Lent 2026 Day 35: Mon 30 Mar
Mark 11:8-11
8 Many in the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut from the fields. 9 The ones who went ahead 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 Then Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
There was no trumpet call, no marching band, no parade. There was a man on a young colt, but they seemed to know that this odd character bore significance. Many people had gathered around Jerusalem for the Passover, and the growing awareness of Jesus had raised expectations among the crowds. Could this be the Messiah they’d longed to see?
He wasn’t quite the military leader or the revolutionary warmonger they’d expected. A chap on a donkey is not going to raise security levels in the Praetorium! Still, appearances can be deceptive. They furnished Jesus’ route with palm branches (I wonder if these were taken without the permission of the owners of the fields) and they recited from the Scriptures. Psalm 118 is quoted here – it is good to hear it aloud: you will hear prophecies in this psalm that Jesus used about himself.
He visits the temple courts and looks around. Jesus is in the complex that holds the closest place to Father God on earth, the Most Holy Place, the Holy of Holies. Entry is restricted to the High Priest on one particular day in the year. Jesus is not allowed to go in. In a short time he will become the Great High Priest once he has become the Sacrificial Offering at his death. Once gained, it will never be taken away from him.
He hopes to see a place of holiness, fit for Father God to dwell in, but what he sees distresses him. Jesus has made his entry, but he does not stay. He goes quietly out of the temple and the city with the Twelve to lodge in Bethany, just a couple of miles away, but far enough from the crowds to reflect on what had happened that day, and what he was going to have to do tomorrow to clean out the Temple. And to return the colt. We won’t cover tomorrow’s scenes in the Temple as time is short, but you can follow it up yourself.
Could you memorise parts of Psalm 118 (e.g. vv 22-29) as a reminder of who Jesus is?
What do you imagine Jesus’ mood to be as he approached Jerusalem, and when he’d visited the temple?
Father God, Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Bring me to tears over the state of this world, over those seeking to rule despotically, over oppression, injustice and unrighteousness. No tear is lost. Amen.
Paul