, Luke and John mention the colt only, while Matthew (Matthew 21:2) tells of its mother also. The colt was the more important of the two, as upon it Christ should ride. whereon no man ever yet sat;--Up to this time the colt had run with its mother and had not been ridden. Animals for sacred usages were selected from those which had been unused by man, ceremonially clean and unblemished. (Numbers 19:2; Deuteronomy 21:3; Deuteronomy 11; 1 Samuel 6:7.) The fact that Matthew mentions both dam and colt does not involve contradiction, but simply added particulars. Christ should have the honor of riding the colt the first time it was ridden. Probably the mother was led in front to cause the untrained colt to proceed without difficulty. loose him, and bring him.--All was divinely arranged and in fulfillment of prophecy. Such a colt could not be found any time and place. Jesus knew that he was perfectly welcome to the use of the animal. As God manifest in the flesh, the colt was his (Psalms 50:10), and he could claim its service (1 Samuel 8:16). Probably its owner was a disciple or close friend of Jesus, whose cheerful acquiescence is implied in the narrative. [Asses were in common use in that land and time. Horses are seldom mentioned. Some think the riding the ass an act of humiliation, because they are not very respectable as riding animals with us, but kings and others of the great ones of earth rode them. It was not unworthy of a king! What the Lord absolutely needs is always waiting for him, but it may be our mission to get it. If so, duty is plain. If the king's entrance to the temple of a human heart is crippled by your neglect, you must give account. The master deserves the best, the freshest, the unused. 3 And if any one say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye, The Lord hath need of him;--They were apprised of the fact that some person might see them removing the animal, and ask about it; and if so, they were told what to say in reply. This occurred as indicated. [If the owner asks you why you take him, calls you to account for it. Those sent for it most likely did not know, and were unknown to the owner of the colt. Tell him "the Lord hath need of him." He doubtless knew the Lord, was his disciple, and when he heard he needed him, he would gladly lend him. Usually Jesus speaks of himself in terms of humiliation, but here he is to be referred to the owner as the Lord, the Master, the Ruler of all things. In reading these accounts, it is often thought these were strangers--did not know Jesus, and they sent the ass to a stranger. We know of no ground for such a conclusion besides, the frequent sojourns of Jesus at Bethany would suggest that he was well known in the near village of Bethphage. That Jesus knew that the colt was there tied showed there was nothing hidden from him. The sending was nothing more than a disciple sending the colt to the Master at his request, for his use. Matthew (Matthew 21:4-5) says: "Now this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass." (Isaiah 62:11; Zechariah 9:9.) and straightway he will send him back hither.--This means that when Jesus was done with the colt he would return it to the owner. Jesus, having used it, of course, returned it. "The Lord hath need of" it is sufficient answer, brother, to all your excuses for the non-performance of duty and the nonbestowment of means. Shall your heart be less responsive than these colt owners? 4 And they went away, and found a colt tied at the door without in the open street; and they loose him.--From the object to which the colt was tied. [They went as Jesus directed them, found the colt tied without the gate at the meeting of the two roads, and they loosed him to carry him to the Master. The correspondence of the facts to what Jesus said would be when he could not have been there shows his knowledge. They seem to have proceeded to unloose him without asking permission, as Jesus told them. This was rather an unceremonious assumption, but they followed the direction given.] Whatsoever Jesus tells you in his word, you will always find true. 5 And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt?--Luke (Luke 19:33) explains their right to ask questions by telling that they were the owners. [Some one of the family of the owner saw them taking the colt and asked, What are you doing loosing the colt? Who gave you such privilege?] They were probably the father and his sons, the members of the family who were interested in the property being carried away. There is always somebody ready to interfere with us if we implicitly obey Christ. They have sometimes reasonable, sometimes unreasonable, questions to ask. 6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had said: and they let them go.--We see no reason for imagining some secret arrangement between Jesus and the owners, and that the words he told the disciples to use were passwords secretly agreed on beforehand as claimed by some enemies of the Christ. [They responded in the words of Jesus as he had directed them, "The Lord bath need of him," and they let him go. Many think that God exercised his power to put it into the heart of the owner to send him to one he did not know. I think this a mistake, as explained under verse 3. He was a disciple of the Master, and sent the colt at his request. There is no miracle in this, save the knowledge displayed by Jesus of the whereabouts of the colt.] 7 And they bring the colt unto Jesus, and cast on him their garments; and he sat upon him.--The garments supplied the want of a saddle, which they would not find with the unused colt, "whereon no man ever yet sat." 8 And many spread their garments upon the way;--In the road. These were also extra garments. In a frenzy of enthusiasm the "most part of the multitude" cast off their cloaks and paved the way with them for Jesus to travel on. and others branches, which they had cut from the fields.--The branches of bushes which would not be large enough to impede traveling, but would make a triumphal carpet of twigs and leaves. All this was in accordance with the custom of honoring kings and conquerors by carpeting the way before them. General enthusiasm prevailed; those who could not honor in one way would in another. 9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, Hosanna;--The shouts of welcome and praise doubtless began with the disciples around Jesus and were caught by the multitude before and behind him. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:--"The pilgrims' greeting on their entrance into Jerusalem at the time of feasts" (greeting and response, Psalms 118:26.) [A company went in front and one behind, as is usual with kings on a march, to afford the greater protection. Each company kept up a shout of "Hosanna; Blessed be he that cometh in the name of Jehovah." "Hosanna" means "Save, we pray." It was a quotation from Psalms 118:25-26 : "Save now, we beseech thee, O Jehovah: O Jehovah, we beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of Jehovah." This was sung by the Jews at the feast of tabernacles, or ingathering. It was a triumphal journey recognizing and proclaiming him King of Israel. Luke (Luke 19:37) says: "And as he was now drawing nigh, even at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen." John (John 12:12-13) says: "On the morrow a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm trees, and went forth to meet him." They went out to Bethany and joined the throng that were there with him, and added to the triumphal shouts of those with Jesus.] So the prophets and apostles call to each other across the ages and sing the antiphonal song of praise to God. Shall our lips be dumb? Have we no word to speak for him who has redeemed us? And let us try to bless all those his servants who come to us in his name! 10 Blessed is the kingdom that cometh, the kingdom of our father David:--[He was praised as sitting upon the throne of his father David.] The people thought that Christ would set up a political kingdom and that he would be king. This cry of the people shows that they expected Jesus to immediately set up or restore the kingdom of David, and to assume the throne which had been vacant from the time of the Babylonish captivity. Luke (Luke 19:11) states it as a fact, in connection with his departure from Jericho on his journey to Jerusalem, that the multitude who followed him "supposed that the kingdom of God was immediately to appear." It was the exulting thought of national independence and glory that inspired their acclamations and the same feeling prepared them for the reverse of feeling toward Jesus, which occurred when they found him a prisoner in the hands of Pontius Pilate. The Jews called David their father because Jesus was his son or descendant. They were looking for the immediate restoration of the throne of David in the Messiah. They had a poor conception of the nature of the kingdom of heaven. To acknowledge Jesus as the "son of David" was to acknowledge him as king. Hosanna in the highest.--That is, in the highest realms of blessedness, where his salvation will be complete. Alas, how fickle the city that shouted these praises today, and only five days after cried, Crucify him! 11 And he entered into Jerusalem,-- [He entered the city. Matthew (Matthew 21:10-11) says: "And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, Who is this? And the multitudes said, This is the prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee." The rulers, the priest, the scribes, and Pharisees were jealous of his increasing influence, and watchful to arrest him. Already they had ordered any who knew him to report to them. Now both the priest and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he was he should show it, that they might take him. He also went into the temple.] into the temple;--The Lord whom they sought had suddenly come to his temple. It remained to be seen how the hierarchy, who taught man to look for him, would receive him when he came. He went probably without a pause straight to the temple. Here he spent the day in observation, preparatory to the cleansing of the temple, which occurred on the day after the triumphal entry. (See verses 12-19.) and when he had looked round about upon all things,--He was making a thorough inspection of the temple and its surroundings, and of the desecration of its courts, with a view to knowing for himself, as a foundation for the work of the next few days. Having fully satisfied himself of the need of a thorough cleansing of the sanctuary he went out. [He looked round about on what was going on. He was not pleased, but seems to have said nothing then; but on the morrow he returned, saw the traffic and merchandise he had cast out a few years before again flourishing, and cast those conducting it out.] it being now eventide,--After sunset or near that time. he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.--Probably to the home of Lazarus, where we leave him to the night's rest which he will so much need to prepare for the exhausting events of the next day. [This triumphal entry into Jerusalem, with the plaudits and shouts of the multitude in contrast with the vociferous cry for his blood within a few days, when the voices of these friends were completely stilled, if they did not join in the cry, "Crucify!crucify him! Let his blood be on us and on our children," is a sad commentary on the instability of man. We have many exhibitions of the fickleness of human favor and of the professions of human faith and fidelity to God. We find none more discouraging than those manifested toward Jesus in his personal ministry. The multitudes followed him in his early ministry, but when his teachings appeared hard to them they forsook him in such numbers that he turned to the twelve in a seeming spirit of discouragement and said, "Will ye also go away?" And within less than a week of this triumphal entry into Jerusalem all forsook him. One of his chosen twelve betrayed him to his enemies; the leader, to whom he had given the keys of the kingdom of heaven, denied him, and the multitude cried for his blood. Alas for the instability of man! Hosanna! praise and glory to God for his forbearance, and long-suffering, and mercy to man!]