My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church,
and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you today.
A special welcome if you're new or visiting with us.
We're glad that you're here, and we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats,
but because we're following Jesus together.
And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced there's no one so good.
They don't need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it,
which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in His Word.
We're continuing our series in the Gospel of Mark.
You'll remember that the Gospels tell the story of Jesus and His life and His death and His resurrection,
and we have kind of two movements to the Gospel.
Chapters 1 through 8, we were asking this question of who is Jesus,
which we saw definitively answered by Peter in the middle of chapter 8 when he said that you are the Christ.
And now we're in the second half, chapters 8 through 16,
which answer this question of what it actually looks like to follow after Jesus.
And so that's what we've been talking about over the last several weeks,
that following Him looks like this upside-down nature of the kingdom.
And I don't need to tell you that it's been a little bit intense.
We've had some hard topics as we've tackled marriage and sex and children and money and power and success and glory and fame,
how all of those things are different in the kingdom of God than they are in the kingdom of the world.
And then last week, we topped it off with this topic of desire.
Jesus asks this question,
What is it that you want me to do for you?
And so this week, we're going to pause for a moment all of those questions
and just look at, meditate on together who Jesus is.
Because we can talk about the upside-down nature of the kingdom all day,
but it must have some sort of motivation.
There has to be something great enough and glorious enough for us to want to live in a way that goes against our culture.
We actually have to see Jesus' beauty.
And so the song that we just sang set us up perfectly.
We sang,
Captivated by His beauty, worthy tribute, haste to bring.
Crown Him now, unrivaled King.
It's in seeing Jesus' beauty that we're able to live in His kingdom.
And we also sang,
It's not a sense of right or duty, but the sight of peerless worth.
And that's why I'm so passionate about this song,
because it reminds us that we have to see Jesus before anything else.
And so we're just going to look at that this morning,
the type of king that Jesus is,
the fact that He has a greater beauty, a greater love than any earthly king.
Unless we put our eyes on Jesus,
we're going to be tempted to put them on other saviors and rulers,
saviors and rulers that will destroy us rather than save us.
And so that's why it's incredibly important for us to pause and look at Jesus this morning,
the great and greater king.
It's with that that I invite you to turn with me in your Bible.
You can turn in your worship guide.
You can turn on your phone.
You can turn in your Bible.
No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's word.
And in Proverbs chapter 30, verse 5,
we read that every word of God proves true.
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
And so that's why we're going to read now Mark chapter 11, starting at verse 1.
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethpage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives,
Jesus sent two of His disciples and said to them,
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.
Verse 3.
If anyone says to you, Why are you doing this?
Say, The Lord has need of it, and will send it back here immediately.
And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street,
and they untied it.
Verse 5.
And some of those standing there said to them,
What are you doing untying the colt?
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.
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.
Hosanna in the highest.
Verse 11.
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.
I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.
Father in heaven, we thank you again for giving us your word,
and we ask that you would speak to us again.
We ask that as we look at the challenging nature of your kingdom,
more than anything else,
you would help us to have a clear and precise vision of Jesus,
that you would show us his holiness and his love and his beauty
and his glory this morning,
that we would be captured by it more than anything else.
We thank you,
that we don't have to worry about whether we've been good enough,
whether we've done enough,
whether we've earned enough,
because we know that we haven't.
But instead, we simply ask for these things
in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
I've been telling you for a while now
that Jesus is heading on his path to Jerusalem,
and that continues in this passage.
In fact, we see that he's practically arrived in verse 1.
We're told they drew near to Jerusalem.
If I told you that someone was driving,
and first they passed by Briargate,
and then they were in downtown Colorado Springs,
and shortly thereafter,
they were getting close to Shine Mountain,
you would know that they're headed in what direction?
You know that they're headed south.
The Gospel writer is telling us here,
in the order of locations,
that Jesus is heading directly west.
He is on a collision course with the city of Jerusalem.
That's what he's telling us here with Bethpage,
and Bethany, and the Mount of Olives.
Bethany is actually this suburb that's east of Jerusalem,
and it appears to be where Jesus stays for a few days
before Passion Week,
and at the very beginning of Passion Week.
That's why at verse 11, we see him return there.
Now, in the past, remember it was important
for Jesus to keep his kingship a secret.
We talked before about the fact that he told various people
who received healings not to tell too many people about him,
not to spread the word, to keep what he knew under wraps.
The time for that has passed.
Jesus is no longer interested in keeping his kingship a secret.
In fact, he does the opposite in this passage.
He starts to do king kind of things.
He does the sort of things that the people of Israel are looking for.
He's playing in, in some ways, to their expectations,
their hopes that this Messiah is going to come once and for all
and set things right.
Remember, that's why James and John were so eager
to sit at his left and his right hand,
because they knew that the moment of Jesus' kingship
was drawing near as they approached Jerusalem.
In verses 2 through 6 here,
as Jesus sends for this donkey to ride,
he is commanding what belongs to him.
The whole world, in fact, is his kingdom.
And what he's doing here is an ancient tradition called Royal Angaria,
which is where kings would be able to command whatever they needed.
In sending for this donkey, this colt,
and just saying, the Lord has need of it,
Jesus is saying clearly to everyone,
I am behaving just like a king.
Even more than that, though, in verses 7 through 9,
Jesus comes in riding on this colt,
doing what we would not expect him to do
when he left in our previous passage.
Remember, he healed Bartimaeus.
He was leaving with this crowd,
and this would have been a crowd that was heading to Jerusalem
for a pilgrimage.
Well, what is it that pilgrims do as they enter Jerusalem?
Jerusalem.
They walk on their feet.
As one of my friends might say,
they used their Lamberfittis to get into Jerusalem.
And Jesus, in fact, does the opposite.
Who is it that's supposed to ride into Jerusalem?
Well, it's supposed to be a king who is returning
from a conquering,
from a successful military campaign.
In fact, that's what would have happened over and over.
There's a reason this is called the triumphal entry,
which is that Roman generals would have a triumph.
They would come in riding a war horse
to show that they had been victorious.
They were the ones in charge.
Even more than that, verse 8,
what is it that these people do in response?
Most likely, they've been traveling with Jesus this entire time.
They're the ones who were with him
when he healed blind Bartimaeus,
and they begin to throw their cloaks on the ground,
which is a sign of submission to the king.
And so Jesus is doing everything we would expect
a conquering king to do
as he's approaching this city,
except for one thing.
Jesus should not be riding a donkey.
If he is a great and conquering king,
he needs to be returning from war on a war horse.
And yet Jesus here is being incredibly subversive.
We read earlier this morning,
Zechariah chapter 9,
which I'm going to refer to as well.
And what we read there is that
there is going to be this king.
You can turn back with me,
page 3 of your worship guide.
Your king is coming to you,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt,
the foal of a donkey.
Jesus is telling them,
yes, I'm entering as a king,
but heads up,
I'm the Zechariah 9-9 king.
I am not the king you expect.
We see two things about this king
as Jesus makes this reference
from what we learn from Zechariah 9.
The first one is that this king
is a humble king.
That's what we're told.
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.
In other words, he's so humble,
he's not just coming in on a donkey.
He's coming in on a baby donkey.
That is how humble and lowly he is.
Instead of experiencing comforts
and pleasure in this life,
he is going to experience
suffering and poverty.
He is going to be born in a manger.
He's going to be working class.
He's going to be on the move.
He's going to be going to people
rather than demanding that they come to him.
That's why Jesus says in Matthew 8,
foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests,
but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head
because he is the humble king.
He is the king who comes in riding a donkey.
He's the king that we were told about in Isaiah 53,
despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
He's not greeted with praise and love
and admiration throughout his story,
but he's greeted with opposition,
hatred,
and those who wish to kill him.
The king on the donkey
is the king who's going to bring salvation
through humility.
The story is told of Dan Cathy,
who's the president and CEO of Chick-fil-A,
and at one point he was in California
visiting a construction site for a new franchise,
and he became hungry,
and of course the franchise wasn't open.
They weren't able to serve him any Christian chicken,
and so he had to go and visit the Taco Bell next door.
The man who was with him reported
that he and Dan had to go to the bathroom together afterwards,
and he saw something very strange.
After Dan had finished washing his hands,
he pulled out some extra paper towels
and began also cleaning the sinks
of the Taco Bell bathroom.
Now, maybe Dan Cathy is that much of a neat freak,
but there's a certain humility,
there's a certain service
that characterizes him in that moment, right?
He is so humble,
he's cleaning the bathroom of his competitors.
Jesus cleans the bathroom,
not of his competitors,
but of his enemies.
Jesus came to clean up the mess
left by you and me.
He is not characterized by one moment of service
in a life filled with wealth and power and privilege,
he's characterized by an entire existence.
Dan Cathy for a moment,
Jesus for his life.
When Jesus rides in on the donkey,
he is telling us he is the king who is with us.
He knows the pains of life like we do,
and I would say in some ways even more.
Jesus experienced a standard of living,
a type of poverty
that I would imagine most of us here today
have no concept of.
Jesus knows more of suffering than we do.
Most kings are insulated from the pains of life.
Jesus instead runs into them.
Many earthly rulers lack integrity.
They say one thing and do another.
And even the best earthly rulers
are imperfect and flawed.
And Jesus is the king,
the ruler who has lived differently than us
because he lived worse than us.
He's the king who takes on more suffering than us.
He is the humble king.
That's why Hebrews chapter 4 tells us
we don't have a high priest
who's unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who in every respect
has been tempted as we are yet without sin.
captivated by his beauty,
tribute to him bring.
Not right or duty,
but the sight of peerless worth.
Why do we follow Jesus?
Because he is the great
but also humble king.
He is worth following much more
than Dan, Kathy,
or any other inspirational human leader.
Compared to Jesus,
they are selfish idiots.
Jesus is greater
and more glorious
and more loving.
Jesus is more sacrificial
than any other king
we could follow.
He is the humble king.
And so look at him.
Meditate on him.
See his beauty.
Let it captivate your heart
more than any other beauty.
Because that's the kind of king he is.
We don't just find out
in Zechariah chapter 9
that he is going to be
the humble king,
but we also find out
that Jesus is going to be
the peaceful king.
The donkey is not just
a sign of Jesus' humility,
but also a sign of peace.
If you look again
at Zechariah chapter 9,
page 3 of your worship guide,
we see in verse 10
he is going to end war
and bring peace.
I will cut off the chariot
from Ephraim
and the war horse
from Jerusalem.
The battle bow
shall be cut off
and he shall speak
peace to the nations.
His rule shall be
from sea to sea
and from the river
to the ends
of the earth.
Jesus will rule
the entire world.
That's what the king
on the donkey
is going to do.
Verse 9,
we're told
he is righteous
and having salvation.
If he's righteous,
it means he's going
to right every wrong.
There is going to be
complete and total
world peace
and those who need
to be brought to justice
will be.
There are all types
of visions
that people have today
for how the world
is going to be
made right.
We live by the values
of the kingdom.
We embrace the upside down
nature of the kingdom
because we believe
in the future
of the kingdom.
Because we believe
that Jesus is
the Zechariah 9,
9 through 10 king
who is actually
going to speak peace
to all the nations.
The one who is going
to rule over
the entire world.
The one who is righteous
and has salvation
and so he's going
to be able
to right every wrong
and wipe away
every tear.
It's because we know
and embrace
and believe
in that future
that future kingdom
that's coming
because of this Jesus here
that we see in this passage
riding in on the donkey
that we live
according to the kingdom
right now.
He is the peaceful kingdom.
The peaceful king.
Imagine for a second
if this vision
were not true.
It would not simply
be zeroed out.
In fact,
the human heart
has this longing
within it
to see the world
made right.
The option
is not Jesus
returning or nothing.
The option
is not Jesus
bringing peace
to the nations
or nothing.
The option
is Jesus
bringing peace
or someone else
bringing peace.
We cannot escape
visions of a world
with restored justice.
We cannot escape
narratives that tell us
if we do X, Y, or Z
finally everything
will be made right.
The only question
for us
is which vision
we will choose.
There are politicians
and activists
who would present you
with all sorts of paths
as their vision
to the way
to heal the world.
The only problem
is this
that outside of Jesus
justice is up to us
goodness is within us.
justice is up to us
goodness
is within us.
If Jesus
is not going to
speak peace
to the nations
then we will
and must.
In other words
if we lose
this vision
of Jesus
we will
replace it
with a vision
that leaves
bodies in its wake.
because the visions
that the world
gives us
are visions
in which
we are
the good guys.
And so these
world views
always lead
to injustice
and oppression.
They have to
because if you believe
the problem
is always outside
of you
then there is
a culprit
that you have
to deal with
and you never
face your own
failings
and sin.
So Jesus
here presents
a vision
that is more
realistic
more just
more peaceful
of all of these
visions.
Jesus is the only
one who sacrifices
himself
to save his
enemies.
He is the only
one who
cleans the
bathrooms
of the people
who hate him.
Jesus is the only
one who is going
to be able
to take us
back to Eden.
The only one
that allows us
to be human
and recognize
we're not
strong enough
we're not
good enough
we're not
powerful enough
to make this
world right.
That's why
Jesus tells us
his yoke is easy
and his burden
is light.
Because he
takes responsibility
for healing
the world.
And so
what do we do?
if this
vision of
Jesus is true
if he is
the donkey
king who is
coming to
bring peace
to the nations
we can wait
with patience.
We can wait
with longing.
Our hope
does not hang
on the thread
of one
political
party
or person
or leader
or technology
or success
of a movement.
We can choose
peace
over violence.
We can turn
the other cheek
because we know
that Jesus
one day
will make
all things
right.
It is
only
the king
on a donkey
who allows us
to love
our enemies.
We know
that he
will make
all things
right
so that we
don't
have to.
Jesus
is the
great
king
for which
our hearts
long.
We see
him coming
into Jerusalem.
We look
forward to him
coming
again
to this
earth.
finally
this
humility
and this
peace
that
Jesus
shows
us
are
humility
and
peace
that
come
ultimately
through
his
death
on the
cross.
I had a
conversation
recently
with a
woman
whose
husband
is
exploring
Christianity.
He is
reading
mere
Christianity.
She
considers
herself
spiritual
but not
religious.
I was
explaining
to her
what it
is
that
Christianity
believes
and I
told her
every
religion
every
worldview
believes
there is
something
wrong
with
the
world.
Everyone
agrees
the
world
is
sick.
You
can't
find
someone
who
would
deny
that.
So
Christianity
is not
unique
actually
in that
claim.
It
agrees
with
every
other
worldview
and
saying
something
is
wrong.
It
disagrees
though
on
two
things.
What's
the
problem
and
what's
the
solution?
Christianity
disagrees
with other
worldviews
because
it
says
the
problem
includes
us.
the
problem
is not
just
people
out
there.
The
problem
is
the
person
in
here.
The
problem
is so
deep
and so
great
and so
severe
that we
cannot
fix
ourselves.
The
gospel
is the
news
to us
that we
must
radically
change
and we
are
incapable
of
changing
ourselves.
the
second
thing
the
gospel
has
that's
unique
comes
from
the
first
one.
The
problem
is so
great
that we
can't
fix
it.
A
politician
is not
going to
be able
to heal
the
world.
A
movement
is not
going to
be able
to heal
the
world.
We
need
someone
much
greater,
much
more
powerful.
Now
we
could
long
for,
we
could
want
a
king
on
a
war
horse.
There's
only
one
problem
with
that.
If
a
king
came
on
a
war
horse,
he
would
bring
peace,
he
would
fix
the
world,
but
he
would
crush
us
because
we
are
part
of
the
problem.
And
so we
need,
we
must
have
the
king
on
the
donkey,
the
king
who
brings
peace
by
taking
the
punishment
that
we
deserve.
We
need
the
king
who
comes
and
dies
the
death
that
we
deserve
to
take
the
punishment
that
should
have
fallen
on
us.
That's
the
only
way
we
get
to
have
healing
on
the
one
hand
and
still
be
breathing
and
alive
on
the
other.
It
is
the
king
who
rides
in
with
humility
in
order
to
bring
peace
by
bringing
justice
and
taking
it
on
to
himself.
In
other
words,
Jesus
needed
to be
both
God
and
on
a
donkey
to
bring
justice
by
receiving
punishment
rather
than
doling
it
out.
Righteous
in having
salvation
is he,
the
humble
king
dies
for his
people
so that
his
death
can bring
peace.
Now,
I told you
we would not
be able to
handle a
king on a
war horse
because he
would bring
peace but
crush us.
the reality
is that
since Jesus
has come
as the
king on
a donkey,
he will
one day
come as
the king
on the
war horse.
Revelation
chapter 19
gives us
this image
of Jesus
second coming
to the
earth when
he returns
on a
horse and
tramples
his enemies
under him.
the king
who receives
punishment,
who brings
justice by
suffering for
us,
will one
day bring
full and
final justice
to this
earth.
And so
that while
they don't
know the
timetable,
they don't
understand the
details,
we can agree
with the
people in
this passage,
verse 10,
verse 9,
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.
What's the
vision that
we need
for Jesus
to be more
beautiful and
more glorious
than everything
else?
What is the
upside down
kingdom with
the upside
down king?
It is the
king who is
with us.
And the
king who
brings peace.
And so we
look to him
for healing
and justice
rather than
looking to
ourselves.
That's why we
serve him,
worship him,
love him,
follow him,
obey him.
Let's pray.
Our father
in heaven,
we praise
you and
thank you
that in
Jesus'
first coming,
he didn't
come on
a war
horse.
Because we
know that
if he
did,
we would
be crushed.
We thank
you instead
that he
came to
receive the
punishment that
we deserve.
We ask
that you
would grow
our vision
of Jesus,
our love
for him,
and our
longing for
his kingdom,
that we
would be
moved,
not by
right or
duty,
but by a
vision of
his peerless
worth.
We ask
these things
in the mighty
name of
Jesus Christ.
Amen.