NL 236: Triumphal Entry

Mark 11:1-11

Looking for resources or notes on Mark 14? Check out our written commentary on John 12 (similar story of the pre-passion anointing at Bethany w/ some differences, but should be helpful to those preaching Mark 14)

Mark 11:1-11 

Initial Thoughts

  • This is more humble than triumphant and the timing is important - the Passover, which was “celebrated as a remembrance of socio-political liberation”

Bible Study

  • Mount of Olives

    • A Messianic call back to Zechariah 14:2-4 (Ched Myers, Binding the Strong Man, p. 295-296)

      • “I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem for the battle, the city will be captured, the houses will be plundered …The Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day he will stand upon the Mount of Olives, to the east of Jerusalem.

      • Is Jesus, the Messiah, going into battle?

        • Like Simon Maccabaeus - 1 Maccabees 13:51 - “the Jews entered [Jerusalem] with praise and palm branches, with harps and cymbals and stringed instruments, and with hymns and songs. A great enemy had been crushed and removed from Israel.”

      • The colt instead of a chariot, the crowds instead of an army, the Hosannas instead of Hallelujahs - say something very different - a parody of previous triumphal entries - also foreshadows a different result.

  • Colt

  • Wild horse - uncastrated, never ridden. Colt or donkey? Only Matthew says donkey.

    • Never ridden - typical for sacred events.

    • Colt is a name for a young donkey or a young horse. Matthew says it is a donkey and a horse, but John points back to Zechariah 9:9 which tells of a king coming "humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." 

    • Jesus behaving like a King

      • The Colt that “no one has ridden” is a Kingly prerogative. 

      • Disciples are to go and “obtain” a horse. They follow without question.

      • If they are pressed, they are to exercise his authority.

      • Disciples are asked to make a great act of faith on behalf of Jesus’ authority.

    • Mike Baughman has another interesting take on the “colt that no one has ridden”

      • An unridden colt would be unneutered and untrained. Riding an unbroken colt would be a dangerous task, and the exact opposite of what a conqueror would ride - a trained and seasoned war horse.

      • Jesus came to Jerusalem in a new way - with a new ride. He is bringing in an untamed, unknown way of doing things.

  • There seems to be some foreknowledge. 

    • Did Jesus set it up beforehand? 

    • Did a disciple own the horse?

    • Divine foreknowledge?

    • This has been dismissed as Jesus having made “the necessary arrangements. This probably misses the point of the story, which is precisely to indicate that the events about to take place in Jerusalem are not the result of change but are part of a larger and mysterious plan...He is a strange king who conquers by means of suffering and apparent defeat” Justo Gonzalez, Luke, p. 225

  • Zechariah 9

    • Messianic age of peace

    • God will overthrow the oppressive nations

    • All will dwell in peace

    • eschatological proclamation which “breaks” the militarism of human nations and will “speak peace to the nations”

    • Not a foretelling the coming of Jesus but the coming of a divine kingdom (on earth as it is in Heaven) ruled by God not by human interests

      • Mighty will be brought low and the low will be exalted- for the purpose of liberation and peace

      • What does God want? Zech. 8:16-17 “Speak the truth to each other; make truthful, just, and peaceable decisions within your gates.Don't plan evil for each other. Don't adore swearing falsely

  • Procession

    • Parody of a conqueror entering the city in a display of power

      • Roman generals returning from victories would be celebrated with a triumphus, a grand procession in which the victor, crowned with laurels, would ride a chariot pulled by white horses and go to the temple to offer sacrifices. The spoils from his victory would be displayed in the procession and along the way the crowds would sing hymns and shout acclamations to the victor.

      • This practice even redacted Rome, when Alexander the Great conquered Jerusalem, entered in triumph and offered sacrifices at the Temple.

      • The parodies are clear - he is riding a donkey, not a chariot. He will be crowned with thorns, not laurels, he will weep over Jerusalem, not celebrate it, and he will drive out the oppressive sacrificial system in the temple, not participate in it.

    • How does Jesus show his power? (James O’Duke, Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 2: Lent through Eastertide)

      • “Lordship, indeed even messianic lordship, is here defined in terms of servanthood. Gentleness, humility, peaceableness, mercy, and self-giving acts of generosity and compassion are marks of God's domain.”

      • Jesus is not aligned with any political party- then or NOW

        • Jesus is not a republican or a democrat (or an American for that matter)

        • Jesus is challenging the political and social state of the world

    • Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, The Last Week

      • Two Processions: Pilate from Jaffa Gate and Jesus from Galilee

      • Kingdom of God vs Empire of Rome

      • The stage is set for the week

    • Proclamation

      • Hosanna - “save us” - translated in the Psalm, but remains in the Gospels

      • Proclamation alludes to Psalm 118 and the steadfast love of God

      • What do we want to be saved from? what to be saved for?

      • Both Gospels share “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” then they take slightly different angles.

        • Mark: “Blessings on the coming of our ancestor David.

          • The theme of the coming Kingdom is an important one in Mark. Does not point as much to the person of Jesus as it does to the Kingdom that is at hand.

        • John: “Blessings on the King of Israel”

          • The theme of Jesus being the “King of Israel” is an important one in John as the passion plays out. Pilate asks, “Are you the King of the Jews?” The sign above his head on the cross reads “King of the Jews.” 

    • Branches?

      • practical application - to keep the honored guest above the messiness of the road, but Jesus enters into the messiness of life.

  • Crowds

    • Palm Sunday is often focused only on Jesus, but it is a very communal event

    • Disciples get the colt

    • Colt is donated

    • Crowds chant and gather

    • Crowds proclaim who Jesus is...kind of

      • prophet from Nazareth in Galilee (not the Son of God)

    • “For peace and reconciliation become possible when common folk with uncommon courage oppose exclusionary practices and policies and together stand with "the one who comes in the name of the Lord" [v. 38]. History is replete with the stories of common folk who have recognized that we are able to accomplish more together than we can alone; stories that we might reclaim and rehearse as we continue our Lenten journey. They include the women and men who provided safe passage on the Underground Railroad for persons seeking freedom from chattel slavery in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century. Remember also Dietrich Bonhoeffer and others in the Confessing Church in the 1930s, who took a definitive stance that their loyalty was to Jesus as Lord, not to Hitler and the Nazis. Youths in South Africa stood against apartheid and formed the African National Congress Youth League in 1944 under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, envisioning a world in which racial domination would no longer exist.” Veronice Miles, Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 2: Lent through Eastertide

    • “Acting on  behalf of freedom is a dangerous undertaking. The more visible Martin Luther King Jr. became, the more crowds he attracted. The more the crowds lauded him, the more the enemy pursued him”...(other examples include Malcolm X and Nelson Mandela)...”Fighting for freedom is a dangerous endeavor. These men realized it. Jesus realized it. Nonetheless, the fight for freedom must continue despite its cost. That is the message behind Luke’s portrayal of Jesus’ ministry.” , Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, True to Our Native Land, p.179

Thoughts and Questions

  • Save us! Too often we proclaim these same words in a variety of ways- Jesus does not enter to save the Jews from the Romans, but to save people from themselves. Instead of expecting to be saved from outside influences- how might we invite Jesus in to save us from ourselves (inclinations away from God)?

  • The parade Jesus sparks is a new kind of parade. It is not the conquering hero entering the city, or the Emperor coming in on the war horse. As he enters, the people recognize that he is a king, but he is a different kind of king.

  • Are we content to enter with Jesus into the messiness of life or do we try to raise ourselves, Jesus and the church “above” the messiness of life?

  • Zechariah proclaims the Reign of God as one where God subdues all the nations- one nation does not bring about God’s will but instead all nations including Judah are subjected to God’s reign of peace. How do we practice humble repentance?

Year 2Eric FistlerMarkComment