Jesus Presents Himself as the Messiah

Mark 11:1-10, 15-18

GOLDEN TEXT: “Again the high priest asked Him, and said unto Him, Art Thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? and Jesus said, I am.”—Mark 14:61,62

ZECHARIAH, one of God’s holy prophets, had foretold that the Messiah would present Himself to Israel riding upon a colt the foal of an ass. (Zech, 9:9) Today’s lesson shows the fulfillment of this prophecy. The acclamation accorded Him was spontaneous and enthusiastic, (Matt. 21:8-11) It is doubtful if the multitude knew that divine prophecy was being fulfilled, but Jesus did. To Jesus, in fact, the words of Zechariah meant more than a prophecy. In addition, He accepted them as a directive revealing the Father’s will for Him at this particular time in His ministry.

St. Luke’s account of this incident gives the additional information that “some of the Pharisees from among the multitude” were opposed, and asked Jesus to have His disciples cease their shouting. Jesus explained that if they did not shout the very stones would cry out. The Scriptures give us no definite idea of how many disciples the Master had at the close of His ministry, but Luke refers to them as being a “multitude.” (Luke 19:37) They may not have all been full believers, but doubtless the leaders of the shout of welcome were. Besides, it was the time of the Passover, and many Jews from all parts of Judea were probably in the neighborhood, many of whom would know Jesus through contacts in their home communities. Among these there would also be “disciples.”

It is important to realize that it was principally the Master’s own disciples who acclaimed Him King, for actually, Israel as a nation rejected Him, and especially was this true of the scribes and Pharisees who were the official representatives of the people.

Luke’s account shows that following His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus wept over the city, and then announced Israel’s rejection from the place of chief favor in the Messianic Kingdom arrangement. He prophesied the destruction of the city and temple, because they knew not the time of their “visitation.” The city was stirred by the demonstration but did not accept its King.

Jesus had never hesitated to point out the evil practices of Israel’s religious leaders when appropriate occasion offered, but once before at the beginning of His ministry, according to John 2:11-17, He had taken similar drastic action as when, following His Kingly entry into Jerusalem, He visited the temple and drove out the money changers He found there. While He had not been officially recognized as King of the Jews, yet He really was so from God’s standpoint, hence was justified in this exercise of authority.

The business of money changing in the temple had evidently become quite a profitable one for those who held the concessions. Probably the temple authorities shared in the gains as a reward for winking at such an evil practice in the house of the Lord. Jews came from all parts of the then known world to worship in the temple and to offer sacrifice within its hallowed influence. These would bring the coin of their respective realms, and would need the aid of money changers when arriving at Jerusalem. Also, Hebrew money was essential in the temple offerings.

It was not the Lord’s arrangement that money should be required in order to serve Him in His temple. But it was the privilege of the Israelites to offer animals, and, at times, doves, in sacrifice. It. was difficult for those living great distances from the temple, to transport these, so it was “conveniently” arranged to have them on sale in the temple yard, and to have a money exchange there also. By casting out the money changers Jesus showed His disapproval of the practice of exploiting the religious emotions and obligations of God’s people. Even if a fair exchange of needed money was made under such circumstances and a mere nominal price charged for the animals and birds needed for sacrifice, such activities should have been carried on outside the sacred precincts of the temple.

“Money changers” have peddled their wares among the Lord’s people in many ways throughout the Gospel age. Perhaps no other field has offered such rare opportunity for exploitation as has that of religion. When an exploiter can convince an individual that by “buying” what he has to “sell” he is discharging an obligation to his God, he becomes blind to almost any kind of trickery that may be practiced upon him.

The lesson of the Golden Text is an important one for every follower of the Master. It shows the Master face to face with one of the most crucial tests of His earthly ministry. According to the Jewish viewpoint it was blasphemy for one to claim to be the Son of God, and blasphemers were to be put to death. Jesus was given an opportunity to deny such a claim on His own part, and thus, supposedly, to escape the wrath of His enemies.

But He didn’t! Jesus WAS the Son of God. He WAS the Christ of promise. He knew that the experiences that would follow His affirmation of this fact were necessary in order to fulfill the divine purpose He had come to the earth to accomplish. So He did not recant. He was loyal to His Father, to His Father’s purpose, and to Himself. What a wonderful example for us to follow!

QUESTIONS:

Did the Israelites as a whole accept Jesus as King?

Why was it necessary for Jesus to ride into Jerusalem as King?

Have there been any “money changers” among the Lord’s people since the days of Jesus?

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