Palm Sunday.

Going to post the notes and thoughts from the Palm Sunday talk. These notes may not be exhaustive of all that was said or all that well put together on paper. I'm sure I added and I'm sure I left things out. To give a little credit where a lot of credit is due - I leaned on Rob Bell, Brian McLaren & Ray Vander Laan for help on the subject matter.

Traditionally called Palm Sunday also known as Triumphal Entry Sunday. A week before his crucifixion, Jesus entered Jerusalem, the focus of the Jewish people. Millions of Christians for thousands of years have reflected and studied and asked questions about his entry.

Matthew 27:1

Chief Priests – ruling minority elite and it their job to help the Jewish people obey God, and show the world what God was like. These people decide they must kill Jesus. They bound him led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.

Why would you want to kill someone like Jesus? What was his message? Why does the ruling establishment decide this man must die?

They turn him over to Pilate the governor. Why didn’t they kill him? Who is Pilate? What historically is going on? Who is Pilate and why is he a roman governor in Jerusalem?

The Jewish people had been under foreign occupation and oppression for centuries. Since 586 BC, a succession of empires – the Assyrians, Babylonians, Medo-Persians, Greeks and Romans. They wanted to be free to live in their own land without outside interference, occupation and domination.

Zealots – Herodians – Essenes (Sadducees) - Pharisees

The Roman Empire ruled the world. Julius Caesar tried to consolidate everything. His adopted son Octavian who later changed his name to Caesar Augustus became the first Caesar, who ruled the world from England to India.

A global superpower with one leader at the top overseeing the whole thing. Caesar Augustus believed he had come from heaven to earth to bring about universal reign, that he was the son of god incarnate on the earth. He used a propaganda phrase “Caesar is lord”, and “There is no other name under heaven by which people can be saved than that of Caesar.” He instituted a 12 day celebration of his birth called “Advent of The Caesar. You could offer sacrifices to him to forgive your sins. These foreign oppressors began to divinize the political leaders.

When you conquer the whole world, how do you rule countries from distances that might take you three weeks to travel to by horse? How do you rule and maintain order?

Caesar Augustus died which led to Caesar Tiberius. At the time of Jesus Tiberius was ruling.

In the ancient world you would spread the word of your reign through coins. The coin of Tiberius had the image and inscription of Tiberius. When you conquer a land you would demand a tax or tribute to raise money to conquer more lands. If you were a Jew in Israel and Rome had conquered you do you pay the tax the tribute? Caesar says he’s god and if I pay the tax am I acknowledging that Caesar is God? But if don’t pay the tax then we will be in danger of rebelling against the empire and Caesar kills those who rebel.

Some religious leaders want to trap Jesus so they bring him this current debate. Should we pay tribute to Caesar (the worshipped son of a worshipped god)? Jesus said, “You give to Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is God’s”. What does that say? Caesar is not god! The first commandment is thou shalt have no other gods and the second is thou shalt not make any graven images or idols. So if you are a Jew trying to obey the Ten Commandments this is a real issue. So when Jesus is asked should we pay, Jesus says show me a coin, which means he doesn’t have a coin and the leaders pull out a coin which means they do have it thus saying, “Caesar is the son of god”.

Now, Tiberius has an issue because he can’t be everywhere at once. In the region of Judea, Caesar appointed a roman to go to Jerusalem to rule in his place. The man he chose to rule on behalf of the empire was Pilate, governor of the land. Pilate was a historical ruler and governed this region. His job entailed living in Israel ruling trying to maintain order. If you are Pilate, you do not want these people to raise a ruckus. Your job was to maintain order.

Pilate did not live in Jerusalem, he lived in Caesarea. But he has a problem.

Luke 22:1 says, “Now the festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover was near. The Chief Priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death…”

What was Passover all about?

Exodus 3:7 – Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey…The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt.”

The Jewish people are living in the land of Egypt enslaved by the pharaoh and God sends a messenger to them. God is the God who hears the cries of the oppressed. God rescues these helpless slaves out from under the hand of a foreign oppressor and once a year they would gather at a time called Passover to celebrate their god of the oppressed. They had been under the bondage of a foreign oppressor. God hears the cry of his people when they are in trouble and they would gather to celebrate when god rescued them.

200,000 Jews would gather to celebrate at the temple that God brought them out of slavery. If you are Pilate, you’re not very excited about this Passover. Your job is to maintain order and here they are celebrating. What if they all gather and start talking about an overthrow of sorts. You do not want them to celebrate to loudly or too long. Your job as Pilate is to keep these people well behaved and if you know 200,000 are coming to Jerusalem how do you send a message “don’t even think about it”?

Once a year Pilate leaves Caesarea and marches into Jerusalem sending a message that says do not mess with Rome. It would begin with the roman eagle saying the Roman Empire is coming. Behind the eagle would be the roman soldiers sending a message that resistance is futile submit or die. They had the cross as a punishment. Everything is about power and strength and domination. The roman army on the march evoked fear and terror. They march through your village to let you know who rules the world.

At this time, 80-90% of people in Israel are peasants and simple farmers, the working class, very poor simple good people living off the land. The Roman army is marching through your village saying don’t you even think about it. Pilate would ride on horse a sign of power strength and military success. All this to remind these Jewish pilgrims to not even think about rebelling. Pilate enters Jerusalem from the west.

This same week something else happens.

Luke 19:28.

Soon after Pilate enters from the west, Jesus directs them to get a donkey.

Luke 19:35
Luke 19:37

Blessed is the KING. What word is not the word to be using and shouting about now? KING. A large crowd of people shouting about another king is not a good thing. Pilate just entered from the west.

Luke 19:39

Some of the religious leaders (Pharisees) rebuke them telling them to keep quiet. But Jesus says if they stay quiet the stones will cry out. The crowds thought they were welcoming a king who would overthrow the Roman Empire. But they would soon be disappointed.

Luke 19:41

He wept over the city.

Matthew 21:1-11

He doesn’t walk. He does something else. Let’s explore how he enters the city. It is loaded with significance. Your king comes to you gently riding on a donkey. Jesus rides in to say I am the one who is coming.

Remez - They would quote the first part of the verse (remez) knowing you would know the rest of it. The second part is when things get a little edgy. They would have continued the quote from Zachariah 9. A chariot is a symbol of war. Ephraim was a symbol of the Jews. He takes away the weapons of war from the Jews and declares peace to the nations.

Jesus enters from the east and he doesn’t enter on a horse or on foot but on a donkey because Zachariah said some things about a future king. He will come on a donkey because he is opposed to war. He will take away the weapons of war and will extend peace.

Pilate enters from the west garbed and armed in all of the trappings of war. Jesus enters from the east but does Jesus choose a donkey randomly or for a purpose. The purpose is to say, “My kingdom is totally at odd with that kingdom”. Jesus stages an intentionally visual reality (kingdom – how things really are and how things should really be) of a totally different kind.

He is weeping and children are rejoicing. Why is Jesus weeping? In the year 70 the Jews went to war against Rome and they were absolutely destroyed. In the city of Rome there is the Titus (roman general) arch to commemorate the roman army destroying Jerusalem. Jesus weeps because they don’t follow the better way.

There are two ways to enter a city from the east and from the west and the writers of these gospels are confronting us with the way of Pilate and the way of Jesus. Which way? There are two ways to enter into a conversation, treat employees, deal with conflict in marriage, deal with pain, run your house, and treat people. We are confronted with two ways and Jesus pushes us which way? My way or the way you’ve seen. Horses or donkeys? My way or the way of Rome and the world? Two ways to enter the city, from the east or from the west?

Many who cried “Hosanna in the highest” (Matthew 21:9), were soon to join in the shout “Let him be crucified” (Matthew 27:23).

Why did he die? This nice Jewish rabbi? Why was he killed?

In the upper city the chief priests and elders of the city, the powerful wealthy elite lived. While 80-90% were barely making ends meet but in the upper city are a group of Jews who are in partnership with Pilate, they are getting rich off the people giving money to god. They are living in absolute luxury among the religious rulers who were supposed to be leading the people into obedience to god. The people are experiencing poverty and the elite are growing wealthy

John 12:19

The Pharisees said to one another “look how the whole world has gone after him. There are two ways to enter a city. This is true for people churches groups of people nations.

The temple of god has become corrupt; the elite group of leaders is exploiting people for their own power. Jesus says this is not right that it grieves the heart of god and god is the god who hears the cries of the oppressed. He is willing to die for the everyday normal people who are being trampled. He goes to the cross for a better way.
Matthew 26:36 – 27:54 (Passion Account)

Henri Nouwen – “In the world sadness if you’re sad, you cannot be glad. If you’re glad, you cannot be sad – be happy and forget your troubles. In the spiritual life it’s precisely the opposite. You embrace your sadness and trust that, right there, you will find gladness. That’s what the cross is all about. I look at the cross, a sign of execution, of pain, of torture, and see it as my hope.”