Pastor Jonah Sage preached from Mark 11:1-11 in our “Journey Into The Night” series. He said that Jesus is not what we expected...and neither is following him. Lector: Kristen McGee
Pastor Jonah Sage preached from Mark 11:1-11 in our “Journey Into The Night” series. He said that Jesus is not what we expected...and neither is following him.
Lector: Kristen McGee
For the first 6-7 years in full-time ministry, I got sick whenever I had time off.
I didn't notice it. My wife did. If I had a Sunday off from preaching, I'd pull my back out.
If we had a vacation planned, I'd get the flu or a sinus infection.
Inevitably, whenever I had some time away from work, my body would shut me down.
I didn't notice. I just listened to Alannis Morissett. Isn't it ironic...dontcha think.
But Allison didn't think it was ironic. She thought it was revealing.
What she helped me to learn is that ironies, points of inconsistency or tension, aren't just aggravating, they're revealing.
Ironies, points of tensions, things that make us uncomfortable, tell us something.
More specifically, they often tell us something of:
So how did my sicknesses answer these questions?
Who am I? I'm insecure and afraid. So I work harder and longer than is good for me.
What am I living? I'm living a compulsive life, driven by the demands of others, both real and perceived.
How is God inviting me to follow him? Well, what is God's invitation to the sick and tired? Rest and be healed.
Those messages were not obvious. I had to learn to pay attention to the tensions, the ironies. And this is exactly what's happening for us today.
An opportunity to not dismiss the ironies and inconsistencies of our lives.
An invitation to stop ignoring who we really are and what we have really lived.
And it's found in one of the most bizarre, unexpected images in the Bible.
In this passage, we will see that Jesus is not what we expected...and neither is following him.
As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives.
-Mark 11:1
For years now, Jesus has told his disciples about a coming kingdom. The gospel!
Repent, turn around, come home: the Kingdom of God is at hand.
Over the last 2 months, we've looked at the disciples' wrestling with what this means
They had worldly greatness on their minds.
Politically, they were expecting a conquering king and an invading army to storm the capitol.
And so, what might they be expecting at the edge of their capitol city?
It's about time! Here we go! The Kingdom is at hand!
Sharpen swords, gird up your loins!
Greatness is upon us!
Jesus calls for a great steed that he might ride into the city.
In those days, riding was not normal. Especially not into a capitol city.
Typically two people: at the very least a dignitary from a foreign nation.
More likely, a conquering king after an invasion. At last! KoG at hand!
But...well, something ironic happens:
Go into that village over there...you will see a young donkey tied there...bring it here.
-Mark 11:2-3
Not just a donkey, a young donkey. The word here can mean two things. A baby horse or a small donkey.
You take your pick. Donkeys much more common, but you can choose little Sebastian or a tiny donkey to imagine.
Disciples must have been quite confused. What's this donkey for?
Where's the war horse?
Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it, and he sat on it.
-Mark 11:7, emphasis added
Jesus on a small donkey. As he has shown repeatedly, in his teachings, miracles, and his very way of life, Jesus is not what we expected. And neither is following him.
Because instead of being part of a war procession, they're following Jesus. On. A small. SMALL. Donkey.
And please notice, JESUS PICKED IT. This isn't some weird accident.
This isn't making due with what you've got.
Jesus told them specifically where to go and what to get.
And please just try and imagine this scene in your head:
Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, "Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessings on the coming Kingdom of our ancestor David!"
-Mark 11:9-10
This is a royal procession, this is a coming king. But the King is not on a warhorse.
Imagine the President coming to visit New Albany.
Bridges closed. Well we're used to that. Intersections blocked off. Secret service.
And there, in the middle of it all, is the president peddling a Big Wheel.
Thanks to the magic of AI, here's a look:
Biden on a Big Wheel
As you're cheering...would there be a part of you wondering "what is going on?"
He really has lost it...this is the president?
Behold your king. Wearing worn out clothes, probably dirty from sleeping on the road, riding a small donkey as crowds cheer for their king.
Ironic. Unsettling. Tense.
Maybe you've dismissed this verse before. Just Jesus fulfilling a weird prophecy from Zechariah. Maybe. But what if this is intentional?
What if God is revealing something to us in the irony of a king on a small donkey?
So...let's be curious.
What does this scene show us about who Jesus really is?
After predicting his death for weeks and teaching on greatness, we get this.
This, somehow, shows us something about Jesus' nature, who he really is.
A King on a donkey.
Kings don't ride on donkeys...clowns do. What is this?
At the very least, Jesus is not what we expected, which means we would be wise to expect that following him will look different than we might guess.
On this small donkey, Jesus is DELIBERATELY juxtaposing the realities of who he is
He is a King, filled with majesty and authority.
But he's on a donkey, which means he's also meek, coming not to be served, but to serve.
On a small donkey, Jesus shows us his MAJEST and MEEKNESS
He is a majestic king, bringing a kingdom with him. But he is a meek king, too.
He comes to cheering throngs, imbued with divine authority, the very creator of all that is. He does not reject their praises, he does not deny his royal titles.
He comes into Jerusalem filled with POWER...but he's on a donkey.
He's just promised, REPEATEDLY, he comes to suffer and die.
On a small donkey, Jesus shows us his POWER and WEAKNESS
To put this in the language of the Bible, let me share with you two titles of Jesus that, when put together, are incredibly ironic and revealing.
Jesus the Lion of Judah
Jesus the Lamb of God
He is the lion and the lamb.
He is majestic and meek. His power comes through weakness.
Jesus is not what we expected, and neither is following him.
He is not like worldly rulers. We don't know how to be majestic and meek, powerful and week.
We celebrate and defend bullies.
We long to be those who look so beautiful, never showing sign of weakness or limitation
But this is not our king.
Who is Jesus really? Lion and lamb. Majestic and meek. Powerful and weak.
What does this show about what he is living?
It should be obvious by now. How will his kingdom come?
Not through volume or violence, but through service and suffering.
Jesus is bringing a kingdom, but the vehicle of his victory is suffering, weakness, and death.
Let me give you a clear picture of this from the book of Revelation.
John is granted a vision of a king sitting on a throne. An angel booms out across creation asking who is worthy to break the seals on the royal scroll held by the king.
John weeps, because no one is worthy...and then a voice cries out to John:
"Stop weeping! Look, the LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH, the heir to David's throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals."
-Revelation 5:5 emphasis added
The King is named LION of Judah.
A majestic, powerful lion. This is Jesus. The KING, on a throne, the only one worthy.
He has won THE victory. Do you see that?
Victorious, mighty, powerful, and majestic. The LION of Judah.
And so what would you do if you heard that voice? Would you not look to that throne?
Would you not strain your neck to behold your king? This is what John does.
But this is what John sees:
Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne...he stepped forward and took the scroll
-Mark 5:6, 7
This king looks like a lamb who had been slaughtered.
Meek and weak.
Unimpressive, blood-stained and scarred.
And the host of heaven breaks out into song as the slaughtered lamb takes the scroll:
You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. They will reign on the earth forever.
-Revelation 5:9-10
The majestic and powerful one came and won a victory
But his victory was one through is own suffering.
Not through bringing violence, but through absorbing it in his own body.
This is how the Lion of Judah's kingdom was won, by becoming a lamb.
This is what God is showing us about the king on a small donkey.
Jesus is not what we expected...and neither is following him.
So...how is God inviting us to respond?
Behold your king and follow him. That's the first response.
He came to live for you, suffer for you, die for you, so he could heal you.
Bring you into his family, restore you, and place you on a throne forever.
Come to the Lion of Judah, come to the Lamb of God.
Come, be baptized and start a new life in Christ.
Beginning is not complicated.
Do you want to enter this eternal kingdom? Do you want to experience the wonder of being loved like this? Do you want to participate in the only kingdom that will not disappoint you, follow a king who will never deceive you? Come to Jesus.
He came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for yours.
And as we follow him, we must learn to be more curious about stories like these.
Why does it offend you so to see a king embracing weakness like this?
Why are you scared to follow his way?
Why are you drawn to bullies and braggarts, why so concerned with power and getting your way? This is not the way of our king.
We let go of position, influence, reputation.
We embrace service, smallness, and the unexpected.
Jesus is not what we expected, and neither is following him.
The more we absorb the reality of Jesus as both Lion and Lamb, the more we center our life on him, the more that same character he had will be manifest in us.
Majesty and meekness, power and weakness.
We embrace this as we descend to greatness with Jesus.
Like Jesus, we do not shy away from the Jerusalems in our lives, the places of pain, suffering, loss.
WITH Jesus, we face Jerusalem, even when, like Jesus, it feels like a journey into night.
Jesus is not what we expected, and neither is following him.
Let's pray.