In Mark 11 Jesus sits on the donkey that was fetched for Him.
Many people spread their cloaks on the road,
while others spread branches they had cut in the fields.
Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
"Hosanna!
Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord!
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!
Hosanna in the highest!"
Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple.
He looked around at everything,
but since it was already late,
He went out to Bethany with the twelve.
This is a powerful moment, to be sure. The jealous pharisees must've been out of their minds, thinking that this "Jesus thing" was now about out of control and they were losing the people's allegiance.
I wonder if Jesus was put off at all by the reference to David's kingdom and the possibility that these people thought He was bringing a political governmental type kingdom to Israel. I bet He dismissed those thoughts if He indeed had them, receiving their worship and joy as was His due as God.
The little bit at the end about Jesus checking out the temple, seeing no one there and leaving is another example of somewhat frivolous information that once again reinforces the authority of Scripture by not being "cleaned up" and only "to-the-point" about the main plot and theme. This simple detail could easily have been left out of the story if this were just a PR job to make this new religion look good.
It's interesting to think about the end result and the fulfillment of the journey Jesus made to earth as the incarnate Savior in this Advent season as we celebrate the birth of Christ.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at December 24, 2008 11:12 AM