A Tale of Two Entries

Surprise!  February 26 was Palm Sunday at Salem!  Pastor Suzanne is encouraging us to take a leisurely journey through Lent - or should I say pensive, thoughtful, reflective instead of leisurely?  We will be looking at one day from the final week of Jesus in each weekly sermon leading up to Easter.  I was a little dubious when I heard the plan, but on further consideration her point is well taken.  The week between Palm Sunday and Easter is so jam-packed with activity that it really is difficult to comprehend just about anything.  And I'm not talking about church activities - spring break, mid-terms, baseball season, yard clean up, garden planting, spring cleaning - there is just a lot to claim our attention.  So on the first Sunday of Lent we focused on the first day of Holy Week - Palm Sunday.  Complete with palm fronds!

Philippians 2:1-13 and Mark 11:1-11 create a good image of Jesus entry into Jerusalem.  It's something that I have heard before, but confess I never really understood the historical setting. The feast of Passover in Jerusalem was a sacred pilgrimage for many, swelling the city from 40,000 inhabitants to around 200,000, severely taxing the infrastructure.  All the crowds, heat, dust, and emotion of the festival made for a potentially explosive environment.  To ensure peace, especially if it had to be imposed, the Roman governors were usually present for the Jewish festivals.  And how better to intimidate the overwhelming crowds into lawfulness that with a royal entry, complete with all the regalia they could imagine.  With His entry into Jerusalem Jesus fulfills the scriptural prophecies and provides a foundation for everything that will follow during the week by pointing out the contrast between the kingdom of Rome and the kingdom of Caesar.  Consider:

Pilate rode in a magnificent chariot or on an imposing war horse.
Jesus humbly mounted a young, borrowed donkey.

Pilate was attended by soldiers, an entire army.
Jesus was attended by a handful of fishermen.

Pilate had a strategically planned, imposing procession for his parade.
Jesus came with the disciples and the townspeople, an ad hoc parade.

The sounds of Pilate's parade were feet marching, horse hooves, chariot wheels, leather squeaking, drums.
The sounds of Jesus parade were were the voices of the people.

The army came equipped with full weaponry.
The people came equipped with full hearts.

The onlookers at Pilate's parade were silent, sullen and deeply resentful of Roman control and taxation.
The onlookers at Jesus' parade waved palm fronds and laid down their cloaks for Him.

Pilate entered from the west.
Jesus entered from the east.

Caesar, in Rome, is the son of God.
Jesus, among the people, is the son of God.

The people are ready to rally behind Jesus and defeat Pilate and Rome.
The people are ready to rally behind Jesus and defeat Pilate and Rome.

Wow!  Clearly Jerusalem at Passover is a city full of dynamite just waiting for the flame to ignite it.  The people of Jerusalem are ready to lay down their lives and fight in opposition to the Romans.  They think Jesus is the flame they need, bringing a mighty power, like Moses.  They have formed these images and expectations of Jesus, they want revolution, they want the battle.  They are ready for some smiting!

But Jesus came with a different kind of power.  Jesus demanded a complete change of attitude toward life.  Enemies should be loved, not hated.  True sacrifice is giving of yourself and time, not making occasional offerings.  The Law, the thing that has kept the Jews in relationship with God, needs to be restructured.  Now the most important thing is loving God and your neighbors - even if your neighbors are the Romans!  No wonder they turned on Him.  Consider:

In the existing world view control and prosperity require human domination.
In Jesus' world view control and prosperity require love.

So, as much as I condemn the Jews for turning on Jesus, I have to be careful and be honest about my own expectations.  It is easy to incorporate Jesus into my world view in ways that are comfortable and mesh with what I want to believe and do.  Jesus calls me to embrace servant-hood, sacrifice, love.  The crowds in Jerusalem were not able to see how God could possibly be at work in that situation, in humility and submission to Rome.  I find it difficult to see how God can possibly be at work in the struggles that family, friends and even strangers face.  How is God at work when you feel your body betraying you, crumbling around you?  In the same way the Jews in Jerusalem did, I place limits on God and my relationship with God with my expectations.  Consider:

We want Jesus to join in our parade.

Jesus calls us to join in his parade.