ly of what was required for his tri . He appealed to their recognition of his authority—“ the Lord.” The claim was allowed by the stranger who owned the colt. It was freely given when asked. Christians are to make ready for their Lord’s triumph, They hsve all that he needs, if it be but freely rendered. He will throne himself amidst their gifts if they have him enthroned im their hearts. Nothing but what is freely rendered is acceptable to him or desired by him. It should be enough fee a disciple to knew what the Lord will have him do and of what the Lord has need,
oa. xt. 1—33.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. 134
Il. Tae reromen. It was a simple procession, gradually increasing in volume and excitement as it approached the city. 1. The movement was natural and No signs of getting it up. The enthusiasm it expressed already existed. Direction and order were imparted, but the motive was self-developed. 2. It was of a predomi- nantly spiritual character, The attraction did not lie in the accessories, but in the central Figure. Never had the native glory of the Messiah been so manifest. The Jews, had they only known, were on the verge of an apocalypse, which only depended upon their spiritual preparedness. ‘‘ Meekness is nobler and mightier than force, good- ness than grandeur” (Godwin). 3, It was a manifest fulfilment of prophecy. The people were conscious of it as they shouted. Their woras are a quotation from Ps. oxviii, “(1) ‘Hosanna!’ The word was a Hebrew imperative, ‘Save us, we beseech thee,’ and had come into liturgical use from Ps. cxviii. That psalm belonged specially to the Feast of Tabernacles, and as such was naturally associated with the palm branches; the verses from it now chanted by the people are said to have been those with which the inhabitants of Jerusalem were wont to weloome the pilgrims who came up to keep the feast. The addition of ‘ Hosanna to the Son of David’ made it a direct recognition of the claims of Jesus to be the Christ; that of ‘ Hosanna in the highest ’ (comp. Luke ii. 14) claimed heaven as in accord with earth in this recogni- tion, (2) ‘Blessed be [‘the King,’ in St.. Luke] he that cometh in the Name of the Lord.’ These words, too, received a special, personal application. The welcome was now given, not to the crowd of pilgrims, but to the King. (3) As in St. Luke, one of the cries was an echo of the angels’ hymn at the Nativity, ‘Peace on earth, and glory in the highest’ (Luke ii. 14). (4) Asin St. Mark, ‘ Blessed be the kingdom of our father David.’ We have to think of these shouts as filling the air as he rides slowly on in silence. He will not check them at the bidding of the Pharisees (Luke xix, 39), but his own spirit is filled with quite other thoughts than theirs” (Plump- tre). Yet, because of the unpreparedness of the people, the fulfilment was only pro- visional, not ultimate ; typical, not actual. In its spiritual idea, its universal influence (“all the city was moved”), its spontaneous acclaim, it spoke of that which is to come; in its outwardness, its question, “ Who is this?” and answer, “ This is Jesus, the Prophet of Nazareth of Galilee,” its readiness to pass from praise to execration, it showed how distant the people were from the true realization.
III. CunmMinaTIng soveRniantTy. 1. Seen tn the destination to which he came. “He entered the temple.” He is Priest as well as King. “ Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion” (Ps. ii. 6). It is from the holy place that his rule extends; and there it begins, and is most intensely and specially exercised. He is Key to all the mysteries there; Centre of all the symbols and rites. This suggests that his reign is primarily and essentially a spiritual one. As King of saints he reigns in the earth. 2. Hapressed and exercised in a “look.” “ He looked round about upon all things.” Not simply as one might gaze who had never been there before: an arbitrary and wanton idea; but as one who had aright to inspect the condition of the place, and who was determined to assert and exercise that right” (Morison). So is he Lord of that temple not made with hands—the body in which he dwelt, and the spirit in which he offered the eternal sacrifice; and so will he take account of the secrets of human nature in the great day, for is he not “the Son of man” ?—M.
Ver. 8.—“ The Lord hath need of him.” How singular the conjunction! Need of a colt! Im what sense was such a creature necessary fer the Lord of all? In what sense is anything created necessary to the Creator? As showing forth his glory, and fulfilling his purposes.
J. THE LOWLIEST THINGS HAVE SOME HIGH PURPOSE, OR CAPACITY OF GLORIFYING Gop.
Il. In soMg CIRCUMSTANCES THE LOWLIEST THINGS MAY EXCLUSIVELY OR MORE FITTINGLY EXPRESS A CERTAIN PHASE OF THE DIviINz GLORY. What else could so set forth the meekness, the lowliness, of the Son of man? or the privilege and freedom of the young Church, of which he was the only burden and law? In that colt the brute world had its most honoured representative. So in human poverty, simplicity, weak- ness, and ignorance, the glory of God may be shown forth the more conspicuously.
IIL Ler vs LeoK FOR AND GIVE EFFECT TO THE GLOBY OF CHRIST, #.c. oF GoD, IN
ALL THINGS, MARK—H, K
180 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. (on. xx 1—33.
a ——————
TV. A FoRTIORI LET US OFFER OUR OWN SELVES, 80 GLORIOUSLY ENDOWED, IN PER- SONAL CONSECRATION AND EFFORT FOR THE GLORY OF Gop. If he had need for a colt, we cannot say he has no ueed for us.—M.
Ver. 11.—Jesus surveying the temple. I. A siaN oF AUTHORITY. Supreme, abso lute, spiritual.
Il. AN EXERCISE OF JUDGMENT. Inward, unerring, and from the highest stand-
oint.
III. AN EXPRESSION OF GRIEF AND DISAPPOINTMENT. There is nothing upon which the look can rest with approval and satisfaction. It goes round, but returns not. It goes through and beyond. The temple in its condition was symbolical of the people.
IV. A TOKEN OF FORBEARING MERCY. Only a look, for the present. He has it not in his heart to inflict the final stroke at once. He will wait. A day of grace is still left. Is this our case—as a Church? as individuals ?—M.