Mark 11:1-11
Sorry for the two-day delay, folks – camping and no Internet service…
Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.
“Notice what you notice.” Looking for differences in the Gospel writers’ accounts of Jesus’ triumphal entry… I see four things in Mark that are different from the other writers. First, each of the other three writers reports a “very great multitude” of people, or something to that effect. Mark simply says “many” when referring to the crowd. Second, each of the writers quotes the Old Testament verse, “Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord.” But only Matthew and Mark mention David. Matthew has the crowd calling Jesus the “Son of David”, while Mark says Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! (v. 10), without referring to Jesus in the more Messianic terminology. Third, Mark reports Jesus coming into Jerusalem and arriving at the Temple and looking around. Matthew is the only other writer who has Jesus arriving in Jerusalem, but then he does not mention the Temple. Finally, Mark has Jesus returning to Bethany after visiting the temple, when the hour was already late. So, with it all, in Mark the event and the crowd seem more subdued.
One other item… Whenever Carol and I read about Jesus sitting/riding on a colt, we go back to the old cities Fez and Meknez in Morocco where we saw donkeys absolutely overloaded with goods and still with an owner riding instead of walking alongside. We get a quick picture of how strong these animals are, but we also find ourselves troubled at the owner riding and adding to the donkey’s burden instead of walking alongside!
Slava Bohu!