Mark 11:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples

NIV: As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples,

NASB: And as they *approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He *sent two of His disciples,

CSB: When they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples

NLT: As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead.

KJV: And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples,

NKJV: Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples;

In Jesus' era, Galilee was a Jewish territory geographically separated from Judea by Samaria. Samaria was the district left over from when the Assyrians destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 18:9–12). The Israelites who either remained in the area or returned later intermarried with the settlers Assyria brought in, creating a mixed ethnicity: the Samaritans. Between their lost Israelite ethnicity and their idol worship, traditional Jews considered Samaritans beneath their attention (John 4:9). When Jews from Galilee needed to go to Jerusalem, they typically crossed the Jordan River south of the Sea of Galilee, traveled south through Decapolis and Perea, and crossed back near Jericho. Although Jesus had taken the disciples through Samaria in the past (John 4:1–45) and even made a Samaritan a hero of one of His parables (Luke 10:25–37), He apparently takes the traditional Galilean route this time.

Jesus is not alone, of course. Besides the twelve disciples, several women travel with Jesus to see to His needs (Mark 15:40–41). In addition, many people from Galilee are traveling to Jerusalem for the Passover.

The day Jesus arrives in Bethany, six days before Passover, He eats with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Mary is the sister of Martha, whom Jesus talked to about good priorities (Luke 10:38–42), and Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead (John 11:1–44). After dinner, Mary anoints His feet with expensive perfume and wipes His feet with her hair (John 12:1–8).

Mary apparently does this again two days before the crucifixion at the home of Simon the Leper (Matthew 26:6–13; Mark 14:3–9). Although the details are very similar, including the expensive nature of the perfume, the objections of the disciples for the expense, and the details of Jesus' response are just different enough that some scholars think John's account might be a second, separate occasion from the one Mark and Matthew record.

Mark 11:1–11 records an event included in all four Gospels: that several days before the crucifixion, Jesus enters Jerusalem, welcomed by the people as the Messiah who will free them from Roman rule. Jesus enters on a donkey, fulfilling prophecy and symbolizing the peaceful nature of His first coming. Matthew 21:1–11 ties the triumphal entry to Isaiah 62:11. Luke 19:29–44 records that the Pharisees demand Jesus silence His followers and that Jesus weeps, knowing what happen when the Romans destroy Jerusalem in AD 70. John 12:12–19 goes into more detail about how the disciples don't realize Jesus is fulfilling prophecy (Zechariah 9:9) until after the ascension (Acts 1:6–11).

Jesus and the disciples arrive in Jerusalem a week before the crucifixion, and Jesus begins the last days of His public ministry. They spend their nights on the Mount of Olives and their days in Jerusalem (Luke 21:37). Jesus accepts the accolades designed for a king (Mark 11:1–11), attacks materialistic tradition that keeps people from worshiping God (Mark 11:15–19), gives an object lesson about the fate of fruitless Jerusalem (Mark 11:12–14, 20–25), and reveals the Jewish religious leaders' hypocrisy (Mark 11:27–33). Despite the support of the crowd, Jesus is pushing the leaders toward the crucifixion.

The preceding passages included several miracles and lessons from Jesus. These set the stage for the last, dramatic days of His earthly ministry. In this chapter, Jesus enters Jerusalem to great fanfare and openly confronts local religious leaders for their hypocrisy. Over the next few chapters, Mark will continue to record controversial teachings, leading up to Jesus' arrest and early sham trials, recorded in chapter 14.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.