“What’s he doing here?” Depending on the circumstances, that question could be asked for a number of different reasons. It could be an expression of delight if someone showed up unexpectedly and made a surprise appearance. It could also be asked out of disdain or disbelief, implying that for one reason or another, it is out of line or inappropriate for that person to be attending. Or, the question could be because the inquirer is unaware of any connection between that specific person and this unique event. Regardless of the motivation or intent behind asking the question, the one asking it is looking for an explanation as to why that person is present.
As we begin The King Shall Come series, before we feverishly race to get to the end of the month and rush to the base of the tree to tear open presents, we want to pause during this season of Advent to ponder. We do so by starting out reflecting on that very question: “What’s he doing here?” “Why does it matter that Jesus came in the first place?”
I am aware that if you look at the title of this post, you might be able to provide a pretty quick answer to that question and conclude that this post could be much shorter. But would you agree with me that having certain information or knowledge in your head is not always the same as having it in your heart?
We can learn facts. We can receive information about certain topics. We can be taught to regurgitate answers. But knowing something (head) isn’t the same as knowing something (heart). Through this series, we want to make sure that, regarding the coming of our King, this knowing (head) connects with this knowing (heart).
It’s one thing to know a headline in the news about a tragedy (head). It’s sad anytime we hear reports of accidents that result in injury or death. Nevertheless, the news cycle continues, right on to the next story and to another one after that.
But when the news report of injury or death involves your family member or friend, the world seems to stop. While the news may continue right on to the next story, you’re stuck; your heavy heart is weighed down more deeply. Suddenly it isn’t just news; it’s your life. A part of your life has been directly impacted and now the head knowledge and the heart are connected.
As we look at Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, it’s more than just information that is being passed onto us; what happened there impacted our whole life, even our eternal life.
The event recorded in Mark 11 is a little bit like the movie that starts out right in the beginning by showing a flash forward. As we start out the new church year and are still looking forward to celebrating Jesus’ birth, Mark takes us on a flash forward to the week of Jesus’ death. So why are we focusing on the days before Jesus’ Good Friday death while just weeks away from the celebration of his Christmas birth? We’re here because it provides a crystal clear answer to our question, “What’s he doing here?” Kind of.
I say “kind of” because while we have the right answer from the crowds, but the answers are not given for the right reason. You know how that can happen sometimes. A student in the classroom who has not been paying attention at all suddenly gets called out by the teacher with a curveball question. Out of nowhere, the student’s long-shot answer to that question is… shockingly, totally correct! But if you press further and ask the student why that’s the answer, he wouldn’t have a clue.
So the onlookers crowding Jesus as he entered Jerusalem gave the right answer to the question we’re asking, but they didn’t really know why it was the right answer.
Their answer to the question was, “Hosanna!” Yes – that was why Jesus had come. The meaning of that exclamation is essentially, “Save us, Lord!” That was what God said he would do through the Messiah promised by the prophets. He promised to do just that – save his people.
Their answer was also “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Yes – the crowds knew Jesus was not just your garden variety prophet or preacher, but was representing the Lord himself. As such, blessing would most assuredly accompany him, as is always the case for the Lord’s representatives in one way or another.
Their answer to the question, “What’s he doing here?” was “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” Recall the prophecy from Ezekiel, the promise of the Shepherd King, David. Remember that Ezekiel wasn’t speaking about King David of the Old Testament, who had died generations ago, but rather David’s greater Son, Jesus. The crowds were acknowledging that the One riding into Jerusalem had come as the fulfillment of God’s promise through Ezekiel to send another “David” whose kingdom would never end.
Yes, the shouts of the crowds were all correct answers to the question, “What’s he doing here?” But they were correct in the wrong way. They were the classmate who got the answer correct, but couldn’t begin to explain why it was correct. Yes, Jesus had come to save them… but not in the way they had assumed he would save them.
To better make sense of their understanding, we don’t really have to look all that much further than the present day conflict over Israel. The expectation of a promised temporal kingdom or state, a reality tied to real estate and boundaries and nationality and earthly government – these same expectations still exist today.
And still today they miss the point, as they did when Jesus rode into Jerusalem. The peoples’ refusal to pay attention to Jesus’ own words, their failure to understand the Old Testament prophets, has resulted in people that are still today looking for the wrong thing. The kingdom Jesus came to usher in has no border or geographical location. The deliverance Jesus came to bring wasn’t a deliverance from physical slavery, oppression, or racism. None of those misunderstandings grasp why Jesus came to save.
But it is hardly just those with Jewish roots or ties to Israel who miss why Jesus came. Like those Jerusalem crowds, people – even those professing to be Christians – can provide the right answer to the question of why Jesus came without being able to explain why their answer is correct. He came to save. Yes, that is the correct answer.
Some, however, degrade his saving work by redefining it. They believe and teach that Jesus merely made it possible for people to be saved. They contend that Jesus made salvation possible for everyone who does their best and tries their hardest. So long as we give it our best shot trying to be like Jesus, then Jesus will generously fill in the gaps and pick up any slack for us. By that token, what Jesus did hinges on the assumption that you’ve done your best. Only then is Jesus of any benefit.
But he is no Savior who requires or depends on anything at all from us. If we are a part of the equation when it comes to our salvation, then the only thing we can be sure of is our disqualification. For all we can bring to the table even on our finest days are works that are nothing more than the filthy rags described by Isaiah.
Others wrongly conclude that Jesus coming to save means that everyone is guaranteed heaven, regardless of what is believed (or not believed!). All people everywhere, regardless of religious affiliation or any faith at all, will ultimately end up in “a better place.” Call it heaven or paradise or whatever else you like.
While that might seem a nice thought, to hold on to such a thought is to turn a blind eye to the clear teachings of the Bible that warn repeatedly of hell and souls condemned to it specifically as a result of their unbelief and rejection of Jesus. So neither of those misunderstandings of Jesus saving can be correct, no matter how much one’s heart might tell him otherwise.
What then is the correct meaning to attach to this answer that Jesus came to save? The apostle Paul seemed to have a pretty good handle on it. He wrote, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst” (1 Timothy 1:15).
There you have it: Jesus came to save sinners. What exactly is a sinner? It’s the person who acknowledges that his sin slams shut the door to heaven, leaving only the one-way path to hell and eternal suffering. Such a person confesses her wrongs and inability to do right 100% of the time as God demands. Jesus came to save sinners.
And know that Jesus’ joy and delight is not to judge and condemn, but to save. Jesus explained, “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47). Jesus came to save!
What’s he doing here? Jesus came to save! He came to save us from our sins. “But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins” (1 John 3:5).
What’s he doing here? Jesus came to save! He came to save us from the devil’s work. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8).
Are you a sinner? Good news – the best news of all: Jesus came to save you! Believe it!
“What’s he doing here?” Depending on the circumstances, the question could be asked for a number of different reasons. When it’s asked of Jesus, make sure we have not only the right reason for asking it, but more importantly, the right answer to the question. The King came on that first Christmas to save, to pay with his life the price necessary to save us. The King will come again on the Last Day to complete the final act of saving and whisk us away from all sin and accompanying sorrow. And who did he come to save?
He came to save sinners. He came to save you.