Mark 11:1-11

There was an air of expectancy in Jerusalem at this time. The news had been made abroad that the Deliverer was at hand. John tells us in his Gospel that the raising of Lazarus from the dead had made a terrific impression on the people (John 12:9). The curious crowds, hearing that Jesus was on his way to the holy city, went out to meet him.

It would appear that Jesus had a threefold purpose in making a dramatic entrance into the city at that time. First, he desired openly to acknowledge the messianic tributes that had been offered him from time to time throughout his public ministry.

The reason he did not silence the people who acclaimed him, as up to this time he had never failed to do, is not hard to understand. He could not do so before without inviting misunderstanding and threatening his ministry. But now, the hour of decision has arrived. To conceal his claim any longer would be a betrayal of the cause. For three years, according to the common estimate, he had carried on his ministry up and down the land and now, at last, he offers himself to the nation as the promised deliverer.

In keeping with this purpose, Jesus deliberately chose to fulfill the Scripture prophecy that was widely discussed by the rabbis of that day: Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9.

Second, Jesus chose to enter Jerusalem as he did because he loved Jerusalem in spite of all the opposition that some of its people (especially its religous leaders) had shown him. He would give them one last opportunity to acclaim him as the Anointed of God.

Third, he was now ready to come to grips with the religious leaders. His death at their hands was inevitable. There was no better entrance into the city and to receive the homage of the multitudes.

The response was tremendous. In something of a frenzy, the people plucked the branches from the trees and threw them on the road, as they customarily did in welcoming a visiting sovereign, crying: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! (Mark 11:9). It was a fitting tribute to the coming Deliverer, but all too soon the crowd dispersed. With their lips they praised him. In their hearts they rejected him as their true Savior.

Upon arriving in Jerusalem, Jesus went to the Temple and looked around at everything. (Mark 11:11). Since the day was far spent, he held his peace for the moment and quetly withdrew from Jerusalem to spend the night with the twelve.