Mark 11:1-11 – The Triumphal Entry

Mark 11:1

1. Until now, Mark has described Jesus’ activities outside Jerusalem.
   1. It’s a few days before Easter week and a new phase of Jesus’ ministry is beginning that will end with Jesus dying on the cross.
   1. Jerusalem is an ancient city that existed before Israel came to the land of Canaan.
      1. Abraham meets Melchizedek who lives in Salem (Genesis 14:18).
      1. Jerusalem belonged to the Jebusites and was originally called Jebus (Judges 19:10-11).
      1. Joshua captured Jebus, but seems to have lost the city eventually (Judges 1:8).
      1. Jerusalem was conquered by David and made by him the capital of Israel (1 Chron 11:4-9).
      1. God chose Jerusalem as the center of worship and where the temple would be built (1 Kings 11:36).
   1. The word “salem” in Jerusalem comes from the Hebrew word shalom, which in English means “peace” or “peace”.
      1. Jerusalem is sometimes called “the city of David” or “Zion”.
   1. Jerusalem originally consisted of two hills:
      1. Zion, where the fortress and the defense of Jerusalem stood (2 Sam 5:7).
      1. Moriah, where Abraham (not) sacrificed Isaac (Genesis 22:2) and where Solomon built the temple (2 Chron 3:1).
   1. Jerusalem is a holy city in the sense that it is consecrated by God to be a place where he does special things and reveals himself (1 Kings 11:36, Matthew 27:53).
   1. Jerusalem is the city of the king (Matthew 5:35).
2. The Mount of Olives, also known as the Mount of Olives, is a hillside just outside the walls of Jerusalem overlooking Jerusalem and the Temple.
   1. Zechariah prophesied that God himself would stand with his feet on the Mount of Olives and that the Mount of Olives would be split in two on the Day of the Lord (Zech 14:4).
   1. Jesus often withdrew from the noise of Jerusalem to spend time with his disciples on the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:39).
   1. Jesus flew up to heaven from the Mount of Olives and that is where he will return (Acts 1:9-12).

Mark 11:2

1. An animal not yet used as a worker was sometimes used for certain religious purposes (Numbers 19:2, Deuteronomy 21:3, 1 Samuel 6:7).
2. Zechariah prophesied that the king of Jerusalem would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt, eradicate strife, and speak peace to the nations (Zech 9:9-10).

Mark 11:3

1. Given that Jesus will use this donkey to ride into Jerusalem as king, it is safe to say that Jesus is claiming to be lord, king and Messiah.

Mark 11:8

1. On the Feast of Tabernacles, Hosanna from Psalm 118:25 was recited while palm leaves were waved and tabernacles were built from palm leaves and other branches (Leviticus 23:39-44).
   1. The Feast of Tabernacles (also called Sukkot) is celebrated to commemorate Israel’s desert wandering.
2. In biblical times, this was often how a king or leader was received:
   1. The people put their cloaks under the feet of Jehu when he became king (2 Kings 9:13).
   1. When Simon Thassi enters Jerusalem and offers peace, the people wave palm leaves and sing hymns (1 Macc 13:51).
   1. In his revelation, John sees people from all nations waving palm leaves before the Lamb (Rev 7:9).
3. On previous occasions Jesus has tried to silence those who wanted to proclaim him as the Messiah, but now he accepts the accolades (Mark 8:29-30).
4. On another occasion, the people tried to make Jesus the new king of Israel by force in order to free the Jewish people from the Romans (John 6:14-15).
   1. When Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey instead of a horse, it shows that Jesus does intend to be king, but not in the way the people had intended. In the Middle East of biblical times, a horse symbolised “war” and a donkey “peace”.

Mark 11:9

1. Hosanna is a combination of the two Hebrew words “save” and “I/we pray” and is quoted from Psalm 118:25.
   1. “²⁵ O Lord, save! O Lord, let all things prosper!” (Ps 118:25)
   1. On the Feast of Tabernacles, Hosanna from Psalm 118:25 was recited while waving palm leaves and building tabernacles from palm leaves and other twigs (Leviticus 23:39-44).
2. The expression “hosanna” was associated with a prayer and longing for the Messiah to come and save the people of Israel.
3. The name of the Lord is YHWH and is translated into English as “I am who I am” or the short form “I am” (Exodus 3:13-15).
   1. In biblical times, it was very rare to speak God’s name because people were afraid to misuse or defame God’s name (Leviticus 24:15-16).
      1. When the Scriptures said “YHWH”, they wrote or pronounced “Adonaj” in Hebrew, “Kyrios” in Greek or “Lord” in Swedish.
      1. Since Mark is quoting Psalm 118:26 here, we know that it originally says “YHWH”.
   1. Now that Jesus is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, and also called himself “the Lord” in the past, he clearly claims to be YHWH.

Mark 11:10

1. The kingdom referred to is the Messianic kingdom that God promised to give to David’s descendants (2 Sam 7:11-14).

Mark 11:11

1. In the Middle East of biblical times, a horse symbolised “war” and a donkey “peace” and was used by kings to signal war or peace.
   1. So when Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey accompanied by messianic songs, it symbolizes that he comes as the Messiah to the city of peace and offers peace.
2. After the magnificent entrance into Jerusalem, Jesus goes almost directly from there.
3. Jesus examines the temple area to see if it is being managed as it is stated in the Pentateuch.