How could Jesus be this calm? How can we be this calm?

Who's In Charge Here?

(Mark 11:1-11, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, September 29, 2019)

[1] Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples [2] and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. [3] If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” [4] And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. [5] And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” [6] And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. [7] And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. [8] And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. [9] And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! [10] Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

[11] And 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.

Mark tells the unusual story of Jesus entering Jerusalem including an interesting detail distinguishing a first and second visit to the temple that we only find in this gospel. Our Lord deliberately fulfills some very important Old Testament passages about the Messiah who was to come. What does the calm confidence and sovereign authority of Jesus at this very dramatic moment so long ago mean for us as we live our lives today?

A small detail

Jesus is drawing near to the place that his disciples were afraid about, Jerusalem (Mark 10:32). Along the way, he would stay at nearby Bethany, where the apostle John tells us the Lord raised his friend Lazarus after the man had been in the grave for four days. We also read here about the Mount of Olives, a place which has its own rich biblical history (2 Samuel 15:30), present (Mark 13:3, 14:26), and future (Zechariah 14:4).

In this preparation for his entry into Jerusalem, Jesus fulfills a small, but important detail in Zechariah 9. It is not just that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey as the prophet had predicted so long ago. More than this, his fulfillment of this seemingly insignificant oracle causes us to look at the surrounding passage in Zechariah 9:9-17. The man who would look humble riding on this beast, is called “your king” who “is coming to you.” He is “righteous and having salvation.” He is not only bringing good news to the Jews, for “he shall speak peace to the nations,” for his kingdom will extend “to the ends of the earth.” The “blood” of his “covenant” will set “prisoners free” who were also referred to by Zechariah as “prisoners of hope.” The prophet's words stretch forward to “that day” when he will fully vindicate “the flock of his people.” This ancient seer looks upon the bounty of a future age, and credits God with everything, “For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!” All this from the little detail of the colt.

Two disciples had to follow this directive to get the animal. “The Lord has need of it.” That was to be their explanation. They also add that he “will send it back here immediately.” They found the colt, untied it, have the very conversation that Jesus suggested would take place, and their words were well received: “They let them go.”

A large salvation

The rest of the disciples also do their part along with a larger crowd. They “threw their cloaks on” the animal, and then many spread their cloaks on the ground. Still others cut down some branches by the side of the road, placing it on the way that Jesus would ride in order to honor the coming king. The Lord himself acknowledges his own agreement with the Zechariah passage by sitting on the colt and riding into Jerusalem.

It is especially significant to read the words that the crowd was “shouting.” “Hosanna!” “Save!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” They yell about “the coming kingdom” of the everlasting descendant of “David” (2 Samuel 7:16), and proclaim, “Hosanna in the highest!” speaking of the place of God's eternal dwelling with angelic hosts. A rough equivalent might be, “Save in the heavens!”

Most revealingly, they are quoting Psalm 118:25-26. Again, the immediate context of the quoted passage tells us much more. The psalmist wrote of the suffering and exaltation of the saving king who would also be the Lord. Yet did the crowd remember these words? “Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar.” The psalm ends with these words: “You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”

But not today.

Now back to Mark 11. Our final verse, found in Mark 11, reveals a surprising let down. “And 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.” Driving out the money changers, etc. that we are so familiar with would wait until the next day.

How could Jesus be this calm? How can we be this calm?

Paul's letter to the Philippians gives us some hints. Jesus had a very obedient mind in him. The church is told to “Let this mind be in you.” We are told that Jesus has the power to subdue all things to himself. He is in charge of donkeys, scribes, Pharisees, angels, and adversaries. He is also in charge of us and our lives. Therefore, we are to cultivate a faithful “reasonableness.” The Lord is at hand.

THE POINT: Our Savior calmly and confidently fulfilled prophesy as the Sovereign Lord over all.

Applying these verses:

1. We can have calm confidence in him provided we determine to follow his instructions. What if the disciples had not followed Jesus regarding the colt? Paul found confidence in Christ once he stopped kicking against the goads. There is no peace for those who will not listen and obey.

2. The ancient Scriptures will be fulfilled in every detail. The God who has command over the details will certainly not abandon his eternal purpose. Trust him for his grace.

3. Jesus follows his own perfect schedule. “No” is not a bad answer. Neither is “Not right now.” We need not be in a panic. The Lord is always on time. He knows more about both the big picture and the little details than we do.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 119:73-80 – Let those who fear you turn to me

New Testament Reading—Romans 5:12-21 – Abundance of grace

Will you know it when it is your last chance to call upon the name of the Lord?

The True Son of David and One Last Healing

(Mark 10:46-52, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, September 22, 2019)

[46] And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. [47] And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” [48] And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” [49] And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” [50] And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. [51] And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” [52] And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

“As He Was Leaving Jericho”

Just prior to the healing of blind Bartimaeus, Jesus was teaching his disciples about what it would mean to be first in the kingdom of God. Leadership in the church would be very different than holding top positions in the world of the Gentiles all around them. Men like Peter, James, and John were not to be narcissists who “lord it over” other believers. They were to serve those around them. Their inspiration in this new lifestyle would be Jesus, the king of the church, who came “not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The people groups of the earth and their various cultural practices are not our guiding lights for Christian behavior. We see Jesus in the Bible and increasingly know him in our lives. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we look at situations differently as we grow together in faith working itself out through love.

Jesus was leading his disciples through Jericho in order to go to Jerusalem. There he would give his life as a ransom for many. Along the way, his strange entourage of friends and followers met a man that the kingdoms of this world would have considered weak and insignificant, known to us by his blindness, his begging, his location by the side of the road, and his father's name. We are reminded of the disciples' question in John 9 about the blind man they encountered there: “Who sinned?” Was it the blind man or his parents? Jesus had different eyes and a different heart and he was looking for the glory of God to be displayed in healing.

The Outrageous Faith of Blind Bartimaeus

In verses, 47 and 48 we learn more about Bartimaeus as he speaks. He has faith. He cries out to be heard above the sound of the crowd. He does not want to miss what will truly be his last opportunity in this life to regain his sight. He has heard of Jesus of Nazareth, and now he hears that this very man is passing by his spot on the side of the road as he travels to Jerusalem. This man's one singular moment of opportunity has come. He yells out repeatedly, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

What makes Jesus the Son of David? We know that according to his divine nature, Jesus is eternally the Son of God. According to his human nature, he is the child of a humble Mary, who was married to a carpenter named Joseph. Those who had known him growing up in Nazareth would have known him to be Bar-Joseph, just as surely as the beggar by the side of the road was known as the son of Timaeus. Where then does this title “Son of David” come from. 1000 years before Jesus was born, God promised the chosen King David that he would build from him a dynasty that would lead to the coming of an eternal king. This promise, recorded in 2 Samuel 7, became part of the biblical expectation for a Messiah King who would save Israel. Jesus, speaking about Psalm 110 in another place, was able to build on this expectation. Bartimaeus is simply saying that Jesus of Nazareth, whose mother and father were both of the lineage of King David, is the one promised king of Israel, and he calls to him for mercy. The people all around him try to stop him from calling out to Jesus, be he simply will not be stopped.

Jesus Heard and Healed

Jesus hears the cries of this desperate, pitiful, insistent man, and Jehovah in the flesh stops walking. This is good news. Then he gives an encouraging instruction, “Call him.” Suddenly the man has a new dignity in the eyes of the crowd. They speak to him with more tenderness because Jesus, the Son of of David, Son of Mary, Son of Man, Son of God, has taken notice of him. “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.”

The man is very eager. He throws off his cloak. He leaps up. And He comes to Jesus. Do we have that eagerness for Jesus? Is he the object of our hope? Would his nearness make a difference to us? Would we risk everything to have him notice us in our need? Would we yell out to him even when others told us we should stop it? Would we leap up if he called our names? Bartimaeus comes to Jesus.

Jesus says, “What do you want me to do for you?” He does not give a super spiritual answer. He is honest and plain: “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” Jesus' answer is similarly straightforward: “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And just like that, this child of Timaeus, this man of faith, immediately recovered his sight. And what did he do? He followed Jesus on the way. On the way to where? Back on the road to Jerusalem, the cross, the empty tomb, and ultimately to heaven, from which he reigns until the trumpet sounds, and he comes again, and the faith becomes sight.

THE POINT: Jesus, the promised Son of David, and the king of a new resurrection world, willingly traveled to a very different kind of enthronement.

A blind man by the side of the road had faith in a messiah king who was going to Jerusalem to die. Faith can be foolhardy and quite harmful. We have to ask ourselves this important question: What am I trusting in? Do you seek fame and fortune that perishes? Put your faith in Jesus and the resurrection kingdom that only he can bring.

Applying these verses:

1. The object of our ultimate faith must be someone more than ourselves and far better than the rulers of this world. Not all trust is good. Neither is all skepticism. Consider the story of Narcissus and narcissists and be skeptical. See Jesus' miracles and believe.

2. What kind of leader is Jesus? What kind of kingdom is heaven? The blind receive sight from the slave of all on his way to heaven's heights via the cross. This is the deal.

3. Put your faith in Jesus and trust him to deliver to his Father a kingdom that only he can bring. This was a last chance healing. Will you know it when it is your last chance?

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 119:65-72 – Affliction and the Word of God

New Testament Reading—Romans 5:1-11 – We rejoice in our sufferings

First Cross, Then Crown

Slave of All

(Mark 10:32-45, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, September 1, 2019)

[32] And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, [33] saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. [34] And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

[35] And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” [36] And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” [37] And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” [38] Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” [39] And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, [40] but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” [41] And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. [42] And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. [43] But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, [44] and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. [45] For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Going up to Jerusalem to Die and Rise Again

Jesus was leading his disciples on the road to Jerusalem, and they were both “amazed” and “afraid.” What Jesus was doing was not wise in their eyes. People had been seeking to kill Jesus in Jerusalem. Would it not be more prudent to stay away? Also, the danger was not just to Jesus, since his followers had some reason to think that association with him could be dangerous for them.

Just in case some of the disciples were assuming that Jesus would never lead them into danger, he again, for the third time, became very specific about his own future. In his first revelation of this awful truth (Mark 8:31), he taught them that he would 1. “suffer many things,” 2. “be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes,” 3. “be killed,” and 4. “after three days rise again.” When he returned to this important theme again (Mark 9:30-32), he added a fifth point: “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men,” vaguely alluding to the very important detail that an insider would hand Jesus over to his enemies.

In the passage this morning we get these additional details: 6. This will all take place in “Jerusalem,” 7. that there will be a Jewish judicial process, 8. where the religious rulers will actually “condemn him to death,” and 9. “deliver him over to the Gentiles,” and 10. that the Roman authorities will “mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him.”

This is an amazing amount of detail to get right. Jesus knew exactly what would happen to him, yet he went to Jerusalem anyway. But why would people of power be angry enough with Jesus to express their rage through an unjust murder covered in official process? While we can offer many possible answers to this question, we need to realize that this was not just about the bad personalities or wicked tendencies of a few dangerous people. Paul writes in Colossians 1:21 that all of us were once “alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds.” The problem here is part of the human condition.

Thankfully, the truth of our alienation, hostility, and evil deeds cannot change the greatest fact that Jesus foretold regarding the events that would soon take place in Jerusalem. We must not forget that Christ predicted that this story would end with a physical resurrection. And so it did.

We want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.

Meanwhile, two of his disciples had a plan for victory of their own. They wanted the best seats in what they must have assumed would be an immediate coronation of Jesus. James and John asked to sit at his right and left hand when he entered into his “glory.”

Jesus plainly revealed their ignorance of what was to come: “You do not know what you are asking.” He was about to have a baptism of suffering and death. They would eventually learn through life experience, that they would have a “baptism” fitting for those who following a king who came to his glory through a cross. James would be the first of the disciples to be martyred (Acts 12:2). John would have the suffering of a sacrificial life, would author five books in the New Testament, including one that describes him as an exiled captive. “I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” (Revelation 1:9)

Slave of all

When the remaining disciples heard about the episode with James and John, they took offense. Jesus had to explain to them all that honor in his kingdom was not going to be like that of the kings and princes of this world. He, the king of glory, had come to serve as a lowly slave, dying for our sins on the cross. They too must serve.

In the midst of this discussion we have these clear words of Jesus regarding his death as a substitutionary atonement. This is what we mean when we think of Jesus as the Passover Lamb of God. By his blood shed for us, we have life. His was the holiness, ours the sin. He took the death, faced it, and conquered it. We are united to him in his death and resurrection. He was “slave of all.” For “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Having won life for us, must we now still give our lives for him?

THE POINT: The mission of Jesus is for our salvation and also for our imitation. James and John did not yet understand. They had different expectations regarding how they would be right with God and how they would serve the Lord. So do we.

Applying these verses:

1. The cross and resurrection is not the way that people expect to be saved. Just magic.

2. The cross and resurrection is not the way that people expect to serve. How do we follow a cross and resurrection savior? What does this look like? See 3 John & Nazareths

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 119:41-48 – The steadfast love of Jesus

New Testament Reading—Romans 3:21-31 – Righteousness of God apart from the Law