03-28-2021 – The Passion of God in Christ

March 28th, 2021

Mark 11:1-11,

“The Passion of God in Christ”

Today we begin what is called Passion [Holy] Week, it is set off by our Lord entering Jerusalem on a Sunday, while the people praise Him; but five days later, on Friday, the people will cry out for His death, after which, He will be crucified and laid in a tomb, but on Sunday morning, one week from when He entered Jerusalem, He will rise from the dead, just like He said He would!

There is much written in Scripture about Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem (Matthew 21-28, Mark 11-18, Luke 19-24, John 12-20, for a total of 29 chapters). Out of a total of 89 chapters that comprise all four Gospels, about 1/3 of them are devoted to this one week period of Jesus’ life!

In 2007-08, teaching through Mark’s Gospel, I prepared 20 sermons on this one-week period of Jesus’ life; and in 2012-13, teaching through Matthew’s Gospel, I prepared 22 sermons on this same one-week period of time.

Holy Week is highly charged and extremely important, because it contains Christ’s sacrificial death on a cross (payment for all our sins) and His sovereign resurrection from the tomb (demonstration of eternal life).

Apart from Creation Week, when everything was made that has been made, Passion Week, from the time of Christ’s arrival into Jerusalem, to His arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection, is by far the most marvelous and miraculous week to be recorded in God’s Word..

The OT records many prophecies that were to be fulfilled by the Messiah, during Passion Week, when God's sovereign plan to redeem and save us from sin’s curse was made effectual.

Exodus 12:46 (1400 B.C.)… None of the Passover Lamb’s bones will be broken.

Exodus 12:46
46 It is to be eaten in a single house; you are not to bring forth any of the flesh outside of the house, nor are you to break any bone of it.

Psalm 16:8-11 (1000 BC)… He will rise from the dead.

Psalm 16:8-11
8 I have set the LORD continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will dwell securely.
10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
11 You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Psalm 22:16… His hands & feet pierced.

Psalm 22:16
16 For dogs have surrounded me;
A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
They pierced my hands and my feet.

Psalm 22:18… Lots [i.e., dice] will be thrown for His garments.

Psalm 22:18
18 They divide my garments among them,
And for my clothing they cast lots

Psalm 69:21… He will be given vinegar to drink.

Psalm 69:21
21 They also gave me gall for my food
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Psalm 110:1… He will ascend back into heaven.

Psalm 110:1
1 The LORD says to my Lord:
“Sit at My right hand
Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”

Isaiah 53:1-12 (700 BC)… He will be despised and forsaken, led like a lamb to slaughter, and He will be put to death for our sins .

Isaiah 53:1-12
1 Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
3 He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
9 His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
10 But the LORD was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.

Zechariah 9:9 (500 BC)… He will enter Jerusalem on a the colt of a donkey .

Zechariah 9:9
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
He is just and endowed with salvation,
Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Zechariah 11:12… He will be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver [cf. Exodus 21:32, the price of a slave].

Zechariah 11:12
12 I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.

Exodus 21:32
32 If the ox gores a male or female slave, the owner shall give his or her master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

Zechariah 13:7… His friends will desert Him.

Zechariah 13:7
7 “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,
And against the man, My Associate,”
Declares the LORD of hosts.
“Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered;
And I will turn My hand against the little ones.

Next Friday at 3 pm, we’ll study the events of the day of Christ’s crucifixion; and next Sunday, we’ll study what the Bible says about His resurrection from the grave.

But for today, please turn to Mark 11:1-3… Jesus and the 12 approached Jerusalem, coming near Bethphage ["house of unripe figs"], a small town near Bethany, on the SE side of the Mount of Olives. Bethany was home to Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (cf. John 11:1).

Mark 11:1-3
1 As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples,
2 and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here.
3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ you say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he will send it back here.”

John 11:1
1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

The Mount of Olives was where Jesus taught about the End Times Events (Matthew 24) that we have been studying on Wednesday nights for the past few weeks. It was from here that Jesus ascended back into heaven (see Acts 1:9-12), and it is here that He will return to the earth (Zechariah 14:3-5; Revelation 1:7), “coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him.”

Acts 1:9-12
9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them.
11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.

Zechariah 14:3-5
3 Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.
4 In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.
5 You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!

Revelation 1:7
7 BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.

In Mark 11:1-2, we are told that Jesus sends two of His disciples into Bethphage to find a young donkey.

Mark 11:1-2
1 As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples,
2 and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here.

Read Mark 11:4-7.
4 They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it.
5 Some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?”
6 They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission.
7 They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it; and He sat on it.

The disciples find the donkey, untie it and when asked why they are untying the colt, they say what Jesus told them to say, and (Mark 11:6) the owner of the donkey told them to go ahead and take it. The people in that area knew of Jesus and His disciples and, no doubt, that He was referred to as “The Lord.”

Mark 11:6
6 They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission.

In Matthew’s account of this event (Matthew 21:2-5) he speaks of a donkey, her colt, and the fulfillment of a messianic prophecy given in Zechariah 9:9.

Matthew 21:2-5
2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me.
3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5 “SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION,
‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU,
GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY,
EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.’”

Zechariah 9:9
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
He is just and endowed with salvation,
Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Matthew 21:5
5 “SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION,
‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU,
GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY,
EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.’”

Read Mark 11:8-10...
8 And many spread their coats in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields.
9 Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:
“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!”

This display on the part of the people is reminiscent of an ancient practice (recorded in 2Kings 9:12-13), where the people are showing homage to a new king. In Mark’s narration the people seem to express their acceptance of Christ’s claim as the Messiah who will sit on the throne of David.

2Kings 9:12-13
12 They said, “It is a lie, tell us now.” And he said, “Thus and thus he said to me, ‘Thus says the LORD, “I have anointed you king over Israel.”’”
13 Then they hurried and each man took his garment and placed it under him on the bare steps, and blew the trumpet, saying, “Jehu is king!”

The people are excited, throwing down their outer garments and branches (cf. John 12:13, palm branches), they are expressing their hope and desire for their Messiah-King to free them from Roman occupation and oppression, and to bring them prosperity.

John 12:13
13 took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, even the King of Israel.”

Matthew 1:1
1 The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Matthew 2:1-2
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.

In Matthew 27:11, Jesus is standing before Pilate (the governor), who asks Him, “‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ And Jesus said to him, 'It is as you say.’”

Matthew 27:11
11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

In Mark 11:9-10, the people are shouting, "Hosanna!" This is a contraction of the words "save" and "please," forming a prayerful supplication with great expectation, leading to adoration, praise, and joy.

Mark 11:9-10
9 Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:
“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!”

This praise in Mark 11:9-10 has it’s origin in Psalm 118:25-26

Psalm 118:25-26
25 O LORD, do save, we beseech You;
O LORD, we beseech You, do send prosperity!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD;
We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.

The name Jesus is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Yeshua, which means "God saves,” or “God rescues,” simply put, this is "God's Salvation” in human flesh, Immanuel [God with us], God’s Son, Savior.

In Mark 11:10 the people praise the coming of the Davidic Kingdom when the Messiah-King will rule on the earth for 1000 years.

Mark 11:10
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David;
Hosanna in the highest!”

The Jews were waiting for their Messiah to come and liberate them from Gentile Rule [at this time is was Rome], the Messiah would bring prosperity, and He would to sit on the throne of David.

The Jews are still waiting for their Messiah; they rejected Jesus Christ, because they didn’t understand that He was coming the first time, to free them from the penalty of sin, and the second time (in the future), to usher in the Millennial Kingdom and sit on the throne of Israel for a thousand years; Jesus is the Messiah-King, (John 10:14, The Good Shepherd; 1Peter 5:4, The Chief Shepherd; Philippians 2:9-11, Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord; Revelation 19:16, “And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”).

John 10:14
14 I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,

1Peter 5:4
4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Philippians 2:9-11
9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Revelation 19:16
16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

In the Matthew 21:10-11 account it says, “When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’ The crowds answered, ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.’”

Matthew 21:10-11
10 When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?”
11 And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Read Mark 11:11...
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.

Jesus looks around the inner and outer courts of the Temple, nothing is hidden from His gaze; He then returns to Bethany for the night (about 2 miles distance), as it had been a very long day, during which Jesus told His disciples what was going to happen in Jerusalem (see Mark 10:32-34).

Mark 10:32-34
32 They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him,
33 saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles.
34 They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.”

And so, the first day of Passion Week comes to a close; but there is much more to take place over the next five days, as Jesus pours out His compassion for those people in and around Jerusalem, teaching them about God’s great love for them.

Wednesday seems to be a day of rest, for there is nothing recorded in the Gospels.

Thursday Jesus makes the Passover Meal about Himself, i.e., the Lord’s Supper, making it clear that He will be the sacrificial lamb, and it will be His blood that is shed for the sins of the people.

Next Wednesday night we will study how and why the old covenant of Passover was fulfilled in and through the new covenant of the Lord’s Supper.

Hebrews 10:9-10
“‘Behold, I have come to do Your will.’ He takes away the first [covenant of the Law, Passover] in order to establish the second [covenant of Grace, the Lord’s Supper]. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Hebrews 10:14
“For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”

Hebrews 10:16-20
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, and on their mind I will write them,” He then says, ‘And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’ Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin. Therefore… …we have confidence to enter the holy place [into the presence of God] by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh” [He died for our sins, was buried, and on the third day He rose from the grave alive]

Early Friday morning of Passion week, Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, and taken to stand before Annas, then Caiaphas, then Pilate, then Herod, and finally back to Pilate; where Jesus was handed over to soldiers to be flogged, after which, He was crucified.

All of this was done according to the sovereign plan and purpose of God; so that you and I might be made acceptable to the Holy, Righteous and Just God of Creation; for we are redeemed, justified, made to be without any sin yet remaining to be punished, because all sins have been paid for, leaving you and me justified before God (just-if-I’d never sinned).

2Corinthians 5:21
“[God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Jesus took our sins upon Himself, paying our sin debt to God, because there was no other way for us to be saved.

Romans 3:23-24
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

Romans 5:8
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:1-2
1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Ephesians 2:4-5
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Hebrews 10:10
10 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

The Creativity of God is exemplified in Creation Week; but the compassion of God for lost sinners is exemplified in Passion Week. It is because of God’s great and merciful love for us that He has done this (John 14:6).

John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Jesus is the only way to God (we repent and believe in Him), He is the only truth concerning salvation (everyone is guilty of sin and deserves death), He is the only Life with God (He alone grants forgiveness for sins and eternal life to all those who repent, believe and follow Him).

Have you repented of your sins and believed in Jesus Christ [God’s Son, Lord and Savior] for salvation?

Romans 10:9-10
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

and for that reason Romans 10:13 declares,
13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

Have you done that?

If not, why haven’t you?

Please, don’t leave here today without settling this issue,

I beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Pastor Mike Hale
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