Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm19970119.htm

MARK: GOSPEL OF THE SERVICE OF CHRIST, GOD'S SERVANT
Part XLII: Learning That Leadership In God's Work Is Always For Selflessly Helping Others
(Mark 11:1-11)
  1. Introduction
    1. When God raises up a person to lead in a family, or in a Sunday School class or in a church as a Board Member or pastor, he or she can approach that office in one of two dramatically different ways: he can see it either as an opportuni ty to serve his own interests or to meet the needs of those under his oversight.
    2. Jesus exampled for us the proper purpose of oversight appointments in His Triumphal Entry as follows:
  2. Learning That Leadership In God's Work Is Always For Selflessly Helping Others, Mk. 11:1-11.
    1. The Old Testament predicted that Messiah would suddenly come to His temple as king, Malachi 3:1. We know from Zechariah 9:9 that He would come upon the foal of a donkey.
    2. Mark 11:1-11 is an account of that arrival of Jesus as Israel's King. However, the way He arrived demonstrates that Jesus was not interested in performing His personal interests at the cost of the welfare of others around Him, but that He had the spiritual welfare of His subjects in mind:
      1. Zechariah 9:9 predicts Messiah would come with salvation and justice to minister to hurting people, and that He would come in an unthreatening manner of lowliness, riding on a colt of a lowly donkey.
      2. Jesus' whole fulfillment of this prediction reveals this interest in the welfare of His subjects, not Himself:
        1. Jesus did not choose a royal horse as would a Roman general, but a colt of a donkey, the lowliest of all animals for a king to use. He did so to indicate a non-threatening, humility, Zech. 9:9; Mk. 11:2.
        2. In preparing for this royal presentation, Jesus respectfully borrowed a donkey colt with the promise of returning it at no cost to its rightful owner once His use was done, Mark 11:1-3.
        3. Once Jesus made it to Jerusalem, He respected the cultural practice of shutting down the temple precinct for the night to perform His temple cleansing the next day: (a) We know from Mark 11:15-19 that Jesus intended to punish the mone ychangers for turning the temple from a haven of prayer for the nations into a den of stealing such people blind. (b) For this reason, Jesus entered the temple complex as Messiah, the King and surveyed the proceedings of the site to see if He should bless or judge those under His jurisdiction as King at the complex, Mk. 11:11. (c) Though He saw much that needed punishment due to the financial abuses performed against its worshippers, Jesus respected the cultural practice of closing the temple down to leave and come back the following day to punish the moneychangers, Mk. 11:11b with 11:12,15-19.
        4. When Jesus actually administered judgment, it was not done with a personal vindictiveness on a whim: it was the calculated exercise of judgment in fulfillment and authorization of God's Word, Mark 11:15-17 as quotations from Isa. 56:7 and Jer. 7:11. He was seeking God's will, not His own interests at the cost of obeying Scripture.
        5. The main thrust behind punishing the moneychangers was to reverse the spiritual damages that had been done against the nations in cutting them off from God by their actions, Mk. 11:17. He was merely trying to open the doors for access to the Father by the nations!
Lesson: Leadership in God's work is never designed as a means to furthering personal ends for the leader. Rather, leadership is God's assignment that broadens the capacity of a person to address the needs of others who are subject to his oversight .

Application: (1) If we are assigned the spiritual oversight of a family, other believers, a church, etc., God intends that we use that capacity (a) humbly, meekly, (b) respectfully, (c) considerately (d) to carry out God's will for the furtheran ce of the welfare of those assigned to our oversight. (2) Such a position is NOT intended as a platform to promote arrogant, disrespectful, inconsiderate personal agendas that harm those under our care. (3) Even if we are allocated the difficult task o f performing discipline on the unruly, it should always be with the intent of (a) doing so in accordance with Scripture's will and directives (b) and for the betterment of addressing the needs of those under our care. Any other intent fouls the effort!