The Humble Son of David

[0:00] I want you to open up your Bibles this morning again to the Gospel of Mark. We are now at the beginning of chapter 11 in Mark. I told you last week that we are planning to finish the Gospel of Mark on Easter Sunday.

[0:13] And we have been in this Gospel since the beginning of this year. So we are taking our time in getting through Mark. But now we're coming to a very familiar scene in this Gospel.

[0:25] One that most of us have some sort of image of in our minds. And so I want us to pay close attention as we read the words. So that rather than the images in our minds sort of telling us what's happening, we would let the Word of God tell us the details of what's happening here.

[0:43] So I want to ask you guys, if you would, to stand with me as we read verses 1-11 in Mark 11. It says, It says, And some of those standing there said to them, What are you doing, untying the colt?

[1:25] And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.

[1:38] And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!

[1:48] Hosanna in the highest! And 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.

[2:00] Father, send your spirit now to help us to understand the words that are here in your word. In Jesus' name, amen. You guys take a seat.

[2:10] This is, aside of course from the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ, and perhaps even the Lord's Supper, because of the famous painting of the Lord's Supper that we have.

[2:23] But aside from those three incidents, those three stories in the Gospels, this is one of the most familiar stories in the Gospels, at least in terms of when visual images come to our minds of the events that are playing out.

[2:39] Most of us have seen images of Christ riding into Jerusalem with crowds around, waving branches as he sits on a small donkey's colt. Most of us have seen those sorts of images.

[2:51] It's a very well-known story. And in fact, that probably is a very accurate picture that we have conjured up in our minds, at least visually. I told you last week that this was the time of the celebration of Passover.

[3:06] They are now, the Jews now at this point in Mark 11, are only days away from the celebration of Passover, the most important holy day in the entire Jewish calendar.

[3:16] The celebration of their freedom from Egypt, their freedom from slavery. And I also told you that the population of Jerusalem at this time would swell from a normal population of probably around 25 or 30,000 people within the city to well over 100,000 people in the city on an average year at the time when they celebrated the Passover.

[3:39] So if you picture in your mind, large crowds lining the roads, proclaiming praise to Jesus, laying their clothes, laying their cloaks, laying the branches down in front of Christ, that's a very accurate picture so far as the picture goes.

[3:56] Because there would have been large crowds. And we've seen that Jesus has a reputation that precedes Him. That before He even gets down to the southern region of Judea, where He is now, there are crowds who flock to Him.

[4:08] There are people who follow Him from Galilee all the way down to Judea. When we saw Him in Jericho, in the surrounding regions of Jericho last week, there were large crowds, large enough that Jesus was unable initially to hear a blind man sitting on the side of the road, screaming out to Him, Son of David, have mercy upon me.

[4:26] There are large crowds everywhere that Jesus goes, both because of Passover, and because of His own popularity. And that's exactly what we are seeing here. We also saw last week, in the blind beggar's cry to Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me, we saw that Mark was helping us to see a crucial element of who Jesus is.

[4:51] Jesus is the long-awaited, predicted Son of David, who would sit upon the throne of David for all time.

[5:03] So when the blind beggar cries out, Son of David, he's identifying something essential about who Christ is, and what He came to do for us. And then that theme carries over past chapter 10, into the beginning of chapter 11.

[5:18] There is a reason why chapter 10 ends with a story that centers on Jesus as the Son of David, and that chapter 11 opens with a story centering on Jesus as the Son of David, or the King coming in from David's line.

[5:33] And there is a reason for that. The Gospel of Mark really divides into two parts here. If you divide between chapters 10 and 11, that's a good place. Because from chapters 1 through 10, we're getting 10 chapters of Jesus' entire ministry, up until the last week of His life.

[5:51] So somewhere between 3 and 4 years of the life of Christ are covered in Mark 1 through 10. But in Mark 11 through 16, the last six chapters, they zero in and they focus, and we get six full chapters on the last week of the life of Christ.

[6:09] Which tells you that Mark wants us to focus upon this last week. But if you want to know what stands as a broad theme over the whole book, at least one of the themes, you would want to ask yourself, how does the first section end?

[6:24] On what theme does the first major section, chapters 1 through 10, on what theme does it end upon? And then what theme does the next section begin upon? In both of them, both of them, chapter 10 ends, the first section ends, with this emphasis on Jesus as the Son of David.

[6:38] And chapter 11 begins with an emphasis on Jesus as the King coming in the line of David. This is crucial, this is essential for understanding the mission of Christ and who He is.

[6:50] In fact, it's not only here in the Gospel of Mark, but this issue of Jesus coming from the line of David fills the pages of Scripture. The first time that we get a hint of it is somewhere between 1800 and 1900 years before the birth of Jesus.

[7:09] All the way back in Genesis chapter 49. You can turn there if you'd like. In Genesis chapter 49, long before David was ever born, certainly long before Christ was ever born, we find a prediction about a king, about a kingdom, and about a ruler in this chapter.

[7:27] Now Genesis chapter 49 is a chapter in which Jacob, who had his 12 sons, who all became the heads of the 12 tribes of Israel. Jacob is in his last moments, his last days, and he, as a father's dead in those days, he's giving a blessing to each of his sons.

[7:46] So first he gives a blessing to his oldest son, okay, and then he gives a blessing to Simeon and Levi, and then in verse 8, he gives a blessing to his son Judah. And I want you to pay careful attention to Genesis 49, verses 8 through 10.

[7:59] And I want you to see the blessing that Jacob, the father of Israel, gives here. He says in verse 8, Judah, your brothers shall praise you.

[8:09] Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's sons shall bow down before you. Judah, he says, is a lion's cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up.

[8:21] He stooped down, he crouched as a lion, and as a lioness, who dares rouse him? If you ever wonder why Jesus is called the lion, from the tribe of Judah, here's the origins of that.

[8:32] But then notice what he says, what Jacob blesses Judah with, in verse 10. He says, the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

[8:51] Now pause for a moment, and consider the fact that, there is no nation of Israel yet. It's just 12 brothers and their kids.

[9:01] There is no nation. And even when the nation eventually does form itself, and God brings them out of Egypt, and brings them into the land of Israel, even then, there's no kingdom, and there is no king.

[9:14] There will not be a king, for another 800 or 900 years. So that when Jacob gives this blessing to Judah, he's prophesying Judah's future.

[9:26] He's not looking at events as they stand, and saying what he thinks will in all probability occur, that, well, Judah is such a great leader, that he will probably be the king of these people.

[9:37] Judah is never a king. Judah is never a ruler of any sort whatsoever. But here's a prophecy. Here's a prediction about the tribe of Judah.

[9:48] That the ruler's scepter will not depart from Judah. This is the first indication in the Bible, that there will be a king over Israel.

[10:01] And then you wait another 800 or 900 years, to about a thousand years, before the birth of Christ, in 1 Samuel. If you want to turn there, I want to show you this as well. If you turn to 1 Samuel chapter 16, we see finally, the beginnings of the fulfillment, of this particular prophecy, of a king from the tribe of Judah, when David is anointed as king.

[10:23] Now David is not the first king of Israel. If you know your stories, from Sunday school when you were a kid, then you know that Saul, is the first king of Israel. But Saul, is from the tribe of Benjamin.

[10:34] Saul is not from the tribe of Judah. So Saul is in no way, a fulfillment of the prophecy, of Genesis chapter 49. Saul is destined to fail. And he fails royally, so that in 1 Samuel chapter 16, a new king is anointed.

[10:51] And if you, we read here that, as Samuel the prophet, has gathered together, the sons of Jesse, whom God told him to gather together. In verse 11, after examining all of Jesse's, sons that were there, Samuel asks him and says, are all your sons here?

[11:07] And he says, oh, there remains yet the youngest, but behold, he's keeping the sheep. In other words, well, they're all here, but the youngest is out keeping the sheep, and he's not really in contention, for the crown. Samuel says, send and get him, for we will not sit down, until he comes.

[11:21] And he sent and brought him. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. And the Lord said, arise, anoint him, for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers.

[11:33] And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David, from that day forward. And Samuel rose up, and went to Ramon. So, in Genesis chapter 49, we have the beginnings of hints, about a kingdom, about a king, who would come from the tribe of Judah.

[11:47] And here, in 1 Samuel chapter 16, we have the first, the beginnings of the fulfillment, of that particular prophecy. David is anointed as king, by the prophet Samuel, and yet David is not king.

[11:59] If you know the story well, you know in fact, that David, rather than sitting on a throne, and ruling over the people of Israel, spends the next several years, of his life, running from Saul, the current king.

[12:11] He's anointed king by God, and yet he does not have a kingdom, and he is not honored, as king, by the people of Israel. That has to wait, several years, until you come to 2 Samuel, chapter 5.

[12:23] In 2 Samuel chapter 5, it says that all the tribes, of Israel in verse 1, came to David, at Hebron, and said, Behold, we are your bone, and flesh. In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you, who led out, and brought in Israel.

[12:37] And the Lord said to you, you shall be shepherd, of my people Israel, and you shall be prince, over Israel. Verse 3, So all the elders of Israel, came to the king, in Hebron, and King David, made a covenant with them, in Hebron, before the Lord, and they anointed David, king over Israel.

[12:54] David has at this point, been installed, as the king, by Samuel the prophet, anointed as king, by Samuel the prophet, fulfilling the prophecy, of Genesis chapter 49, that from the tribe of Judah, the king would come, but now, in 2 Samuel chapter 5, he's anointed again, this time, not by the prophet Samuel, this time, by the leaders, of the nation of Israel, as they recognize, his kingship, over them.

[13:20] So, now David, from the tribe of Judah, rules over Israel. The things, are not yet, complete. The prophecy, in Genesis 49, says, the scepter, shall never, depart from Judah.

[13:35] The ruler's staff, will always be, in Judah's hand. What if David, is a temporary, what if it's a short-lived, kingdom, like that of Saul, that didn't, that didn't even last, for more than, one lifetime, one generation.

[13:51] What if, what if David, proves to be like Saul, and he loses his kingship? What then? Two chapters later, God comes to David himself, and God, not the people this time, God, makes a covenant, with David, in chapter 7, of 2 Samuel.

[14:12] And God tells David, that in 2 Samuel chapter 7, He tells David that, I'm going to build a house for you. I will build a house, and your kingdom, will endure, forever.

[14:26] Take a look in verse 4, it says, that night, the word of the Lord, came to Nathan, who's the new prophet, on the scene. Go and tell my servant David, thus says the Lord, would you build me, a house to dwell in?

[14:38] I've not lived in a house, and today I've brought up, the people of Israel, from Egypt to this day, but I've been moving about, in a tent for my dwelling, in all places, where I have moved, with the people of Israel. Did I speak a word, with any of the judges, of Israel, whom I commanded, to shepherd my people, Israel, saying, why have you not built me, a house of cedar?

[14:55] Now therefore, thus you shall say, to my servant David, thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince, over my people, and I have been with you, wherever you went, and have cut off, all your enemies, from before you, and I will make for you, a great name, like the name of the great ones, of the earth, and I will put a place, to my people Israel, and will plant them, so that they may dwell, in their own place, and be disturbed, no more, and violent men, shall afflict them, no more, as formerly, from the time, that I appointed judges, over my people Israel, and I will give you rest, from all your enemies, moreover, the Lord declares to you, that the Lord, will make you a house, when your days are fulfilled, and you lie down, with your fathers, I will raise up, your offspring, after you, who shall come, from your body, and I will establish, his kingdom, he will build, a house for my name, and I will establish, the throne, of his kingdom, forever, so here it is, step number one, God promises Judah, that there will be a king, and a kingdom, that comes from his tribe, from his line, and that king, that kingdom, will last forever, now 2nd Samuel chapter 7,

[16:06] God comes to David, the king, from the line of Judah, and says to him, your kingdom, will last forever, I will raise up, your son, I will raise up, your descendant, and he will sit on a throne, and he will rule, forever, and yet, the son of David, did not rule, forever, in fact, the descendants of David, were on the whole, in abysmal favor, throughout history, the Bible is not, a book, that is written, through rose colored glasses, it gives you, the details, the good, and the bad, the triumphs, the failures, the righteous acts, and the deep, deep sins, of God's people, and even of their leaders, and from, and beginning here, we're going to see, throughout the rest, of the history of Israel, failure, after failure, after failure, of the sons, of David, Solomon started well, the initial son of David, and yet, he married foreign wives, as God told him not to, and he built, pagan altars, in Jerusalem, in Jerusalem, it grew so bad, it grew to the point, where eventually, the kings of Judah, from the line of David, were sacrificing children, to false gods, in Jerusalem, and in Judea, the sons of David, were, a total failure, for century, after century, and yet, there was a promise, in Genesis 49, and in a covenant, in 2 Samuel chapter 7, that there would be, a king, who would reign, forever, and the prophets, of the Old Testament, writing later on, writing towards the end, of the kingdom, of Israel, writing about the failure, of the kings, to live up to God's word, the prophets, never once forgot, those promises, so that in Jeremiah, chapter 23, we read this, last week, in Jeremiah chapter 23, we will begin to read, in verse 1, and it says, woe to the shepherds, who destroy, and scatter the sheep, of my pastor, that's the kings, of Israel, from the line of David,

[18:16] God looks at them, and says, woe to you shepherds, David was a shepherd, all of his descendants, were shepherds, over Israel, and God says, woe to you, you've scattered, my sheep, you have ruined, my flock, it's dark days, and yet, just a few verses later, in verse 5, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up, for David, a righteous branch, and he shall reign, as king, and deal wisely, and shall execute, justice, and righteousness, in the land, in his days, Judah will be saved, and Israel, will dwell securely, and this is the name, by which he will be called, the Lord, is our righteousness, so that the Old Testament prophets, they do not try to cover up, the failures, of the kings of Judah, you would think, that if their goal, were to make it, appear as though, the ancient prophecies, had been fulfilled, that they, that they would write, in such a way, as to sort of cover up, the failures, of all of these kings, and yet, they do not, they speak about them, candidly, and they speak about, these kings, candidly saying, you scattered my people, woe to you, but what the prophets do, is they look ahead, and they say, though all of these shepherds, of Israel, have failed, though all these sons, of David, have been failures,

[19:43] God's word, has not failed, it will, it will come to pass, in the future, and God will raise up, from David, a righteous branch, and he will rule, forever, as God promised, so that when we arrive, in the gospel of Mark, chapters 10, and 11, and we see, the ministry of Jesus, leading up to the final week, of his life, sort of, bookended, with a man, crying out, son of David, have mercy upon me, and then we see, the last week, of Jesus life, on earth, beginning, with people crying out, blessed, is the coming kingdom, of our father David, blessed, is he who comes, in the name, of the Lord, you cannot, help, but think, and see, and realize, the words, of the prophets, beginning, with Jacob, prophesying over Judah, moving ahead, to Samuel, anointing David, to Nathan, telling David, that God, would establish, one of his sons, to be king forever, to Jeremiah, and the other prophets, later in Israel's history, looking ahead, beyond the failures, of all those sons, of David, to a final, coming son of David, who would rule, and reign, you cannot help, but look, and see, and think,

[21:04] Mark wants us, to understand, Mark wants us, to see, that the day, of the fulfillment, of those prophecies, has arrived, here, in the life, and ministry, of Jesus, he is the son, of David, he is the king, who's come, to bring in, the kingdom forever, it is essential, that when we think, of Jesus, that we think, of him, as a sovereign, king, if you merely, think of Jesus, as a good example, for you to follow, then you don't know, who he is, if you merely, think of Jesus, as a wise, teacher, then you have, missed it, entirely, if you merely, think of Jesus, as a, as a good man, who did many, good things, then you've, missed it, entirely, and even, if you understand, Jesus, as the son of God, come, in the flesh, you have not, yet fully, understood, all that he came, to do, unless you also, see him, as the son, of David, come, to fulfill, the prophecies, he is a sovereign, king, who rules, over his people, and rules, over all, and yet, he comes, in a strange way, does he not, when he, in Christmas, we know the story, he comes, in Bethlehem, born to peasants, laid, in a manger, comes in a strange way, now, he comes, riding into Jerusalem, as a king, would come, this is not, an unusual scene, here, for the, for the original readers, of Mark's gospel, they would have read this, and they would, from the beginning, of chapter 11, they wouldn't have needed, to hear the cries, of the people, about the kingdom, and about the son of David, they wouldn't have needed, to hear all that, they just need, to see the image, of a man, riding into town, and the crowds, laying down their branches, and laying down their cloaks, and in the first century, any reader, of this book, would have said, he's the king, he's the king, and he's riding in victory, into his capital, because that's what, kings do, and yet, there's something, that's wrong, that's off, with the image, he's, he's not riding, on a horse, he's not returning, from battle, leading his army, into the city, he's sitting, on a small, baby, donkey, riding into town, it's a strange, strange image, take a look, exactly what happens, verse one,

[23:39] Mark says, now when they drew near, to Jerusalem, to Bethphage, and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, now they've been in Jericho, and they're out, they're coming to Jerusalem, and if you know, anything about, the geography, of the area, Bethany is about, two miles away, at least at this point in time, Bethany was about, two miles away, from the city of Jerusalem, we don't know, exactly where Bethphage was, it was somewhere, between Bethany, and Jerusalem, in fact, it was probably, more of a, of a suburb, of Jerusalem, than anything else, probably, on the side, of the Mount of Olives, the Mount of Olives, is really, more of a ridge, that runs along, one side, of Jerusalem, separating the, the city of Jerusalem, from the other, towns and villages, outside of Jerusalem, it's more of a, a ridge, than what we would call, a mountain, and in fact, most of the time, in the Bible, when you read about a mountain, you should think, more of a hill, or a ridge, or something like that, don't, don't get in your minds, that when Jesus goes up, the Mount of Olives, and he's climbing, the Rocky Mountains, okay, it's not that kind, of a mountain, it's a hill, more like we would have, in, in central, or west Texas, it's a, it's a hill, all right, and so that's what, the Mount of Olives is, and we're told,

[24:52] Jesus is drawing near, to Jerusalem, so he comes to Bethphage, Bethany, these, these small little villages, just outside of Jerusalem, right there on the side, of the Mount of Olives, and he sends, two of his disciples, and he says to them, in verse two, go into the village, in front of you, and immediately, as you enter it, you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat, untie it, and bring it, if anyone says to you, why are you doing this, say, the Lord has need of it, and will send it back here, immediately, this is strange, and then the story goes on, so they went away, found a colt tied, outside the door, in the street, they untied it, some of those, who were standing there, and said to them, what are you doing, untieing the colt, and they told them, what Jesus had said, and they let him go, that's kind of strange, why would Jesus do this, what's the, what's the point, of sending his disciples, to get a small, little colt, so that he can ride, into town, on it, well Matthew tells, this same story, and Matthew is much more, explicit than Mark is, in Matthew chapter 21, explaining to us, precisely why,

[26:02] Jesus would ride in, on a colt, and in Matthew 21, Matthew quotes, from the prophets, in fact, he quotes, specifically, from Zechariah, chapter 9, verse 9, and let me read you, exactly what, Zechariah said, Zechariah the prophet, looks to the future, and he says, rejoice, O daughter of Zion, shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem, behold, your king, is coming to you, righteous, and having salvation, as he, humble, and mounted, on a donkey, on a colt, the foal, of a donkey, so the prophets, predicted, that in the future, when the king, when this righteous, branch would come, when this final, son of David, would come, he would come, into his city, not in a, not in a parade, of a victorious army, not mounted, on a large, stallion, but he would come, humbly, on a colt, foal, of a donkey, why is that, so important, why would, a prophet, centuries, before Christ, predict, something like this, and then, why would God, arrange history, and events, so that this would happen, why can't Jesus, just walk into Jerusalem, why can't he do that, why do we need, this sort of imagery, we need this, kind of imagery, because we, like the people here, are prone, to misunderstanding, we are prone, to not see, the kind of king, that Jesus is, we need to see, and understand, that he is, an exalted king, that he is a sovereign king, that he is a powerful king, that he is a king, who has a kingdom, and he rules, we need to see, all of those things, but, if we see him, first and foremost, as a conquering king, who comes like, all other kings, with an army, to do business, and we have not seen him, as the kind of king, that he is, the people who cry out for him,

[28:05] I want you to notice, and see what they say, they throw their cloaks, on the road, they lay their branches down, that was customary, for welcoming a king, into his city, and then it says, in verse nine, that those who went before, and those who followed, were shouting, Hosanna, blessed is he, who comes, in the name of the Lord, blessed is the coming kingdom, of our father David, Hosanna, in the highest, that, that is a shout, of praise, that comes from, the Old Testament, in Psalm 118, so these people, are not making things up, okay, they're quoting, the Old Testament, which would have been, very normal for them, you're talking about, religious people, who've made a pilgrimage, to Jerusalem, for Passover, these are people, who were used to, routinely, going to Jerusalem, singing, and shouting, the Psalms, as they went, as part of their worship, so this is normal, for them, and the Psalm, that they choose, to shout out, or sing out, as Jesus rides, into town, is Psalm 118, which predicts, the coming kingdom, of David,

[29:12] Hosanna, blessed is he, who comes, in the name, of the Lord, that word, Hosanna, is a very, interesting word, at this point, I think, in history, in the first century, the word, Hosanna, had sort of, altered, and changed, its meaning, a little bit, so it really, meant essentially, the same thing, as hallelujah, it really just meant, praise God, praise to the Lord, when they were, saying it, in the first century, I mean, it makes sense, praise him, blessed is he, who comes, in the name, of the Lord, praise God, in the heights, that makes perfect sense, that's essentially, the meaning, of the word, in the first century, but that's not, the original meaning, of this particular word, I mean, we know how, words change over time, we speak English, we know, if you read something, that's two or three hundred, years old, and you try, you try to read those words, the exact same meaning, they have today, there are times, when it's not going, to make any sense, we know that languages, sort of change, and evolve over time, the same thing, happened to Hebrew, and this word, changed and evolved, to eventually, simply mean, praise the Lord, but initially, originally, in Psalm 118, it makes something, different, what it says, literally, is Yahweh,

[30:22] Hoshiana, Yahweh, save us, please, that's what it, originally, literally, meant, I think, these people here, are crying out, praise to God, but I think, God, in his sovereignty, moves them, to cry out, this particular, praise, because he wants us, who are reading, this gospel, 2000 years later, to see clearly, and understand, the kind of king, that Jesus is, I don't even think, these people, crying out for Jesus, understand the kind of king, that he's going to be, I think, they expect Jesus, to be a conquering king, a military king, I think, that's what they expect, of him, that's what you, would have expected, I think, if you and I, were living in those days, that's what we would, expect, remember, they are celebrating, the Passover, they are celebrating, the deliverance, that God gave them, from Egypt, and what happened, when God delivered them, from Egypt, he destroyed, Pharaoh's army, he wiped out, the most mighty army, in the world, at the time, they were, they were slaves, of the Egyptians, but what are they now, they are, they are just a notch, above being slaves, of the Romans, if the Romans, want them to do something, they have to do it,

[31:39] Caesar calls, for, a census, they have to travel, to their hometown, and pay a census, Caesar sends his soldiers, into town, and says, I want to put a tax, on this, whether it makes sense, or not, they pay the tax, or lose their life, they are, a notch above, slate, at this point, and now, here the Israelites, are in their own land, but in the same situation, they were, when they were, in the land of Egypt, and God, delivered them, from the land of Egypt, by destroying, their oppressors, that there be no doubt, as you read this, as they cry out praise, about the coming kingdom, of our father David, that they fully, expected the king, to come, and conquer the Romans, and conquer the Greeks, and conquer all those, who have ruled, over them, in their own land, they have expectations, and Jesus has come, to shatter those expectations, Jesus has not come, merely to set up, an earthly kingdom,

[32:43] Jesus has come, humbly, riding on a donkey, to lay down his life, for the salvation, of his people, he will one day, come in victory, he will one day, come, and rule, and reign, over all the nations, of the earth, but he accomplishes, that victory, not with an army, he accomplishes, that victory, by laying down his life, for his people, on the cross, and if you're going, to understand, these final six chapters, of the gospel of Mark, if you're going, to understand, that the final days, of the life of Christ, then you have got, to understand, the kind of king, that Jesus is, he is a humble, son of David, come to lay down, his life, for his people, he has not come, to wage, an earthly war, he has come, to win, his enemies, by saving them, the people, would have known that, had they thought, about what they were saying, because if you turn, I want you to turn, to Psalm 118, this is the last,

[33:43] Old Testament passage, I'll make you look at, but if you look, at Psalm 118, in its context, and you read, the verses, that follow, verse 25, is where, their quotation, comes from, they say, save us, we pray, oh Lord, oh Lord, we pray, give us, success, blessed is he, who comes, in the name, of the Lord, we bless you, from the house, of the Lord, the Lord is God, he has made, his light, to shine upon us, buying the festival, sacrifice, with cords, up to the horns, of the altar, you see this, God has caused, his light, to shine, through, sacrifice, the Lord is God, he has made, his light, to shine upon us, buying the festival, sacrifice, with cords, up to the horns, of the altar, you are my God, and I will give thanks, to you, you are my God, I will extol you, oh give thanks, to the Lord, for he is good, and his steadfast love, endures forever, he has not, merely come, to conquer the nations, he has come, to lay his life down, upon the altar, and we, we come, to celebrate, in the season, of Advent, we come, to celebrate, not merely, a victorious king, we come, to celebrate, a humble king, who would lay, his life down, for us, and we can, only respond, to this king, in one of two ways, we can, receive, his sacrifice, on our behalf, and submit, ourselves, to his sovereignty, and his lordship, over our lives, or, we can reject him, because he does not, meet our expectations, these people, will by and large, reject Jesus, because he does not, meet their expectations, the final week, of Jesus life, begins with crowds, cheering him, and then, before his death, in the middle, of that week, the crowds, are calling, for his death, now it's not, it's not all, the same individuals, it's not every single, same person, you know, everybody, who's praising Jesus, on this day, is condemning him, on this day, but where were the crowds, to praise him, when he stood, before Pilate, they were gone, because Jesus, the king, in the line of David, was not the kind, of king, that they wanted, and he may not be, the kind of savior, that you want, he may not be, the kind of God, that you want, you may want a God, who will give you, everything you ask for, who will rescue you, in your time of need, and they leave you alone, the rest of the time, you may want a God, who is okay, with you living, a good, decent life, and who keeps his distance, from you on a daily, basis, you may want, that kind of God, but you haven't got one, you've got one, who lays down his life, for you, and demands, that you lay down, everything you have, for him, you can respond, by trusting in him, and receiving his gift, and serving him, or can you respond, by walking away, in disappointment, because he's not, the kind of king, you want, but no matter, what you do this morning, you will respond, if you walk out of here, thinking,

[37:15] I have not responded, I have not done anything, with what I heard, I've just listened, to the sermon, like a good, faithful listener, and I've moved on, if that's how you think, that you've responded, that's not how you've responded, you have responded, by walking away, failing to submit yourself, to the end, you will respond, to this word, the only question is, how, that's correct,