Truly the King [Mark 11.7-12, 15-18]

 Have you ever looked at the Gospels closely, carefully? Experts and theologians of learning have said that John’s Gospel is unique, and that the other 3 have copied one another, most likely Mark and Luke copied Matthew’s text. The reason for this is that Matthew and John were Apostles, part of the original 12, whereas Mark and Luke were not there, and therefore were second hand reports.

But ever since we looked at the escape of Peter from his execution, I have been rethinking. This past week, I took a closer look at the Passion Week, the final week of Jesus’ life, death and then resurrection. John and Mark each have over a third of their gospels dedicated to this week, whereas Luke and Matthew have significantly less to say, about a ¼ and a 6^th respectively. Does this mean one Gospel is more valuable than another? Not at all.

Rather, though there are similarities, each person has a different angle in writing his Gospel. Luke is undoubtedly influenced by Paul. Perhaps Mark was influenced by Peter, as well as Paul. It was Mark’s house that was the location for the prayer vigil. It does suggest that Mark was not as far removed from the life of Christ as we tend to think, as scholars tend to think.

This morning, as you can read in the bulletin, I am looking at Mark’s “Triumphal Entry”. Now too often, we think that the parade happens, and then he clears out the Temple and then carries on the rest of the day. It’s the feel I get as I read of the cleansing of the temple in Luke and Matthew. John’s Gospel doesn’t record a clearing of the Temple after the King’s Parade. He records a different one at the beginning of his earthly ministry.  So that in mind, let’s read about the Parade and the Clearing:  {Read Text}

Instead of a short parade with a few people as many movies depict, we read that it took some time for him to make the 3 mile journey from the gate to the Temple complex. This was no small procession. The crowds, easily in the thousands, were here, wanting to see Jesus. The narrow streets lined with people on both sides would have made the progression slow. People were shouting, showing their acclamation for the new King. This was so slow that by the time they did reach the Temple, it was already shutting down for the day. So Jesus and the 12 left for Bethany, something that Mark tells us they did nightly. Then the next day, they came back to the Temple. People were arriving, business was booming. And that was the problem.

When Jesus said that God’s House was a place of prayer for ALL NATIONS, that’s exactly what he meant.  The market was held in the Gentile Court. First you have the Court for the Priests, and then you have the Men’s court followed by the Gentile’s Court and then the Women’s Court. So only those who were Jews were able to attend the Temple Services. Gentiles and women and children would not be able to see, much less hear anything that the priests were doing or saying.  So Jesus comes in and runs off those who are there to do business. And from Matthew, we see that daily he taught and healed in the Temple Courts those who came to him.

This is the picture of Jesus. This is who he is.  This is what he does. He comes into our lives in a big way. (And perhaps this is why Baptism is important, because it is more a parade than what a simple, unseen prayer could hope to be.) Then he comes into our temple and cleans the debris, the trash and rot from our lives. For this wonderful grace, we sing hosanna!

But does he remain our king? A question I’ve always had and will always have is about the crowd that welcomed him as king, and the crowd that yelled, “crucify!” How many in the first group were also in the second group. I once asked this before another congregation. I was chastised for thinking that such a thing possible.

But really, is it? I think so. I think that when we lose our focus on Christ, when we lose our focus on our brothers and sisters and our neighbors, we cease being those who welcome the king. We become like those who cried out “Crucify!” Look at Judas. He had the same opportunities. When he went out to proclaim the Kingdom, he performed the same miracles as everyone else. He was there even as he went to the Temple. But then he switched sides for whatever reason, perhaps maybe to force God’s hand in restoring the nation of Israel.

So how do we find ourselves in the wrong crowd today? The biggest way is to ignore God’s way. Perhaps the easiest example, the most prevalent is that of marriage and love. Mind you, this is not a personal attack. Yet the biggest reason the church is no longer relevant in the lives of people today is that we have left the Word. We become afraid to stand up for truth, or if we do, we do so lacking all grace and love.

I will not shy away from it, but I have prayed through this message many times. So how have we defined marriage and love? The world teaches that in order to know if a couple is compatible, they need to live together first. That love is between two people. Marriage is overrated, or a Christian value.

So here is the truth about marriage and sex. Sex is a wonderful event that God has given to us for sharing between a husband and a wife. This institution predates Jesus. This institution in fact is the oldest in all creation. Day six, God created Man, then woman, and then marriage for Eve became Adam’s wife. God said that it was very good. Every culture, every nation has marriage.

Jesus said one of the problems the Samaritan woman in John 4 had was that she was no longer married, and she was living with a man not her husband. Marriage was only ever meant to be dissolved for reason of infidelity. Even then, only if the wronged wanted to. But now due to how messed up our world is, we have all sorts of scenarios. To honor God, live for Him. Keep yourself pure by abstaining or getting married. Stay married.

But we have messed that up with the idea that we need to be true to our hearts. We have been told we have no choice who we fall in love with. Thank you, William Shakespeare. Jeremiah 5.19 says that the heart is deceitful above all else in creation. Paul tells us that there is a battle waging within our bodies, the sinful nature (heart) and our spirit (soul, mind.)

But this is just the easiest sin to point out. Any sin, not just this, that we cling to, that we know is wrong, but we instead of repenting, we celebrate it; these are what have us keeping Christ from cleaning up our lives. Any, drunkenness, gluttons, lewdness, liars, thieves, such people will not inherit the kingdom.

What we need to do is to look at the Word. It is useful for preparing us for every good work. That’s what Paul told Timothy. Now that was the easiest example of why we are losing the relevancy in people’s lives. We have allowed fear of what people think to silence us. We do not want to offend. We forget that Jesus is our king. We forget that Paul told Timothy that if we hold to sound doctrine, then we would save souls.

By keeping sound doctrine, we also find ourselves being renewed in our minds. By staying in the Word, Hebrews 4.12 says that we are able to live God’s good and perfect will for our lives. He helps us by giving us the Holy Spirit (Titus 3.5). He does this when we gather together regularly. Hebrews says that this is essential, meeting together, for also strengthening each other up. Paul also states it in Col. 3.16.

The word then helps us to persevere. It was Paul’s aim to press forward, regardless of the victories or the stumbles behind him. He encouraged the reader to also take the same attitude, to follow him as he followed Christ. And here’s the best part of perseverance. It produces hope.

Paul told the Romans that we can rejoice because Jesus reconciled us while we were still sinners, still enemies of God so that we can become heirs with Jesus, so that we can call The Creator of the Universe, “Papa”.

I truly believe that even now it is not too late to take this passion that Christ gave, to let Christ clean your life of the sins, of the guilt, of the shame. It is still time to sing, “Hosanna!” Is Jesus truly your king?