The eleventh chapter of Mark is full of prophecies fulfilled
by Jesus. The events from here to the crucifixion occur in less than a week. He
is on his way to Jerusalem passing the nearby cities of Bethany and Bethphage.
This was the time of the Passover, when observant Jews from all over the world
would come to worship and sacrifice at the temple. The city would have been
bursting at the seams. From John’s account of the Gospel, we know that Jesus
had only just recently raised Lazarus from the dead, a miracle that so convinced
the people that the Pharisees were considering killing Lazarus too.
Jesus sends his disciples for a colt, the foal of a donkey.
This is an odd request. An unridden donkey would not have been broken; it
should have bucked him off immediately. Donkeys have a reputation of being
obstinate animals. But Jesus has no problem with it. He shows his authority over
nature. But why suddenly does he need a mount? He has walked all over the
nation of Israel, why now does he want to ride?
The answer is found in prophecy. Jesus whole life was about
fulfilled prophecy, but in the last week there are a lot. It is important to
understand the reason for prophecy. Prophecy proves Jesus is who he says he is.
There were hundreds of things promised about the Messiah, which Jesus fulfilled
in his lifetime and others which he is going to fulfill when he returns.
Prophecy gives us a way to determine if Jesus truly is who he said he was.
In Zech 9:9, it was foretold that the messiah would come to
Jerusalem riding a donkey. “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout Daughter
Jerusalem. See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and
riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Jesus was entering the
city as the Messiah.
The people love him. The shout “Hosanna”, which means “save
us”. What an odd thing to say. What exactly were they wanting him to save them
from?
The phrase comes from Psalm 118. Verse 25: “Lord, save us…”
Verse 26: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”, another thing the
people shouted. We know this is relating to the Messiah because in verse 22:
“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone”. Jesus is the
capstone. Later in the chapter, Jesus faces down the religious leaders at the
temple. They, the builders, reject him and start looking for a way to kill him.
The disciples covered the colt with their cloaks and people
lay them over the road. This was something that had been done for the coronation
of kings (2 Kings 9:13).
But Jesus is no ordinary king. After he rides in the city
like a conquering king, he goes to the temple looks around and goes home. After
all the fanfare, he does nothing. He doesn’t start an insurrection. He doesn’t
lead a mob to the governor’s house. He doesn’t kill his enemy and set up an
autonomous state for Israel. He looks around and goes home. You can almost feel
the disappointment of the crowds. Indeed, in less than a week they will be
calling for his crucifixion. As we have seen time and again in this study,
Jesus never gave himself to the crowds.
The next day Jesus returns to the temple and starts flipping
over tables and driving out the money changers. He quotes the scriptures: “Is
it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’?
But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” He quotes Isaiah 56:7 and Jerimiah 7:11.
This was prophesied as well. Psalm 69:9 says, “zeal for your house consumes me”.
In the same psalm it is written: “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar
for my thirst.” This was fulfilled when Jesus was on the cross. They offered
him gall to ease the pain of crucifixion and vinegar when he was thirsty.
The prophecies that Jesus fulfilled run into the hundreds. Combined
with the scientific, philosophical, historical, and experiential evidence, the
truth of the Gospels is overwhelming.
For some further reading on biblical prophecy check out this
article at reasons.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment