Every time I read of Jesus riding into
Jerusalem on Palm Sunday I get an image of cowboy Jesus in my head. He’s wearing jeans and a flannel shirt. He has on a cowboy hat, cowboy boots with
spurs, and a rope in his hand.
It’s a silly image, but the Bible
makes it clear that no one’s ever ridden this colt. Now Jesus plans to not only break it in but
even ride it in a parade!
This whole Palm Sunday text shows us
just how completely Jesus is in control of things. Obviously he can break-in and control a never
before ridden colt. But we also see just
how complete Jesus’ knowledge is. When
he’s getting close to Jerusalem he tells two of his disciples to go ahead into
a village. He gives them details about
finding a colt, and what to do if someone asks why they’re taking it. Then it all comes to pass just as Jesus describes.
I often wonder what those two unnamed
disciples thought about being sent off to effectively steal someone’s
colt. Presumably Jesus returned it, so
it wasn’t exactly stealing, but did the owner of the colt know that? Just imagine Jesus is coming to Rochester
from Syracuse. He sends you ahead and
says, “Go into Victor and stop at VanBortel Subaru on Route 96 and pick up a
brand new red Subaru Outback for me.
Don’t worry about keys. They’ll
be in the ignition. Just hop in and
drive it back here. If anyone at the
dealership asks you what you’re doing just say, “The Lord has need of it.”
Ah… yeah… right… Jesus. That would be a felony level theft. I’m not going to jail just so you can have a
new ride!
Who knows what all really happened,
but just as Jesus predicted: the colt was there, the owners asked what the
disciples were doing with it, and then they let it go!
Yes, we see here that Jesus knows
everything and can control everything.
An irony begins to develop in the story.
Crowds of disciples await his
arrival. These crowds are probably rural
people from the north who had seen Jesus or heard about him. They were in Jerusalem for the Passover
holiday. They spread their cloaks on the
rode as a royal welcome to him. They
don’t really get it. They don’t really
understand who he is, but they love him and expect great things as their
hometown hero makes his way into Jerusalem.
They praise him calling him king and the one who comes in the name of
the Lord. They say, “Peace in heaven and
glory in the highest heaven!” If those
words sound familiar it is because they are.
It is exactly what the angels said to the shepherds when Jesus was born. Now these words are in the mouths of the
crowds.
Think about it. The angels have praised Jesus. The shepherds, notorious for being petty
crooks and criminals recognized Jesus.
The animals submit to Jesus. The
crowds are praising Jesus. Who is not
praising Jesus? The people we would most
expect to praise Jesus – the Jewish religious experts. These are the people who know the
scriptures. These are the people who
should know how God acts. These are the
people entrusted with the task of making sure the commoners know how to live. What do they say about Jesus?
Pharisees in the crowd say, “Teacher,
order your disciples to stop.” They, in
their educated wisdom, see Jesus as a charismatic teacher from the rural
outskirts of society. They expect him to
know, as they know, that he is not real and that the devotion of the crowds is
misplaced. They see it as his duty to
inform his followers where their loyalty should lie, and where their praises
should be directed – to the city of Jerusalem, to the temple, and to the
priestly leaders whose holiness is the model that all should aspire to.
What does Jesus reply? His reply is very interesting, especially in
light of the angels, shepherds, crowds, and animals all recognizing who he
is. He says, “I tell you, if these were
silent, the stones would shout out!”
Even the elements of the universe,
things as basic as rocks, recognize God’s presence among them.
Yes, this truly means that the
religious leaders are dumb as rocks.
We aren’t done with the stones
yet. They get a second mention in what
we read. Jerusalem, the city that should
so clearly understand what God is up to is completely blind. You can feel God’s lament over this in Jesus’
words, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make
for peace! But now they are hidden from
your eyes. Indeed, the days will come
upon you, when your enemies,” and notice that Jesus is not one of those
enemies, “…your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and
hem you in on every side.”
If the religious leaders want the
crowds to be silent over Jesus because it may cause a riot and thus danger to
the city, they are so totally wrong. No
harm will come to Jerusalem because of Jesus’ presence. Jesus continues, “They will crush you to the
ground, you and your children within you…”
Who is the “they”? The Romans,
those whom the religious leaders are working so hard to keep happy.
And here we have the stones again,
these mute stones that would cry out if the crowds were silent, “… and they
will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize
the time of your visitation from God.”
As Christians we
look back on this and see both a blessing and a warning. It is a blessing because God, in his eternal
mercy, will forgive even these stubborn religious leaders who are less informed
than the rocks. These religious leaders
will insist that there is no way on earth that God could act the very way God
will be acting in the days to come.
We see a warning,
because like the religious leaders of that day, we too are the religious people
today. We are the ones who should be expected
to recognize the actions of God, and not get in the way.
I don’t think
we’d describe those religious leaders as bad people. Surely there were some rotten apples among
them, but for the most part we’d call them good upstanding citizens. They were people of respect. They knew their duty. They knew what was expected of them. They knew how to be models of righteousness. I think we’d like most of them. But they had misplaced loyalties and
commitments.
Sure, we do
things that are wrong and sinful and indulgent sometimes, but for the most part
we want to do what is good and right.
Let us be careful that doing what we think is right does not get in the
way of God’s work. The religious leaders
thought they were preserving the faith and protecting Jerusalem. But they missed it.
Even when we mess
up – mess up as bad as they did in Jerusalem that day – God’s plans
continue. I invite you to read in your
Bibles at home all week what happens with Jesus day to day during Holy
Week. We’ll certainly be doing that on
Thursday and Friday when we are here in worship. And notice what happens. Even though humans are so committed to
undermining God’s plans they are ironically carrying it out.
Jesus has
displayed throughout the gospel that he is on his way – which is God’s
way. He is carrying out God’s plans and
nothing will deter him from it. Now on
Palm Sunday we see how Jesus is in charge of everything, from the rocks to the
beasts to the crowds. Even those who
reject him are carrying out his plans.
And let there be no doubt as the week goes on, that while Jesus appears
to be losing more and more control with each passing day, everything is
actually happening according to his design.
You know well I
don’t like to say that God micromanages our lives, with specific plans for each
of us for each and every moment of every day.
However, God does have a cosmic plan that is moving forward. Whenever we live and act and move we are participating
in God’s great work. Let us rejoice to
have such a role. And let us be smarter
than the religious leaders, smarter than the rocks even, and like the crowds
have eyes open to see God at work.
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