“Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He Who Comes In The Name of the Lord!’

(Mark 11:1-10)…..Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; ² and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. ³ And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.” ⁴ So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. ⁵ But some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing, loosing the colt?” ⁶ And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. ⁷ Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. ⁸ And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
¹⁰ Blessed is the kingdom of our father David
That comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!”

Up to this point Jesus had always told people to keep quiet about His identity (Mark 7:36) (Mark 8:30) (Mark 9:9). Now, there is a change in the Lord’s ministry. On this day, Jesus begins to draw attention to Himself. But  why?  He does so because He is about to fulfill a prophecy given by Zechariah the prophet, in which He presents Himself to the nation of Israel as their King (Zehariah 9:9).

As we see the Lord in action in these verses, my hope is that we also will “catch a glimpse of His glory.” It is early in the morning and Jesus is making preparations to go to Jerusalem, He is moving through two little villages near the top of the mountain, Bethphage and Bethany, the town of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. And what do we see happening as He approaches Israel? Notice, that Jesus sends two of His disciples to a village to get a young donkey, a colt. He tells them exactly where they will find it and what the people standing around will say to them. He even gives them some details about the animal.

When His men go out to complete this assignment, they find that everything is just as Jesus said it would be. Yet, how did Jesus know this? He had set it up in His sovereignty These events remind us that Jesus is God and that He is in control of all things (Isaiah 46:10-11) (Colossians 1:16-17). This encourages me because down to the smallest detail God has a design. Notice what Jesus says in (11:3). Jesus called Himself Lord! That is a statement of His authority and of His power in this situation. I would just remind you He has always been Lord and He is still Lord today. Let me bring up the donkey that the Lord needed to fulfill His ministry here on earth 

Jesus is God and He could have done this anyway He chose to, but He chose to use that little donkey (colt). You know, we are a lot like that donkey.

1.  That donkey had to be redeemed before He could use it (Exodus 13:13) (Exodus 34:2), that’s exactly what He did for us.
2. That donkey had to be released, it was bound and had to be set free. I  praise His Name because that is just what He does for us, His saints (Romans 6:14) (John 8:36)

Just think of what had to take place in the donkeys life so the King could use it, and what has to happen in our life so the King can use us. But it is all possible because Jesus is the King! Jesus Himself proclaimed to be a King with a kingdom (John 18:33-37) (Revelation 1:5). After His resurrection, He claimed the extent of His rule (Ephesians 1:19-23). So why would the King of Kings come into this world and subject Himself to the ridicule and condemnation that He went through during this time?

• He came to die? – Such a great truth that is denied by so many
• But why did Jesus come to die?
• Jesus died to put away sin – your sin
• As foretold in Scripture – He died for our sins – (Isaiah 53:4-6)
• He gave Himself for our sins – (Galatians 1:3-5) 
• He bore our sins on the cross – (1 Peter 2:21-25) 
• Let’s remember that our own sin (personally) is what He came to put away  (John 3:16-17) (Romans 5:8) (Ephesians 5:1-2)
• We can now understand the meaning of true love – (1 John 3:16) (John 15:13)

 As King, He is our Redeemer (1 Peter 1:18-19). That word “redeem,” (Gr. lutroo), means a releasing, to let go free by payment of ransom. When there is repentance of our rebellion (sin), our unbelief towards God, then we are released from the bondage of sin through the payment of Jesus’ blood at the cross (Matthew 20:28). So then, in Jesus Christ our King, we have (we possess) forgiveness, the remission (release, pardon, freedom from bondage or imprisonment) that is due for our sin (Ephesians 1:7) (Colossians 1:12-14).

So then, through the death of Jesus Christ it is now possible for sinful man to be reconciled to God(Colossians 1:20-22) (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). As King, He can cleanse you from your sin, (Psalm 103:11-12) (Romans 5:8-9).

I implore (beg) you on Christ’s behalf, if you havn’t already, be reonciled to God. As King, Jesus has the power to keep the believer’s salvation secure, because when Jesus saves, He does it for all eternity (John 6:37-40) (1 Peter 1:3-5).

As the crowd descended the slopes of the Mount of Olives, the people were praising the Lord, singing Hosanna which means to save now – realizing that is what He came to do. The people are praising the name of the King,  just as the Psalmist had prophesied (Psalm 118:25-26). The people are exalting Jesus as thier King. Is He your King? Then He is worthy to receive that same kind of praise from our lips today. Jesus is still the High and Lofty One, and and He is still worthy to be praised. I do not want the rocks to do what we are capable of doing ourselves.