Calvary Baltimore Weekly Sermons

B-Side - Mark 11:20-25

Recap (up to verse 23):

- Jesus inspects the temple, and just walks away.

- Later he curses the fig tree for appearing to bear fruit but bearing no fruit.

- Then back to the temple, he puts an end to the sacrificial system, calling the temple a hideout for robbers. It had become a symbol for their political revolution, rather than a dwelling place of God. 

On his way back to the temple, we see the fig tree, shriveled; now Jesus tells the twelve how to be fruitful and faithful.

Today's text is about Christian living, being a people of faith!

Before Jesus, Herod wanted to build a fortress south of Jerusalem, but it wasn't on high ground, bad for defense. So they tore down the top of a nearby mountain and brought the pieces to where Herod would build the temple, now known as the Herodium. Herod literally moved a mountain... Jesus says if the Church believes enough, we too can move mountains!

Also, in context, Mark is writing his Gospel to the Church in Rome. They knew about the Herodium. The fig tree was a picture of the temple, which had to be destroyed. The temple itself was built on the Temple Mount, which may be the mountain that can be thrown into the sea (referring to the Gentiles). If the Church has enough faith, the Lord will help them move the mountain.

Leviticus 14... if there's mold in the house: 

1. Priest sees the mold and walks away

2. Priest comes back later and if it's grown, he throws out affected items.

3. On the third visit, if mold persists, the whole house is unclean and must come down! They'd throw its rubble into the Dead Sea.

This is what Jesus did with the temple.

Faith...

Jesus loves his people! He calls us to faith, and shows us what faith can accomplish. Rabbinic Judaism is not the path to joy. Live a life not of law, but of faith! John 15:5-11... he is the vine, we are the branches; apart from Christ, we can do nothing. 

Faithful, fruit-bearing Christians trust and abide in Jesus! This, the road of faith, is the path to joy! Not a joy we seek after and find, but the joy of Christ that has been given to us, and now lives in us!

As we're being conformed into his nature, his joy spills into our joy, and our joy becomes full. Not mere happiness (which may or may not be present), but lasting joy.

When the temple comes down, the Spirit of God will now dwell in his new temple, the people!

Though we may be sorrowful at times, it's tinted with at least a drop of the joy of the Lord.

v24...

The prayers of the righteous are not magic. God is not forced to answer our prayers, no matter what. They will be answered and come to pass when they're aligned with God's will. Faith and prayer are related. You can only pray in faith! We must know that God is able!

A warning: beware teachers who take a verse or two in isolation, and make a doctrine out of it. This passage is often abused in this way. It's false when taken out of its intended context! "If you have enough faith, you'll get to the next level of Christianity," etc. It's simply false.

v25...

Whenever you stand praying, forgive! "Stand praying" means to pray expecting God to answer. Standing, your body's posture is one of expectancy! We should trust and believe!

That's our text. Two things...

1. Repentance...

If someone keeps wounding me, unrepentant, do I need to keep letting them back in? We're called to forgive! But maybe not necessarily if they're not sorry or repentant:

- Peter in Acts 2 says to repent and be baptized in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. There was no salvation until people admitted and turned from their sins.

- Acts 3: repent and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.

- 1 John 1... if we confess, he will forgive.

...All of this is evidence that to be forgiven by God, you must repent. It makes sense that also to be forgiven by a person, one must repent! So we may not be required to forgive someone who is not repentant for what they've done to us. We are called to forgive those who are repentant and seek our forgiveness, and kill the bitterness within us!

If someone is not repentant, we still need to give our hurt over to God, and to forgive them in his sight; that forgiveness is a work of the Holy Spirit. But we don't need to keep letting them back into our lives to continue to hurt us if they are not repentant.

We must do our best to make peace with those who sin against us.

2. Record keeping...

Keep no record of wrongs! Work hard to keep peace and unity in the church! Do our best to keep peace with our family in Christ. We should have love for one another. Love is not resentful! It doesn't keep a record of wrongdoings. Be quick to forgive! Christ was quick to forgive us! We don't deserve the forgiveness we've received, but this is the way of Christ. So we are a people who forgive!

Mark 11:22-25

Temple should have been a temple of prayer and of faith, but it was a temple of robbers. So Jesus had to tear it down. 

Today's message is about faith, prayer and forgiveness...

v22...

Jesus isn't asking us to have faith-- he's commanding it. Trust in God, even regarding things unseen! Trust Jesus, trust his words, trust his promises. As a Christian, you must be a person of faith! Habakkuk 2:4: the righteous shall live by faith. Hebrews 11:6: without faith, it's impossible to please him! To doubt him is to question whether he's a liar.

Faith is trusting God even when things look bad. This requires endurance! Where he goes, we go. We trust his promises because we trust his character.

Do you believe in your heart that Jesus's death and resurrection have saved you? Lack of assurance is often borne out of guilt and shame. The Holy Spirit convicts our heart, and shows us the holiness of God. We think, "compared to that, there's no way he's letting me in!"

Conviction is indeed of God, but it's wrong to doubt the power of the cross, the power of God unto salvation! Do your sins have more power than God's redemptive grace? You are never beyond the power of his grace! To consider yourself unredeemable is to make an idol out of your sinfulness. Christ reigns supreme over all of it!

We're going to sing for all eternity because we won't be able to believe we made it in! Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord; no one in Heaven thinks they earned it!

Trust and believe in the power of the cross unto salvation.

v23... Have faith, and trust in God in really big things! This power is available to those who trust him. 

v24... the Church should be a people of prayer! This verse can be used as a guilt trip, and it's true you can never pray enough. You should pray in private, with the church, even sometimes in public. We should be in communion with our Father frequently! And not just when we're desperate. We should be the kind of people whom people come to for prayer!

Pray and believe it will be answered. But Jesus prayed for the Father to spare him the crucifixion if he was willing, and he did not. Faith and prayers are inseparable; don't pray without faith that God can answer. Pray ready to receive! Nothing is impossible for God.

But when you pray, remember what Jesus said: "Thy will be done!" The prayer of faith moves on God's will. If we got everything WE wanted, we'd be monsters! 1 John 5:14: ask anything according to his will, and he hears us. My prayer won't force God to bend to my will...

...so why pray? 

a. He tells us to. It's a sign of submission to God; we understand we're not in control!

b. Prayer is communion with God. We can meet with God Almighty personally! What a gift!

c. God has designed prayers to conform us to his will. If you're bitter towards someone, pray for him, and the bitterness begins to leave. It renews our nature, and our will begins to align with his! He gives us peace, and guards our hearts and minds.

d. James 4:2: we have not because we ask not! Some things he waits to give us until we ask.

Why does he want us to pray? If he gave us everything without asking, we'd become selfish monsters, and rob him of the glory he deserves! He uses prayer to get you home!

v25... The church must be a people of forgiveness! Forgiveness here means a lifting and carrying away, a pardon, a sending away, like releasing a bird. We should not hold wrong against someone. 1 Corinthians 13... love is not resentful! "Resentful" here is a bookkeeping term, relating to holding onto an account of someone's wrongdoings. We are to keep no mental ledgers of offenses against us! We must not hold it over the person.

Why should we forgive, though? It's from the very character of God! It's evidence of God's thumbprint in your life. Christians are people who forgive. The forgiven of God must also forgive others, even when it's hard to do so.

Matthew 18: the parable of the unforgiving servant... the servant was forgiven by his master for a huge debt; then the servant refused to forgive someone who owed a much smaller debt to him. His master then revoked his forgiveness! God promises if we forgive a person, we'll be forgiven.

When we refuse to forgive, it's direct evidence that we've never felt the weight of our own need for forgiveness! It may even mean the Gospel is in our head, but not yet our heart.

Matthew 6, the Lord's Prayer... if you forgive others, God will also forgive you! If you don't, he won't.

If we're going to represent God, we must be a people of faith, a people of prayer, a people who forgive! Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of the sin of the world. His is a mission of forgiveness!

We can only begin to represent him once we learn to forgive as we have been forgiven.

Jesus is calling attention to forgiveness! It reflects God's nature. We must carry a cross as he did, and forgive those who are rotten to us. So that others may see our good works and glorify God! He's designed forgiveness as a means of spreading the Gospel, and a picture of his own forgiveness freely given to us.

B-Side: Mark 11:12-25 (covering through verse 22 today)

Matthew, Mark and Luke all draw on Malachi. Malachi 3:1-2... Malachi predicts what Jesus does, refining and purifying the temple. In Mark 11:11, he inspected the temple and left; then, as Malachi prophesied, he returned to cleanse and refine it!

v12-13: Jesus was hungry. The fig tree story is intended as a parable, but some literal details: fig trees in the offseason would still sprout little buds that were edible. This tree had not even that! It once had fruit, but not now, similar to the state of the temple. Jerusalem and its temple were once a place of great fruit, but no longer.

v14: the vineyard most likely speaks of the temple, not all of Jerusalem, because Jesus condemns it to never again bear fruit. If a third temple is built in Jerusalem, it will not be a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit of God as it once was, as the Holy Spirit now lives in the new temple, God's people!

v15: Jesus isn't mad at people for buying animals; he's angry at those taking advantage of those who didn't have the means to own their own livestock. Jesus is refining the temple, and bringing about the end of the sacrificial system. 

It's not a sin to be angry; it's a sin if what you do with your anger is sinful. 

v16: How could Jesus stop the entire flow of traffic in the temple? It was massive. But he was the most influential rabbi in that moment, had just raised someone from the dead. He had the voice to halt the crowds.

v17: He calls the temple a den of robbers...

Jeremiah 7:1-3... the Jewish people were focused on Jesus overthrowing Rome. Jeremiah 7 says God will let them dwell in the temple. Why can't they now? If they had truly accepted Jesus, Jerusalem still would be theirs! Also, Jeremiah and Jesus have some things in common: not accepted by Israel's spiritual leadership, both know of the faithlessness of the people and that God's ready to tear it all down.

Jeremiah 7:4... don't trust the deception of people saying this is the temple of the Lord. They've replaced the God of the temple with the temple itself! It's only special if God dwells there. 

Back in Mark 11, the people must have been impressed with the temple, with all the activity, all the traffic! But Jesus stops it all. The building is irrelevant if God's not there.

People still replace God with things today... the church... the liturgy... man-made systems... only genuine faith in God can save us!

Jeremiah 7:11... compares the temple to a den of robbers-- just like Jesus does (and says he's seen it himself even back in Jeremiah!) Jesus is calling himself God, likely angering the religious leaders!

Jeremiah 7:12-15... the temple will come down, and the people will be cast out of God's sight.

God would rather have the temple destroyed than to have himself misrepresented!

In the structure of Leviticus 14... the first time the priest comes, he inspects the mold and leaves. The second time, he has everything it touched ripped out and thrown away. The third time, if the mold has returned, the house has to come down. This is Jesus' second time visiting the temple, and he's in the ripping out stage! 

Jesus objects to the fact that the people misunderstand the central theme of the atonement. And the priests themselves (who are supposed to make peace with God, atoning for sins) are not at peace with God, living in sin! And they are misrepresenting God himself!

v18: though the priests of the temple feared when they heard Jesus, the disciples marveled!

v19: the temple was supposed to be where to meet God, but Jesus leaves it. In the New Jerusalem, Jesus is the light, and he never leaves!

v20: withered fig tree. As the tree has withered to its foundation, so will the temple, for its fruitlessness!

The central event of this section of Mark is Jesus ending the temple system, halting the sacrifice. His solution is the Atonement he offers on the cross!

Mark 11:12-25

Jesus used the fig tree as a parable. The temple must be cleansed!

V12-13... The fig tree (like the temple) looks from a distance like it's full of good fruit... Up close, it's fruitless. All leaves, no fruit.

We must be careful to follow God the way he wants to be followed!

To love Christ is to follow him, submit to him and his teachings; faith reveals itself through selfless service! We are saved, and therefore we bear this fruit.

You can only please the Father if you accept the Son!

V14-15... The money used in the temple was converted from Roman currency at a very high exchange rate; it was extortion. The pigeons were sacrifices given by the poorest people, who were being taken advantage of by those selling them in the temple.

V16... Jesus stopped the flow of the sacrificial system in the temple. 

V17... Jesus was teaching them. His people should pray! It's for all the nations! It's a den of robbers. Jeremiah 7... He's declaring that the people have turned away from God, and line the fig tree, the temple must come down. It's good when dark deeds are brought to light. 

V18... Jesus exposes corruption in the religious leadership. He told the truth! And the darkness hates the light. So they seek to destroy him.

The spiritual leadership of Israel were fault-finders. Someone cheating on their spouse begins to justify their cheating by finding fault with their spouse. The fault-finding seeks to justify the sin.

Jesus is seen as not being on their team...

V19-21... why doesn't Jesus want a third temple built? Because sacrifice is no longer needed! The sacrificial blood of animals was surpassed by a greater sacrifice: Christ himself!

1Cor 3:16... You are God's temple! From the moment you're saved, you are a temple unto the Lord! You are to be a place of teaching! Read your Bible! You must gather to the Lord daily!

V22-25... Jesus turns to the new temple, his people, and tells them how to operate properly! Be a people of faith, prayer, forgiveness.

In closing...

1. If you're a believer, that means you know you're a sinner who desperately needs a savior, and you come to him as he describes himself. You build your life upon Jesus, not just your Sunday. 

As a believer, you are a temple unto the Lord, a priest of the Lord!

The nations are to come to you as a light. You are to be a bright spot. You are to shine, showing the world you're something different! Don't be a worthless priest like the sons of Eli!

We must make sure we're not a temple that's profaning our God. Don't undermine your God, represent him well and glorify him!

2. Atonement...

The pentateuch was building to the atonement... And Jesus was building to a greater sacrificial system: the son of man on the cross. Jesus replaced the sacrificial system with something greater! You no longer have to sacrifice every year. Jesus's sacrifice was once, and for all time! Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Wisdom is justified by her children... wisdom is independent of you, but asks everything of you.

1 Corinthians 1... the wisdom of God is foolishness to those who don't follow Christ. Wisdom demands patience, trust, hope and faith. God's wisdom holds everything together. And he separates us from the rest; we are his!

Our soul belongs to God, not to ourselves. After the grave, we start to live! At the resurrection, we are released from this life and are knit together with the very nature of God. 

Psalm 78:19... he sets a table for us in the presence of our enemies. Should we be overcome by the spirit of the world, or by the Spirit of God? If he's glorified in the midst of our trouble, imagine how he does when all is well!

We are the recipients of God's wisdom in the middle of the action. When the going gets tough for us, can he handle it? Of course.

Ezekiel 16:8: the time of love has come... that's not our love for him, but his love for us! It's unconditional, regardless of our flaws. Peter was imperfect, and failed. Samson failed. David failed. They received mercy! God didn't strike them down. 

Matthew 7:12... treat others as you'd want them to treat you. Have mercy! It's freely given to us, and we should give it freely as well. 

Until our time comes, God will let us live.

God sees the mature Christian when he's still a boy, and gives him the wisdom he needs to get there.

There's a call on our lives to walk with Jesus. We fail him, but he has mercy and tells us to continue on! Our humility is holiness in action. Part of Christ's nature becomes part of ours. We'll never be perfect; in his perfection, he extends mercy to us.

He doesn't look for perfect people, but obedient people. God knows all the worst things we've endured and all the worst things we've done... and he doesn't mind. He extends mercy; the time of love has come!

We are not the sum total of our mistakes; we are the dearly beloved of Christ! Proverbs 3:3... write steadfast love and faithfulness on the tablet of your heart. Talk to God, acknowledge him in all your ways an he'll direct your steps!

He never forgets about us, and isn't looking to condemn us; he's close to us always, and wants to forgive! Don't focus on your sins; let your days be filled with the blessing of being forgiven! All your failures are no longer important!

God dwells with the contrite and humble in spirit. When you feel crushed, he's at work in you. Bind mercy and truth around your neck!

God's not looking for your ideal image of a believer. He's looking for you! He knows you, and he calls you by name. We can't hide, so we may as well enjoy his presence! Come to the mercy seat and meet the lover of your soul!

The cross and the resurrection are inextricably linked. Only those who put their faith in Jesus will have everlasting life!

Job 19:19-27...

Job was a good man. Satan tested his faithfulness, causing him to lose everything. 

His friend Bildad was offended by Job's faith in God, accusing him of hidden sin (which must be there, to his thinking, because of the bad things happening to Job).

His friends should have had his back, but they didn't. Jesus faced this same betrayal, yet never stopped loving us. He even asked the Father to forgive them as he hung on the cross! 

The story of Job points to the only truly blameless man, Jesus. 

Job was treated as a scoundrel. He believes God is trying him, but really, Satan is the one doing him harm. God is allowing it, knowing it will produce good fruit in Job!

Job realizes no one is going to come to his defense. In v25, he states he knows his redeemer lives, and will stand upon the earth, upon the dust, upon death! He's anticipating his death, but knows God will make him whole again!

That's our text. 

Chapter 19 ends with the question... How long can this continue? Which is answered: he knows his redeemer lives! 

1. My redeemer lives...

Our current political climate is nothing new: Satan was a liar and author of confusion from the beginning. The truth has always been buried in lies.

So what do we actually know? "My redeemer lives!!!" That's what we ground ourselves in. The Lord is faithful and true!

1 Corinthians 2... "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." Paul proclaimed what we do know!

What does your soul need, what does the world need? The message of the cross! That Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead! We have a redeemer!

Mark 10:45... He can't to serve and give his life as a ransom for many!

We are dirty, imperfect, and we need his redemption! So we follow him to the end, and follow him in death! 

Job is surrounded by lies, confusion, betrayal... and he anchors his hope in what he does know: that he has a living redeemer! Don't anchor your heart in things you don't know, but I'm what you do: today you are a sinner Jesus loved, died, and rose again for!

2. He will stand upon the earth/dust/death/grave...

Job talks about the resurrection as vindication. Jesus's resurrection proved he was telling the truth, the ultimate vindication. 

In the day of judgment, every Christian will be vindicated before God and Satan!

3. v26-27: "And after my skin has been thus destroyed,

yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself,

and my eyes shall behold, and not another." 

When we're in heaven, we'll be given new bodies! We will be raised from the dead, because we belong to him and will be reunited to him! He is the resurrection and the life! It's not possible for you to stay dead! You'll close your eyes, and open them in the presence of our redeemer!

1 Timothy 2:5... One God, and one mediator, Jesus! 

So...

What do you know? He is risen indeed! Our redeemer lives! Life gets hard and complicated. So we ground our hope in the truth of the Gospel! 

On the day you die, know that your redeemer lives! Whoever believes in him, though he may die, will live!

We need to live in the light of the cross. Come under the power of the cross. Follow the cross! We follow the crucified, risen Lord. 

Hebrews 2:9-16

God's judgment is a fearful thing. We don't want him to judge us... But he is just, and his judgment is perfect. We deserve to die, but he sent his son to die instead, so we don't have to!

Jesus is the only person ever fully human and fully God. He loved and followed the Father perfectly for every second of his life! He was the best of humanity, yet he went willingly.

Do we want to represent ourselves on judgement day? Or do we take the perfect substitute in our place?

In the cross of Christ is the power of salvation.

Verse 9... 

The cross of Christ was a grace to humanity. An unmerited gift! It's so easy to be saved... Just look at the Lord Jesus as your antidote to sin, and you are healed! So he deserves all glory and honor forever. We worship him forever, now and in eternity! We won't deserve to be there; it's all his grace.

V10...

Jesus is the founder of our faith; it's only through him that we're allowed into heaven! He so loved us that he snatched us out of the fire. In heaven it'll be hard to see he chose us!

V11-12... From Psalm 22:22... Those who are persecuted are being more deeply connected to Jesus, getting a small taste of what he endured. You're identifying with his suffering, and are blessed for choosing to follow in his path. He calls us brothers! He sings our praise in heaven!

Luke 15:10, Jesus describes heaven... There's joy in heaven when someone joins the family of God! And God himself leads the worship! Not only is he not ashamed of you, he sings about you, identifies you as his family!

If you believe in Jesus Christ: it is finished! His mercies are new every day. As you walk with him and fail miserably, his mercy is fixed upon you. His cross is mightier than any sin! Abide in him. 

V13-16... 

When Jesus died on the cross, he destroyed the one who had power over death, the devil! When we die, the devil will bring up every evil deed, and he's right. But he no longer has any power over you; Christ has saved us, redeemed us, and Satan has no authority over your life! The spirit of God lives in you, and Satan can't touch you unless God allows it! Jesus has destroyed the power the devil had over you!

1 Corinthians 54... O death, where is your victory, where is your sting?

Christ has won a great victory! We celebrate our king-- he is our only hope!

Remember: God sings about us, and we sing to him for all eternity!

Mark 11:1-11

2 most important Christian holidays... Christmas and Easter? Hmm... the Christmas story is only recorded in two of the Gospels, while Good Friday and Easter are both recorded in all four.

Palm Sunday is important in preparing us for Good Friday.

v1-2...

On the day of the Lord, Jesus will descend from Heaven and the Mount of Olives will split in two! Jesus gives the Olivet Discourse there, he ascends into Heaven there; it's a very important place in Scripture, with God's glory attached to it in every case.

The donkey colt... Jesus is riding into Jerusalem humbly as a king on a donkey, not a warrior on a horse. Genesis 49:8ff... riding on a colt... a man of Judah will always rule, and nations will bring him tribute. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a colt; no one else may ride a king's animal but the king. 

v3-6...

According to John 2, Jesus had already been to Jerusalem earlier, and cleansed the temple. It could be that he's cleared the temple twice. So Jesus may have known the man whose donkey was taken... or it was just miraculous that the donkey owner just let them take it.

v7-8... Why cloaks and palm branches? Because they believe Jesus was the new Maccabee, who's come to defeat the Romans. Also in 2 Kings 9ff, one way King Jehu was received was that people laid out their cloaks and palm branches for him.

v9-10...

Scripture was written in chiasms... the point of emphasis was the middle of a passage, not the top or bottom. The praise is shouted chiastically! "Hooray for salvation!" is a good translation of Hosanna. The middle, however, is a quote from Psalm 118:25, "Save us, we pray, o Lord! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"

The people are pointing to the hope of Psalm 118! Ps118:28... you are my God; your steadfast love endures forever. The Pharisees don't like that they're unwittingly declaring him to be God!

v11...

1. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead in Bethany; he was very familiar with Bethany; it was something of a home base for him, and supported him. Here he finds rest.

2. It was already late... could mean it was late in the day, could mean he wanted to get back to Bethany before it was too dark. Or it may be a nod to the prophetic time of the temple. "It was already late" may mean the temple was at the end of an era.

Let's read the things that happened the next day, Holy Monday...

v12-14... he curses the fig tree because it wasn't fig season.

v15-19... he overturns the tables in the temple. His Father's house was a house of prayer, not a place of the abuse of money!

That's how we should think about Holy Monday... drive out the bad things, and give ourselves to prayer and to teaching. Preparing for Good Friday and Easter, walking in holiness, prayer, and studying God's Word!

Palm Sunday has been celebrated for at least 1500 years.

Mark's account of holy week is different from the other gospels. Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, goes in the temple, looks around and leaves.

This parallels Leviticus 14, regarding what to do with mold in your house... mold was a picture of sin. They'd send for a priest; if he found mold, he'd leave and come back a few days later... If mold was still there, he'd remove it very thoroughly! The temple of the Lord was meant to be a house of prayer... But it had become full of sin, moldy.

He flips over the corrupt money tables, removes the mold.

The fig tree... It produces no fruit, he curses it, it withers and dies. This is what's happening with the temple. 

Mark 11:1-11

Mount of Olives... The Qidron valley (known biblically as the Valley of Jehoshaphat or the Valley of Kings) is hundreds of feet below. When Jesus accents the Mount, it's quite a hike... And a LOT of people, tens of thousands, likely welcomed his arrival, cheering him on. 

V1-6... Why does he ride on a donkey? Matthew quotes from Zechariah 9:9... the coming king would ride in on a donkey, a peaceful kingly transport animal, not a warlike animal like a horse. 

V7... Hosanna means literally "Save, I pray!" It's more accurately translated, "Salvation is here!"

V11... All 4 gospels are building to passion narratives. At this point, even the stones were ready to sing! There's been a huge buildup to the moment, and Jesus just looks around the temple, and leaves. So anticlimactic!

That's our text.

1. The Maccabees were looking for a savior to liberate them from the Romans. They were sick of Roman oppression! They kept making people kings, false messiahs. They wanted to take the fight to the Romans, and for Jesus to overthrow the Romans. But he'd die by crucifixion, punishment reserved for the worst of the worst. 

They were furious with him for turning over their tables, rather than Roman tables! 

Everyone missed the point: he came not to kill the Romans, but to convert them! 

Proximity is not knowledge. You don't receive God's Spirit by coming to church, reading your Bible, or listening to Christian music. 

The crowds here probably love that Jesus is there. Enthusiasm is never to be mistaken for faith! The parable of the sower... Satan is happy as long as the seed lands badly. 

Think of the triumphal entry as a modern day event... Modern churches would claim they had 40,000 new converts and pat themselves on the back. Then when they all left, they'd say they all backslid. 

In the Bible, it's discipleship that's important, not revival. We must endure, and abide in him! We all need mercy every day, as we fail every day. Reach out to people who seem to backsliding. Get them to return, her the Word to them!

2. The lion and the lamb... 

The lamb rode in on a donkey... When he comes again, he'll return as a lion holding a sword, on a white horse! A war horse. His feet will touch the Mount of Olives, splitting it in half! He'll crush the armies of Satan and the Antichrist.

Palm Sunday is a reminder of God's first coming, but also a reminder of God's second coming!

3. Hosanna...

When we take communion, we remember the work Jesus did for us. We're called to remember this every week. On special holy days like Palm Sunday, we remember our lowly position and that Jesus came to bring us peace with the Father!

We're so blessed to know so much about Jesus! Abraham, Moses, David could only wonder what God would eventually do. But we know what he's done! He loved us so much he sent his son to redeem us!

All men in the Old Testament eventually failed. We could not save ourselves! The entire story of humanity was building to this moment. Palm Sunday is a yearly reminder to shout, "Salvation is here!"

He came on a donkey, and will return on a horse!

Today's passage is also in Matthew and Luke.

Matthew 20:20-29: Matthew says the question about James and John sitting at Jesus' right hand comes from their mom. It may be they had their mom ask in case Jesus got offended by the request. Even if the mom is asking the question, it's coming from James and John!

Also, Matthew says at the end that they come out of Jericho, while Mark says they were in Jericho to begin with. This is not a contradiction; at the time there was an old Jericho and a new Jericho a few miles from each other.

Matthew 20:30... Matthew records two blind men, and Mark only records one. Normally there are no names given in these stories; Bartimaeus must have been someone of note to be named. This may explain Mark naming only one person. He was likely someone later well known to the early church.

Luke 18:35-42: Luke has them approaching Jericho like Mark does. He mentions Bartimaeus was also a beggar.

Luke 18:43: He followed Jesus while glorifying the Lord

Now to our main passage, in Mark! Mark 10:32-52...

As Jesus and the apostles draw closer to his crucifixion, he is the one leading the way. Even when what we're about to do is difficult, we can choose not to complain or drag our feet, and actually lead the way!

He gives his third "passion prediction" (prediction of his coming suffering), and the apostles are blind to it. They don't understand.

v35... James and John want more power, more authority. When we're doing all that he asks, it's tempting for us to expect God to bend to our will. He's not required to do that! We have no power over him. We pray boldly in his word! But never forget the ending: "Thy will be done!"

v36... Jesus asks what they want; they want self-glory. When Jesus asks you what you want, a good response is, "Enable me and help me to glorify you!" Not "Can I have more glory for myself!"

v37... In Mark 9, regarding greatness, positions of honor at the table... James and John want this sort of special position of honor.

v38... They're thinking of sitting at a table for a victory feast, as conquering rulers... but they fail to realize Jesus is heading to Jerusalem to die! Before the glory comes the suffering. They don't realize they're asking to be hung on a cross next to him!

v39... He predicts the suffering and wrath coming on James and John as well. Drinking from Jesus's cup and being baptized with his baptism refer to suffering and persecution. James and John will suffer and be persecuted, but will not suffer the actual wrath of God, as the Father put that on Jesus alone, and he suffered it on our behalf!

v40... only the Father decides who sits where at the table with Jesus.

v41-42... Jesus calls the twelve to himself to instruct them. To teach about godly leadership, he gives them an example of ungodly leadership. 

v43... To be the greatest, be the best servant! Love and serve the Lord and the people around you.

v44... To be first, be the slave of all! All we are and all we have belongs to him! I am not my own, but his willing slave. Because of our allegiance to Christ, we learn to become like him in service to others, to humble ourselves like a child. 

v45... James and John are looking to be treated like kings... but to be like the King of Kings, you must humble yourself and serve. Give people your time!

v46... Bartimaeus is the final healing miracle in Mark, and is the only person healed in the synoptic Gospels who's been identified by name. He was likely known to the early church or the apostles.

v47-48... The apostles are trying to silence Bartimaeus, as if he's an annoyance. But he calls out louder!

v49-50... Jesus says to bring him over! He senses there's more going on here than just panhandling.

v51... he asks Bartimaeus what he wants Jesus to do for him-- the same question he asks James and John earlier... getting back his sight would be an answer to prayer, but would also disrupt his life, his source of begging income. So the disciples look for power, self-glory, but Bartimaeus just wants eyes so he can glorify God!

v52... The disciples were blind men who needed Jesus to heal them too! They need to come to Jesus not jockeying for power, but for their eyes to be opened, so they can follow him the right way! Once Bartimaeus was saved, he followed the Lord. 

So if God opens our eyes, we respond by glorifying him and following him!

Though we are to bring our gifts, our possessions, our resources all under his authority, we can still enjoy the things of this world that he's given us! Enjoy your family, friends, a good meal, a beautiful sunset. If we do these things to his glory, it's worship!

The difference is we worship the Lord of the gift more than the gift itself. We worship and follow the Creator rather than worshipping and following the creation. Enjoy a nice meal, but don't live for food! Yes, work hard, but don't live to work! Follow where our Master leads, through his Word, in prayer, following the Spirit. Like this blind man, we are healed, and we follow our Lord and Master!

The rich young ruler had it backwards: we don't do good works to earn salvation. The blind man is healed and rests in the work Jesus did to give him salvation!

Those of us in heaven will know we didn't get there on our own merit. We will be the people most grateful for what Jesus accomplished!