Turn with me, if you would, back
to Mark chapter 11. Mark chapter 11. Verse 1 says, And when they came nigh to Jerusalem,
unto Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives." And while
we're here, I just want to point out that it is wonderfully symbolic,
wonderfully symbolic that our Lord did what He is about to
do at the very spot where He ascended back to His Father,
the very spot where He left this earth and ascended back to his
throne. Back to his glory, same spot,
right here on the Mount of Olives in Bethany. Verse 1 says, When
they came nigh to Jerusalem unto Bethphage and Bethany at the
Mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples. and said
unto them, go your way into the village over against you. And
as soon as you be entered into it, you shall find a colt tied
whereon never man sat. Loose him and bring him. And if any man say unto you,
why do ye this? Say ye that the Lord hath need
of him, and straightway he will send him hither. And they went
their way and found the colt tied by the door without in a
place where two ways met and they loose him. And certain of
them that stood there said unto them, what do ye loose in the
colt? And they said unto them, even
as Jesus had commanded and they let them go. And they brought
the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him, and he sat there
upon. He sat upon him. And many spread
their garments in the way, and others cut down branches off
the trees, and strawed them in the way. And they that went before
and they that followed cried, saying, Hosanna, blessed is he
that cometh in the name of the Lord. Blessed be the kingdom
of our father David that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna
in the highest. Now this has always been one
of my favorite accounts in the scripture. Always. I've always loved this. I love
the glory of it. I love the glory of it. There is so much majesty in this. And there is so much power in
this account. And there's so much honor in
this account. The people are cutting branches
off of the trees and throwing them in the way. They're running
back and forth. They run, get one branch, cut
it, run and throw it in the way. And they run and cut another
one and throw it in the way. And they won't stop throwing
branches in His way all the way into Jerusalem. And they're taking their own
coats off. And they're throwing them in the mud. I'm sure these
people are not just filthy rich with coats to spare. Taking their
coats off, throwing them in the mud for him to walk on. And they're
all crying at the top of their lungs, Hosanna! The whole time. The whole time
they're running back and forth. The whole time they're throwing
all their things in the way. That word means, oh save. Oh, save us, Lord. Please save
us. Please save us. And our king
at that moment has his face set like a flint straight into the
heart of Jerusalem. Praise has to take place right
here. At this moment, it is not possible
on planet Earth for Him not to be praised. At that moment, it
is not possible for Him not to be glorified. It is not possible. He must be praised. He has to
be praised. And I do mean what I'm saying.
It is not possible. Let me show you that in Luke's
account. Turn with me over to Luke 19. Luke 19, look at verse 35. This is Luke's account of the
same story. Luke 19, 35. And they brought
him to Jesus, and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they
set Jesus their own. And as he went, they spread their
clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh even
now at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude
of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice
for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, Blessed
be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven
and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from
among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto
them, I tell you that if these should hold their peace, the
stones would immediately cry out. He said, it will not do a bit
of good. Master, you shut them up. Look
at, they're destroying all the trees. They're being a bunch
of fools, throwing everything they have in your way to walk
on. They won't stop crying, it's
annoying. Shut them up, he said, it won't
do any good. If I shut these up right here,
all the rocks would cry out to God. Glory in the highest. It's not possible. Do you see why this is one of
my favorite accounts? This account is one of many clear
proofs that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Messiah. You know the
Jews are still waiting on the Messiah. They don't believe He's
come. His people, Israel, physically
Israel, they don't believe He's come. This account is one of many,
many proofs that He is the High King of Heaven, Emmanuel. It proves that He is the only
mediator between God and man. That's what it proves. God with
us. The true Savior of sinners. The only true Savior of sinners. See if you can find the book
of Zechariah in the Old Testament. It's the second to the last book
in the Old Testament. Zechariah chapter 9. Zechariah 9, and look with me
at verse 9. It says, Rejoice greatly, O daughter
of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy King cometh unto
thee. He is just and having salvation,
lowly and riding upon an ass. and upon a colt the foal of an
ass. And I will cut off the chariot
from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow
shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace unto the heathen. He's going to bring peace to
the outcast, those that were not called by his name. And his
dominion shall be from sea even to sea, And from the river, even
to the ends of the earth, as for thee also by the blood of
thy covenant, I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit
wherein is no water." Through that covenant, he is going to
deliver his people out of that pit. That's what he's doing. He's going to come in riding
on the colt of an ass. Verse 16 says, And the Lord their
God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people. For
they shall be as the stones of a crown lifted up as a sign upon
his land. For how great is his goodness
and how great is his beauty. corn shall make the young men
cheerful, and new wine the maids." God is coming to save his people,
and this is how you're going to know him when he comes. This
is how you're going to know him. He's going to ride straight into
Jerusalem on the colt of an ass, and he's going to give his blood
as the payment for a covenant he made to set his people free.
That's how you're going to know the king. That's how you're going
to know who the true king of heaven is. Now don't turn but
Matthew's account, he gives the same record but he adds, all
this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
the prophet and then he quotes what we just read in Zechariah
chapter 9. So the Lord Jesus Christ truly
is the king of heaven. He really is the King of Heaven. Now go with me back to Mark chapter
11. In the midst of this glorious
account, this glorious account of triumph and honor and praise
to our King, We have one of the sweetest illustrations of God's
mercy to an undeserving sinner I believe I've ever seen. This
is one of the sweetest, sweetest illustrations of mercy to an
undeserving sinner I believe I've ever seen. This is precious.
This is truly precious. In what our Lord was doing, in
what he came to accomplish, The scripture says, this is what
the scripture says, in what he came to do, he came to fulfill
that covenant, didn't he? He came to shed his blood, to
pay for the sin of his people. And in doing that, this is what
the scripture says, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity
captive. Isn't that what it says? That's
what he did. That's what he did for you and
me if we belong to him. That's what he did for every
sinner that God his father gave to him. And he's going to illustrate
that to us with a donkey. The title of this message is
Loose Him and Bring Him to Me. Now why a donkey? Why would the Lord use a donkey
to illustrate our salvation? Why would he do that? Let me
show you in the book of Job. Go with me to the book of Job
chapter 11. Job chapter 11 and look with
me at verse 7. Canst thou by searching find
out God? Can you by searching find out
the mind and the will of God? The answer is no. We have to wait, don't we? We
have to wait until He, in His good time and in His good will,
reveals it to us. That's what we have to do. He
has to reveal it to us. Verse 7, Canst thou by searching
find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty
unto perfection? It is as high as heaven, what
canst thou do? Deeper than hell, what canst
thou know? The measure thereof is longer
than the earth and broader than the sea. If he cut off, oh, God
wouldn't cut anything off. God wouldn't cut anybody off.
If he cut off and if he shuts up or gather together, then who
can hinder him? For he knoweth vain men. He seeth wickedness also. Will he not then consider it?
For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's
colt. That's all a man is in God's
eyes. That's all a man is in God's eyes. Man in his own flesh is vain,
empty, wicked, Rebellious and stubborn. And that's what donkeys
are known for being. Aren't they? Rebellious and stubborn. Stubborn as a mule. Isn't that
right? They're workers. You work a donkey,
don't you? If you want works to be done,
get a donkey. They work and they work and they
work. And that's what man thinks he's
doing before God. That's what man thinks he's doing. He thinks he's working his way
to God, but it's all in vain. It's all empty. It's all in vain. And the truth of the matter is,
here is the absolute truth of the matter. Comparing a man to
a donkey is an injustice to the donkey. Let me show you that
in Isaiah chapter 1. Isaiah chapter 1 verse 1 says,
The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning
Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and
Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear,
O earth, for the Lord hath spoken. I have nourished and brought
up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his
owner. And the ass his master's crib,
but Israel doth not know." The ox knows his owner. The ass
knows his master's crib, but Israel doesn't know. Dumb is
what he's saying. Ignorant. Foolish. He said, my
people doth not consider. Ah, sinful nation. A people laden
with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corruptors.
Well, he's talking about those people who hate him laying in
the gutter. No, he said my people. He's talking about my people.
God has a people and he's talking about my people. Evildoers, children
that are corruptors. They have forsaken the Lord.
They have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger. They are
gone away backward. Sinful nation. He said laden
with iniquity, just like that donkey. Burdened, laid down, burdened. With iniquity laden with the
heaviness of sin. And he said they've forsaken
the Lord. They've provoked him to anger
and they've gone away backward. Have you ever seen a donkey fighting
with his owner? Fighting his owner trying to
go away backwards. provoking his owner to anger. You can see that guy out in the
field. All he wants is that field plowed. That's why our Lord used a donkey
to illustrate this. That's the whole reason. It's
because that's what we are. That's what the pastor of this
church is. That right there. That's what
I am. That's what we are. We are a
rebellious, forsaking, provoking, sinful people. If we don't believe
it, just wait. We'll prove it to ourselves. We are just laden with iniquity,
just laden with iniquity. And this cult right here in our
story is going to tell us the condition of every man and woman
before God lays hold of him. Go with me back over to Mark
11. Mark 11 verse 1 says, And when they came nigh to Jerusalem
unto Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sendeth
forth two of his disciples and said unto them, go your way into
the village over against you. And as soon as you be entered
into it, you shall find a cold tide whereon never man sat. You know what that means? He
has never been broken. But he's about to, he's about to. This one right
here has never been sat on, he's about to be. He's about to be tamed by the
master, that's what's going to happen. Now here this cult is,
the scripture says he's tied, right? He's in captivity and
so are we. No, this is a free country. I'm
a free man. My car is paid for free and clear. I can go where I want to do what
I want to do. That's true. All that's true. But spiritually
speaking before God, we are bound to sin and death. We don't even
know it. Here this donkey stands. You
think he's really thinking about his current condition? He's in captivity, so are we.
He's tied to sin, he's tied to self, he's tied to Satan, so
are we. So are we. We're bound by an
evil captivity. That's how we are born into this
world and that's how we stay until God comes to us. But verse
1 says, when they came nigh to Jerusalem unto Bethphage and
Bethany, At the Mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples. Who were those two disciples?
Grace and mercy. Goodness and truth. Righteousness and peace. Providence and predestination. Purpose and love went out. The song says, enwrapped in thick
Egyptian night and fond of darkness more than light, madly I ran
the sinful race, secure in my own mind but without a hiding
place. But thus the eternal counsel
ran, almighty love, arrest that man. Go get him. Go get him. Verse two says, he sent his two
disciples and he said unto them, go your way into the village
over against you. And as soon as you be entered
into it, you shall find a cult, a certain cult. He didn't say,
go find me a cult. He didn't say, go out and win
some souls for Jesus. He said, you go to this A particular
cult. You find a certain rebellious,
unbroken, bound sinner. And he said, Whereon never man
set, you loose him, and bring him. And if any man say unto
you, Why do ye this? Say ye that the Lord hath need
of him, and straightway he will send him hither. What he's saying
is, If I call him, he will come. Don't go into that town and walk
up to that donkey and say, Please, Mr. Donkey, please won't you
come with me? The master wants to have you. He said, If I call him, he's
coming. God never sends his messengers with an uncertain message. Never. Never. He said, when you
meet opposition in the way, you cry, thus saith the Lord. And he'll come. You go about
your business after that. Verse 4, and they went their
way and found the colt tied by the door. I'm going to tell you
something, that's religion. That's religion. That is religion. He is tied right next to the
door. There he is, right next to the
door. Men and women who are tied by the bondage of religion, they're
all around the door. They're all over it. They talk
about Jesus, and they talk about salvation, and talk about that
cross, and talk about blood, talk about heaven, and they talk
about God, and they talk about all these things. And they're
all over it, all around it, but they're not in it. They're not
in it. Christ said, I am the door. And this word says, salvation
is being in it. in him. There's one place of
salvation. It is in Jesus Christ the door. There's only one way. Verse 4
says, and they went their way and found the colt tied by the
door without. They found him where he was.
He's lost right now. He's damned right now. Paul told
the Ephesians At that time, you were without Christ, being aliens
from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants
of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. That's
where God found you. That's where God found me. That's
where God found me. Verse 4 says, they went their
way and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where
two ways met. What were those two ways? God's
justice and God's holiness, standing right in the middle of it. God's
law and God's condemnation. God's wrath and God's punishment. Here this ignorant, stubborn
sinner stands. He's just standing right there.
And he has no idea that he is standing there with sin on one
side of him and death on the other. But God. There he stands. But God. Verse four says, they
went their way and found the colt tied by the door without
in a place where two ways met and they loosed him. God sent
mercy and God sent grace and they loosed him. Verse five says, and certain
of them that stood there said unto them, what do ye loosing,
what are y'all doing? I'll tell you, when God does
call a sinner, when God opens a sinner's eyes to God, all of
a sudden, for the first time, they see a holy God for the first
time in their life. They see the sin of man for the
first time in their life. When they see it, when God opens
a sinner's eyes, when God calls a sinner out, that sinner needs
to expect some opposition. It's going to happen. And I thought about this too,
that donkey, he might have been thinking, why are you unloosing
me? What are you doing? Our Lord said, my people shall
be willing in the day of my power. You know what that donkey didn't
start doing? You're not my owner. He said, my people shall be willing
in the day of my power. Verse six, and they said unto
them, Even as Jesus had commanded exactly what he told them to
say, they told all those who were saying, what are you doing?
They said, he belongs to the Lord. This one belongs to the
master. The master has called him. Verse
six, they said unto them, even as Jesus had commanded and they
let them go and they brought the cult to Jesus. And here's
what a sinner will receive when God's mercy and God's grace brings
that sinner to Christ. Verse 7 says, They brought the
colt to Jesus and cast their garments on him. God's mercy and God's grace threw
all their garments on him. What are those garments? Look
with me very quickly at Genesis 49. Genesis 49, look with me at verse 10. The scepter shall not depart
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh
comes. Now Shiloh is Christ, peace himself. That law is going to remain strong
until Shiloh comes. And unto him shall the gathering
of the people be, binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's
colt unto the choice vine. He washed his garments in wine,
and his clothes in the blood of grapes. When his foal, when his ass's
colt, his sinner, is brought to him, That center becomes bound
to the choice vine. Jesus Christ said, I am divine. And all of his garments that
he washed in his own blood, they're all dyed red. Those garments
are laid all over that center. They're just covered in blood.
They're just soaking in blood, head to toe, covered in the blood
of Jesus Christ. And that sinner becomes vitally
joined to him in his death. The same blood that was shed
in his death is the same blood that's covered all over him.
And that sinner becomes vitally joined to him in his righteousness. All of his righteous garments
are laid on that sinner. Now look with me back in our
text in Mark 11. Verse 7 says, and they brought
the colt to Jesus and cast their garments on him, and he sat upon
him. I thought about that leper. You
know, here this old, rebellious, sinful creature is. That leper
came to the Lord and he, oh, he was so vile and he was so
wretched. And you know what it says the
Lord did? He touched him. Would you want to touch a leper?
You'd get leprosy. He touched him. He actually touched
him. Here this wretched, rebellious,
sinful creature comes and he sat on me. I couldn't think of a more humiliating
way to ride into Jerusalem. I honestly could not think of
a more humiliating way to ride into Jerusalem than sitting on
the colt of an ass, a donkey. He sat on a lowly, stubborn,
rebellious donkey. That donkey didn't come close
to representing the glory that's due unto his name. It didn't
come close. But here is the amazing news
of the gospel. This is amazing. It's called
amazing grace. And here's why. It's because
in spite of what we are, He is not ashamed to call us brethren. Isn't that what he said? He's
not ashamed. Triumphantly. He led captivity
captive. He conquered him. He sat on him. He said, you're mine. You are
mine. And that donkey received the
greatest honor of his life. Now envision this animal. He
rode all the way up into Jerusalem. It's an upright into Jerusalem. And he rode all the way up into
Jerusalem with Christ Himself. Because those people honored
Christ in the way. Here they are cutting branches
and slinging branches. Because they honored Christ in
the way, they honored Him in the way. Every step. He never even had to get his
hooves muddy. They took their clothes off,
throwed them in the mud for him. And that's the story of every
sinner that God has mercy on. That's where he finds us. That's
how he calls us. And that's what he does for us.
Every, every single one. The story of the gospel in Christ
is a rags to riches story. And all the glory goes to the
master for it. Every soul that God calls, every
soul that God saves knows he did this. He did every bit of
it. I can't take any credit for it.
I didn't take the first step. I was just a recipient of mercy. Mercy and grace came and got
me. And look at where I am now, right there at the foot of the
cross in the heart of Jerusalem. To God be the glory. All right,
let's stand together.