On Palm Sunday, we remember Christ’s Triumphal Entry. Jesus enters Jerusalem while a crowd celebrates Him and lays palm branches down before Him. Palm Sunday kicks off Passion week, leading to Jesus’ crucifixion and His resurrection a week later. We discover that the crowd wanted Jesus for all the wrong reasons, and we often struggle with the same temptations.
I want us to ponder an important question. What kind of Jesus do you want Him to be? You may ask, “What do you mean?” We can fall into the trap of wanting a Jesus of our own making. Let me give you some examples. There is Ibuprofen Jesus, where He just covers up my pain. There is shopping spree Jesus, where He just gives me what I want. There is therapist Jesus, where He just tells me what I want to hear, and many other attempts to make a Jesus of our own making.
We all must admit that sometimes, even in the lives of believers, we would rather have a messiah of our own making than the one true Messiah. We want Him to do our will rather than Him leading us to do His. We want Him to help us build our kingdom rather than desiring to build His.
In Mark 11, we discover a large gathering of people. It would be easy to get wrapped up in the celebration. But I want to look at it more closely. I want to get beyond the emotions represented in the account. I want to look at who they were actually seeking.
As we look at this account along with the other reports of this event found in Scripture, we can surmise that at least four groups are probably present at this moment. The first group is the crowd. The excitement of many of the crowds that surrounded Jesus in His earthly ministry was not there to celebrate the true Messiah, Lord Jesus. When Jesus taught what being part of His kingdom meant, they often thought it too difficult and walked away. They sought the miracle worker and food provider. They invited friends to experience the miracles and free lunch with them. It’s very possible they were not celebrating the real Jesus.
Then, we have the second, the Pharisees. They wanted a Jesus that would not in any way disrupt their religiosity, their external legalistic religion. They certainly did not want Jesus to cause them any trouble that could take away their power or societal position by causing problems with their Roman overlords. In fact, they were hanging around Jesus to trip Him up and get rid of Him.
The third group is the zealots. They wanted a Jesus who would overthrow Rome once and for all. They wanted Jesus to establish an earthly kingdom free of Rome and restore Israel to a position of power and prestige.
The fourth and final group is the disciples. They wanted a Jesus who would advance their desire to rule alongside Him. They wanted power and prominence. They, at this point, seem of little interest in the true mission of Jesus, at least, as much as they understood it. When Jesus would speak of His suffering and the true nature of the kingdom of God, the disciples would change the subject and ask about themselves and their role in the kingdom. This would obviously change later, after Christ’s resurrection. But, at this moment, on this Palm Sunday, the disciples reveled in the Jesus whom they were associated with and more than likely thought this was the beginning of a more prestigious life for them.
It’s easy to blame these four groups for their shortsightedness and selfishness, but let’s be honest. We’re not always excited about who Jesus truly is, either. So at these moments, we try to make Jesus less than what He is and more what we want Him to be.
We look at this passage on two levels, as Mark records it. One level is what God is doing at this moment. Then, the other level is the understanding of the people who are part of the scene. God is specifically fulfilling the prophecy through the life of His Son and, in so doing, demonstrating that He is the God of the ages, and His Son is the Savior of the world. What a beautiful picture of God’s power and purpose.
It’s clear that the prophecy in Zachariah 9 is fulfilled at this moment as Christ enters Jerusalem. We discover in the prophecy and on this day of its fulfillment that the king comes, riding on a colt, and the people’s reception, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!” These prophecies are all there in Zachariah and completely fulfilled at this moment at the gate of Jerusalem.
Mark confronts us with the inescapable truth that Jesus is King Jesus – Savior, and Lord. When we reduce Christ to something less, we damage the gospel of Jesus Christ in our own lives. We are called to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord ad nothing less.
Salvation is not in our own understanding. Lasting joy does not come in making Christ in our image. Instead, our hope, salvation, and genuine joy are found in the real Messiah, Jesus our Lord! So, I ask us to consider again, “What kind of Jesus do you want Him to be?” Ultimately, it doesn’t matter; salvation is only found when we come to Him as He is Messiah, Savior, and Lord. Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)!