The King is Coming – part 1

Aug 30, 2026 • Rory Mosley

066 The King is Coming – part 1

Mark 11:1-26 (1-11)

August 30, 2026

This morning we come to an event that we are all very familiar with.

It is referred to commonly as “The Triumphal Entry”.

It is the day when Jesus entered Jerusalem mounted on a donkey’s colt,

And was lauded and praised as the Messianic descendant of David.

IN REALITY IT IS SICKENING DAY.

The people who are testifying ABOUT Jesus here

Will be testifying AGAINST Him in just a few days.

Today they yell “Hosannah!” in a few days they will yell “Crucify!”

It is a sham and a farce.

But it is also an event from which we learn a great deal about Jesus

And what matters to Him. And that is a wonderful thing!

And as is commonly the case, each gospel writer focuses on it differently.

Matthew clearly wants you to see the prophetic fulfillment of the event.

Matthew 21:4-5 “This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

· To Matthew this is further proof that Jesus is in fact the long-awaited Messiah.

· And we certainly don’t want to overlook that.

Luke likes this story because of the way it triggered the religious elite.

Luke 19:38-40 “shouting: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”

· They were offended by what was occurring and yet Jesus didn’t back up even

an inch.

· He was ready for this battle.

John uses it to focus on the immense popularity of Jesus.

John 12:19 “So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”

· He also uses it to show how even though Jesus was popular He was ultimately

rejected.

· He was the Light that shined into the darkness which the darkness did not

comprehend.

· This crowd that followed and praised still ended up rejecting Him.

So there are many good points to be made from this event.

Every gospel writer uses it and we have discussed those at other times.

BUT WE ARE STUDYING MARK’S GOSPEL.

What is Mark’s point?

Why is Mark using the story?

We read all 26 verses, because I wanted you to get the feel for the entire narrative.

And what is most apparent to us when reading Mark

Is that Jesus almost seems frustrated and even agitated.

1. He rides that colt into town, looks at the temple and then leaves.

2. He processes what He saw all night and the next morning makes a beeline back to Jerusalem,

3. Cursing a fig tree on the way for not having figs.

4. He clears the temple, rebukes the leaders, and returns home again.

You can feel the frustration of Jesus.

Whatever is going on in Jerusalem, Jesus is NOT pleased.

I would explain Mark’s use of the story like this:

Jesus reveals Himself as the King you’ve been waiting for,

But He’s not at all what you expected.

· He is not going to come and rubber stamp your religious works.

· He is not going to come and praise you for your hypocrisy.

· He is going to come and expose what is phony, remove what is wicked,

embrace what is true, and reign with justice.

He is a consistent King,

For that is how He will come the next time He comes.

Isaiah 11:3-5 “And He will delight in the fear of the Lord, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.”

This King is no pushover. He is not fickle.

He will reign in justice.

You see that here.

We want to study this narrative and see what we learn about Jesus.

Mark writes this narrative with 5 focal points that he interweaves together.

· He doesn’t write them as standalone stories.

· Mark links them.

Everything that is happening here is part of one big narrative.

We read it all together because we want to understand that narrative.

We’re going to look at the 5 things Mark highlights and learn from them.

Let’s start with the first one:

#1 A COLT

Mark 11:1-6

The first thing Mark points out is this colt.

We’ve been following the journey Jesus has been making.

· From Galilee to Perea

· From Perea to Jericho

· From Jericho to Jerusalem

“As they approached Jerusalem…”

And at this point in Mark’s gospel

You can almost feel a pit in your stomach just from reading those words.

This is the place that the disciples did not want to go,

And yet it is the place Jesus has repeatedly said they were going.

He is here to suffer and die and rise from the dead.

His faithfulness and courage are on perfect display

As He here actually approaches the city that will kill Him.

It is remarkable.

“As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethpage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives…”

· “Bethpage” means “House of Figs”

· “Bethany” means “House of dates”

They are both villages

On the other side of “the Mount of Olives” from Jerusalem.

John 11:18 “Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off;”

They are close.

We also know “Bethany” to be the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.

It was where Jesus frequently stayed when He went to Jerusalem.

This is where Jesus would be staying for the entire passion week.

And then comes the first somewhat peculiar part of the story.

Mark spends 7 verses discussing the securing of a colt for Jesus to ride.

He could have skipped straight to verse 7

(7) “They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it; and He sat on it.”

But Mark gives way more detail than that.

· There are specifics.

· This is obviously important to Mark.

So let’s examine it a little.

LET’S TALK ABOUT PROVIDENCE

We have here Jesus giving a somewhat bizarre command.

· That His disciples are to go,

· They’ll find a colt,

· They’ll take it and the owners will let you.

It’s kind of a strange command to receive from Jesus.

You’d feel weird if He told you to do something similar.

And yet, what we see is that Jesus was absolutely correct.

· Some think He must have pre-arranged this on one of His previous trips.

· Others chalk it up to His obvious omniscience.

Either way, the Lord is clearly in control of the situation.

He has providentially provided for this colt to carry Him.

And I must say, I find this a little fascinating.

Many of our youth will remember camp REGEN a couple of years ago

When Austin Duncan was preaching about the cross

And specifically the sponge that was lifted up to Jesus on the cross.

It was actually discussed that

· This was a sponge which God had created and caused to grow, which was

selected and harvested all for this purpose.

· No sponge in the history of the world ever have such a noble purpose than the

sponge that was used to give a drink to Jesus on the cross.

Or we could talk about the tree

· Which grew, and was ultimately used to make the cross.

· It was placed by God for a very special purpose.

And here we can throw this colt into the same category.

Was there ever a higher calling for a donkey’s colt than this one?

We recognize God’s providence all over this.

This was a SPECIFIC COLT

“immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there…”

· They weren’t to go and get any old colt, there was a specific colt that the Lord had in mind.

This was a SELECT COLT

“on which on yet has ever sat”

This colt had ONE PURPOSE IN LIFE.

It would carry Christ and nothing else.

You may be familiar with the red heifer sacrifice in the Old Testament.

It was the sacrifice used to cleanse the land of the shedding of blood.

Numbers 19:2 “This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and on which a yoke has never been placed.”

One of the specific requirements of this heifer was that

It could have no other burden. “on which a yoke has never been placed”.

· It speaks of consecration and uniqueness.

· It was set aside to bear the burden of purification.

· It was NOT to bear an earthly lesser burden.

We think the same way regarding this colt.

It was put here to carry Christ and no one else.

It was a select colt

This was a SECURED COLT

“If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this? You said, ‘The Lord has need of it’”

In other words this colt was being watched or guarded.

This colt was guarded so that it would not be

Used by the wrong people for the wrong purpose.

In that way Christ has preserved and protected it for His own use.

This was a SURRENDERED COLT

“and immediately they will send it back here”

· We have a colt that was tied and a colt that was guarded,

· But it was a colt that was immediately surrendered for the use of the Lord.

And this was A SERVING COLT

“The Lord has need of it”

· This colt would carry the Lord into Jerusalem.

It is just another indication of the providence of God.

Christ is in total control of this entire sequence.

· He created the donkey

· He placed the donkey

· He reserved the donkey for Himself alone

· He made it available and He will use it for His own glory.

There is nothing here happening by chance.

Christ announced it and it absolutely came to pass.

(4-6) “They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it. Some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission.”

I would add one other comment about that donkey.

Someone once said, “The donkey that carried Jesus at His triumphal entry knew the applause was not for him.”

I don’t want to turn this donkey into some sort of allegory,

But I would say that we would do well

To have even half of the awareness of this colt.

· You too were created for a purpose.

· You too were placed for a purpose.

· You too have been reserved for a purpose.

· You too are to be used for the glory of Christ.

We are not the main attraction,

We are but donkeys that carry Jesus for His glory.

You see the providence at work here.

LET’S TALK ABOUT PROPHECY

We already mentioned it when we talked about Matthew’s purpose for writing.

Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Many also see a reference here to the prophecy regarding Judah:

Genesis 49:10-11 “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. “He ties his foal to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; He washes his garments in wine, And his robes in the blood of grapes.”

There are obviously clear and defined Messianic implications

To what Jesus is doing here.

Now Mark doesn’t mention it like Matthew does as a specific reason.

Perhaps Mark has a different purpose in including the story.

But what must be understood is that

The people of Jesus’ day did know it.

This was one of those unmistakable signs.

This was one of those unmistakable claims.

You don’t muster up a crowd of followers, work miracles all over Israel,

Then enter Jerusalem on a donkey and not expect to get noticed.

This is intentional on the part of Jesus.

He is absolutely specifically fulfilling prophecy

Providence, Prophecy

LET’S TALK ABOUT PURPOSE

WHY DID JESUS DO IT?

After all, thus far

He has been clear that He did not want His identity proclaimed.

Mark 8:29-30 “And He continued by questioning them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” And He warned them to tell no one about Him.”

Though it has been obvious, this has not been public information.

Jesus has not just come out and declared His identity yet.

But through this event that is absolutely what He is doing.

When He tells those disciples to go get that colt and bring it to Him

So that He can enter Jerusalem in such a fashion

He is publicly declaring Himself as the Messiah.

This is an intentional statement on the part of Christ.

AND WE ARE AMAZED AT HIS BOLDNESS.

· He has come to Jerusalem to suffer and be killed and be raised.

· He is a Man in danger.

BUT HE IS NOT SNEAKING INTO THE CITY.

You may remember previously:

John 7:10 “But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as if, in secret.”

BUT NOT THIS TIME.

· This time He’s flying a giant banner.

· This time He’s sounding sirens.

· This time He’s make a statement.

He is the Messiah

He is entering the city precisely as the prophets said He would.

THERE IS NOTHING SUBTLE ABOUT THIS.

There will be no ignoring Him now.

· He is claiming to be the King and they’ll have to deal with Him.

· This is a pivotal moment in the ministry of Jesus.

SO YOU SEE THE COLT.

#2 THE CROWD

Mark 11:7-11

(7) “They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it; and He sat on it.”

No reluctance there on the part of Jesus.

This is exactly what He had in mind.

This is Jesus in effect saying, “IT. IS. TIME.”

And the crowd instantly gets the memo.

This is what they think they’ve been waiting for.

(8) “And many spread their coats in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields.”

If you’ve recently read the story of the Kings in the Old Testament,

Perhaps this scene looks a little familiar.

2 Kings 9:11-13 “Now Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, “Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to you?” And he said to them, “You know very well the man and his talk.” They said, “It is a lie, tell us now.” And he said, “Thus and thus he said to me, ‘Thus says the Lord, “I have anointed you king over Israel.”’” Then they hurried and each man took his garment and placed it under him on the bare steps, and blew the trumpet, saying, “Jehu is king!”

· When the prophet came and anointed Jehu king his colleagues wanted to know

what had happened.

· Jehu thought it was some sort of gag, like his buddies had hired this prophet

imposter to come and anoint him king, so he said, “You know very well the

man and his talk”

· They said, “It is a lie” – we don’t know a thing. What happened?

When Jehu announced what the prophet had told him about becoming king the men instantly had a decision to make.

· You either declare Jehu a traitor and arrest or execute him,

· Or you declare your allegiance to him as the next and rightful king.

These captains chose the second.

Do you see how they did it?

“Then they hurried and each man took his garment and placed it under him on the bare steps, and blew the trumpet, saying, “Jehu is king!”

· That is symbolic of their submission.

· They are placing themselves under the feet of Jehu.

· They are placing themselves under his authority.

· And they instantly make a bold proclamation of their allegiance.

Now, this is not uncommon in the book of Kings.

Many times when you see someone conspire against the king others must quickly choose whether they are going to resist or submit to the new king.

Remember when Absalom rebelled?

2 Samuel 15:7-12 “Now it came about at the end of forty years that Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go and pay my vow which I have vowed to the Lord, in Hebron. “For your servant vowed a vow while I was living at Geshur in Aram, saying, ‘If the Lord shall indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’” The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron. But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’” Then two hundred men went with Absalom from Jerusalem, who were invited and went innocently, and they did not know anything. And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city Giloh, while he was offering the sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for the people increased continually with Absalom.”

You may read that and wonder why

The people would so quickly turn on David in favor of Absalom.

David had been a great king and leader.

THE REASON IS BECAUSE

· They perceived Absalom as being stronger than David.

· They thought Absalom would win in a fight and no one wants to be on the

losing side of a feud like that.

· So when Absalom made a claim on the throne the people immediately fall in

line.

Here’s another one.

· When Ahaziah King of Judah was killed by Jehu his wicked mother Athalia

seized the throne.

· She tried to kill all her offspring so there would be no challenger to the throne,

· But one son was saved. He was named Jehoash and he was hid by the priest

Jehoiada.

2 Kings 11:12-16 “Then he brought the king’s son out and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony; and they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!” When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people in the house of the Lord. She looked and behold, the king was standing by the pillar, according to the custom, with the captains and the trumpeters beside the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced and blew trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!” And Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of hundreds who were appointed over the army and said to them, “Bring her out between the ranks, and whoever follows her put to death with the sword.” For the priest said, “Let her not be put to death in the house of the Lord.” So they seized her, and when she arrived at the horses’ entrance of the king’s house, she was put to death there.”

You see the same thing there.

It’s just fickle people who are trying to determine who they think is going to win the day and they align with that side.

And that is precisely what is happening here with Jesus.

When Jesus makes that declaration by mounting that colt.

This crowd determines to align with Him.

This is what they think they always wanted.

IT – IS – TIME!

And they immediately throw their coats on the road under Him.

“others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields”

· John’s gospel says they were palm branches.

· The word Mark uses actually sounds more like a type of hay.

They are in effect seeking to put the Lord

On a soft road of luxury as the new King.

And then comes THE PUBLIC DECLARATION of their new belief.

(9-10) “Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting: “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!”

· You’ve got quite the entourage.

· Some in front, some in the rear.

And they lead Him gloriously into the city of Jerusalem

And hail Him as the new King.

They are quoting Psalms 118:25-26 over Him.

If you are not familiar with Psalms 118 it is the song of a champion.

You can actually see the full panoramic of the cross in the Psalm.

· But it speaks of a man in a war.

· He is in a battle against overwhelming odds.

· In fact it speaks of him falling in the midst of the battle.

· But it also speaks of the LORD’S ultimate deliverance.

Psalms 118:10-24 “All nations surrounded me; In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off. They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me; In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off. They surrounded me like bees; They were extinguished as a fire of thorns; In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off. You pushed me violently so that I was falling, But the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation. The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is exalted; The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. I will not die, but live, And tell of the works of the Lord. The Lord has disciplined me severely, But He has not given me over to death. Open to me the gates of righteousness; I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; The righteous will enter through it. I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me, And You have become my salvation. The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone. This is the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

You see the severity of the battle and the champion falling.

But the LORD delivers and our champion triumphs over His enemies.

Though it looked doubtful for a while,

The champion emerges victorious and saves his people.

And in response to his victory

The Psalmist reveals the song that those He saves will sing over Him.

Psalms 118:25-26 “O Lord, do save, we beseech You; O Lord, we beseech You, do send prosperity! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord; We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.”

· “do save” in the Hebrew is (ya-SHA)

· “O” is (ah-NAW) – it means “now”

So when you say the words together you get (ya-SHA ah-NAW)

It is transliterated into “Hosanna!”

It means SAVE NOW!

That is what they were singing in Psalms 118

This crowd rightly applies it to Jesus.

· Jesus is their champion!

· Jesus is their King!

· Jesus is here to deliver and to save!

· Jesus is here to overthrow the enemy and set us free!

And they think they are ready!

· They see Him on that colt and they throw their coats under Him.

· They lead Him into the city calling on Him to save now!

“BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!”

And we will readily admit that this all looks wonderful!

It is a parade for Jesus!

Everyone seems to be on board!

I’M SURE THE DISCIPLES

· Thought this was going much better than expected.

· I would imagine Peter was very happy about the way this was all playing out.

“Jesus has entered and everyone seems to be behind Him.

This might be easier than we thought!”

Certainly the kingdom must be right around the corner!

AND IT IS AT THIS POINT that something first begins to feel a little wrong.

(11) “Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.”

Mark is the only one that reveals this fact.

The other accounts all go immediately into Jesus clearing the temple.

BUT LOOK AT THIS; PUT YOURSELF IN THAT CROWD.

That triumphal procession leads Jesus right to the temple.

· Surely here He is going to be anointed King!

· Surely here He is going to set up His headquarters!

“This must be where He’s going to make His grand proclamation!

This must be the moment!”

I hope you can feel the excitement of the crowd.

I hope you can feel the anticipation.

Jesus is about to make the announcement!

THIS IS IT! IT IS TIME!

And Jesus enters the city.

And He comes into the temple.

And He looks around.

And the most climactic moment.

“He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.”

I don’t know exactly what the crowd following Jesus was expecting, but I’m betting it wasn’t this.

· What was the point of the whole parade?

· What was the point of the whole glorious entry?

He rides that donkey into the city

He enters the temple

He looks around.

And then He just walks back to Bethany because it’s late?

Do you feel the letdown?

Do you feel the air sort of leave the room?

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

I’LL TELL YOU.

This King of justice just refused their throne.

· He saw corruption and extortion and absolute worldliness.

· This was NOT a throne He cared to rule.

· He would NOT be allied with what He witnessed there.

They led Him into Jerusalem and offered Him a crown and a throne

And He wanted no part of it.

He turned around and went home.

Now, you already know why, because you’ve read the story.

This place reeked of hypocrisy.

This place was total depravity clothed in religious garb.

Instead of taking their offer of a throne

Jesus is going to return and declare war on this place.

He’s going to overthrow the rulers,

But it’s not the ones you expected.

He’s not going to say anything to Rome,

But He’s going to drive the Sanhedrin right out of the gates.

Now, this is just the first leg of this remarkable story by Mark,

But it sets for us an important reality that we must consider.

What does the King want from me?

What is He looking for?

We’ve seen Him reject a throne before.

Remember after He fed the 5,000?

John 6:15 “So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.”

· He wasn’t interested.

Can you see that He just did the exact same thing here?

When He later confronted that crowd He said:

John 6:26-27 “Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”

· Jesus told that crowd that He rejected their throne because all they cared about was temporal earthly gain.

They responded:

John 6:28-29 “Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

WHAT DID JESUS WANT FROM THEM?

FAITH

He wanted them to trust in Him.

He wanted them to believe in Him.

He wanted them to be the people God desired.

He wanted them to be people who believe.

Now that is the setup for you for the rest of this narrative from Mark.

Because by the time this narrative ends

Your going to have Jesus again making that same point to the disciples.

· He is not interested in fruitless religion.

· He is not interested in fancy parades.

· He is not interested in earthly thrones or fickle followers.

What He wants are people who believe.

He wants people who trust and do not doubt.

He is not interested in pretenders

Who just jump on the bandwagon when it is popular.

SO WE’LL JUST STOP IT WITH THAT THIS MORNING.

If Jesus were to enter Spur this morning on a donkey’s colt and walked in the back door of our church, would He see the type of place where He wants to rule?

· Would He see men and women who believe Him and trust Him?

· Or would He just see people who want to use Him to fulfill their own worldly

plans?

I would have liked to be standing in that temple

After Jesus turned around and left

Just to hear the murmuring of the crowd He left behind.

He didn’t come to give them more of the world.

He came to save them from their love of it.

He came to deliver them from sin and the wrath of God against it.

This morning I want us to consider who this king is that we are following.

Because on this day His entourage began to realize that

While He is the king, He is NOT what they expected.