Mark chose to record four events: the Triumphal Entry (11:1-11), the cursing of the fig tree (11:12-14), the cleansing of the temple (11:15-19), and the lesson of the cursed fig tree (11:20-25). These events happened on three successive days (Monday through Wednesday) as the writer noted.
This is only the second incident that all four evangelists recorded, the other being the feeding of the 5,000 (cf. 6:30-44). This fact reflects its importance. Mark's account of this event gives much detail indicating its eyewitness source. It does not stress Jesus' messiahship greatly. Mark presented Jesus as a humble servant of God and the people.
11:1a Mark described Jesus' approach from Jericho generally. He would have come to Bethany and then Bethphage travelling from the east. These villages stood on the eastern and southern slopes of Mt. Olivet respectively, approximately two miles east of Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives stands about 2,600 feet above sea level just east of Jerusalem. The Kidron Valley separates it from the city. The western heights of Mt. Olivet provide a splendid view of the temple area.
11:1b-3 The village opposite was evidently Bethphage, the one the disciples would have encountered after leaving Bethany for Jerusalem. The colt was a young donkey. Jesus told the disciples to bring both the colt and its mother to Him (Matt. 21:2). The "Lord"is simply a respectful title here referring to Jesus whom the owner evidently had met previously or knew about.
The colt was unbroken, and Jesus was able to ride on it comfortably. These facts suggested that Jesus might be the sinless Man who was able to fulfill the Adamic Covenant mandate to subdue the animals (Gen. 1:28; cf. Matt. 17:27), the Second Adam.
11:4-6 The people standing by may have been or at least included the owners of the animals (Luke 19:33). Perhaps the synoptic writers recorded the disciples' obedience in such detail because the untying of the colt may have been a messianic sign (cf. Gen. 49:8-12).
11:7-8 The disciples made a saddle for Jesus from their outer garments. Jesus' decision to enter Jerusalem this way fulfilled the messianic prophecy in Zechariah 9:9. It also indicated that He entered as a servant ruler, not as a political conqueror. When Israel's rulers wanted to present themselves as servants of the people, they rode donkeys (e.g., Judg. 10:4; 12:14). When they acted as military leaders, they rode horses. Placing one's garment on the ground before someone was a sign of royal homage (cf. 2 Kings 9:12-13; 1 Macc. 13:51).
11:9-10 The people hoped Jesus would be their Messiah. "Hosanna"is the transliteration of a Greek word that transliterated the Hebrew hosi ah na(lit. "O save us now,"Ps. 118:25a). It was an exclamation of praise.
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord"is a quotation from Psalm 118:26 that was part of the liturgy the Jews used during the Passover. This was a common greeting for visitors to Jerusalem.272However on this occasion it took on new meaning (cf. Gen. 49:10).
The peoples' reference to the coming Davidic kingdom shows that they hoped for its establishment soon (2 Sam. 7:16; Amos 9:11-12). Some in the crowd acknowledged Jesus as the Son of David (Matt. 21:9).
"Hosanna in the highest"meant "O, you who lives in heaven, save us now."This was a call to God to deliver His people. The chiastic structure of the peoples' words shows that they were chanting antiphonally, as was customary at Passover.
Someone who knew nothing about Jesus might have concluded from witnessing this procession that it was just a part of the traditional Passover celebration. It did not provoke action from the Roman soldiers.
11:11 Having entered Jerusalem Jesus proceeded to the temple area (Gr. hieron). He had been there many times before. He looked around and noted that the temple needed cleansing again (cf. John 2:13-22). Since the hour was late--the city gates closed at sunset--He departed for Bethany with the disciples to spend the night there.
"On the whole, it seems to be the most probable conclusion that the entry in this peculiar fashion into Jerusalem was deliberate on the part of our Lord, and was meant to suggest that, though He was indeed the Messiah and Son of David,' yet the Messiahship which He claimed was to be understood in a spiritual and non-political sense, in terms of the prophecy of Zechariah, rather than in terms of the Son of David' idea as interpreted by contemporary expectation (e.g., in the Psalms of Solomon). The time had in fact come for our Lord to put forward His Messianic claims, and to make His appeal to Jerusalem in a deliberately Messianic capacity. He does so, however, in a manner which is suggestive rather than explicit, and which was so calculated as to afford the minimum of pretext for a charge of quasi-political agitation."273
This incident is the first part of another of Mark's interrupted stories (cf. 3:20-35; 5:21-43; 6:7-31). Its structure provides the key to its interpretation. First, Jesus cursed the fig tree. Then He cleansed the temple. Finally He came back to the fig tree with a lesson for the disciples. There is unity of subject matter in the whole section. The chiastic arrangement highlights the central element as being most revealing.
