The Virtuous Kingdom
Evidence of the Reign of God in the Human Heart
Mark 11:1-11; 27-33
Part #1
Sermon Objective: This is an introductory sermon offering a composite (layered) portrait of what a follower of Jesus looks like in Mark’s Gospel.
1As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3If anyone asks you, ’Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ’The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’ "
4They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5some people standing there asked, "What are you doing, untying that colt?" 6They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, "Hosanna! " "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
10"Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!" "Hosanna in the highest!"
11Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
27They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 28"By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you authority to do this?"
29Jesus replied, "I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men? Tell me!"
31They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, ’From heaven,’ he will ask, ’Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32But if we say, ’From men’...." (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)
33So they answered Jesus, "We don’t know." Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."
INTRO
Whenever you read a story you often learn something about the author. It is usually not the intention of the author but it is almost inevitable that his/her personality, passions, and familiarities will emerge from the pages. The same is true of Mark’s story too. Granted, it is an inspired story and, thus, there is a dual or “layered” authorship and through the pages you learn something significant about those authors … The Holy Spirit and his human amanuensis, John Mark.
For example, at no time in the story does God (or Mark) ever stop and say “This is what a follower of Jesus looks like.” Nor does it offer the counterpart to that and say “This is what one who opposes Jesus looks like.” But I think, as you read the story, a portrait of each of these emerges. It is not a complete or exhaustive composite but more of a silhouette that outlines the subject and shows its form.
I thought it appropriate to begin this series from chapter 11 on “The Virtuous Kingdom: Evidence of the Reign of God in the Human Heart” by helping you to see how this Gospel understands or pictures one who is following Jesus. I would actually recommend that you take a week or two and discover the portraits for yourself. Read through the book a couple of times and keep two lists, one would be traits that consistently portray a follower and the other would be a list of traits that consistently portray one who opposes Jesus. I will, however, for the sake of familiarity, give you a glimpse of what that portrait will look like.
So, is there a composite of ONE WHO REFUSES TO FOLLOW Jesus in this Gospel? I think so. That composite is multi-layered. It can be seen by looking at many of the book’s cast of characters. You will see it in characters like the Sanhedrin (the powerful religious establishment), Jesus’ biological family (chapter 3), Judas (chapter 14), and maybe even Peter (chapter 8).
As with any portrait there are many nuances and details (that’s why you should do a study yourself) but the portrait takes shape with a few larger components.
Those who refuse to follow Jesus are:
1. Motivated by peers and fears not conviction (11:18 & 31,32)
Listen to these verses from Mark’s Gospel. They all refer to those who refuse not follow Jesus.
o Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. (Mark 10:21-22)
o The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching. (Mark 11:18)
o Then they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away. (Mark 12:12)
o "Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate, knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. (Mark 15:9-10)
To refuse to follow Jesus does not mean you will not follow something. You have a god to worship; but it isn’t the living God. Whatever pulls your strings, calls the shots, and dictates your decisions is your God.
o It may be money.
o It may be people.
o It may be hobbies and recreations.
o It may be a host of things.
Plato once said that “The unexamined life is not worth living.” That was never truer than in relation to your allegiances. It would behoove you to know for certain who you serve and what motivates you.
Those who refuse to follow Jesus are
1. Motivated by peers and fears not conviction (11:18 & 31,32)
2. Unwilling to openly declare their intentions and loyalties (Mark 3:6)
Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.
This small verse, and the story that prompted it, shows the flexibility of Jesus’ opposition. They are too willing to form unholy alliances. This one between the Herodians and the Pharisees is packed with irony! The phrase “politics makes for strange bed-fellows” was never more appropriate.
The opposition gave an appearance of decorum, respectability, and even religiosity but it refused to bow to Christ.
There has always been a tendency to want to play religion but not fully follow the living God. Even the prophets of old confronted this plague. Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing. (1 Kings 18:21)
Those who refuse to follow Jesus are
1. Motivated by peers and fears not conviction (11:18 & 31,32)
2. Unwilling to openly declare their intentions and loyalties (Mark 3:6)
3. Rationalists who justify their actions and behaviors (Mark 7:6-9)
{Jesus} replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: " ’These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! (Mark 7:6-9)
Mark’s account of Jesus’ examination before the Jewish court is filled with justifications and rationalizations. The High Priest and company violated their own laws in order to convict an innocent man. They were only able to do this by rationalizing and justifying their devious behavior.
They used such rationalizations as:
If they did not hasten this trial along the Passover and the Sabbath would be upon them and the opportunity would slip away.
If they did not act to kill Jesus the crowds would continue to follow him … or even riot!
If they did not put this man to death they would have guilt upon them for letting a blasphemer live.
But their hearts were laid bear in spite of their best efforts. They were shown to be motivated by lust for power and the people’s favor. They saw Jesus as a competitor and they would go to any lengths to eliminate the competitor.
Humans are great at rationalization.
I was watching CNN the other day. One of their stories was about a Rutgers survey which claims that nearly 50% of High School students now believe that they are required to cheat in order to be successful in life and school. (http://archives.cnn.com/2002/fyi/teachers.ednews/04/05/highschool.cheating/) They interviewed an author which recently wrote a book justifying it. The conversation was quite interesting. Every time the interviewer would bring up someone else’s rationalization for cheating (i.e., steroids in baseball, political lies, etc.) the author would admit they shouldn’t do it but, in the same breath he would justify plagiarism or sabotaging a co-worker in order to get a promotion. He was actually brazen enough to say that we MUST cheat and be duplicitous in order to be successful and that he himself condoned and indulged in it.
Humans are great at rationalization. We use it to justify our divorces, our laziness, our use of money, our perversions, our lusts, our habits, our deceptions, and every other shenanigan we can name.
But, in the end, we will have our actions laid bear … we cannot fool the “Judge of the Earth!”
But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of ram (1 Samuel 15:22)
WRAP-UP
Those who refuse to follow Jesus are
1. Motivated by peers and fears not conviction (11:18 & 31, 32)
2. Unwilling to openly declare their intentions and loyalties (Mark 3:6)
3. Rationalists who justify their actions and behaviors (Mark 7:6-9)
That is all we have time for today. Next week we will set the stage for the sermon series in more detail by looking at a general portrait of one who is following the Christ.
Just as any human author’s story is prone to disclose personal insights beyond just the page’s story; so Mark’s Gospel discloses truths about how God understands those who follow him.
Did you know you are drafting a story too? It is being recorded in Heaven (Matthew 12:32). Your life story discloses truths to anyone who “reads its pages” about your passions, loyalties, and familiarities. Your deeds follow you (Revelation 14:13) and they show the real you.
It is only after we have experienced the cleansing and empowering work of the Holy Spirit that we can live a life that consistently and “naturally” paints a portrait of one who has the reign of God living within.
I pray that you are a citizen in “The Virtuous Kingdom.” And I pray that it is evidenced by “The reign of God” in your heart.”
This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene
Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org
