Proclaiming Kingship (Subverted and Redefined by God)
Mark 11:1-11
All of the Gospels, Mark included, go to great pains to make sure we all understand Jesus is the Anointed One, the Messiah, regardless of our religious tradition and education or lack thereof in the first century Roman Empire. Jewish expectations of the Messiah, perhaps especially in this time period, included the expectation of God's anointed King returning in these last days to defeat God's enemies, and restore God's people - even creation itself - to a state of everlasting peace.
The gospels lean into symbols of this historic Jerusalem kingship. But they also reinterpret it, just as the prophets have often tended to lean into historic memories and symbols, and reinterpret them to help us refocus on God's nature, God's expectations, and God's call in a particular time and place.
And so, Mark shows us Jesus arriving in Jerusalem in great fanfare as the "Anointed One." The ground is ceremoniously covered with cloaks, calling to mind the coronation of King Jehu of Israel once upon a time (2 Kings 9:13). Branches are waved, echoing the reconquering of Jerusalem from the Greeks by Simon Maccabeus (1 Maccabees 13:51). What kind of army will God summon to install Jesus as the end-time king? But Jesus knows, as does the gospel writer that this path doesn't lead to the palace throne. Instead it leads to just another cross bringing punishment and death. It's not that Jesus was born to die, or that God sent Jesus to die. Jesus knows that his unbridled approach to human wholeness is too disruptive, offensive, too dangerous for those in power.
Jesus chooses death because toning down God’s healing love—to avoid death—is not an option for the Messiah. Being the anointed sovereign is not about subduing God's creation. God's law is not about destroying that which is broken. Jesus can only love at full speed. And Jesus knows that this same love will overcome death itself (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34; 12:18-27; 14:28). Jesus arrives as creation's Messiah, the Anointed One, but this is not your normal power-wielding, army-raising king.
Even Jesus riding the colt boldly declares clear, sovereign authority, fully redefined. Zechariah 9:9 celebrates the coming of the triumphant King, riding on a donkey, a colt. The Roman governor will be arriving in Jerusalem for Passover, on a mighty war horse, leading the invincible Roman Legion, to make sure the Judeans don't forget who is in charge in their holiday enthusiasm. Entering on a colt, appropriate for God's Anointed One, reminds us of God's expectation of humble, servant leadership.
God does not raise up leaders to conquer peoples and land, or enforce cultural conformity or religious doctrine. Jesus came to restore broken humanity to its divinely created wholeness. That is the kind of king Mark calls us to follow. That is kind of healing work we are called to lead. That is the kind of kingdom Jesus calls us to help create and enter.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan