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| ps from ps/pk Read Mark 11:1-11You Better Recognize! – reflections from Rev. Dr. Brian Blount You better recognize! You better pay attention and respond as if lives depend on it. Attend to the truth: Jesus is Lord. The prophet Malachi (3:1) declares that the Lord whom the people seek will suddenly come to the Temple. As Jesus does. Entering Jerusalem, in word and deed, he identifies himself as Lord. He has prophetic foreknowledge about the location and state of a colt. He possesses the regal authority to requisition that colt for his royal purpose. At Passover, pilgrims were expected to walk into the city. No doubt Jesus’ followers expected him to do exactly that, since he always walked wherever he went. This time, he chooses instead to ride the kind of colt a king in a processional would ride, one that had never before been ridden. In so doing, he brings to realization the prophecy of Zechariah: Your king, Jerusalem, comes to you triumphant, riding on a colt (Zechariah 9:9). Appropriately, the people respond. The disciples throw their cloaks onto the colt. Their draping is a makeshift throne. The people suddenly crowded around Jesus follow suit. Jettisoning their cloaks onto the ground along with leafy branches, they lay before him a makeshift red carpet. And they sing the Hosanna of the Hallel Psalms23 (see Psalm 118:25) that celebrates the coming of their Davidic King. Jesus is that King. But in an astonishing way. We know that he is ultimately on his way to the cross. His kingship, symbolized by his station upon a humble colt, is one of sacrifice and service. And yet, as Lord, he is not a helpless victim. He is in charge. He is working out God’s plan in this demonstration of royal authority. Even in the process of letting go of his life, he is in charge of the liberation of God’s people. He puts our lives before his own life. Our calling, having recognized Jesus’ Lordship, is to emulate his regal imperative. To live our lives as he lived his, in service to—and perhaps even in sacrifice for—the lives of God’s people. Reflect How might we emulate Jesus through acts of service and sacrifice?Blessings, PS and PK |
April 1, 2026
