A Statement of Triumph (Week 33, Palm Sunday)
Readings
Matthew 21:1–11
Psalm 118
Zechariah 9:9–13
Silent Reflection
Remarks
Matthew 21 opens with one of the records of the Triumphal Entry. We’re familiar with the images of the story, and we often reenact different elements during our Palm Sunday celebrations—waving palm branches, shouting “Hosanna!”
Not that we’re wrong for it, but a little context shows maybe we’ve missed some of the point of the story. Jesus enters Jerusalem on the week of Passover (possibly even “Lamb Selection Day”), a tense week in Palestine, in an already tense area of the Roman world. This particular region was always difficult for the Romans to control, being the home of the only group of people who refused to worship the emperor: a band of stubborn, stiff-necked rebels.
Passover was especially intense because more than a million Jews would be coming to celebrate a feast meant to remember their deliverance from the world’s greatest superpower. The last thing Rome wanted was to let this band of rebels get all riled up after a four-glasses-of-wine party and start a revolt. So, Jesus would not have been the only significant figure to visit that week.
In order to personally instill order, Pontius Pilate, who made his home in Caesarea (the immaculate city of Herod the Great), would head south from Caesarea to Joppa, and then east to Jerusalem, entering the city from the west. He would travel with great pomp and a show of force. Soldiers, trumpeters, banners, heralds, pronouncements—complete with Pilate riding on a white stallion. You would have heard him coming from miles away.
The message he wanted to send to the Jews was clear: “Don’t even think about it. Keep everything under control or Rome will crush you.”
Meanwhile, this particular year, on the same week (possibly even the same day), a humble Jewish rabbi rode into Jerusalem from the east with his ragtag bunch of rejects for disciples.
It is a picture of two kingdoms on a collision course.
Pilate on his stallion; Jesus on his donkey.
Pilate with his soldiers; Jesus with his talmidim.
Pilate instilling fear; Jesus pronouncing favor.
Pilate and his chaos; Jesus and his order.
Pilate with his Empire; Jesus with his Shalom.
This ultimate showdown did not go unnoticed by the Jewish people gathered there on the east side of Jerusalem. The moment Jesus jumped on a donkey, each one of them recognized the clear connection to Zechariah.
And so the people grabbed palm branches and began waving them. Why palm branches? Because the prophecy of Zechariah ends with the vision of all nations celebrating Sukkot in Jerusalem—and Sukkot is where you wave your palm fronds.
And they began shouting “Hosanna!” which is Hebrew for “Lord, save us!” Why do they shout this? Because the great hymn you sing at Sukkot is Psalm 118:
Lord, save us!
Lord, grant us success!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.
The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Because of these passages, the palm frond had become the symbol of the Zealot party and of political revolution. (According to Roman history, shaking a palm frond in public was a crucifiable offense.)
The people were calling out for a revolution. They saw the statement Jesus is making about kingship and they were ready for their king! They gave him their support and praise.
And how did Jesus react to this welcome? He wept over the city, saying, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! If only you knew what would bring you peace.”
Because they had forgotten a key part of the prophecy in Zechariah:
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Jesus’s reaction, this Zechariah passage, and the juxtaposition it presents with the kingdom of Pilate confronts me with a question: Which kingdom do I really want?
I say I want the Kingdom of God, but I’m not sure I’m willing to pay the price. I say I love forgiveness, but there are far too many days where I find myself on the side of the road, clutching a palm frond and shouting for a revolution that comes with my kind of power and my kind of might.
Perhaps we need to ask ourselves some questions. Are there things about our political agendas and methods that would make Jesus weep? Are the ways we think about power, influence, and security compatible with the kingdom he rules? Does far too much of our American culture have us standing at the west side of Jerusalem with Pilate instead of at the east side with Jesus?
Jesus rides into Jerusalem, not to conquer, but to die. He rides in to bring true peace that will last for an eternity, not a political peace that will only last for now. Which side are we on?
Silent Reflection
Response
What differences do you see between Jesus and Pilate?
What differences do you see between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Rome?
What differences do you see between the Kingdom of God and your own culture?