Mark 11:7-11 (NKJV) Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. 8 And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
“Hosanna!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’
10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David
That comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!”
11 And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.
V7 “Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it.” The garments they threw on the colt are their outer cloak. Placing the outer garments on the colt is to honor the Lord Jesus and provide a type of saddle.
V8 “And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.” This is their outer cloaks. Again, this is to honor Jesus. Compare 2 Kings 9:13.
V9 “Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
“Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!” This is a Messianic
recognition. See Psalm 118:26.
(Wuest Word Studies): “They that went before and they that followed. Swete suggests that the former consisted of the crowds that poured out from the city of Jerusalem, the latter, those that had assembled at Bethany and Bethphage the night before. The two streams met, the former turning around, the latter following. Our Lord was caught in the center of these two crowds. The word “Hosanna,” Vincent says, means “O save.” The word “blessed” is eulogeō “to speak well of, to praise, to eulogize.” Another word translated “blessed” is used in the New Testament, makarios, which means “prosperous” in classical Greek, and in N. T., Greek, “spiritually prosperous.” The word “blessed” is a good translation of this word, for the English word means just that, namely, a condition where the believer is the recipient of the good things of God. The words “to speak well of, to praise,” are more fitting for our present word, eulogeō.”
V10 “Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!” The kingdom of our father David was the greatest of all Israeli kings. Messiah was prophesied to be the Son of David (1 Chronicles 17:13, and the genealogical record in Matthew 1, showing Jesus to be the Son of David, by guardianship and adoption by Joseph, Romans 1:3, and Psalm 110:1-7). Also see Mark 12:35 and Revelation 22:16. This crowd was in anticipation for the kingdom to start, but the religious authorities were doing all possible to kill Jesus. The physical kingdom will be realized, now, in the Millennium. The kingdom that Jesus does rule over now is a spiritual kingdom.
Some points about the Kingdom of God:
- To enter this spiritual kingdom, the Kingdom of God, one must be born again by exercising faith in Jesus alone resulting in the new birth (2 Corinthians 5:17) by the justification by the Spirit (Romans 8:1).
- The character of the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).
- Seeking to be a good citizen in the Kingdom of God is the priority (Matthew 6:33).
- It is full of God’s power, not just words (1 Corinthians 4:20).
- Evil and sin is not a character trait of it (Ephesians 5:5 and Galatians 5:21).
V11 “And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.” Jesus entering the Temple is prophetic (Malachi 3:1). Jesus entering Jerusalem was prophesied in Zechariah 9:9. Bethany is a short distance away from Jerusalem about 2 miles.
We learn:
- Jesus fulfills prophecy.
- The people honored the Lord Jesus (the leaders rejected Him).
- He left Jerusalem after being in the Temple.
Questions:
- Who is Jesus to you?
- Do you honor Him or reject Him?