Mark 11:1-11 Palm Sunday Baptism
Good morning! It’s Palm Sunday, the Sunday where we remember and celebrate Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey to the loud cries of, “hosanna,” and the beginning of Passion Week, or Holy Week.
We are going to pause our study in the book of Acts and take a look at this very important day in the life and ministry of Jesus.
Let’s pray.
Every year on Palm Sunday we traditionally read through the Gospel accounts of that day and this year is no different. We’re going to look at Mark 11:1-11, page 847 in the pew Bibles.
This time I’d like to pause to examine the significance of the events of that Palm Sunday and try to work our way through the palms and donkeys and crowds hopefully end up at baptism… We’re going to try.
So let’s look at the events of Palm Sunday from Mark 11:1-11, page 847 in the pew Bibles.
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “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. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’ ” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before 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!”
11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
Of course, this is an incredibly important event. Jesus is fulfilling prophecy here, words from the Lord given through the prophets hundreds and hundreds of years prior to these events.
Zechariah 9:9 says,
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.
Matthew quotes actually quotes that verse in his account of these events.
Jesus riding the foal of a donkey tied Him directly to King David who famously rode a donkey into the city of Jerusalem when he was anointed king of Israel. In the Old Testament it was only young, unblemished animals that had never been used for labor that were used for sacred purposes. And also, covering the donkey’s foal with coats instead of a saddle once again testified to the humility of Christ the King.
But the words of Psalm 118 were also being fulfilled.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! 2 Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 3 Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 4 Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 5 Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. 6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? 7 The Lord is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. 8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. 9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. 10 All nations surrounded me; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 12 They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 13 I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me. 14 The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. 15 Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly, 16 the right hand of the Lord exalts, the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!” 17 I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord. 18 The Lord has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death. 19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. 21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. 22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 [Hosanna] O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord. 27 The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! 28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. 29 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
These words were finding their fulfillment in Jesus as he entered Jerusalem and in the events of the week that followed.
Also, the words of Psalm 2:1-6 describe what was happening in a little more of a cosmic sense.
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed [that’s Jesus], saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
God the Father set Jesus, His Son, as King on the holy hill of Mount Zion. That’s the name of the hill that the Temple sat on. This is exactly what was happening when Jesus entered Jerusalem on the donkey that day.
A humble King, more powerful that any king that ever lived, set in place, not in a palace but on the holy hill of Mount Zion. No fancy parade with pomp and circumstance and trumpets, but with the shouts of the poor and humble, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!”
It seems like every year on Palm Sunday I end up saying things like, “Jesus wasn’t the kind of king that the people were expecting,” and, “the people wanted a political Messiah not a spiritual Messiah.”
These statements are true, the expectations of the Jewish people then were for a political savior; not that people’s opinions are much different nowadays.
But what sticks out to me in these verses this time is actually the last verse in our text.
Jesus enters the city on a donkey like king David did, not with royal trumpets but with the shouts of humble pilgrims, and instead of marching to the palace to kick out the Romans, instead of going to find Pilate, the Roman Governor, in order to depose him, He went to the Temple.
11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
On the surface, this has got to be the most anticlimactic thing that Jesus could have done. In fact, it seems like Jesus didn’t do anything.
He went into the Temple, looked around for a little while, and left.
No big speech, no battle, nothing!
So in looking at that verse, I think we are left with a question: What do you suppose Jesus was looking for? And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
What was He looking for?
Now we know from the verses that follow this what He found.
He found the Temple full, full of people, full of activity, there were priests and scribes and sacrifices, people buying pigeons in order to sacrifice them, people exchanging currency in order to make offerings.
The Temple was full…but at the same time empty.
He found the Temple full of people, full of activity, full of sacrifices, but empty of faith, empty of true worship.
The Temple once stood as a symbol of God’s presence among His people, but here it stood as a symbol of empty and lifeless religion. Jesus went to the Temple and looked around to see if he could find faith, and He found none.
It’s no wonder that he left and went back to Bethany with His disciples.
But I also wonder if this doesn’t stand as a warning to us, His Church, His Church with a capital “C.”
Is the Church of Jesus Christ full of people but empty of faith, full of activity, but empty of true worship?
That’s a big question, maybe too big for us, but does the Church of Jesus Christ start with the masses and work its way down to the individual?
No, it starts with each of us.
When Jesus surveys His Church what will He see, what will He find? Full of people but empty of faith? Full of activity but empty of worship?
I can’t answer for the whole Church, capital “C,” I can’t even answer for this church, little “c,” but I do pray that when Jesus looks around at everything here that He doesn’t find empty religious practices, or hollow, meaningless traditions, but instead He would see humble sinners who love Him and love each other, totally dependent on His grace. A family that understands that His death on the cross was for us, that He died in our place the death that we deserve just five days after this and that by His grace through faith in Him we are saved to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus did give the church two ordinances, two sacraments by which we remember His death on the cross for us and His resurrection from the dead, communion and baptism.
When we eat the bread and drink the cup we proclaim His death until He returns, and when a believer is baptized they are proclaiming the death of their sin and their resurrection to new life through faith in Christ.
And that’s what we are going to do this morning.
The Bible teaches that baptism is an outward sign of an inward event. Meaning, what we are going to do is symbolic of things that have taken place in the spiritual realm. Through faith in Jesus we become like him in his death and are raised to live with him in newness of life.
Romans 6:3-11 says,
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Baptism is a very meaningful symbol of death and resurrection and it is the way that new believers can publically identify with Jesus and be initiated into his family, the church.
Our old way of life, our old self was crucified with Christ the day we put our trust in him and accepted him as our Lord and Savior, our old self died and was buried and we were raised to new life, we were born again, raised to walk in newness of life, counting ourselves as dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Every baptism recorded in Scripture occurred after people had come to faith and repented of their sins. Even John the Baptist’s baptism was one of repentance, turning to God from sin.
Baptism is for the Believer. That’s why we don’t baptize babies here, we love babies but they don’t believe in Jesus yet.
And that brings up a very important point: it is not baptism that saves you.
The act of baptism is merely symbolic of what happens when you are saved. It’s not this water that washes away your sins it’s the blood of Jesus.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
It’s not the work of baptism it’s the faith in Jesus that saves you.
So who should be baptized?
Everybody that has accepted Jesus as their Savior!
This is the pattern modeled in Scripture, new believers were baptized, most of them immediately after coming to faith in Christ. We’ll see that over and over in our study of the book of Acts.
Faith in Jesus is the only requirement of Scripture for baptism. In fact if there is anyone here who has accepted Jesus as their Savior and has never been baptized, and if the Lord has spoken to you and you want to be baptized, come and stand down in the front row while the worship team leads us and the rest of us get ready to go.
Let’s pray.
Good morning! It’s Palm Sunday, the Sunday where we remember and celebrate Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey to the loud cries of, “hosanna,” and the beginning of Passion Week, or Holy Week.
We are going to pause our study in the book of Acts and take a look at this very important day in the life and ministry of Jesus.
Let’s pray.
Every year on Palm Sunday we traditionally read through the Gospel accounts of that day and this year is no different. We’re going to look at Mark 11:1-11, page 847 in the pew Bibles.
This time I’d like to pause to examine the significance of the events of that Palm Sunday and try to work our way through the palms and donkeys and crowds hopefully end up at baptism… We’re going to try.
So let’s look at the events of Palm Sunday from Mark 11:1-11, page 847 in the pew Bibles.
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “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. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’ ” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before 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!”
11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
Of course, this is an incredibly important event. Jesus is fulfilling prophecy here, words from the Lord given through the prophets hundreds and hundreds of years prior to these events.
Zechariah 9:9 says,
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.
Matthew quotes actually quotes that verse in his account of these events.
Jesus riding the foal of a donkey tied Him directly to King David who famously rode a donkey into the city of Jerusalem when he was anointed king of Israel. In the Old Testament it was only young, unblemished animals that had never been used for labor that were used for sacred purposes. And also, covering the donkey’s foal with coats instead of a saddle once again testified to the humility of Christ the King.
But the words of Psalm 118 were also being fulfilled.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! 2 Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 3 Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 4 Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 5 Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. 6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? 7 The Lord is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. 8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. 9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. 10 All nations surrounded me; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 12 They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 13 I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me. 14 The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. 15 Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly, 16 the right hand of the Lord exalts, the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!” 17 I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord. 18 The Lord has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death. 19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. 21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. 22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 [Hosanna] O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord. 27 The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! 28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. 29 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
These words were finding their fulfillment in Jesus as he entered Jerusalem and in the events of the week that followed.
Also, the words of Psalm 2:1-6 describe what was happening in a little more of a cosmic sense.
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed [that’s Jesus], saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
God the Father set Jesus, His Son, as King on the holy hill of Mount Zion. That’s the name of the hill that the Temple sat on. This is exactly what was happening when Jesus entered Jerusalem on the donkey that day.
A humble King, more powerful that any king that ever lived, set in place, not in a palace but on the holy hill of Mount Zion. No fancy parade with pomp and circumstance and trumpets, but with the shouts of the poor and humble, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!”
It seems like every year on Palm Sunday I end up saying things like, “Jesus wasn’t the kind of king that the people were expecting,” and, “the people wanted a political Messiah not a spiritual Messiah.”
These statements are true, the expectations of the Jewish people then were for a political savior; not that people’s opinions are much different nowadays.
But what sticks out to me in these verses this time is actually the last verse in our text.
Jesus enters the city on a donkey like king David did, not with royal trumpets but with the shouts of humble pilgrims, and instead of marching to the palace to kick out the Romans, instead of going to find Pilate, the Roman Governor, in order to depose him, He went to the Temple.
11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
On the surface, this has got to be the most anticlimactic thing that Jesus could have done. In fact, it seems like Jesus didn’t do anything.
He went into the Temple, looked around for a little while, and left.
No big speech, no battle, nothing!
So in looking at that verse, I think we are left with a question: What do you suppose Jesus was looking for? And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
What was He looking for?
Now we know from the verses that follow this what He found.
He found the Temple full, full of people, full of activity, there were priests and scribes and sacrifices, people buying pigeons in order to sacrifice them, people exchanging currency in order to make offerings.
The Temple was full…but at the same time empty.
He found the Temple full of people, full of activity, full of sacrifices, but empty of faith, empty of true worship.
The Temple once stood as a symbol of God’s presence among His people, but here it stood as a symbol of empty and lifeless religion. Jesus went to the Temple and looked around to see if he could find faith, and He found none.
It’s no wonder that he left and went back to Bethany with His disciples.
But I also wonder if this doesn’t stand as a warning to us, His Church, His Church with a capital “C.”
Is the Church of Jesus Christ full of people but empty of faith, full of activity, but empty of true worship?
That’s a big question, maybe too big for us, but does the Church of Jesus Christ start with the masses and work its way down to the individual?
No, it starts with each of us.
When Jesus surveys His Church what will He see, what will He find? Full of people but empty of faith? Full of activity but empty of worship?
I can’t answer for the whole Church, capital “C,” I can’t even answer for this church, little “c,” but I do pray that when Jesus looks around at everything here that He doesn’t find empty religious practices, or hollow, meaningless traditions, but instead He would see humble sinners who love Him and love each other, totally dependent on His grace. A family that understands that His death on the cross was for us, that He died in our place the death that we deserve just five days after this and that by His grace through faith in Him we are saved to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus did give the church two ordinances, two sacraments by which we remember His death on the cross for us and His resurrection from the dead, communion and baptism.
When we eat the bread and drink the cup we proclaim His death until He returns, and when a believer is baptized they are proclaiming the death of their sin and their resurrection to new life through faith in Christ.
And that’s what we are going to do this morning.
The Bible teaches that baptism is an outward sign of an inward event. Meaning, what we are going to do is symbolic of things that have taken place in the spiritual realm. Through faith in Jesus we become like him in his death and are raised to live with him in newness of life.
Romans 6:3-11 says,
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Baptism is a very meaningful symbol of death and resurrection and it is the way that new believers can publically identify with Jesus and be initiated into his family, the church.
Our old way of life, our old self was crucified with Christ the day we put our trust in him and accepted him as our Lord and Savior, our old self died and was buried and we were raised to new life, we were born again, raised to walk in newness of life, counting ourselves as dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Every baptism recorded in Scripture occurred after people had come to faith and repented of their sins. Even John the Baptist’s baptism was one of repentance, turning to God from sin.
Baptism is for the Believer. That’s why we don’t baptize babies here, we love babies but they don’t believe in Jesus yet.
And that brings up a very important point: it is not baptism that saves you.
The act of baptism is merely symbolic of what happens when you are saved. It’s not this water that washes away your sins it’s the blood of Jesus.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
It’s not the work of baptism it’s the faith in Jesus that saves you.
So who should be baptized?
Everybody that has accepted Jesus as their Savior!
This is the pattern modeled in Scripture, new believers were baptized, most of them immediately after coming to faith in Christ. We’ll see that over and over in our study of the book of Acts.
Faith in Jesus is the only requirement of Scripture for baptism. In fact if there is anyone here who has accepted Jesus as their Savior and has never been baptized, and if the Lord has spoken to you and you want to be baptized, come and stand down in the front row while the worship team leads us and the rest of us get ready to go.
Let’s pray.
