Text for the Week: Worshiping

Scripture: Mark 11:1-11

 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”

⁴ They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, ⁵ some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” ⁶ They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. ⁷ When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. ⁸ Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. ⁹ Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

¹⁰ “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

¹¹ Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

Questions

1. Did Jesus plan the entry and talk to the donkey’s owner before sending the disciples to bring it?
2. Jesus’ demonstrations in his entry and the Temple were impressive but easily overlooked because of the crowds, do you think you would have noticed them or missed them?
3. Those walking with Jesus erupted in song what song would you sing in that procession, why?
4. What would the crowd have been thinking as Jesus rode into Jerusalem with people waving branches for him?

Background

Related Scriptures: Psalm 118; Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:1–11; Luke 19:28–40; John 12:12–19

Mark never explicitly connects Jesus actions to the words of Zechariah but it is clear that Zechariah 9:9 stands behind this scene and that we are meant to see Jesus’ actions through the prophet.

 The fact that the donkey had not been ridden reflects the special nature of something used for the king and in religious functions. This donkey has one purpose and that is for Jesus to ride.

The “Lord needs it” is very ambiguous and was probably a sort of password for the servants to know that it was alright for the disciples to take the donkey. In one sense “lord” would naturally relate to the donkey’s owner but within the context Mark also means “Lord” as God.

The Mount of Olives had a symbolic connect with God in the prophets (see Zechariah 14:4) and was often associated with God, particularly in reference to “the last day” when God would send justice and restore Israel.

There may have been 500,000 pilgrims in Jerusalem for the Passover feast.

Psalms, like Psalm 118 quoted by the crowd, would have been sung by the crowds as they entered Jerusalem.

Reflection

They cut branches from the fruitbearing trees with which the Mount of Olives was planted, and spread them in the way; so as to make the crooked ways straight, and the rough ways smooth, that Christ the conqueror of sin might walk straightly and safely into the hearts of the faithful.… And when they had done all that was to be done by their hands, they offered also the tribute of their voices; and going before and following after they cry, not in a brief and wordless confession, but with all their might: “Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.”

-Jerome ^[1]

I love the way Jerome connects the worship of the Triumphal Entry back to the opening verses of Mark’s Gospel. The work the disciples did in serving Jesus is directly connected to “preparing the way of the Lord”, their hearts are prepared for worship in service. We see the same idea expressed in Revelation where the word used for humanity’s worship in the New Jerusalem is directly tied not to singing but to work. Worship is about connecting to God “In Spirit and in truth” (Jn. 4:24), and we do this best when we begin by doing God’s work and allowing it to lead us into worship. Brother Lawrence famously wrote that he wanted to be as connected in worship peeling potatoes as in singing in the choir. The idea was not simply that he would singing while doing chores (too often this is our simplified version of what he said) but that he would so focus on seeing the kitchen work as an act of loving his neighbor that he would be transported into God’s presence. Our truest worship is when we can live out our lives as dedicated expressions of loving others for God’s sake, and as we do this we enter into God’s own heart and prepare ourselves for the truest mode of worship.

I next notice how the crowds joined in with the disciples’ worship. Yes, there were perhaps half a million pilgrims in Jerusalem during this week and so the crowd would have been immense but there probably was not a procession going to Jerusalem or the Temple, Jesus and the disciples created it. The crowds are drawn to the worship even though they do not know what is going on, they are simply sucked into the praise. And though it may be tempting to dismiss them because they do not know what Jesus and the disciples are about, their praise seems simply mingles into the praise of the disciples and what results is even more beautiful.  It did not matter that the crowds did not do all of the prep work as the disciples for worship and celebration, they were still swept into God’s presence. The disciples certain “got more out of” this worship, but the depth of their joy and praise led to others having the experience of worshiping God.

This is our role and responsibility today, to lay the foundation that we can experience God more richly and deeply. To commit ourselves to prayer for and service to others in such a way that our love is always ready to connect to God in Spirit and truth. Then as we come together we are able to help guide others into God’s presence so they can begin to experience God’s company in their own lives. One of the blessings of worship is that it is a communal celebration, allowing us to share space with others as we come into God’s presence, where we can be the catalysts for one another experiencing God.

Takeaway

Our worship experience is driven by our desire to connect to God’s character and life in the world, and when we connect to God in Spirit and truth we have the ability to help others experience God’s presence in worship also.

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^[1] Thomas C. Oden and Christopher A. Hall, eds., Mark ACCS. 148.