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Mark | 1-6 | 7:1-13 | 7:14-23 | 7:24-37 |  8:1-21 | 8:22-33 | 8:34-9:10 | 9:11-32 | 9:33-50 | 10:1-12 | 10:13-27 | 10:28-45 | 10:46-52 | 11:1-11 | 11:12-26 | 11:27-12:12 | 12:13-27 | 12:28-34 | 12:35-44 | 13-16 | PDF | Test and Certificate |

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Mark 11 Bible Study – The Triumphal Entry

Outline

I. Jesus sends His disciples for the colt (1-7)
II. Jesus’ triumphant entry (8-11)

I. Jesus sends His disciples for the colt (1-7)

Discussion Questions

• What can we learn about Jesus from this passage?
• Why would Jesus tell them to take the colt?
• Why do you think the owners were willing for them to take it?
• What does this show us about the crowd’s opinion of Jesus at this time?
• How did Jesus know they would be willing?
• Why did Jesus enter Jerusalem on a colt?
• What was the significance of a colt on which no one had sat before?

Verse by Verse Commentary

1. Jesus sent disciples to get the colt – Throughout the book of Mark, we have been learning some of the ways in which Jesus trained His disciples. Training them was one of His core goals. He often delegated responsibilities to them. Though He could do everything better than them, He still gave them tasks so that they could be involved. This helped them learn that following Jesus is not a passive job of simply sitting, listening to, and watching Jesus all the time. It is instead an active job that requires serving by doing.

Application – If you are discipling people, give them opportunities to help. People learn best by doing, not simply by watching. The same is true of raising children.

I was once talking with a mother about raising children. She mentioned that she doesn’t let her kids help with chores because that is more work than doing things herself. That is true in the short term. The first time a child helps cook, he probably will make a mess and likely make some mistakes. But even so, parents still need to give their kids opportunities. This will help them grow. In the long term, having more helpers around the house will mean less burden for the parents.

3. Jesus demonstrated His omniscience – Jesus wasn’t just good at guessing. It was a clear prophecy with many details.

Mark 11:2-3 – Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’”

Jesus’ prophecy came true just like He said. He wasn’t telling them to steal the colt or even “borrow” without permission. He knew that the owner would ask what was going on and the disciples could then get permission. This is, in fact, what happened.

4. Everything belongs to God –

This is a reminder that everything belongs to God.

Psalms 50:10 – For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.

The owner of the colt did not hold back.

Mark 11:5-6 – And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go.

He offered what he had with an open hand. This is what God expects of us as His stewards.

If you were the owner, would you have offered the colt? Obviously, this is a hard question to answer. A better one is, do you offer what you have now to God with an open hand or do you hold it back?

Whatever you have has been given to you to manage for God’s glory. We are to be stewards of all the resources He has entrusted to us.

1 Peter 4:10 – As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.

Application – What do you have to offer the Lord? Are you willing to give it? Is there anything you are not willing to give up for Him?

God has made each one of us unique with something special we can offer to others. Most people did not have a colt to offer, but this one family did and they were willing to give it up for the sake of Christ.

Is there something unique that you have that you can offer to the Lord? Perhaps it is a resource, spiritual gift, testimony, talent, or wisdom. God has prepared you to do exactly what He wants you to accomplish for Him. It would be a shame if you missed the opportunity.

4. Significance of the colt –

It was prophesied in Zechariah that the Messiah would enter Jerusalem on a donkey colt.

Zechariah 9:9 – Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

That prophesy was fulfilled here. What do you think a typical king would ride in a victory parade? He would probably choose a powerful war horse. Jesus instead chose to ride on a donkey. It was hardly an appropriate steed for a conquering king. Jesus’ choice of a donkey showed His humility. He came not as a conqueror, but as a servant (Mark 10:45). Jesus came to offer peace. Even in this triumphant moment, we clearly see Jesus’ humility.

Jesus is the unifying story of the whole Bible. The Old Testament points to Him in many prophecies and He fulfilled each one.

5. They put their coats on the colt – This was to offer padding since it was an unbroken colt without a saddle. Jesus was clearly good with animals since this unbroken donkey gave Jesus a ride.

II. Jesus’ triumphant entry (8-11)

Discussion Questions

• How did Jesus refer to Himself in 11:3?
• What is the significance of Jesus entering Jerusalem like this?
• How did the crowds react?
• What is the significance of palm branches?
• What does “Hosanna” mean?
• How did the Pharisees react (see Luke)?
• Did these crowds stick with Jesus throughout His persecution and suffering?
• What do you think happened to them?
• If Jesus came to your home today, how would you react?

Cross-References

Psalms 118:25-26 – Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
We bless you from the house of the LORD.

Matthew 21:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, John 12:12-19 – These are the parallel passages in the other gospels.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1. The Triumphant Entry –

As Jesus descended the Mt. of Olives into Jerusalem, He was greeted by an exuberant crowd. They recognized that He was their King, their Messiah. And they welcomed Him as such. They took off their outer garments and laid them on the road. Others took palm branches and spread them in front of Jesus. It was a glorious and exciting scene. It is often called the Triumphal Entry for a reason. Jesus was declaring Himself to be the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies about their Messiah.

The Pharisees got angry because they recognized the people were praising Jesus as the Messiah, and they didn’t agree.

Luke 19:39 – And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”

But Jesus didn’t reject the praises. He didn’t tell the crowds to calm down. He didn’t say that their faith was misplaced. He accepted it and welcomed it because it was right. They are right to welcome Him in this manner.

The fact that Jesus received praise from people means that He cannot be dismissed as simply being a good man. C.S. Lewis rightly argued that Jesus is either the Lord, a liar, or a lunatic. He claimed to be the Christ (John 4:26). There are three options.

• He knew He wasn’t the Christ, but intentionally lied. In that case, He is a liar. He is a deceiver and not a good man. This is something that Satan would do.
• He thought He was the Christ, but wasn’t. That would be like me claiming to be a monkey. If I did that, people would rightly say that I am a lunatic. In this case, Jesus would be a crazy man, not a good man.
• He was the Christ. Therefore, He is the Lord.

Most likely, Jesus walked through the East Gate. This is the gate where the priests would have taken the sacrificial lamb (scapegoat) out of the city. It leads directly to the temple.

Even in later centuries, the Jews believed that the Messiah would come through this gate. Because of this, the Muslim ruler Suleiman the Magnificent, who had the current walls built in 1538 AD, had the gate sealed in 1541 AD, hoping that this would prevent the Messiah from ever coming. He even had a cemetery put outside the gate.

2. Hosanna –

Hosanna is a Christianized form of the Hebrew word Hoshana (הושענה). It is a contraction of the words “save” and “please” (“hosha” and “na”). It means something like “save now” or “give us help from our oppression! It comes from Psalms 118.

Psalms 118:25-26 – Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
We bless you from the house of the LORD.

Here the same words are translated “save now.” The people were asking for Jesus’ help as Messiah to save them. They had been waiting hundreds of years for their Messiah, the one prophesied throughout the Old Testament, to come.

But they were probably not looking for someone to save them spiritually. For ages, Judah had been oppressed. They had been subjected to multiple foreign empires. Now they were subjected to Rome. They wanted Jesus to free them from their oppressors and restore Israel as an independent power. They wanted Jesus to be a hero and make Israel great again. Like many other times in Jesus’ ministry, they were hoping for a prosperous physical kingdom, while Jesus was building a spiritual kingdom.

“Son of David” was a term used to describe the Messiah, since it was prophesied the Messiah would be descended from David.

Reflect – Is praising God a lifestyle for you? Do you praise Him only when things look great (like they did on Palm Sunday), or also when things are difficult?

3. Jesus presented Himself as the Passover Lamb –

Exodus 12:3 – Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household.

Exodus 12:6 – And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.

First, they select the lamb and get it from the flock. Then they keep it for four days. Some translations say to “take care of it” for that amount of time.

Requiring the families to care for the lamb separately from the flock for four days would help them to realize that the sacrifice was personal. It was not just a nameless, faceless lamb from among many. It was a lamb that had been with them. It would live with them in their house for four days. They would feed it and care for it. Perhaps they would grow to be fond of the lamb. And they would know it was innocent of what was going to happen. All of this was designed by God to make them know that the sacrifice was personal. This innocent lamb was taking the punishment for their sins.

It was going to face death so that they would be spared.

That lamb’s sacrifice was directly connected to their own deliverance. It wasn’t just some lamb somewhere who died for some person somewhere. That specific lamb died for them and by their own hand.

Jesus likely entered Jerusalem on the 10th day of the month Nissan, the same day the Jews would take their lamb home before the Passover. That significance is not coincidental. He was presenting Himself as their sacrificial Passover Lamb. He would then remain with them over the next few days. Finally, just as the innocent Passover Lamb did, He would die by their hands. The Passover Lamb was killed just days later on the 14th day of the month Nissan, perhaps the very same day that Jesus was crucified.

God designed this entire ritual to point to Christ.

Their King, their Messiah, was also their sacrificial lamb. The King was their Lamb, giving His blood so that God’s judgment would pass over them.

Application – Have you welcomed Jesus as King of your life? If Jesus came to your house, would you shout out praises and roll out the red carpet? Or would you leave him outside the door, “Wait a minute Jesus, I have something to do first” and then run into the house to get rid of something or clean something because it is not ready? We should invite Jesus in and welcome Him as king.
And they did that. They welcomed Him on Sunday, but how about the rest of the week?

4. A king’s welcome –

Mark 11:9-10 – And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

Jesus received a king’s welcome. More than that the people expressed their belief that Jesus could save them and that Jesus’ coming to Jerusalem was the beginning of the kingdom of David which they had been waiting for. It seems clear that they believe Jesus is the Messiah and expect that He is coming to Jerusalem to establish His kingdom. This is what they had been waiting centuries for! Now the moment had finally arrived! You can almost feel the excitement ripple in the air!

The Pharisees were angry and wanted Jesus to silence the crowds. This was His response.

Luke 19:40 – He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Application – Some may want to silence our praise for God, our sharing of the gospel, or our testimonies. Don’t be quiet. Don’t allow others to pressure you into keeping quiet. Let us speak up and tell the world about the wonderful, risen Savior we serve!

5. The fickle crowds –

Everything seemed great. Jesus was wildly popular. The ranks of Jerusalem had swollen to overflowing because of the Passover and these people united in welcoming Jesus as the King of the Jews.

What could go wrong? How could just a few short days cause such a rapid mindset shift? How could these crowds who were so wildly supportive turn against Jesus and join in the refrains to “Crucify Him?”

These questions are not so easy to answer, but it does demonstrate how fickle people’s hearts are. Following Christ is so much more than being carried away with emotion during an exciting moment It requires a deep root.

Matthew 13:5-6 – Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.

Reflect – What are some practical ways you can deepen your spiritual roots? How can we guard against being emotionally fickle?

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