The King's Calculated Confrontation Text: Mark 11:1-11
Introduction: Not a Parade, But an Invasion
We often treat the Triumphal Entry, what is commonly called Palm Sunday, as though it were a sentimental parade. We picture a gentle Jesus, meek and mild, riding a donkey while happy children wave palm branches. But this is to fundamentally misunderstand the nature of the event. This was not a parade; it was a declaration of war. It was a calculated, prophetic, and deeply confrontational act. Jesus Christ, having set His face like flint to go to Jerusalem, was not entering the city to win a popularity contest. He was entering it to die, and in dying, to conquer. He was invading enemy-occupied territory to overthrow the ruling powers.
The entire event is saturated with Old Testament prophecy, most notably from Zechariah 9:9. Every detail is deliberate, from the location on the Mount of Olives, to the choice of animal, to the shouts of the crowd. Jesus is orchestrating a messianic claim in the most public and provocative way possible. He is forcing a confrontation with the corrupt religious establishment in Jerusalem. They had turned His Father's house into a den of thieves, and He was coming as the rightful King to inspect His property and to issue an eviction notice. This was not the beginning of a political campaign; it was the beginning of a cosmic battle. The stakes were not who would rule Judea, but who would rule the world.
We must therefore read this account not with the soft focus of a children's storybook, but with the sharp clarity of a military advance. The King is coming to His capital city. He is coming to His temple. And He is coming to challenge the usurpers who have taken control of it. The crowds may have thought they were welcoming a political liberator who would drive out the Romans. But Jesus understood His mission perfectly. He had come to drive out a far more ancient and powerful foe. He had come to conquer sin and death. This entry into Jerusalem is the first shot fired in the final battle of His earthly ministry.
The Text
And as they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ you say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he will send it back here.” And they went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it. And some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. And they brought the colt to Jesus and put their garments on it; and He sat on it. And many spread their garments in the road, and others spread leafy branches, having cut them from the fields. And those who went in front and those who followed were shouting: “Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!” And Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.
(Mark 11:1-11 LSB)
The Royal Requisition (vv. 1-6)
We begin with the Lord's sovereign command.
"And as they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, and said to them, 'Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ you say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he will send it back here.'..." (Mark 11:1-3)
The scene is set near the Mount of Olives, a place pregnant with messianic significance. It is from the Mount of Olives that the glory of the Lord departed from the temple in Ezekiel's vision (Ezekiel 11:23), and it is to the Mount of Olives that the Lord will return in judgment and victory (Zechariah 14:4). Jesus is deliberately positioning Himself within this prophetic landscape. He is the glory of the Lord returning to His city.
His instructions to the disciples are a remarkable display of His omniscience and authority. He knows exactly where the colt will be, its condition, and what the owners will say. This is not a lucky guess; it is the meticulous planning of a sovereign. But the key phrase is the password He gives them: "The Lord has need of it." This is a staggering claim. The word for Lord here is kurios, the same word used in the Greek Old Testament for Yahweh. Jesus is claiming the divine right of requisition. All things were made by Him and for Him, and therefore He has a right to any of it, at any time. The cattle on a thousand hills are His, and so is this colt. This is not a request; it is a royal command. It demonstrates that Jesus is not just a prophet or a teacher; He is the Creator and Owner of all things. The owners of the colt, hearing this, immediately comply. Their obedience is a model for our own. When the Lord has need of something of ours, whether it be our possessions, our time, or our very lives, the only proper response is immediate and unquestioning surrender.
Notice also the detail that the colt is one "on which no one yet has ever sat." This is significant. Animals used for sacred purposes in the Old Testament were to be animals that had not been put to common use (Numbers 19:2, Deuteronomy 21:3). This colt is set apart for a holy purpose, fitting for the King of kings. He is not borrowing a common taxi; He is mounting a steed consecrated for this one, singular, royal moment.
The Humble King's Procession (vv. 7-10)
The disciples obey, and the scene unfolds into a spontaneous, Spirit-driven coronation.
"And they brought the colt to Jesus and put their garments on it; and He sat on it. And many spread their garments in the road, and others spread leafy branches, having cut them from the fields. And those who went in front and those who followed were shouting: 'Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!'" (Mark 11:7-10)
Jesus is deliberately fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey." A conquering Roman general would enter a city on a warhorse, a symbol of power and military conquest. Jesus enters on a donkey, a symbol of peace and humility. But make no mistake, this is the humility of a king, not a peasant. In the ancient East, kings would ride donkeys in times of peace. He is coming as the Prince of Peace, but He is coming as a Prince nonetheless.
The actions of the crowd are acts of royal homage. Spreading garments on the road was a way of honoring a king, creating a makeshift red carpet (2 Kings 9:13). The branches and the shouts are drawn directly from the liturgy of the great Hallel psalms, particularly Psalm 118, which was sung during the Passover. "Hosanna" is a Hebrew phrase that literally means "Save, we pray!" or "Save now!" It is a cry for salvation, a plea for deliverance. They are crying out to Jesus as the one who can save them. They follow this with a direct quote from Psalm 118:26: "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" They are identifying Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah, the Son of David, who is coming to restore the kingdom. Their theology is right on target. They are welcoming their King. The tragedy, of course, is that they misunderstood the nature of the salvation He came to bring. They wanted a political king to save them from Rome, but He came as a sacrificial king to save them from their sins.
The King Inspects His Temple (v. 11)
The climax of the entry is not the shouting of the crowds, but the quiet, ominous moment when Jesus enters the temple.
"And Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late." (Mark 11:11)
This verse is pregnant with meaning. The parade route leads directly to the temple, the very heart of Israel's life and worship. This is His destination. He enters not as a tourist or a pilgrim, but as the Lord of the temple. And what does He do? He looks "around at everything." This is not casual sightseeing. This is a royal inspection. This is the owner of the house walking through the rooms, taking note of the filth and corruption. He is surveying the scene of the crime before He returns the next day to clean house.
Remember that Jesus had cleansed the temple once before, at the beginning of His ministry (John 2). In the law, a priest would inspect a leprous house twice before condemning it (Leviticus 14). This is the second inspection. The house has been found to be thoroughly diseased. The money-changers and the sellers of doves had turned the Court of the Gentiles into a marketplace, effectively blocking the nations from coming to pray. They had turned His Father's house of prayer into a den of robbers. His silent, sweeping gaze is a precursor to the judgment He is about to enact. The King has come to His palace, and He is not pleased. The quietness of this moment is more terrifying than the shouts of the crowd. It is the calm before the storm. The next day, He will return not with palms, but with a whip.
Conclusion: Your King is Coming
The Triumphal Entry is not just a historical event; it is a paradigm for how Christ comes to us. He comes as a humble King, not in the way the world expects. He comes with a sovereign claim on our lives, declaring, "The Lord has need of it." He demands our all. And when He comes, He comes to claim His temple. For us, under the New Covenant, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).
When Christ enters a human heart by faith, He does not come as a guest to be accommodated. He comes as a King to rule. And the first thing He does is conduct an inspection. He looks "around at everything." He surveys the money-changers' tables we have set up in our hearts, the idols we trade in, the compromises we have made with the world. And then, in His grace, He begins the disruptive, painful, but glorious work of cleansing His temple. He drives out the sin and the filth, not to destroy us, but to make us a true house of prayer, a place where the living God can be worshiped in spirit and in truth.
The question for us is the same question that faced Jerusalem. When the King comes, how will we receive Him? Will we, like the crowds, offer a fleeting, superficial praise, only to abandon Him when He doesn't meet our worldly expectations? Or will we, like the owners of the colt, surrender everything to Him, saying, "The Lord has need of it"? Will we welcome His inspection and submit to His cleansing work? For this same Jesus who entered Jerusalem on a donkey will one day return on a white horse, not as a humble Savior, but as a conquering King and Judge. On that day, every knee will bow. The wise will bow now, in joyful submission, crying "Hosanna! Save us, Lord!" And He will.