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Stephen Ministry

Something stood out for me in reading Mark’s account of this familiar story of Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, a day we celebrate as Palm Sunday. Mark’s account is the suggested reading for today in the lectionary, which is a three-year cycle of suggested Scripture readings structured around the Church Year. If you were to take a survey of which Gospel was a person’s favorite, I would expect…well, let’s just do that now. Let’s take an informal, highly unscientific, but possibly interesting survey of which Gospel is your favorite. I’ll ask you to raise your hand when I mention one—and I’ll mention them in the order we have them in our Bible. So, take just a moment and think about which one of the four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—is your favorite and then we’ll vote.

Ok, how many would say Matthew is your favorite Gospel? Raise your hands. Just a few. How many would say Mark? One hand! How many would say Luke? Quite a few. And how many would say John? Also quite a few.

My expectation was that Mark would finish last. I expected a tight race between Matthew, Luke and John with it being difficult to predict a winner. If forced to choose, I would guess John with Matthew a close second. So, I was surprised so few voted for Matthew. It was a close race between John and Luke. Ok, very interesting. But Mark was last which is what I expected. In fact, I would’ve predicted no votes for Mark as someone’s favorite Gospel, but Mark did get one vote. But still last.

Mark would be last in most such surveys because it does not particularly stand out. It’s likely the first Gospel written—both Matthew and Luke appear to use Mark’s account as a guide to their own. Mark is the shortest Gospel so most of the stories are more brief and concise in Mark than in the other Gospels. No Sermon on the Mount. Missing some of the beloved parables that Luke has—like the Prodigal Son. In a survey of favorite Gospels, Mark would come in last.

Nevertheless, something caught my eye in Mark’s account of Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, and it caught my eye, I realized after exploring a bit, because none of the other three Gospels include it in their account. All four Gospels tell the story of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem, but only Mark included this. And that is the phrase in verse 11, where after Jesus enters Jerusalem and goes to the temple, Mark tells us, "He looked around at everything." None of the other Gospels record that moment. Jesus, after entering Jerusalem to shouts of "Hosanna" from the crowd and just a few days before his arrest and crucifixion, stands at the temple "looking at everything." What do you suppose he saw? What do you suppose was on his mind as he "looked around at everything?"

Did he see, for example, remnants of the moneychangers and sellers at the temple? Because Mark tells us the very next day Jesus returns to the temple and drives them out of the temple area. Quite possibly, Jesus saw in his looking around at the temple courtyard remnants of the moneychangers and sellers. And, by the way, since the question comes up once in awhile when we have something like Pillow Hugs selling items in the Narthex, or the Silent Auction for the youth mission trips in a couple of weeks, I don’t equate those events to that story. If we were selling things you needed for worship—renting hymnals, or Bibles let’s say, and those at an exorbitant price—or the church had its own financial system and you needed to exchange your dollars for Presbyterian…"Propos" or some such thing in order to participate in the offering, and those providing the financial exchange were making a healthy profit, well then we’d need to talk! But tables set up for the support of ministries and missions like Pillow Hugs and youth mission trips are not the same thing. Just so we’re clear. So, no turning over the tables in the Narthex this morning please. But, it’s probable that Jesus saw some remnants of the moneychangers as he looked around. And I suspect it raised some anger in him how they were exploiting the people and distorting true worship of God.

Did Jesus see the disapproving look of a few Pharisees that hung around on the edge of the crowd gathering a few more tidbits of information to use in their accusations against Jesus? I think it likely he did and it brought emotions of both anger and sadness.

Did Jesus see the enthusiastic followers who just moments earlier had welcomed him into Jerusalem with cries of "Hosanna?" I think he did. And, as he looked at them he also knew that for some their cries of "Hosanna," would in just a few short days turn into cries of "crucify him!" And I suspect it made his heart very sad.

I would imagine that Jesus also, in "looking around," saw his faithful followers—the "Twelve" disciples, Mary Magdalene and other women who had been with him from the beginning. Surely he was touched by their loyalty and by the knowledge they were about to go through the most difficult crisis they had ever faced followed by the most euphoric experience of their lives.

I wonder if Golgotha was somewhere in the background, within sight of his "looking around." Golgotha, that hill carved out of the gray stone taken for the building of the temple and the wall around Jerusalem and now standing out like a skull, an appropriate image for it was a place of death, the place where the Romans carried out their cruel practice of crucifixion. Was his heart filled with sadness and anxiety about the events to come?

I think that was what Jesus saw as he "looked at everything" and took it all in, his mind filled with all kinds of thoughts, his heart filled with all kinds of emotions. And it steeled himself for the events to come, brought further resolve to walk the difficult path to come. This was why he had come—to bring people closer to God, to correct the distortions and abuses brought to the people by those like the Pharisees and the moneychangers, to bring a new perspective of faith to those like the fickle shouters among the crowd, to bring the very presence of God to faithful followers like the Twelve, like Mary and the other women, and to pass the work of the Kingdom of God on to them. I think that’s what Jesus saw as he "looked at everything" on that day of his triumphant entrance into Jerusalem and it was a reminder why he had come.

It made me wonder. What does Jesus see today? On this day as we celebrate and remember that day we now mark as Palm Sunday, what does Jesus see as he looks at everything. For Jesus is certainly present with us. And Jesus sees everything! He sees those whose hearts are heavy today, perhaps because of an illness of a loved one. He sees the daughter who is concerned about the health of her mother. He sees the grandmother and great aunt who are concerned about the health of their granddaughter and great-niece. He sees the husband worried about his wife’s health and the wife concerned about her husband’s failing health. He sees the skeptic who doubts the veracity of the gospel story, he sees the fickle who flit back and forth between the things of God and the things of the world when it comes to their loyalties, their passions, and their actions. He sees the faithful who seek to carry out the work of the Kingdom as best they can discern God’s call to them. He sees everything! And he says, "This is why I have come. I’ve come for you. For each and every one of you because I love you." Whatever issues are before you on this day, Jesus came for you: To assure you that illness and death do not have final say in your life; To reveal himself to you as the truth for your life, the only one that can bring meaning and purpose to your life; To serve you as your Savior, cleansing you of your sin and restoring you to a right relationship with God; To serve you as your Lord, your Guide in all decisions you make in your life, in setting the course and direction of your service to him. Jesus enters in…and he sees everything! And from the fount of his great love he declares that it is for this very thing, whatever you carry with you this day, whatever you bring into your worship today, it is for you and for your greatest joys and deepest concerns that he has come.