If you were in the crowd on Palm Sunday, would you have been one of the ones cheering, or one of the ones jeering?
Jesus entered Jerusalem a popular teacher and preacher; a healer of the sick and diseased; a friend to the friendless; But most importantly he arrived in the city as the "king who comes in the name of the Lord".
His entry into the city at the beginning of the week was a time of celebration and excitement, but for some who feared his growing followers it marked a critical moment when they had to strategize how to stop this teacher they believed was merely a man. If I put my human cap on, I recognize that Jesus' enemies exponentially stepped up their plans when they saw how quickly and easily their once faithful followers were turning to a new leader. They saw Palm Sunday as the critical turning point. If they allowed Jesus to continue growing in power and followers they would lose their control. They would lose what they believed were their identities and what truly made them in their eyes great men. With the triumphal entry, Jesus went from being an annoyance in the suburbs and countryside to being the most popular kid in school. In their finite minds, they felt they had no choice but to stop him by any means.
As followers of Jesus in 2012 we have the advantage of hindsight. We celebrate Palm Sunday with a mixture of joy, sorrow and impending tragedy; similar to how we remember Good Friday. We know that the celebrants and the sycophants will be short lived. We know that many of those who waved palms to celebrate his arrival into Jerusalem, hurled insults on Good Friday morning screaming hysterically for his death.
And yet, there is so much truth and reality in the celebration of Jesus' entrance into the city. We know that those who greeted him had true love in their hearts. They saw with clear eyes the Messiah they had been waiting thousands of years to see. They knew who he was without any prompting. Their hearts were pure...that day.
But, as can happen to so many of us, their hearts began to listen to the mummers and lies being spread throughout the city. Gossip travels with greater speed than light and by the time Jesus was arrested on Thursday night, the crowds' hearts had been twisted and deceived. They did not listen to their minds that knew all of what Jesus had taught and accomplished in the previous years. They did not rely on their memories, but rather the cheering squad on Sunday became the jeering masses on Thursday and Friday.
Jesus knew all of this would happen even before he sent the disciples into the city to fetch the young donkey to signify a king coming in peace. He knew this would happen before he healed Peter's mother-in-law, before he rose Lazarus from the dead, before he went into the wilderness and was tempted by Satan, before John the Baptist baptized him in the Jordan. Jesus knew all of these things would transpire even before he went to the temple at twelve years old.
He knew everything that was going to happen - which is why he wept at the Mount of Olives and it is why he said:
“If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
Even as he approached the last week of his life, he was trying to help those who would soon be his murderers. That is a gracious and loving King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That is the only Author of Salvation and Giver of Life.
As we begin Holy Week, we have the true gift and burden of seeing into the future past and knowing what Jesus knew as he entered the city. But the joy in the knowing is that the story doesn't end on Friday but begins on Sunday.
Scripture
Quote of the Day
He who has surrendered himself to it knows that the Way ends on the Cross -- even when it is leading him through the jubilation of Gennesaret or the triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
Dag Hammarskjold
Question of the Day
If Jesus rode into Columbus today, what would the atmosphere be like?
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