“Lenten Love: Choose” Mark 11: 1-11; March 24, 2024; SAPC, Denton; Richard B. Culp
RBC:When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2and said to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. 3If anyone says to you, “Why are you doing this?” just say this, “The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.” ’
LP: 4They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, 5some of the bystanders said to them, ‘What are you doing, untying the colt?’ 6They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. 7Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. 8Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields.
RBC:9Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,
‘Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!’
LP: 11 Then 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.
RBC: Introduction: Palm Sunday has arrived as we begin to close our Lenten preaching series on love.
Today, the word few connect with love is choose. We invite you to reflect on ways you choose, particularly when you choose to love.
LP: Lots of choices were being made that day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem.
Lots of choices are being made every day by each of us as we live out our lives.
Let’s look at some of those choices.
Move 1:
Lisa: First choice – do the disciple do as Jesus instructs them and go and get the colt.
Richard: I suspect the disciples are wondering why in the world Jesus needs them to get a colt.
Yes, they know Passover is approaching.
surely they expect to gather with Jesus, probably in Jerusalem.
But why do they need a colt?
They’d been walking everywhere. it’s just a couple o miles from Bethany to Jerusalem. they’ve walked that far many times.
So maybe they were thinking about the symbolism of a colt.
I wonder if they thought about Zechariah prophesying that the long-awaited ruled would come riding on a donkey colt. They’d probably been hearing that for years at the synagogue.
No compelling reason for the disciples to choose to go get the donkey colt.
Lisa: Of course, they would do that! They were infatuated with Jesus. Infatuation is a bit like a drug - your brain goes a little haywire. the person is all you want to talk about, and you’ll do just about anything to please the person with whom you’re infatuated. In this stage, the disciples wanted instruction from Jesus to help prove their love. When Jesus told them to go and get a random person’s colt that had never been ridden, untie it, and, in essence, steal it, the disciples didn’t hesitate. It makes perfect sense, if you’re in the infatuation stage, totally captivated by Jesus and their human expectations of what kind of Savior he would be to them.
Do the disciples go and get the colt?
They have to choose.
Move 2:
Richard: Next choice – do the bystanders give them the colt or not?
LP: No, the stranger didn’t know the disciples. There were a lot of strangers in town for Passover, and they were suspicious and wary of these travelers who asked the owner to turn over his colt just because some unknown Lord says so. Colts were valuable in that time and the only form of transportation for many people. Imagine what would happen in Texas, if someone tried to walk away with a person’s horse!
Richard – I thought it was a bit odd that those men wanted the colt, but the Passover gathering always has lots of people coming to Jerusalem and lots of things happening that are not the norm.
Perhaps when they heard Jesus’ disciples tell them Jesus had sent them, they knew who Jesus was. Had heard about him and all the things he was teaching and doing. Maybe they wanted to contribute one small thing to help Jesus.
Or maybe they were just gracious people who heard about a need and agreed to meet it.
do the owners give the disciples the colt? they have to choose.
Move 3:
Richard; New Testament scholars Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan begin their book, The Last Week, with the striking observation that actually there were two processions entering Jerusalem on a spring day in the year 30.
One parade was the parade of palms in which Jesus rode a donkey colt.
The other was a parade with the governor riding into town for the high holy days.
Next choice – which parade do the people choose to go to?
Lisa – One of the parades was for the Roman Governor.
The people go to the Roman Governor’s Parade. It is the one with pageantry on display. I love pageantry, and I wouldn’t have missed that. The governor’s parade had all the best horses, the shiny armor, the uniformed soldiers marching in formation, and the finest drum corps playing. It is the place where the people in power stand shoulder to shoulder networking with each other. It is also the place where those who want power are trying to get as close to it as possible. No one does power like the Roman Empire, and it is on display in the governor’s parade. The religious people are expecting some of this power to manifest itself in their hoped-for Messiah. They expected the Messiah to be a warrior who would go to battle for them. They might be looking for him in the Governor’s parade on that day.
Richard: Why would someone choose the parade with Jesus riding a donkey colt?
Maybe they knew that when someone rode into a city on a donkey colt it was a sign they were coming in peace. In a world of Roman domination and unity through submission, the idea of one coming in peace might have been worth seeking.
Maybe they were just desperate. They shout “hosanna,” which we hear as a joyous celebratory shout, but it was also the cry of the desperate – “hosanna,” means “save us,” which God’s people had been crying out for generations.
Maybe some people like the bring your own palm branch type of parade. Not much majesty or power, but they are invited to participate, to be a part or what Jesus was doing.
Do the people go to the imperial parade or the palm processional
They have to choose.
Lisa: Move 4: Jesus has to make a choice. Does he choose the way of easy love by using his power and relationship to God to ask God to exempt him from the choice of real love and find another way? Or does Jesus choose the harder way that requires the sacrifice of all of him. Does he make the choice to sacrifice his life for love? Or does Jesus choose not to ride into Jerusalem to his death?
Next choice. Will Jesus choose to ride the colt to his death?
Richard: Years ago, when I was in seminary there was a controversial movie that came out called The Last Temptation of Christ. It was based on the novel of the same name by
I went to see it. Actually found it kind of slow, almost boring.
What was so controversial? As Jesus moves to his crucifixion, he has a dream about what would happen if he did not die on the cross.
In the dream, he would be married, have kids, and live happily ever after.
Because we know the choice Jesus makes, we seldom consider what Jesus gave up to die on the cross.
He could have kept teaching and spent lots…
Think of the friendships he could have continued to develop.
Crowds were gathering. His impact was growing.
He could have had quite a life as a leader and mover and shaker in the world.
Maybe he could have accumulated enough power on his own to take on the Roman government.
Maybe a love life.
Maybe a family.
Lisa: Jesus chose the path of love. Jesus’ kind of love isn’t infatuation. It burns bright, but it doesn’t flame out quickly. Jesus chose the path that claimed his life. Jesus knew the path was to suffering, and he had no illusions of a last minute rescue. He chose this path, because he knew the world needed a different kind of love. The world needed a love that wasn’t an illusion, but, instead, was a reality powerful enough to not only absorb our defeats and sufferings but strong enough to transform us into people capable of love. Jesus chose to walk the way to the cross to give the world this kind of love.
Jesus has to make a choice - Jesus chooses love.
Conclusion:
richard: We have make choices everyday.
Lisa. What do you choose?
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