The Expectations of Others

When I was in college and graduate school, I often used to imagine what I would be doing ten years in the future. I would try to guess at where I would be working, what my family would look like, and what I would be like. I am now living in that future, and my life is nothing like I imagined it. I would never have predicted that I would be the pastor of a church in Roseburg, Oregon,  with one son from Russia and a son and two daughters from Ethiopia.

Mark 11:1-11
“As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying 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. 3 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.'"  4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, "What are you doing, untying that colt?" 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those 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!" 11 Jesus 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."

The people recognized that a prophecy was being fulfilled here. Zechariah 9:9-10
“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim  and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.”

Why did Jesus ride a colt into Jerusalem, only to look around at the Temple and leave? It must have been somewhat disappointing to his disciples, and certainly to the crowds of people that had just cheered Him into the city. No doubt they expected Him to take charge of the Temple, rallying the people to revolt, and close the gates of the city so that traitors to Israel could not escape. They assumed He would continue the trajectory they saw Him taking as He traveled over palm branches.

But instead, He jumps down from the colt, looks around, and leaves. What kind of rallying cry is that? The people had to have been confused. “What was that all about?” “Why didn’t He kick down the door to the Roman garrison, or swing open the gates of the Temple, or make a speech?” “This guy isn’t who we thought He was.”

I don’t think Jesus was misleading anyone, I think people imagined a Messiah that fit their own expectations and hopes. They couldn’t dream of what was going through Jesus’ head as He looks around a city so recently in love with Him, and already in His mind hear the taunts, the insults, the loud ringing cries of “Crucify!  Crucify!”