If you’re following our 5x5x5 reading plan, you will have read Mark’s account of the Triumphal Entry. I thought Mark’s account was a bit underwhelming. We give an entire church service to this every year? (But it’s the same basic account in Matthew and Luke except for one thing that Matthew adds – I’ll get to that in a minute.) Note that most of the press is given to the selection of the donkey – verses 1 – 7! Verses 8 – 10 describe the actual “triumphal entry.” Verse 11 is a rather flat close to the story.

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. (verses 1 – 7)

And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” (verses 8 – 10)

And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. (Mark 11.1 – 11, ESV)

What’s the significance of this underwhelming account, mostly about a donkey? I’m not sure. We know Mark’s gospel is Peter’s perspective. Maybe Peter had expected this to be the beginning of the visible Kingdom, and it wasn’t. Therefore, no big deal. Just one more time that Jesus walks away from a big event.

Jesus himself needed to do it to fulfill Zechariah’s prophecy, but he also knew it wasn’t a big deal. He could have been thinking, “These same people are going to clamor for my death in just a few days.” Re Zechariah’s prophecy, Matthew wants us to be sure not to miss it:

This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” (Matthew 21.4, 5, ESV, quoting Zechariah 9.9)

So what is the takeaway? Jesus needed to fulfill prophecy, and the donkey was a big part of it. Jesus didn’t own a donkey, so the three gospel writers take pains to let us know how he acquired a borrowed donkey. And most kings ride into town on a magnificent stallion. The prophet and the gospel writers make it clear that Jesus wasn’t “most kings,” and his “triumphal entry” was on a donkey. He fulfilled the prophecy, rode in, and went “home” with just his small entourage.

Maybe we need to be reminded that God uses ordinary things to accomplish his purposes. My grandson and I just watched The Star, a whimsical animated movie about the birth of Christ, featuring, you guessed it, a donkey. I recommend it if you don’t take it (or yourself) too seriously.

Jesus riding in on a donkey may have been a minor event, but we remember it every year. There will be another event, yet to come, and it won’t be a donkey:

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. (Revelation 19.11 – 16, ESV)

Here’s an interesting paragraph from the life of Jesus:

Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. (Mark 6.33, 34, ESV)

When’s the last time you saw people running to hear someone? It’s interesting to think why the crowd valued Jesus’ teaching so much. Mark doesn’t even record what he taught. But we know he taught simply, sometimes in parables, but mostly just practical stuff.

There’s a church where I speak from time to time. Everyone likes the pastor, but I’ve heard him preach, and he gives them too much content, little of which is applicable. When I’m there, sharing simple, applicable stuff, people tell me how much they appreciate it. My friend Ray was the guest speaker at a church once, and people came up to tell him how “clear and relevant” his sermon was. Ray told me, “So they’re used to unclear and irrelevant?”

Regular people crave simple teaching that they can put into practice. Andy Stanley lists “practical preaching” as one of the five catalysts for growth. He writes in his book Deep and Wide, “You’ll remember the first time you heard practical preaching.” I remember. I was raised on solid “Bible teaching,” which was interesting but mostly not applicable. I heard a guy preach for a week from a chart that compared the seven dispensations to the seven churches of Revelation and the seven stages of Paul’s journey by ship in Acts 27.

When I first went to a conference hosted by The Navigators, I heard ordinary men challenging me to put the Word into practice. Here’s an example I’ve blogged about before: old-school Navigator Max Barnett, 82 years old at the time, sharing the importance of quiet time. Or go to discipleshiplibrary.com, search for Skip Gray and pick any message!  

And the common people heard Him gladly. (Mark 12.37, NKJV)

They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage. (Nehemiah 8.8, NLT)

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law. (Matthew 7.28, 29, NLT)

Let’s take one more look at this story:

One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.” …Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?” Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.” (Mark 9.17, 18, 28, 29, NLT)

My son David’s question was, “If this kind of spirit can be cast out only by prayer, why is there no record of Jesus praying during this incident?”

It’s a good question, and David suggested some good answers:

• Jesus didn’t pray during the incident because he had prayed before the incident. We have many explicit references to Jesus’ habit of prayer:

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. (Mark 1.35, ESV)

But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray. (Luke 5.16, ESV)

• Jesus lived in a spirit of prayer and dependency on his Father:

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (John 11.38 – 44, ESV, emphasis mine)

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. (John 5.19 – 20, ESV)

There it is: “pre-prayer” and a spirit of dependency and prayer. Let us do likewise!

Pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5.17, ESV)

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might…praying at all times in the spirit… (Ephesians 6.10, 18, ESV)

Speaking of accomplishing God-sized goals in God’s power, that’s something the disciples appeared to have forgotten:

One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.” …Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?” Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.” (Mark 9.17, 18, 28, 29, NLT)

“This kind can be cast out only by prayer.” I think the disciples had started to believe their own press reports. They had returned not that long ago from a successful ministry assignment:

So the disciples went out, telling everyone they met to repent of their sins and turn to God. And they cast out many demons and healed many sick people, anointing them with olive oil…The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught. (Mark 6.12, 13…30, NLT)

I believe they forgot by whose power they were working! “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?” The answer could have been, “What gave you the idea that you ought to be able to cast out an evil spirit?”

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. (Ephesians 6.10, ESV)

P.S. My son David, also following our 5x5x5 reading plan had a different take on this passage. Why is there no record of Jesus praying in this story? We’ll look at David’s observation tomorrow.

It’s Martin Luther King Day, and it almost slipped past me…

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Good words, and believers should be leading the way.

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1.5 – 8, ESV, emphasis mine)

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. (Romans 12.10, ESV)

Let brotherly love continue. (Hebrews 13.1, ESV)

And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. (Revelation 5.9, ESV)

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands… (Revelation 7.9, ESV)

Let’s think about “playing to win” – illustrated both by the Las Vegas Raiders in last Sunday night’s game AND, in a more important venue, the British divers bolstered by the U.S. Air Force operations officers in their daring and successful rescue of all 12 boys and their coach trapped 2.5 miles from the opening of a water-filled cave. The cave divers’ goal was, essentially, way beyond reach, and my friend John Ed Mathison suggested in his weekly blog of January 5 that a beyond-reach goal is precisely what we should have. Here’s the way it begins:

HOW BIG IS YOUR VISION?

When you think you might see God’s vision for you for 2022, you can test it with two choices. The first choice is to see the vision opportunity as something that would be a “piece of cake.” You can assume that you have everything necessary to accomplish it. You know how well you have been trained and educated, and doing this would not be a problem. If you see it as an easy vision and one you can handle–it’s probably not God’s vision for you.

The other choice is to see the vision and immediately think that you are inadequate to accomplish it. That vision appears to be so big. You are eager to follow God’s will, but it just seems too big. That means that it is probably what God is calling you to do! – John Ed Mathison, January 5, 2022.

Jesus sent the first disciples on a VERY big mission – one clearly out of their reach:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1.8, NIV)

Most, if not all, of those Jewish boys had never been outside the borders of Israel and Samaria, and Jesus is talking about “the ends of the earth.” And tradition tells us that they took their commission seriously. We think Thomas went to India, for example.

But the commission in Acts 1 also contains the secret to its success: “You will receive POWER when the Holy Spirit comes on you…” It’s his power, not ours. What does God want you (and me) to do this year? I’m still working on writing some goals, and I want to be sure to include some that are “unattainable.”

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us… (Ephesians 3.20, NIV)

We watched The Rescue, a National Geographic documentary about the “against-all-odds story that transfixed the world in 2018: the daring rescue of twelve boys and their coach from deep inside a flooded cave in Northern Thailand.” Most people followed the story day-to-day as it unfolded over the 18 days the boys were trapped. In addition, I’ve read a book about it. Nothing matches the drama of this documentary, shot within the cave itself and featuring the brave, expert cave divers and thousands of others who assisted in getting the boys and their coach out. (We accessed the movie on Disney+. I don’t know where else it’s available.)

Here are some highlights of what we observed having watched the documentary twice!

• A British cave explorer who lived in the area had mapped that cave in detail. (How’s that for God’s providence?)
• The government sent in the Thai Navy Seals, brave, fit men who had only one problem. They didn’t know anything about cave diving, and the equipment they had was completely unsuitable.
• The local Brit was very firm with the government: “Here is a list of the world’s greatest cave divers. You need to bring them here.”
• John and Rick from England were the first on the scene. The Thai Seals were offended that these two middle-aged Brits might be better for the job than themselves. It took a few days for John and Rick to even get permission to go into the cave. (“The water is too high; if you die in there, we’re not going in after your bodies.”)
• When John and Rick arrived, they found, as they described it, absolute chaos. Fortunately a nearby U.S. Air Force unit came in and put order and structure into the operation.
• The first time John and Rick went in, they found four Thai pump workers who had gotten stranded. No one even knew they were there! And John and Rick learned something “diving them out.” The pump workers panicked during the rescue. John and Rick had to fight with them. That told them that they wouldn’t be able to dive the boys out (the boys hadn’t even been found yet).
• Rick and John found the boys on Day 10, 2.5 miles from the mouth of the cave. All 13 alive and reasonably well, all things considered.
• But how to get them out? Here’s where the blog title, “Playing not to lose” comes in. The Thai culture is a “save face” culture. They don’t like to fail. Therefore, they don’t like to do risky things.
• The divers, Rick and John, theorized that the boys could be dived out IF they were sedated. So they called a fellow cave diver, Richard, a doctor in Australia, and asked if he could come and sedate the boys. “Absolutely not. It will never work.” But he came, and after several days they had a plan. No one thought it would work, especially not for all 13, but it was the only way.
• The Thai government was reluctant to do it. Remember? It might not work, and we would lose face. Finally, someone convinced the government with this argument: “If you don’t let us do this, all 13 will die. Of that there is no question. If we do try, some might die. It’s not much of a choice, but it’s the only choice you have.”
• And you know the finish: all 13 came out alive on Days 16, 17, and 18.

Sometimes we have to take risks. When we do, it’s best to have the very best people on board. The desire and bravery of the Thai Navy Seals were not enough. The operation required expertise. In this case, expertise developed because these divers, by their own admission, took up cave diving because they were terrible at team sports. “Doesn’t play well with others.” They were largely loners. But the rescue was very much a team effort, with everyone doing what they could do.

We have a very important mission. It too requires diverse expertise AND a team effort. The same kinds of people that make good pastors, for example, are generally not suited for pioneering mission work. (I’ve written about this before.) Our mission is urgent. As I wrote earlier this week, we can engage everyone on the mission now. The cave rescue used the people they had, doing what they could do. Only a few of them were highly skilled cave divers.

And, we have to play to win, just like the Raiders did Sunday night. Playing not to lose is not a suitable strategy.

Sorry this blog is longer than usual. If you have a chance, watch The Rescue. It’s worth your time.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. (1 Corinthians 12.4 – 6, ESV)

He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher. (Ephesians 4.11, MSG)

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1 John 4.4, ESV)

And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. (Revelation 12.11, ESV)

One more thing: over the closing credits was an original song: “Never give up; never give in.” That will preach, too!

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. (Luke 18.1, NIV)

This may fall into the category of my blog a month ago: a story in search of an application. But the unique close to the NFL regular season between the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders deserves looking at. If you missed it, here’s how ESPN writer Bill Barnwell set up the scenario:

Both the Chargers and Raiders knew they would make it into the postseason with a win, but the third scenario made this endgame unique in recent NFL history: A tie would have pushed each into the postseason at the expense of the Steelers, who won earlier in the afternoon. The chances of both teams taking a knee were always nil, but it was fair to wonder whether they would be upset about settling for a tie if they got into a sticky situation late in overtime. – Bill Barnwell, ESPN

For a while it looked like the Raiders, with a 15-point lead would win. But the Chargers came back and tied it in regulation. So they play a 10-minute, sudden-death overtime. In their first possessions, both teams did as well as they could, but each ended up with a field goal. Still tied with about 4 minutes left. The Raiders played a little more conservatively but still drove the ball down the field, close enough for a 47-yard field goal attempt. At that point, they could have taken a knee, game over, both the Chargers and the Raiders advance. Instead, they kicked the field goal and won the game, Chargers go home, Raiders and Steelers advance. Unlike the college championship game I wrote about yesterday, the coaches did NOT have a long handshake and congratulations after the game. It was about the most perfunctory post-game greeting I’ve ever seen. Lessons?

• The first lesson is very important: both played to win. There was no “under-the-table deal” to play for a tie. Sure, at the end, Chargers would have loved a tie, and the Raiders could have given it to them, but the Raiders played to win. At a minimum, this speaks to the integrity of the game.
• It feels like the “Christian” thing to do would be, given a simple choice at the end, just take the tie, then everybody (on that field) is happy. But that’s not a victimless crime: one of the three teams – Raiders, Chargers, Steelers – have to not go to the playoffs.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. (1 Corinthians 9.24, ESV, emphasis mine)

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way… (Philippians 3.13 – 15, ESV)

On Monday night, the universities of Georgia and Alabama played for the national championship in college football. If you watched the game, you know it was a defensive struggle until the last 17 or 18 minutes, going from a score of 9 – 6, favor of Alabama, to 35 – 18, favor of Georgia, who scored three offensive and one defensive touchdown in that time. Georgia had not won a national championship since the 1980 season and hadn’t beaten Alabama in their last seven games, including a loss in early December.

My school, Clemson, beat Alabama for the national championship in the 2016 and 2018 seasons. But Dabo Swinney, Clemson’s coach, had never been an assistant under Nick Sabin, Alabama’s coach. Only one of Sabin’s assistant coaches had ever defeated Sabin, and that was earlier this season. I wrote about Texas A&M’s kicker’s mother praying for that winning field goal. Georgia’s coach, Kirby Smart worked with Sabin for 11 seasons at four different schools.

No one is more intense than Nick Sabin, so I was pleasantly surprised to see the warm exchange between Sabin and Smart after the game. It included a rare look at Sabin smiling, and if I can read lips well, he said to Smart, “God bless you.”

“I love Kirby,” Saban said. “I think Kirby has a lot of respect for us. He did a great job for us for a long time. If we had to lose a national championship, I’d rather lose one to one of the former assistants who certainly did a great job for us and has done a great job for his program and his team. “I’m really proud of him. And I’m proud of the way he’s been able to coach his team and the consistency that they’ve played with all year.” – From ESPN.com.

A hard-fought game, which ended with players and coaches greeting each other warmly. In sport, this is as it should be. This was not the case at the NFL’s Raiders – Chargers game Sunday night. I’ll write about that tomorrow.

¹  Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!
² It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments.
³ It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing– Life forevermore. (Psalm 133, NKJV)

In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews. (Galatians 2.9, NLT)

If you knew Jesus was coming into first-century Israel and knew that after a three-year public ministry he would be killed, could you have predicted by whom? Who were his enemies? The occupying, godless Romans seem like a good choice. Or how about Jewish people who collaborated with Rome, the tax collectors, and their riff-raff friends? Nope. Wrong on both counts. Mark wastes no time telling us who Jesus’ mortal enemies are. It comes up at the beginning of chapter 3.

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And [the Pharisees] watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. (Mark 3.1 – 6, ESV)

“The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him…”

The Pharisees: the most religious, meticulously law-observing people around – they were the ones who wanted to destroy Jesus. Saul of Tarsus, who later became the Apostle Paul, tells what his life was like as a Pharisee. Jesus wasn’t around so he persecuted his followers:

For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. (Galatians 1.13, 14, ESV)

Paul calls it “zealous.” Zealous for the traditions. Governor Pilate, on the other hand, calls them envious.

So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. (Matthew 27.17, 18, ESV)

It’s we religious people who can be so zealous for the wrong thing that we miss what God is doing. We can get hung up on our theology, our denomination, or worship style, or any number of things. Or we can be jealous of another ministry that seems to be more effective than ours.

And the common people heard Him gladly. (Mark 12.37, NKJV)

Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. (Mark 2.15, NKJV, emphasis mine)