Mark 11

Jesus instructs two of His disciples to go into a nearby village and get a colt (or donkey) for him to ride. This is reference back to Zechariah 9:9 which states:

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Jesus was the fulfillment of prophecy from the Old Testament. He fulfilled over 40 prophecies! Statistically, the probability of one man fulfilling all of these prophecies is off of the charts. It isn’t even close to anything we can possibly imagine. That shouldn’t be a surprise to me. God isn’t going to reveal His son by having him only match up with a few things whereby there could be lots of people who fit the bill. God does what only He can do. He does what is impossible to man.

What is also interesting about this bit of Scripture is that it is a donkey (v2). Kings didn’t ride donkey’s into the city when they returned from battle, they rode on magnificent horses or chariots. The humility of Jesus… the King of Kings… is amazing. He knows what is about to happen. He understands the implications and the events that are about to unfold. Yet, He chooses this path.

Further in the passage, once the disciples have brought Jesus the colt, the disciples threw their cloaks on the donkey before Jesus sat on it. This is meant to show respect and allegiance to a leader or a king. Then, the people spread their cloaks and palm branches on the road. They were welcoming in their King… their Messiah! They called out to Him – Hosanna and the one who comes in the name of the Lord. These are pretty big claims about this man. The people were leading Him to His palace – the temple. Unfortunately, these same people who are praising Him will turn against Him in a very short time period. How fickle we are as humans. How quickly we turn against others.

What is God teaching me through this passage?

1. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, not some ordinary man. He fulfilled prophecy that God provided to us hundreds of years before He showed up on as flesh on earth.
2. Humility does not show weakness, it shows strength. Jesus knew exactly what was coming. He could have chosen not to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, but He knew His destiny and the path he must travel. He humbly accepted that. He didn’t want a glamorous entry riding in a steed like no other – He rode in on a donkey.
3. The same excitement I had when I first encountered Jesus is the same way I should experience Him today. He is the same God every day. Nothing has changed about Him. I need to stop thinking of Him as ordinary or as something other than He is – He is God made man. He is God’s only Son who gave His life for me. I need to avoid my fickle approach to who He is and to what He has done for me. It is nothing more than a miracle. I need to stay faithful to Him like He has stayed faithful to me.

PRAYER

LORD, forgive me for my selfish priorities and my desire to please others more than You. Forgive me for turning my back on Jesus. Forgive me for being there and nailing Him to a tree. Father, thank you for your faithfulness. You told us about Jesus so many years ago and didn’t change your plans. You didn’t make me try to earn my way into your favor. You gave me a gift that I can never earn. Thank you for having Jesus do what I could never do. LORD, help me to remember Him every single second of every day for the rest of my life. Help me to make Him my utmost desire. In His precious name, Amen.

 

JASON WORTHEN | Elder

Jason and Larissa were part of the founding members of Hutto Bible Church in 2007. Previously, they attended Hill County Bible Church Pflugerville for nearly six years. They have been married for 16 years and have three daughters: Elisabeth, Sarah and Rebekah. Jason is employed by General Motors and Larissa is a stay-at-home mom who works three times as hard. Jason put his trust in Christ in 2003 when he was attending Bible Study Fellowship in Austin. Both Jason and Larissa have served in Children’s Ministry, Student Ministry and in an elder capacity. - See more at: http://www.huttobible.com/elders#sthash.y5gPRGXs.dpuf