MARK 11:1-11

[11:1] Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples

[2] 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.

[3] If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’”

[4] And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it.

[5] And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?”

[6] And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go.

[7] And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it.

[8] And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.

[9] And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! [10] Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

[11] 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.

If you’re a person who doesn’t like to be told what to do then you might want to stop listening right now. You might want to stop listening because there’s a chance you’re not going to like the Jesus who’s waiting for you this morning.  He’s waiting for you behind all the pretty palms and the happy hosannas!  Just ask the man who owned the donkey that Jesus used to make his grand and glorious entrance into the Holy City.  Now there’s a man who found himself on the receiving end of an unexpected curve ball.   It was a day just like every other day when all of a sudden he saw these men walking away with his donkey.  They told him that the Lord needed it.

He probably didn’t know what to think.   He probably felt the same way I felt many years ago when I got a call from a parishioner who said “I’d like to come in and see you.”  I was a young associate pastor and still learning the ropes.  So, after we set a time to meet I began to wonder what the woman’s problem might be.  Was she experiencing marital problems? Could it be that one of her sons was in trouble?  Maybe she was going to tell me that she had cancer.  A couple of hours later she was sitting in my office.  After a couple of minutes of friendly chit chat she looked at me and said, “You know while you were in the pulpit Sunday I notice that you had a really bad shine on your forehead.  So I wanted you to know that Mary Kay now has a wonderful line of cosmetics for men.”   Now that was a problem that I didn’t see coming and I’m a little embarrassed to admit that by the time the meeting was over it cost me $40.

The man who owned that donkey also didn’t see it coming.  So, here’s the part that you may not like. The man didn’t see it coming and he really wasn’t give a choice in the matter.  That’s because Jesus didn’t ask if he could use his donkey.  Jesus basically told him that he was going to use his donkey whether he liked it or not.  Jesus said to the disciples, “Go into the village, 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.’”

So much for saying “please” and “thank you.”  

Did Jesus tell the disciples to say, “Pretty please with sugar on top?”  No. Did Jesus tell the disciples to say, “If doesn’t inconvenience you sir would it be okay to borrow your donkey for a couple of hours?”  No!  Jesus told the disciples to tell him that they were taking his donkey because the Lord needed it.  No, ifs ands or buts about it.

Sometimes that’s what you get when you follow Jesus.  He doesn’t ask you.  He tells you.  He tells you what you have to do.   That’s a different Jesus from the one that is usually preached and proclaimed these days.  These days we’re use to the more consumer oriented Jesus who is there to comfort and console you; the more user friendly Jesus who is there to encourage and inspire; the Jesus who tenderly says, “Come unto me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”

You won’t find that Jesus waiting for you, however, behind the pretty palms and the happy hosannas.   The Jesus who’s waiting for you there is the Jesus who is large and in charge. The Palm Sunday Jesus is a Jesus who doesn’t ask.  The Palm Sunday Jesus is a Jesus who tells you what you have to do.  

So what do you think?   Do you like to be told what to do?   If you’re like most people you don’t like being told what to do which means you can probably identify with something that happened many years ago to Bill Walton, the basketball player.  It happened while he was playing college basketball at UCLA.   His coach, of course, was the legendary John Wooden.  Now coach Wooden had a first and fast rule.  If you wanted to play on his team you weren’t allowed to have any facial hair.  That became an issue one year when Bill Walton came back from spring break and showed up for practice with a beard.   Coach Wooden walked up to him and said, “Bill, have you forgotten something?”  Walton replied, “Coach if you mean the beard, I think I should be allowed to wear it.  It’s my right.”  Coach Wooden thought about it. “Do you really believe that?” he asked. “Yes, I do, very much,” Walton replied.  Coach Wooden nodded his head and said, “Bill, I have great respect for individuals who stand up for things in which they believe.  I really do.  So, if you believe that it’s your right, I would died for your right to defend that right.”  Bill Walton smiled and said, “Thank you coach.”  Then Wooden said, “I just want you to know that the team is really going to miss you.”

People don’t like to be told what to do and yet that’s what Jesus did with the man who owned that donkey. Jesus didn’t ask.  He told him what he had to do.  Sometimes that’s what Jesus does to you.  He tells you what you have to do.   When you see something that’s just plain wrong he comes to you and says, “I’m telling you right now you have to take a stand here.”  Or he comes to you and says, “You better listen up because you have to forgive and let go of that grudge.”  Or he keeps you awake at night with a voice that keeps saying, “Don’t ignore me here.  You have to make some changes in your life or you’re going to regret it big time!”

Sometimes Jesus doesn’t ask.  He tells you want you have to do.  He doesn’t do that though because he’s on a power trip and he wants you to remember that he’s in charge.  He does it because he knows that it’s something you need to do for your own good and the good of the people around you.

Many years ago Jack Eckard came face to face with the Jesus who doesn’t ask.  If the name sounds familiar it’s because Jack Eckard was the man who founded the Eckard chain of drugstores .  One day Jack Eckerd met Charles Colson.  You may remember the Charles Colson was one of Richard Nixon’s advisors who went to jail for his role in the Watergate scandal.  You may also remember that while he was in jail Colson became a Christian and he went on to become an ordained minister.  Jack Eckard met Charles Colson after he saw Colson on television.  Colson was talking about the need for those who break the law to repent and make restitution to their victims.  So, Jack Eckard invited Colson to come to Florida. Together they traveled around the state encouraging officials to reform the criminal justice system.  While they were flying from one place to another in Eckard’s private jet Colson shared his faith with him.  Eckard admitted that he wasn’t a very religious man, but Colson’s faith rubbed off on him.  So, Colson gave Eckard some books to read and the two of them went their separate ways.  A year later Eckard called Colson up and began to tell him how his life had changed because of his new found faith.  Later that day Eckard walked into one of his drugstores and noticed the copies of Playboy and Penthouse in the magazine racks.  So, he called up the president of his company and told him to take the magazines out of his stores, all 1,700 of them.  The president of the company was shocked.  “You can’t mean that,” he said. “We make three million dollars a year on those magazines.” Eckard didn’t back down and the magazines came out of his stores; all of them.  When Charles Colson heard about it he called Eckard up and asked him a question.  “Did you do that because of your commitment to Christ?” In response to the question Eckard said very emphatically, “Why else would I give away three million dollars? The Lord wouldn’t let me off the hook.”

Jesus will always say “thank you” but he doesn’t always say “please.”   He just tells you what you have to do. So here’s a question to think about this week as we make our way to the Cross on that hill far away.  Shouldn’t the Jesus who died for your sins also be able to tell you what you should and shouldn’t do?  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

April 17, 2011 – Palm Sunday