Mark 11:1-11
11 When they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. 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. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here right away.’” 4 So they went and found a colt outside in the street, tied by a door. They untied it, 5 and some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They answered them just as Jesus had said; so they let them go. 7 They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their clothes on the road, and others spread leafy branches cut from the fields.[a] 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted:
Hosanna!
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 He went into Jerusalem and into the temple. After looking around at everything, since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
Historically, the Church has marked the Sunday before Easter Sunday as that day in which our Lord made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem—marching ultimately to his death. We call this Palm Sunday. Our Rescuing King, Messiah, from the line of king David, has returned to the seat of his Kingdom, God’s city, the city of Jerusalem. The return of the King! Only, Jesus didn’t come riding a white stallion. Nor was he enrobed in fine silks and linens from the far East. Nor was he surrounded by a harem of wives, an army of guardsmen, a wait-staff of servants, a circus of entertainers, and a throng of adoring subjects. There were no trumpets sounding, no heralds shouting, no sergeant-at-arms to declare, “Behold! The King is here!” There was no guild of military-engineers to lay a path upon which the King might ride smoothly.
The return of the King! Only, Jesus didn’t come riding a white stallion.
This commoner’s King came riding a colt, a donkey, over the coats of Jerusalem’s poor, and over cut leaves laid before him. He arrived at late evening, and his worshipers were the poor, needy, orphaned, widowed, anxious, ill, and oppressed. This King is king of the common man. This King is king of the child. King of women. King of the marginalized. An outcast’s King. Our King, as people in true need of rescue, of Messiah. On Palm Sunday, make the triumphant ascent to your local church. Go up with gladness, as described in Psalm 122. Sing songs about Jesus our King. Then, find a way to serve Jesus' people in the afternoon. Serve the poor, needy, orphaned, widowed, anxious, ill, and oppressed. Palm Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to donate warm socks and blankets, to teach an afternoon English class for a local immigrant population, to send food to an elderly neighbor, or to stop on the side of the road and help a vulnerable traveler change his or her flat tire.
This King is king of the common man.