[Sermon Summary] April 2, 2023 The Sovereignly-Ordained Phony Coronation of Jesus. Mark 11:1-11.

 Elder Eric Moore's sermon summary:  

Today’s message was entitled “The Sovereignly-Ordained Phony Coronation of Jesus”.   While we did jump around some, our main text of study was Mark 11:1-11.

In today’s sermon, we studied how Jesus deliberately orchestrated the events leading up to His arrest and crucifixion with a specific emphasis on the Triumphal Entry, or, as Kirk put it, “the Painful Entry.”

We began with a review of the events leading up to the last week of Jesus’ life on earth, the Passion Week.  This is an eight-day week beginning on Sunday with the Triumphal Entry and ending the following Sunday with Jesus’ Resurrection.  However, before getting to the review, it is important to set the stage and this is done by studying the account of Jesus raising his dear friend, Lazarus from the dead.

·         Read John 11 together (perhaps each person in your group can read a few verses) and discuss:

o   Verses 1-3:

§  Who is Lazarus to Jesus? 

§  Who are his sisters and do they come up in the record elsewhere?

·         See John 12:1-8 and notice that when John writes about Jesus’ anointing in John 11, old John is looking back as he writes and referencing an event that had not yet happened chronologically!

·         The parallel accounts to John 12:1-8 in the other Gospels serve as narrative flashbacks that explain the “final straw” as to why Judas betrayed Jesus.

§  Why do you think the sisters appealed to Jesus?

o   Verses 4-16

§  What is Jesus’ strange reaction to hearing that this man that he loved so dearly was sick?

§  Why does Jesus wait two days?

§  Notice the disciples’ reaction in verse 8 to Jesus’ desire to go back to Judea, their incorrect understanding of what Jesus meant in verse 13, and their final resolve in verse 16.

§  Why is Jesus glad that He was not there when Lazarus died (verse 15)?

o   Verses 17-44 – the remarkable account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead!

o   Verses 45-53

§  Note the two different reactions from the Jewish religious leaders who WITNESSED this miracle with their own eyes in verses 45 and 46!

§  Discuss the decision made by the main body of Jewish leadership when they heard about this.  Note especially verse 53.

o   Verse 54

§  Where did Jesus go to hide out?  Can you find this on a map – perhaps in the back of a study Bible?

o   Verses 55-57

§  What is the main topic of conversation amongst the people in Jerusalem?

§  Why would the people be wondering this according to verse 57?

The narrative after John 11 picks up in Luke 17:11 where the text says that Jesus, “on the way to Jerusalem (from Ephraim) passed ‘through the midst of’ (literal Greek) Samaria and Galilee”. 

·         Why do modern translations have difficulty translating Jesus leaving Ephraim by going through Samaria and Galilee on His way to Jerusalem?

o   Hint: Find Ephraim, Samaria, Galilee, and Jerusalem on a map!

o   Discuss Jesus’ circuitous route to Jerusalem and why He would go this way.

o   How does travelling with a large group of Passover Pilgrims from Galilee protect Him from the designs of the Jewish leadership to execute Him?

o   When Jesus stops in Bethany on Friday afternoon, six days before the Passover (John 12:1), this crowd He was travelling with went on to Jerusalem because they would not be allowed to enter the city after sunset due to Sabbath rules.  What effect does this have on the people in Jerusalem given the buzz around the city described in John 11:56?

All this background and context sets up our Mark 11:1-11 text.  As you consider this text, keep in mind that it fulfilled at least three direct lines of OT prophecy.

·         The day was promised by God

o   Consider the “70 weeks” prophecy in Daniel 9:24-26

§  These prophetic weeks are made of 7 years of 360 days each

§  The countdown of the first 69 weeks began on March 4, 444 BC (converted to our calendar) with the decree made by the pagan King Artaxerxes in Nehemiah 2:1-8 and culminates 173,880 days later on March 29, 33 AD which happens to be a Sunday and the Sunday before Passover of that year!

o   Compare Jesus’ lament over the city in Luke 19:41-44.  The KJV/NKJV in verse 42 is more emphatic than others and points to that day being a specific day, “…would that you had known on this, thy day the things that make for peace…”

·         The donkey was promised by God

o   Consider the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9

o   Discuss the circumstances by which the donkey was made available – Mark 11:1-6.

·         The declaration was promised by God

o   Consider Psalm 118 and notice verses 24-26.  Note that the book of Psalms is Israel’s hymnal and Psalm 118 is the song you sing when Messiah appears!

§  Note that verse 24 is referring to a specific day, not just any day

§  Note the words of verse 25 – “Save now” (“save us” in the ESV) is the Hebrew word, “Hosanna”.

§  Note the first half of verse 26.

§  Compare these words to Mark 11:9 and parallel accounts in the other Gospels.

·         Discuss the implications of what this means regarding how the masses of people viewed Jesus at that moment.

·         How would this appear to the disciples?

Near the end of his sermon, Kirk asked, “given Sunday, why Friday?”  In other words, how could this crowd who fully welcomed Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah on Sunday turn on Him on Friday, demand His crucifixion, and assert that they “have no king but Caesar”? 

As Kirk mentioned, the answer to “given Sunday, why Friday?” is “Monday and Tuesday”.  On Monday and Tuesday, Jesus deliberately forced the people to choose between Him and the works-righteousness preached by the Pharisees.  The people considered this over two days and responded by rejecting Jesus in the most emphatic way they possibly could. 

Obviously, the events of the Passion Week as a whole, especially Good Friday and Resurrection Day (Easter), are all absolutely critical to the Gospel.  It is appropriate for us all to evaluate how we are doing at sharing the Gospel with the unsaved people that God has sovereignly placed in our lives.

·         What motivates you to find a way or multiple ways to share the Gospel with people in your life?

·         When you do share the Gospel with people, how do you do it?  What is your method of presentation?

·         Do you think it would be beneficial to you to practice sharing the Gospel with other believers so you are ready for the “real thing” when the Lord brings opportunity into your life?

·         What are some ideas that you can employ that would help you to steer “normal” conversations towards the Gospel?