6th Sunday of Lent
Mark 11:1-11
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”
4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
“Hosanna![a]”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[b]
10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
11 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.
Questions
What stood out to you this week from this text or from the sermon?
What are ways in your lives has Jesus entered into your life in ways that you were not expecting? Ways that were possibly counterintuitive or even disappointing compared to how you thought he might enter?
Pastor Katrina referenced the difference between a follower and an admirer in her sermon. “An admirer knows the right words, the right liturgy, but remains where it is safe and calm - observing that which they admire with minimal direct engagement and from a safe distance. A follower is or strives to be what he or she admires.” What stands out to you in this statement and do you fall into one or the other category in your walk with Jesus?
Jesus enters Jerusalem with such an electric entrance and leaves in such an anti-climactic even disappointing way. Pastor Katrina says of Jesus in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem that “God appoints Jesus to disappoint.” What are areas in your life where Jesus might be inviting you to be disappointed?
