Lectionary Reflection — 25 March 2018, Palm Sunday
12-15The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast of Passover heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered:
Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in God’s name!
Yes! The King of Israel!
Blessed is he who comes in God’s name!
Yes! The King of Israel!
Jesus got a young donkey and rode it, just as the Scripture has it:
No fear, Daughter Zion:
See how your king comes,
riding a donkey’s colt.
See how your king comes,
riding a donkey’s colt.
16The disciples didn’t notice the fulfillment of many Scriptures at the time, but after Jesus was glorified, they remembered that what was written about him matched what was done to him.
Other readings:
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Palm Sunday. Or, as it’s sometimes called, “Jesus’ Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem.” Yeah, I don’t get it either. There’s no “triumph” here, just group mentality. Of course, we know that this same group mentality becomes a mob mentality rather quickly (Matthew 27.15-23).
Since this story is found in all the Gospels, we’ll be referencing them throughout this reflection. That only seems fair as each Gospel emphasises different things.
Leading up to the events in our Lesson today, Jesus and his followers approach Jerusalem and arrive at the Mount of Olives (Matthew 21.1). He sends ahead two disciples, possibly Peter and John (see Luke 22.7-13), to fetch a donkey and her colt. He tells them if anyone asks what they’re doing, they should just reply, “The Master needs them but he’ll send them back” (Matthew 21.3). Both Matthew and John tell us that this was in fulfillment of Zechariah 9.9:
Shout and cheer, Daughter Zion!
Raise the roof, Daughter Jerusalem!
Your king is coming!
a good king who makes all things right,
a humble king riding a donkey,
a mere colt of a donkey.
Raise the roof, Daughter Jerusalem!
Your king is coming!
a good king who makes all things right,
a humble king riding a donkey,
a mere colt of a donkey.
I’ve had it with war — no more chariots in Ephraim,
no more war horses in Jerusalem,
no more swords and spears, bows and arrows.
He’ll offer peace to the nations,
a peaceful rule worldwide,
from the four winds to the seven seas.
no more war horses in Jerusalem,
no more swords and spears, bows and arrows.
He’ll offer peace to the nations,
a peaceful rule worldwide,
from the four winds to the seven seas.
This ties into the type of Realm Jesus was promoting in his view of God’s Realm: a kingdom of peace (John 18.36). In other words, the Realm of God is neither established nor implemented nor expanded by the normal modes (i.e., war and violence) but through peace and servanthood (Mark 10.35-45; cf., John 13.1-7).
The two disciples return and place their cloaks over the colt for Jesus to sit on and he rides it into Jerusalem. When the people get wind of what was going on, some took cloaks (Matthew 21.8, Mark 11.8, and Luke 19.36) while others cut palm branches and laid them on the road leading Jesus into Jerusalem. As he entered the city, the people began to shout … stuff. While the exclamation is quite similar in all four Gospels, there are some differences:
“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!”
The exclamation seems to be based on Psalm 118:3
Yahweh, save us!4
Yahweh, grant us success!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of Yahweh.
From the house of Yahweh we bless you.
Yahweh, grant us success!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of Yahweh.
From the house of Yahweh we bless you.
Now this is where things get a little jumbled up. Up to now, the Gospel stories have all been pretty close in their telling of this story (with minor differences), but now, well, things are kind of all over the place. In Matthew’s account, Jesus makes his way to the Temple and throws out all the “loan sharks” and turns over the tables. He stays in the Temple and starts healing all the sick people. The Religious Elite confront him about this and Jesus leaves the Temple and goes to Bethany (Matthew 21.12-17).
In Mark’s account, Jesus gets to the Temple, takes a look around, but leaves for Bethany because it’s late in the evening (Mark 11.11).
In Luke, well, Luke’s version (Luke 19.33ff) is more fleshed out than the rest.5 The Religious Elite confront Jesus about the crowds and what they’re saying. Jesus tells them that creation itself would celebrate him if the crowds didn’t.
After this, Luke puts in a scene not found in any of the other Gospels. He says that Jesus began to weep as he approached the city. Jesus laments that Jerusalem and the Temple will be destroyed because it didn’t recognize the “gracious visitation from God” and describes some of the horrors of the then coming war between the Jews and the Romans.
Next, Jesus enters the Temple and throws out everyone selling stuff there. He beings to teach daily in the Temple while the Religious Elite plot to kill him.
Lastly, in John’s telling of the story (John 12.17-19), he, too, adds a tidbit that’s not found elsewhere. He says the reason there’s such a large crowd is because the people who witnessed Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead were telling others and everyone wanted to see the miracle worker. The Religious Elite, seeing the crowd, exclaims, “The whole world’s following him!” Right after this is when the Greeks show up asking to speak to Jesus (John 12.20-33).6
As we saw previously, the Synoptic Gospels7 put the “Cleansing of the Temple” right after Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem and leads directly into his arrest, trial, and crucifixion.
So, that’s the whole story and context to our Lesson today. With all of this, though, I see two things going on here — one external and one internal. The external is all of the fanfare and group mentality. All of the high-fives and the shouts of acclamation from the crowds. The throngs of people crowding the streets as Jesus passes by like a float in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Everyone trying to get a wave from Jesus or touch him as he passes by. The sheer spectacle of the whole thing must have been a sight to see. So, there’s the fanfare, the “blockbuster movie,” the red-carpet event feeling of the whole thing. That’s the external bit.
But there’s also an internal something going on, too. And I don’t mean the confrontation between the Religious Elite and Jesus and their opposing worldviews. No, I’m talking about the subtle things we see about Jesus himself.
In the story we see Jesus’ humility. He rides in on a colt to the very center of the city, to the Temple itself. Not the typical entry into a city by its king. Usually, the King enters the city with his army leading the way.8
My question is: What does this tell us about God? While God is the Ruler of all creation (1 Chronicles 29.11-12), what type of Ruler is God? This image of Jesus riding in on a colt is a glimpse. Over and over again, Jesus has been a servant to others.9 He tells his followers that, to be great within the Realm of God, one must be the servant of everyone (Mark 10.41-45).
God doesn’t really do the whole “red carpet” thing. In a story about Elijah listening for the voice of God, Elijah was told, “Go, stand on the mountain at attention before God. God will pass by” (1 Kings 19.11). And then something amazing happened.
12A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn’t to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn’t in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn’t in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper.
13When Elijah heard the quiet voice, he muffled his face with his great cloak, went to the mouth of the cave, and stood there. A quiet voice asked, “So Elijah, now tell me, what are you doing here?”
We see, then, that God’s found in the stillness, the quietness, the gentleness. It’s the same with Jesus riding the colt. Sure, he could have chosen a horse or chariot like other kings or military leaders. But Jesus intentionally chose a colt. I now understand why this passage is sometimes called Jesus’ Triumphant Entry. In this scene we see Jesus’ triumph over the false platitudes of his peers. Once more, he doesn’t succumb to the temptations of the world (Matthew 4.1-11). Instead of getting caught up in the moment, Jesus chose quietness. He chose gentleness. He chose humility.
The scene should reminder of our lives and how to deal with them. In this life there will be chaos, fanfare, and all kinds of external craziness. There will be lies (like those of the Religious Elite) and shallow praise (that quickly turns against us) that can become distracting. As we move toward the cross, we must keep in mind that God’s not found in the chaos or superficial praise of the outside world. No. God’s found in the depth of ourselves. It’s there, in the silent depth of our being, in the bosom of God, that we must intentionally choose humility and gentleness.
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In the Love of the Three in One,
Br. Jack+, LC
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1. Scripture quotations marked (MSG) taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
2. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
3. This passage in the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the Jewish Scriptures used by the New Testament writers and is still used by the Orthodox Church today, is Psalm 117.25-26: “Ah Lord, do save! Ah Lord, do give success! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.”
5. And this should be expected. Luke begins his Gospel by stating that he “investigated all the reports in close detail,” including the accounts from the “original eyewitnesses,” and decided to write his own version (Luke 1.1-4).
6. This was last week’s Lectionary Reading and reflection.
7. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to as the Synoptic Gospels because they include a lot of the same stories and events, often in a similar sequence, in contrast to John’s Gospel.
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