Mark 11:1-11
11:1 When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and
Bethany, near
the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples
11:2 and said to them, "Go into the village ahead of
you, and immediately as
you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has
never been ridden; untie it
and bring it.
11:3 If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' just
say this, 'The Lord
needs it and will send it back here immediately.'"
11:4 They went away and found a colt tied near a door,
outside in the street.
As they were untying it,
11:5 some of the bystanders said to them, "What are
you doing, untying the
colt?"
11:6 They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed
them to take it.
11:7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their
cloaks on it; and he sat
on it.
11:8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and
others spread leafy
branches that they had cut in the fields.
11:9 Then those who went ahead and those who followed were
shouting,
"Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of
the Lord!
11:10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the
highest heaven!"
11:11 Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple;
and when he had
looked around at everything, as it was already late, he
went out to Bethany with
the twelve.
Jesus had been on the road to Jerusalem his entire life.
He was born to travel that road. And everything He did during His short time on
earth lead to the road to Jerusalem.
Jesus was moving towards the finale to His life.
People were starting to recognize Him. His celebrity was growing.
As He went through small villages on His way to Jerusalem, word quickly spread of
His coming. People would line the sides of the road just to get a glimpse of
Him and the group of disciples that accompanied Him.
A lot of people wanted to see Lazarus almost as much as they wanted to see Jesus.
They had heard how Jesus had called Lazarus from the grave. They wanted to see with
there own eyes a dead man who had been brought back to life.
It was a festive occasion when Jesus came to town. At this point it almost was a
parade.
I remember a parade I missed.
Memorial Day was the occasion. I thought I had left plenty of time to get a prime
spot along the parade route. I forgot that everyone else also was looking for a
similar prime spot to watch the parade.
Traffic was in a tangle. Backed up for miles.
By the time I arrived at the spot I picked to watch the parade, the parade had passed me
by.
I got there just in time to see a procession of firetrucks and police cars. Any
veteran parade watcher knows instinctively, that is the end of the parade. The heart
of the parade had passed me by.
I am sure that there were some who missed Jesus' parade too.. Not that there was not
enough advance hype for His arrival, a lot of people just had no clue why it was important
to be there.
Jesus even sent a couple of advance men for His parade. Their job was to find an
unridden ass for him to ride into town on.
People noticed the disciples were swiping the ass. But Jesus had told them to tell
all who had concern "The Lord needs it and will send it back her immediately."
They did as they were told. When questioned as to why they were taking the ass, they
said as they were told and were allowed to take it.
They brought it back to Jesus. Put there cloaks on its back to make for a more
comfortable ride for Jesus and the parade now was staged and ready to proceed to
Jerusalem.
People react in a funny way to a parade. Some just sit and watch. Others want
to actively participate. Did you ever see the little boys riding their bicycles all
along the parade route. The venders with the balloons and toys. All want to be
part of the action when a parade comes to town.
People wanted to meet and greet Jesus. Some took their coats and threw them in the
road in a show of worship and respect. Others talk the palm branches and laid them
in the road or waved them as Jesus passed by.
"Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! They cried out
as Jesus came by.
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David. Hosanna in the highest heaven."
The people all gathered to acknowledge, cheer for and see the arrival of the Lord.
They were vocal about it. There were worshipping him in public. Letting the
world now that this was there Savior. That Jesus was the one that came in the name
of the Lord.
Funny thing about parades, the noise, the festivity, the celebration, dies down real fast
after the parade passes by.
Then you usually just have the trash, and litter to remind you of what had been an
exciting event.
After Jesus passed by, there probably was a couple of cloaks that the owners did not
want to reclaim after the ass stepped on them, or worse. And it is a pretty good bet
that nobody bothered with the palm branches. They were left there for the cleanup
crew.
And I bet that crew was not too happy with things.
"Look at the mess they expect us to clean up.
"Dirty cloaks, palm branches, discarded wineskins, looks like they had a good time
here, what was all the fuss about.
Oh, Jesus came by. And He had that guy Lazarus with Him. You know, the one the
brought out of the grave."
They say the streets were packed. You couldn't even get close to Jesus there were so many
people here. And they were yelling and screaming. Calling him the Savior.
Waving these branches at him.
Did you see all of this?
No, I was late arriving. By the time I got here, all I saw was the mess that was
left behind, the mess we are cleaning up right now. By the time I got here,
the parade had passed me by.
Don't let the parade pass you by. Don't get second hand what all the excitement is
about Jesus.
Second hand excitement does not have much substance. To really know Jesus you have
to meet Him first hand.
But don't go to Him for the flash. Don't go to Him for the excitement.
Don't go to Him because all your friends did.
Come to Jesus because you have a personal need to see Him.
Come to Jesus because you need to feel Him in your life.
Come to Jesus because you have repented of the sins you have committed and confess Him as
your lord and savior.
The people who came out to worship Jesus saw it more as a one time event than a long term
commitment. When the parade had passed by many turned away from Jesus. Some
even were crying for his crucifixion a few days later.
They got caught up in the moment, rather than caught up in the man. When the parade
had passed them by, it had not left a lasting impression on their lives.
Jesus came to make a lasting impression on our lives. One that would take us from
now to eternity.
Don't let the savior pass you by. Do not miss the life time of excitement and joy
that comes from knowing Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Do not seek the spiritual litter of others to know your Savior. Discover Jesus for
yourself. Know Jesus on your own. Accept Jesus, and do not let the parade pass
you by..
