Aug 14-20, 2022

Compiled by Dr. "Joey" Alan Le, Ph.D.

Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

Why is this story called the “triumphal entry”? What triumph were the people celebrating, and were they correct in identifying the cause for celebration?

v1 When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples

Jesus and his disciples could have blended in with the multitude of people entering Jerusalem. But does not choose to do so. He chooses to enter in a dramatic fashion: a royal procession outside the city walls and cleansing out the temple. Jesus wanted his arrival to be noticed. His actions claim a unique status and authority. He knows it will anger the religious authorities. They will challenge his authority soon (Mk 11:27-33). Mark is showing us that Jesus is beginning to confront the authorities directly (France 2009, 426). 1) How do you personally manage conflict? 2) How do you manage people’s expectations of you?

v2 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.

Throughout the passion narrative, Jesus demonstrates his knowledge of impending events (Perkins 1995, 658).

Why doesn’t King Jesus own his own colt? If he were the true Messiah King, everything in the town would be his. What is the significance of this?

v3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’ ”

Roman soldiers routinely requisitioned animal and human labor from the populace. Jesus’ promise to return the animal promptly distinguishes him from the ruling forces (Perkins 1995, 658).

v4 They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it,

On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the most…how good are you at following God’s direction?

v7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it.

Look back to Zechariah 9:9 to see a prophecy about this moment. Why was it important that so many of Jesus’s actions were direct fulfillments of prophecies from the Old Testament? (Coleman 2019, 1618)

How do you hope the future will be different from the past?

v10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

As dangerous as Jerusalem might have been for Jesus, it remains the city of David, the chosen capital of the nation which God has chosen to be a light to the nations, and to which even a Galilean Jew belongs. It is the site of the temple, the visible focus of the worship of Israel’s God. That is why, if Peter’s declaration in 8:29 was correct, Jesus could not stay in Galilee. The Messiah must come to ‘his’ capital and present himself to his people. And he comes with a significant boost to his credibility, in that he has been hailed as ‘Son of David’ at Jericho not by one of his own Galilean followers but by a Judaean (albeit one of no social standing) in the hearing of a large crowd. Whatever may be the expectations of the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders, there is ground to hope that among the ordinary people of Jerusalem Jesus may find a response to his mission (France 2009, 426-427). How do you find the courage and hope to stay on mission even when there is stiff opposition? What does Jesus’ hope for revolution say about maintaining hope in the face of resistance?

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

From a narrative point of view, Mark may intend readers to recognize that Jesus has taken over the area that his opponents claimed for their own (Perkins 1995, 659).

v15 Then they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves;

How would you describe Jesus’ emotions in this act? Can Christians imitate Jesus in these emotions?

The sacrificial system, and with it the reason for the Temple’s existence, depended on money-changing and animal purchase. By stopping the entire process, even just for a short but deeply symbolic moment, Jesus was saying, more powerfully than any words could express: the Temple is under God’s judgment. Its reason for existing is being taken away (Wright 2004, 152). Can you pinpoint the church’s reason for existing? What is the most important thing the church is supposed to do and be? That if we take that thing away, then there’s no reason to keep it going?

v16 and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.

Jesus’ attack on the traders and money changers, who were there in the Court of the Gentiles with the permission of the temple authorities and who provided a convenient and probably essential service to worshippers visiting the temple from outside Jerusalem, was not simply a protest against exploitation by unscrupulous traders. It extended also to their customers and even to anyone who was carrying things through the area. It was a repudiation of the way the temple’s affairs were being conducted (and therefore of those under whose authority this took place), not simply an attempt to correct an abuse of the system. The Jewish leaders succumbed to the pressure of commercial interests. Temple worship has lost its true focus, and must again be purified (France 2009, 437). What does true worship look like for followers of Christ? Can you give some examples of how Christians “sell” and “buy” and “carry” worldly things in God’s house?

v17 He was teaching and saying, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”

Those who bought and sold were trading in live animals to be used for sacrifices. The money changers traded Roman coins for Jewish coins since Roman coins, which bore the image of Caesar, were considered defiling in the temple. The cleansing of the temple also points to the necessity that the Church be kept free from earthly pursuits. As each person is considered a temple of God (1 Cor 3:16; 619), it is also a sign that our hearts and minds must be cleansed of earthly matters (Sparks 2008, 1309). In the areas of personal life and church life, where does one draw the line between heavenly and earthly pursuits?

Instead of becoming a spiritual beacon, a place where all peoples could gather and pray, the temple precincts had become a gathering place for oppressive criminal activity. As in the days of Jeremiah, so in the days of Jesus the temple establishment promoted injustice and villainy, not justice and righteousness (Westfall and Dyer 2016, 61). In what ways could our church become a welcoming place for all people to worship God? What attitudes and practices prevent us becoming a spiritual beacon?

Israel as a whole had used its vocation, to be the light of the world, as an excuse for a hard, narrow, nationalist piety and politics in which the rest of the world was to be, not enlightened, but condemned (Wright 2004, 152). Why might nationalistic piety be unchristian? How might that same spirit manifest in today’s politics?

In what other locations would Jesus protest? If we applied Jesus’ protest today it wouldn’t just be the churches that ought to tremble, but the lawcourts and legislative assemblies, the royal palaces and banking centers, the places where power is so often wielded to the benefit of the already powerful and the downtreading of the already powerless, the places where people with power or wealth turn in on themselves instead of outwards in generosity towards the world. That’s where Jesus wants to stride today, to turn over tables and drive out traders (Wright 2004, 153). Have you ever evaluated law courts and banks as places of power? Are they supposed to benefit the powerful or the powerless? Is that question allowed? What constitutes the proper use of power and authority?

Christians often face a similar dilemma without realizing it. With buildings and programs to support, they may fall into the trap of marketing religion. Sometimes when marketing means keeping the big donors happy, the gospel suffers. Controversial issues, such as attempts to bring into a church community persons who are different racially, socially, or economically, are often avoided for fear that donations may suffer. Similar fears may appear when churches engage in programs to aid others outside the local community or suggest that certain governmental policies are morally questionable. Christians may also succumb to questions about a successful church. How fast is it growing? How many people attend services regularly? What's the average weekly collection? Just as he did on questions about the sabbath and divorce, so also here Jesus calls us back to the only question that counts: What did God intend? A house of prayer for all peoples (Perkins 1995, 664). Unpack this vision of a “house of prayer for all nations.” What does that look like?

v18 And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching.

Why would Jesus’s actions in the temple have been especially alarming to the “chief priests and the scribes”?

Why was Jesus executed? Jesus was not crucified by accident or coincidence. His mission of healing, teaching, feeding, and embracing the unclean and the outsider all made certain powerful people jealous and angry. Now, finally, with this public condemnation of the religious and political institution, Jesus’ protest against unjust power led directly to his violent death (Wright 2004, 153). On what other occasions have you seen good, godly, just people be attacked or undermined by others who felt their status and power threatened?

Jesus’ Authority is Questioned

v28 and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?”

Oftentimes, when Christians proclaim the gospel, it will offend persons in power. Mark’s Jesus has not come to provoke the violent overthrow of religious or civic leaders. His popularity with the crowds makes it clear that, if he had chosen to do so, Jesus could have acted like the prophets and populist leaders who sprang up during the period of revolt against Rome. But the alternative to revolution was not lack of controversy. Jesus was able to speak out against evil in his time with a prophetic voice that the leaders could not ignore. They rightly understood that Jesus challenged their authority to speak in God’s name. Why does the gospel offend people in power? Are all conflicts and controversies undesirable? How can Christians speak prophetically to our culture and society with both boldness and peaceableness?

v30 Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.”

Like John the Baptist, Jesus’ authority is from heaven. Further, the religious authorities can recognize a prophetic voice behind John’s words. They also know that they have a responsibility to heed the word of God. Jesus is able to deflect their' hostile question because the authorities are not acting sincerely. Any time people attempt to evade what they know is their responsibility, they run the risk of putting themselves in a similar bind (Perkins 1995, 668). What do you think is the best way to deal with these insincere people who evade their responsibility?

v33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Since Christ is not a Levitical priest, the chief priests and the elders challenge His authority to clean the temple. As Christ is careful not to reveal Himself to scoffers, He confounds them with a different question about John. Both the elders' question and Christ's question require the same answer, and thus would lead a person to confess that Jesus has come from heaven. By not answering them directly, Christ teaches us to not answer people who come asking about holy things with a malicious intent (Sparks 2008, 1310).

What was at the core of this challenge from the religious leaders? What reasons did Jesus have to be hesitant about sharing his true identity and authority? (Coleman 2019, 1620)

Major religious holidays bring out both the hopes and the tensions within families. Some people dread family holiday celebrations because the expectations that are raised cannot help leading to disappointment. Conscious of his impending death on the cross, Jesus knows that crowds are not reliable. The joyful expectations for God’s salvation that attend his approach to the city will leave him abandoned on the cross. This story reminds us that faith is not built on such cycles of hope and disappointment. Jesus knows the patient suffering and apparent lack of success required for the coming of God’s rule. The power of God, which the crowd hopes to witness, will be demonstrated, but it will occur only on the cross (Perkins 1995, 660). How do you manage disappointments as you try to reach your goals?