GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 11:10
The Right Choice
Recently, I bought a book on using the software program Scrivener. I’ve used the program for several years, but I realized I wasn’t taking full advantage of all the tools it offers. The book arrived. It bore the correct title and information on the cover, so I began reading. After a few pages, it became obvious that the book discussed the program’s use on a different operating system than mine. It wasn’t the author’s fault that I chose the wrong book. She did a good job of describing the program for macOS, but I use the Windows version. I had made the wrong choice.
In an episode of “Father Knows Best” (which dates the writer!), Bud, the son, decides to buy a car. The car looks good; it’s shiny and has lots of chrome. Bud wants the freedom and status that come with owning a car, but beneath the shine, the car is in poor mechanical condition and needs repairs. He made an unwise, immature, and overconfident decision. Bud’s decision causes tension with his father, Jim Anderson, but as in most episodes, the conflict ultimately becomes a learning experience rather than a lasting division. Bud makes the wrong choice.
It is possible that Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, as described by Mark and the other Gospel writers, took place on March 29, AD 33—celebrated in Christianity as Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week in the liturgical calendar. “And many spread their garments in the road, and others spread branches in the road, having cut them from the fields. And those going before and those following were crying out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one coming in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father, David! Hosanna in the highest.’” (Mark 11:8-10)
The passionate cries of the crowd reveal a serious misunderstanding. Jesus rode on a colt, an animal that, at that time, symbolized peace. The crowd, however, looked to Jesus as a conquering warrior who would throw off the burdensome Roman government and establish Yahweh’s kingdom over the entire world. The joyful cry “Hosanna” means “save now.” They thought Jesus was coming as a new King David, who overthrew the Philistines and the Jebusites and established his kingdom with Jerusalem as his capital. They were looking for a conquering warrior. It’s possible that some in the crowd shouting “Hosanna” on Sunday were shouting “Crucify him” a few short days later on Friday, because they had made a profound wrong choice.
Making the right choice about Jesus is infinitely more serious than choosing the right book or the right car. Some choose to see Jesus as merely a figure of history, the initiator of a great movement, a master teacher, or an ethical philosopher. It makes an eternal difference how one sees Jesus—subject or Savior.
Previous
Next
Directory