April 13, 2025
Pastor John Hering
Mark 11:1–6
Mark 11:1–6
As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it, and he will send it back here without delay.’”
4 They left and found a colt on the street, tied at a door; and they untied it. 5 Some who were standing there asked them, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 The disciples answered them just as Jesus had instructed them, and the men let them go.
If I only had known then what I know now! You remember saying that. Maybe it happened when you didn’t stop at that stop sign and got a ticket! “If only I had known that there was a police office watching that corner!”
Well, it happened to me when my pool motor went out. I didn’t know what to do except go to Amazon and order a new pool filter motor. But, then it all changed when a new neighbor moved across the street. Ray Poplawski! We all miss Ray! He was a mechanical magician! You see, I put my old filer motor out on the curb for the trash collection, but Ray saw my motor and walked over saying, “Why are you throwing that away?” Well, it doesn’t work. He laughed and asked if he could look at it. About 45 minutes later he came over and said, “It’s all fixed!” So, I now had a spare motor. That was several years ago and the motor went out again. This time I packed up the old motor and took it to Tennessee where Ray and Tracy had moved to. He laughed when I brought out the motor and said, “Ok, I’ll show you.” I removed some bolts and he showed me a little electric switch that gets dirty contacts after hours of use. With a little sandpaper rubbing it was fixed. If only I had known then what I know now, I could have saved myself $400!
Today is the beginning of Holy Week. 2000 years ago nobody knew what all was going to happen during this week, but Jesus did. Jesus is omniscient. That means Jesus is all-knowing. He proves it to us on Palm Sunday. He knew exactly where the colt was. He knew exactly what the owner would say to his disciples when they were untying the colt. Yes, Jesus knew exactly what needed to happen so he could get that colt and ride into Jerusalem. Isn’t that amazing!
If Jesus is omniscient (and he is), if he knows all things (and he does), that means he also knew exactly what would happen if he rode into Jerusalem. He knew that he would be betrayed and arrested. He knew that he would be beaten and whipped. He know that he would be nailed to a cross and die a bloody death. Jesus knew that all those things would happen if he rode into Jerusalem. So why did Jesus still insist on getting that colt and riding into Jerusalem? It’s because Jesus knew you!
He knew how sinful you would be. He knew that sins you commit wide out in the open for all to see. He knew the sins you commit behind closed doors and try to hide from others. He knew the sinful words you mutter under your breath and the sinful thoughts that pop into your mind. Jesus is omniscient. He knew all your sins.
But Jesus also knew how much he loved you. And he knew how, out of his great love for you, he had chosen to save you. So he made sure he got that colt and rode into Jerusalem, even though that meant great pain, suffering, and death for him. He knows it was the only possible way you could be saved.
If only I had known then what I know now I could have saved hundreds of dollars on a new filter motor. But that’s nothing to what you know now. You know Jesus Christ, our King who rides into Jerusalem to save us all! May the Lord bless our meditation on Jesus’ Passion today to increase our faith, our appreciation for Jesus’ love for us, and our thanks that Jesus loves us to death! Amen!
