Jesus, Lord of All
The first half of Mark gives us a clear image of Jesus's claim of Kingship over all the earth and everything that is in it. He not only demonstrates His claim, but we see its confirmation.
Jesus, Lord of the Prophetic
And when they were getting near Jerusalem, Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olivet, He sends two of His disciples on a mission, and says to them, Be going off into the village opposite you, and immediately upon proceeding into it, you will find a colt securely tied, upon which not even one man ever sat. Loose it at once and be bringing it. And if anyone says to you, Why are you doing this? say, The Lord is having need of it and forthwith will send it here again. And they went off and found a colt tied securely to a door outside in the open street, and they loose it. And certain of those who were standing there went to saying to them, What are you doing, loosing the colt? And they spoke to them even as Jesus had said. And they gave them permission. (v1-6, Wuest)
Jesus sees the future in both the natural and supernatural realms, seeing the colt tied at the stand and into the hearts of men. In this, He shows us that He sees all things and knows all things. This is not a unique occurrence, not a one-off that we might dismiss. He did the same with the woman at the well (John 4:16-18) and in many other circumstances. These events qualify Jesus as a prophetic one to be sure, but not necessarily as the Messiah, the one to whom all creation must bow. His prophetic vision of future events and the condition of man's heart is a down-payment on the whole of who He is.
Jesus, Lord of Humility and Strength
And many spread their garments into the road, and others, soft foliage, having cut it out of the countryside. And those who went before and those who followed kept on crying out, Hosanna, praised be He who comes in the Name of the Lord. Praised be the coming kingdom of our father David. Hosanna in the highest. (vv. 8-10, Wuest)
Once the colt is brought to Jesus, the disciples and others placed their garments on the colt's back, and many placed foliage and palm fronds on the pathway before him. In this manner He made His entry into Jerusalem, being hailed as a king. But it is not a kingly scene through the eyes of the world. The entry is on a humble colt and worn clothes and foliage do not pass as symbols of position or honor. Those who sing His praises are not the high and lofty but the everyday man and woman, those who recognize His truth and who believe in Him despite the religious and legal establishment's rejection.
Jesus, Lord of the Temple
And He entered Jerusalem and the temple. And after He had given all things a comprehensive inspection, it being already the evening hour, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve. (v 11, Wuest)
Upon entering the city, Jesus goes straight to the temple even though the hour is late. He is there to inspect it, to make sure it is prepared and worthy of His presence. This is a kingly act. Only a ruler, one with authority over the matter, would do such a thing and He does it thoroughly. The inspection is not a cursory one, it is "comprehensive," meaning that He gave great attention to every detail. He inspects, He sees, and He judges the condition of the temple because it is His domain.
Jesus, Lord of Creation
And the next day, they having come out of and away from Bethany, He became hungry. And having seen a fig tree a long way off having leaves, He came, assuming that He would find something on it. And having come to it, He found not even one thing, except leaves. For it was not the season of figs. And answering, He said to it, Hereafter forever, from you no one eats fruit. And His disciples were listening. (vv 12-14, Wuest)
Jesus knows that it is not the season for the tree to bear fruit, but comes to it expecting fruit to be there, nevertheless. Why? Because he expects that it, a part of His very own creation, would recognize its master and maker and serve Him in the way it had been created to serve. He expects His creation to fulfill its function and purpose. When it doesn't, He judges it.
Jesus, Lord of His Disciples
When Yeshua cursed the fig tree, His disciples were listening (v. 14). The word used in the KJV is "heard" (G191), which relates to Hebrew words that mean to contemplate, dissect, discern, learn, pull out, and to bear witness. We are to be His disciples in our day, not only in how we relate with Him personally but also in how we relate to the world around us as His ambassadors. We are to function in this station through faith, discernment, and righteous witness.
It is a lofty, joyous, serious, and heavy station we are called to. Think of it: we are ambassadors with the position's complete complement of duties, responsibilities, and authority - all in service to the King of Glory. The King. The only King. We have reason to be proud, reason to be careful that our pride does not become haughtiness, and reason to be humble. We serve the King through His power and our own humility.
Jesus, Lord of Us
Jesus knows us. He knows our past, sees our potential and our future. He sees the beginning from the end and the end from the beginning. Prophetic? He is beyond prophetic. He knows.
That includes His temple, us. He chooses to live and breathe in us and through us so that we may have our life, breath, and being in Him. His temple is to be clean. He inspects our lives, our dreams, our failures, our successes, and our faith every instant of every day. There is nothing that can be concealed. The beauty of this is that it sets us free to honor, love, and serve Him with joyous abandonment of the world. We need not be worried about its reaction to us because ... we serve the King!
Jesus, Lord of Our Life
Serving Him is our glory. Knowing Him, knowing His desires, His needs, and His calling upon our life is the fruit of intimate relationship, loving the One who loved us first. His heart's desire is for our glory to become real in the way we serve and honor Him.
It is a marvelous thing, this life. It looks so mundane as I go through the days, weeks, months, and years; yet it is precious beyond description. There is so much to regret that I am aware of but which is now unseeable by God, thanks to His great love and Jesus’ great obedience.
This life is the furthest thing from mundane imaginable. It is glorious, victorious, full of blessing and richness. And it is free. All I had to give for it is everything, and He took it all.
Shalom