When we open Mark's Gospel to the beginning of ch.11, we join a growing & exuberant crowd near the villages of Bethany & Bethphage. It's the opening Sunday of Jesus' final Passover Week From Jericho, the home of "blind" Bartimeaus, Jesus had led His followers to Bethany, about 2 mi. from Jerusalem, from Bethany past the village of Bethphage, & then on towards the City of David. Both villages were on the slopes of the Mount of Olives, & the Mount would have hidden Jerusalem from the Lord's sight as He left Bethany. There was a large & expanding crowd gathered around Jesus:
The Twelve followed immediately behind Him, then many Passover pilgrims from Galilee, Perea, & elsewhere…
That original band was joined by excited townsmen from Bethany – many of them friends of Mary and Martha & their brother Lazarus, whom the Galilean Healer had just raised from the dead!
Then huge crowds poured out from Jerusalem to meet the multitudes coming up the road. They wanted to see Jesus, and they also wanted to see Lazarus.
So no doubt Lazarus was in the crowd, with his sisters. And maybe that Jericho tax-collector Zaccheus . And certainly that Jericho beggar, blind Bartimaeus, … who was no longer blind!
Yes! The popular Rabbi from Nazareth was approaching Jerusalem for Passover, at the head of an enormous, celebrating procession. Everyone was watching!
Turn with me as we join the Triumphal Entry in Mark 11:1-10. Jesus has just placed Jerusalem on notice: your Messiah has come at last!
But which Messiah is He?
The Two Messiahs of the Triumphal Entry 1. Jesus presents Himself as Israel's Servant king (1-7). 2. Israel reaches for Him as Israel's Warrior King (8-10).
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