Sermon Synopsis
This sermon traces the final three days of Jesus’ public ministry as recorded in Mark 11, highlighting His entry into Jerusalem, His judgment on fruitless religion, and His teaching on faith and forgiveness. Each day reveals a distinct aspect of discipleship: being available for God’s purposes, allowing Him to purify our lives, and trusting Him fully in prayer. Together, these scenes form a countdown to Calvary, calling believers to authenticity, obedience, and confident faith. The message urges hearers to receive God’s appointment, admonition, and answer.
Please note: This transcript is provided as close to verbatim record of the sermon.
Countdown to Calvary
Mark 11:1–26
Introduction: Entering the Final Week
Good morning everyone. We are going to resume our year-long study from the Gospel of Mark. If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Mark chapter 11, where we begin the final week of the Lord Jesus on earth—what we often refer to as Passion Week or Holy Week.
It is remarkable that this single week takes up almost one-third of the entire Gospel of Mark, even though chronologically it covers only about seven days of the Lord’s life.
When studying the Gospels, an additional Bible aid that is often helpful is something called a harmony of the Gospels, which arranges the events of Jesus’ life side by side across Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In our internet age, these resources are freely available online.
One distinctive feature of Mark’s Gospel is that it is the only Gospel that records Jesus entering Jerusalem on three consecutive days during His final week. Because of this, I have entitled today’s message “Countdown to Calvary.”
We will follow a very simple division given to us by the text:
Day One: A Provision and a Procession
(Mark 11:1–11)
Day One covers verses 1 through 11 of Mark chapter 11. The standout events here are a provision and a procession. This is what we commonly refer to as Palm Sunday.
Why Palm Sunday?
How do we know it was Sunday? The clearest clue does not come from Mark 11, but from John 12:1, where we are told that Jesus came to Bethany six days before the Passover. Since the Passover meal occurred on Friday evening, six days before would be Saturday evening. Then John tells us in verse 12 that “the next day” Jesus entered Jerusalem. That places the triumphal entry on Sunday.
The Public Entry of the Messiah
Mark 11:1 tells us that when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of His disciples ahead.
We normally call this event the Triumphal Entry, though it is somewhat of an incongruous name. After all, this procession ultimately leads to Calvary and to His death. Yet Calvary itself is the place where victory over sin and death was achieved. In that sense, this entry truly was triumphant.
This event may also be seen as a precursor to the Second Coming of Christ. This time, Jesus entered Jerusalem in humility; the next time, He will return in power and glory, when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord.
Jesus had entered Jerusalem many times before. As a faithful Jew, He would have gone there for the annual feasts. But He always entered privately. In John chapter 7, for example, His unbelieving brothers urged Him to go publicly to the Feast of Tabernacles. He declined and went secretly.
This time was different. This is the only time Jesus entered Jerusalem in a public procession. It served as an open presentation of Himself as the promised Messiah-King, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, written some 500 years earlier.
“Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly, and riding on a donkey.”
Bethphage and Bethany
Bethphage and Bethany were small villages on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, close to each other. According to Acts 1, Bethany was a Sabbath day’s journey from Jerusalem—about 2,000 cubits, roughly 900 meters—allowing Jesus to travel back and forth even on the Sabbath without violating the law.
The names themselves are interesting:
These names anticipate the incident of the fig tree that follows.
The Requisition of the Colt
Jesus instructed two unnamed disciples to go into the village and bring a colt that had never been ridden. If questioned, they were to say, “The Lord has need of it.”
This little donkey had been raised and reserved for this very moment—for the purpose and person of the Lord Jesus.
Isn’t it astonishing that the Lord of all creation could say that He had need of a donkey?
God once spoke through Balaam’s donkey, and now once again He uses a donkey as His chosen instrument.
This speaks powerfully to us. Whether you are young and still tethered to home, or older and feeling sidelined, perhaps feeling tied down or not particularly useful—the Lord has need of you. There is a time and a purpose for which He will call upon you.
The disciples obeyed, and everything turned out exactly as Jesus said it would. And so it will be whenever we take each step the Lord shows us.
The Procession
The people spread their garments and leafy branches on the road—an improvised red carpet to welcome a dignitary. John’s Gospel specifically mentions palms, a symbol of victory.
They cried out, “Hosanna!”—which in Hebrew means “Save now.” It was not merely a shout of praise, but a cry for deliverance. During Passover, they remembered their deliverance from Egypt, and they hoped Jesus would deliver them from Roman oppression.
They quoted Psalm 118, a familiar part of the Hallel Psalms sung during Passover.
A Quiet Ending
Verse 11 tells us that Jesus entered the temple, looked around at everything, and then returned to Bethany because the hour was late. Mark alone records this detail. Matthew tells us that Jesus healed the blind and the lame and confronted the religious leaders.
Mark’s account leaves us with the sense that Jesus was taking a final, searching look—unfinished business remained, and it would be dealt with the next day.
Learning Point – Day One
The Lord needs you.
Receive His appointment.
Day Two: A Tree and a Temple
(Mark 11:12–19)
Day Two brings us to a tree and the temple.
The Fig Tree Cursed
On the way from Bethany, Jesus saw a fig tree full of leaves but bearing no fruit. Though it was not the season for ripe figs, early edible figs—pagim—should have been present. Their absence signaled barrenness.
The fig tree symbolized Israel—outwardly religious, full of leaves, but lacking fruit. This was not about horticulture; it was a prophetic sign.
Let us beware of becoming leafy Christians—having the appearance of life without the fruit of repentance. This is the sin of hypocrisy, which Jesus repeatedly denounced in the Pharisees and scribes.
The Temple Cleansed
Jesus then entered the temple and drove out the money changers and traders. The Court of the Gentiles had become a marketplace. Pilgrims were exploited through inflated exchange rates and sacrificial sales. What was meant to be a house of prayer had become a den of thieves.
Jesus acted with righteous indignation, overturning tables and teaching from Isaiah 56 and Jeremiah 7. The people were astonished at His teaching, but the religious leaders began plotting His destruction.
This was not the first time Jesus had cleansed the temple. He had done so at the beginning of His ministry in John chapter 2. Three years later, nothing had changed.
Application
We are told in 1 Corinthians 6 that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. We should not be surprised when the Spirit does a thorough spring cleaning—removing what has become acceptable to us but is unworthy before God.
Our God is both gracious and a consuming fire. These truths must be held together.
Learning Point – Day Two
The Lord purifies you.
Receive His admonition.
Day Three: Faith and Forgiveness
(Mark 11:20–26)
On the third day, the disciples saw that the fig tree had withered from the roots. This illustrated the sudden and decisive judgment on fruitless Israel, culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.
The fig tree episodes and the temple cleansing are intentionally intertwined—they speak of God’s judgment on hypocrisy and corruption.
Faith in God
Jesus responded to the disciples’ amazement by teaching on faith and prayer.
“Have faith in God.”
Faith is not a power in itself. God is the object of faith. Faith is the switch; God is the source.
Hudson Taylor interpreted this verse as “hold on to the faithfulness of God.” F. B. Meyer recalled that Taylor emphasized God’s faith toward us, not merely ours toward Him.
Speaking Faith
Jesus used hyperbole to describe faith that can move mountains—highlighting divine possibility in the face of human impossibility.
The emphasis in verse 23 is on saying—it appears three times. Verbalizing our prayers focuses them. Many prayers fail because they are vague and unfocused.
Jesus teaches an outcome-based prayer of faith:
Prayer moves from asking, to believing, to receiving.
According to God’s Will
“Whatever you ask” is restricted by God’s will, as taught in 1 John 5:14–15. When God is the object of faith and His will is the subject, what remains is believing.
There is a moment in prayer when we stop pleading and start praising—before anything is visibly answered.
Forgiveness and Prayer
Jesus concludes by connecting prayer with forgiveness. Resentment clogs the prayer channel. This forgiveness may be unilateral and unknown to the offender. It does not make the other person right—but it makes you right with God.
Learning Point – Day Three
The Lord hears you.
Receive His answer.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we pray that the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, may penetrate darkened minds and pierce hardened hearts, so that we may receive Your appointment where You need us, receive Your admonition to purify us, and receive Your answer to our prayers.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.