Mark 11:1-11
A Colt Nobody Had Ridden
1As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two of His disciples
2and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here.
3If anyone asks, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it shortly.’”
4So they went and found the colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. They untied it,
5and some who were standing there asked, “Why are you untying the colt?”
6The disciples answered as Jesus had instructed them, and the people gave them permission.
7Then they led the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, and He sat on it.
8Many in the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut from the fields.
9The ones who went ahead and those who followed were shouting: “Hosanna!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”
10“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest!”
11Then 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.
Berean Standard Bible
They come over the Mount of Olives and Jerusalem is finally there in front of them. The first thing Jesus does is arrange transport, and Mark gives the arrangements six verses, which is a lot of room in a book that usually moves at a run. Two of them are sent on ahead into the village.
you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here
If anybody asks, say the Lord needs it and will send it back shortly. They go, and the colt is where he said, tied at a doorway out in the street. People do ask. The two of them say the line they were given, and the people let them take it. Mark never explains how Jesus knew. He reports the instruction, and then reports that it happened that way.
So why does he want an animal at all, for the last stretch of a journey he has walked? Because riding in is a quotation. Zechariah had told Jerusalem to shout, because her king was coming to her, righteous and victorious, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt. Every part of that was chosen. A king who arrives on a warhorse has come to conquer, and a king on a donkey has come in peace. Zechariah puts victorious and humble in the same sentence, and Jesus gets onto a young animal nobody has ridden and goes into the city that way.
There is no instruction to keep quiet here, and nobody is taken aside. He arranges a public arrival that quotes a prophet about a king, and then lets the crowd do what a crowd does.
They throw their cloaks down on the road in front of him, which is what you do for royalty, and others cut branches out of the fields. And they shout Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David. That is a psalm, and it is one everybody knew. Hosanna is not a cheer. It is a prayer, and what it means is save us now, and a good many of them were praying it about Rome. Then Mark ends the day.
Then 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.
No cleansing, no speech, no confrontation. He came the whole way through a crowd shouting for David's kingdom, looked around, and went out to a village to sleep. Whatever he saw in there, he is coming back for it in the morning.
How We Know
Zechariah 9:9 is the passage under this scene: the king comes to Jerusalem, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt. Mark supplies the colt and the entry and none of Zechariah's adjectives.
Mark does not quote it. He describes the animal in detail, twice, and leaves the verse for the reader to supply.
Verse 2 adds a detail Zechariah does not have: a colt on which no one has ever sat. Mark records the instruction, the objection from the bystanders, and the answer that satisfied them. A scene built on a verse it never quotes supports Mark writing for readers who would hear it without help, and the detail Zechariah lacks is Mark's own rather than the correspondence's.
Questions
1 What does Jesus arrange before he goes in, and how much room does Mark give it?
AnswerA colt that nobody had ever ridden, borrowed from a village. Mark gives the arrangements six verses, which is a great deal of room in a book that usually moves at a run.
2 He has walked the whole way. Why ride for the last stretch of it?
AnswerBecause riding in is a quotation. Zechariah had written that Jerusalem's king would come to her humble and riding on a colt, so climbing onto one says the thing without anybody having to say it.
3 What is the difference between a king on a warhorse and a king on a donkey?
AnswerA warhorse means conquest and a donkey means peace. Zechariah puts victorious and humble in the same sentence, and Jesus picks the animal that matches the second half of it.
4 What have you been asking God to rescue you from lately? Then, what does Hosanna mean, and how does this day end?
AnswerIt means save us now. It is a prayer rather than a cheer, taken from a psalm everybody knew, and a good many in that crowd were praying it about Rome. The day ends with Jesus walking into the temple courts, looking around at everything, and going out to Bethany because it was already late.
What This Means for Us
He looked around at everything, and then he went to bed. That last verse is a quiet one and it does not settle. He saw whatever was there, said nothing about it, and left, and the confrontation comes the next day, after a night of knowing.
There is a patience in that which is hard to copy, because most of us either act while we are still angry or look away and let the thing go. He did neither. He looked at all of it, on purpose, and waited.
So when you see something here that needs dealing with, do both halves of that. Look at it properly instead of pretending, and then sleep before you speak.
Prayer
Father, thank you for coming in humble, on a borrowed animal, to people who wanted the wrong kind of rescue. Give us patience that looks at things honestly and still waits. And save us now, the way we actually need saving. Amen.