As is often the case with the synoptic gospels, Mark 11 and Matthew 21 present two very different accounts of what took place on "Palm Sunday." This difference is more than the confusion caused by a close reader (or an elementary-aged Sunday School student) noticing that Jesus asks for, and then rides into the city on a donkey in Mark, but both a donkey and a colt in Matthew.

The main difference between the two is much more profound than these details and changes how one should process Jesus' acts on this day in the Christian calendar. The root of this difference is a problem with time.

The Different Chronologies

Matthew 21's Version

[Palm Sunday]

Jesus enters the city riding the donkey and the colt to shouts of "Hosanna."
Jesus heads to the Temple and overturns the "den of robbers," therein.
Jesus heals people in the Temple and then gets into a verbal fight with the religious authorities.

Jesus heads to Bethany for the night.

[Monday]

Jesus is hungry, sees a barren fig tree, curses it, and it withers immediately in front of the disciples.

Jesus goes back to the Temple and fights with the religious leaders some more.

Mark 11's Version

[Palm Sunday]

Jesus enters the city riding only a donkey to shouts of "Hosanna."

Jesus heads to the Temple, sees it empty, looks around, and leaves.

Jesus heads to Bethany for the night.

[Monday]

Jesus is hungry, sees a barren fig tree, and curses it.

Jesus heads to the Temple and overturns the "den of robbers," therein.

Jesus gets into a verbal fight with the religious authorities.

[Tuesday]

The disciples see that the fig tree Jesus cursed the day before has withered.

Jesus goes back to the Temple and fights with the religious leaders some more.

The differences are stark, as is the textual irony. The Gospel of Mark was written some time before The Gospel of Matthew (yes, we side with the vast majority of scholars on this point) and tends to be a lot shorter in its treatment of the events in Jesus' life. The writer of Matthew (and Luke for that matter) tend to elongate and explain the cliff-notes version of events we have in Mark. Mark tends to read a breakneck pace, with all of Jesus' life wrapped up in 16 chapters, compared to Matthew's 28 and Luke's 26. But not here.

Here Matthew cuts Mark's three-day story in half. Here Matthew speeds up the pace, chronologically and theologically.

Why the Rush?

Matthew adds an immediacy, a rush, a hurry-up offense to the narrative we're used to in Mark. Mark is supposed to be the ADHD-gospel, as every other sentence seems to begin with "immediately," "straightway," "right after this," and "before the disciples had time to catch their breath..."

In Matthew's version, Jesus moves from the triumphal entry into Jerusalem directly into an attack on the oppressive religious system of the Temple. He immediately assaults those who are preying on the disadvantaged for financial gain, literally, according to John's gospel, beating the perpetrators of evil with a whip ( And yes we made a card for that too: "Jesus, literally, whipping your ass."). From there Jesus straightway moves to heal those who are physically suffering, the blind and those with other physical disabilities. Then, right after this, He immediately throws shade at the religious leaders who question His work, those who should have been clearing the Temple of "the robbers" and providing care for the disabled in the first place.

Then, before the disciples had time to catch their breath from the previous day's excitement, Jesus' power to kill the fig tree is also immediate, and the immediacy of the act is of particular note in the passage (c.f. vs 19-20). [Oh we have a card for that too, and a t-shirt!]

In Mark's version Jesus is thoughtful, methodical. He leads the throngs to the Temple at a slower pace. He is not in a rush, or at least He is not rushing past the people gathered to see Him, to chant for salvation. Perhaps He stops for conversations, to hold hands, to offer blessings not recorded. Whatever the case, He arrives after Temple closing-time. He enters, stands, considers. Plans.

He travels to Bethany and stays in the room Martha, Mary, and Lazarus always let him use. Perhaps He stays up all night, thinking. Perhaps His sleep is fitful, knowing what comes in the morning. Perhaps it was the calm sleep of the righteous.

The next day He makes his way to the Temple: His plan, His intention at the forefront of His mind. Hungry, physically and spiritually, His eyes alight on a barren fig tree. He curses the fig tree in front of the disciples. Nothing happens and they are confused. He hides a smile. He knows they will pass this way multiple times over the course of the week. It's the road they always take.

In the Temple He attacks the evils He encounters, but does not heal anyone. That's not what He's here for. He's here to preach. He's here to bring the Word Jeremiah shouted before the previous Temple. He's here to rend hearts, not mend flesh.

The next day Peter, true to form, sees the withered fig tree. It's time for the object lesson He planned . . .

On Moving Mountains

So where does this bring us? To the foot of movable mountains.

Concluding the fig tree conversations, Jesus presents the famous, almost a Christian cliche pronouncement asserting that prayer, built on unwavering faith can result in mountains being tossed into the sea.

Some preach/believe this literally (Everest, Kilimanjaro, K2, Fuji, Washington, and others might have their days numbered), while others believe/preach this metaphorically (the "mountains" of addiction, budgets, crisis, envy, depression, failure, gremlins, etc can be overcome).

You can choose for yourself which you side with (or both), but the message is the clear: "Faith can move mountains."

Or is it really that clear? The message must be filtered through the writer's presentation.

Matthew presents immediacy. Mark presents patience.

Matthew says those mountains will move as quickly as Jesus' blitzkrieg Temple assault, the healing of the disabled, and the withering of the fig tree. Right now.

Mark says those mountains will move, but it will take careful consideration and time. It will not happen right now, and when it does move, it might not look exactly like you thought.

Perhaps the mountains will move, but when? It's easy to say "in God's timing," but when is that?

Perhaps we pray for Matthew's when we need Mark's. Perhaps the reverse is true.

Perhaps we need to pray and be ready regardless. We leave that to you.