The Entry on a donkey is Found in all four gospels Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11;1-10, Luke 19:28-44 and John 12:12-17 (His disciples did not believe then, but after his death, they remembered John 12:16). They celebrated the procession but did not know what they were doing. They missed Jesus the messiah coming as the savior of the world.
And, so the colt, (a young donkey) is brought to Jesus. The disciples create a makeshift saddle, layering their cloaks on the colt’s back. And Jesus rides this colt into Jerusalem. The crowds in Jerusalem have swelled to several hundred thousand, crowding the streets of Jerusalem as pilgrims and residents of the city prepare for The Feast of Passover, the most memorable feast in the history of the Jewish people. For it is this Passover feast that memorializes God’s deliverance of the nation from the slavery of Egypt.
The seder meal of lamb and bitter herbs and other symbolic foods will be eaten that week, reminding the first century Jews that God freed their ancestors from the oppression of Egypt. The prayer in Jesus’ day was, of course, that God would free the Jews from the oppression of Rome. And so when Jesus comes riding into Jerusalem on the first day of Passover week, the crowds were looking for someone to rally around, someone to carry the banner of freedom and liberation for the Jewish people.
But Jesus is not traveling the road to revolution, he is traveling the road to Calvary. And along the way several things happen.
On The Road To Calvary, Jesus Picks Up Some Admirers
Of course, not even the disciples comprehend that Jesus is heading toward his death by the end of the week. Every time Jesus mentions the possibility that he will be mistreated, the disciples protest that he is even speaking of such a thing. Each vows to defend and stay with Jesus regardless of the outcome.
And so as Jesus rides into Jerusalem that Sunday morning, the followers are joyous, the crowd is energized, and shouts of “Hosanna” ring out as he rides slowly and carefully through the crowds.
The people praised Jesus as He passed by, but many of them praised him for two reasons. First, because of his miracles. He had healed the sick, raised the dead. They praised Him because he was serving them. Second, because they saw in Jesus a way to be politically delivered from the Romans- To be set free from Rome as Israel was set free from Egypt.
These were the crowds longing for freedom. The residents of Jerusalem, and Jews from all over the Mediterranean area who have arrived for the Passover, yearn for freedom. They despise the presence of Roman centurions in their city, the City of David. They are revolted that Antonio’s Fortress, built by their former king Herod the Great, is attached to the north wall of the Temple compound and houses the Roman garrison.
The Jews look away as Roman troops parade through the streets of Jerusalem, holding high the standard bearing the Roman eagle. Every time they shop in the market square, they pay merchants with Roman coins stamped with the likeness of Cesar. Rome’s presence, power, and domination is seen everywhere, even in their court system where the governor of Rome administers Roman law, overriding their own high priest and religious leaders.
So, as Jesus rides into Jerusalem that morning, the crowds that sing and shout and follow him are admirers. They like that Jesus stands up to their own corrupt political leaders and religious figures. They like that Jesus seems to be a man of the people, that he eats with sinners and talks with prostitutes. They have been looking for a hero, and Jesus is the flavor of the day. And, of course, there were strange reports that he could heal people, feed people, and that when he prayed evil spirits fled from those they possessed.
But the problem with admirers is that they see what they want to see in their hero of the day. What the crowds saw in Jesus was the son of Joseph, not the Son of God. They saw him as a revolutionary, not as Redeemer. They wanted another Maccabee, not a new Messiah. In short, they admired Jesus because they thought he was the answer to all their problems.
On The Road To Calvary, Jesus Picks Up Some Opposition
In what is an otherwise jubilant scene of singing and shouting and celebration, the Pharisees hear all the commotion. Rushing toward the sounds of joy and laughter, they quickly size up the situation: Jesus’ followers are proclaiming him king! And just as quickly, the Pharisees shout out to Jesus, “Rebuke your disciples!”
In other words, “Tell them to stop this nonsense. You’ll upset the Romans, and besides, you’re no king or messiah.”
Jesus reply is that even if he tells his followers to be quiet, the stones themselves will cry out with joy. Perhaps that’s what Paul had in mind when he said that all creation groans for deliverance and transformation. Well, either way, Jesus picked up some opposition. This, of course, is not the first time he has encountered opposition. Jesus has been opposed from the very beginning of his ministry:
-In Nazareth, the synagogue crowd didn’t like his interpretation of the prophet Isaiah;
-When he healed the man on the Sabbath, the Pharisees accused him of being a Sabbath-breaker;
-When he re-interpreted the Torah, the Law of Moses, they murmured against him;
-When he proclaimed that he would tear down the Temple and rebuild it in 3-days, they tore their clothes and shouted in disapproval.
No, this wasn’t the first time he met opposition, but now the opposition was determined to stop him. He was too popular, too charismatic, too much trouble for him to be allowed to continue. He had to be stopped, even if they had to kill him.
Opposition to Jesus is nothing new, and sadly, it is not going away.
It is no surprise that Jesus picks up opposition on the road to Calvary, even as the crowds are admiring him. There have always been, and will always be, those who oppose the work of God, who reject the love of God, and who ridicule the Son of God.
But knowing all of that, Jesus kept going. John 3 :16 tells us – “For God so loved the world that He sent his only Son…” That world that God loves includes those who oppose Jesus. They are the ones for whom Christ died, they are the recipients of God’s grace, and their sin is no worse than our own. Jesus said it best, “The well have no need of a physician.” Jesus came especially to those who opposed him.
The crowd went from full of love to hate in 5 days. But I wonder how often I miss the point. How much do I listen? Am I part of the crowd of shallow followers that are just spectators and admirers.
On the Road to Calvary, Jesus Picked Up the Cross
The cross shows discipleship. We read that all his ‘disciples’ left him. The Cross is the ultimate test of discipleship. Admirers leave when faced with the cross. Only true disciples stay on. All the disciples were admirers until the death. On the resurrection day, changes happened.
Jesus restored the admirers and turned them into disciples.
At this point, the life of Jesus isn’t very different from the lives of other charismatic leaders. Some people follow him for the wrong reasons, others oppose everything he’s doing, even when it helps others. In celebrating the Palm Sunday, and the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem we can easily miss the the reason for his coming
Jesus did not come to hear the crowds shout “Hosanna.” Nor did he come unaware of the opposition to his ministry. Jesus came to Jerusalem not for the first part of the week, not for Palm Sunday. No, Jesus came to take up the cross, to take up the Cross and face death.
On the road to Calvary, not only Jesus picks up admirers and opponents, but
also chooses to take up the cross and death.
But, you might say, “Today is a day of celebration. Let’s leave the gory details of his crucifixion to Holy Week.” And we could do that. We could gather next Sunday and have two Sundays of celebration in a row. On one Sunday, today, we would celebrate Jesus’ triumphant ride into the city. And on next Sunday, we will celebrate the victory over sin, death and the grave. But let’s not forget that the road Jesus traveled led not just to Jerusalem, but through its streets where he was mocked and jeered. The road that Jesus walked was a road that did not end in the city. It continued out the other side, through the city gates, to a hill called Golgotha, Calvary, the Place of the Skull.
And it is on this road that Jesus picks up the cross. We usually phrase it in the passive voice grammatically by saying “Jesus was crucified.” And that is certainly true. The Passover crowd demanded it, Pilate confirmed it, and the Roman centurions did it. They nailed Jesus to the cross. But if we say, “Jesus was crucified” or “They crucified Jesus” we miss the great significance of this week. Jesus picked up the cross willingly, sacrificially, and obediently. Paul says, “He became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” Jesus said, “I lay down my life, and no one takes it from me.”
And even though he struggled, and even though he wept tears of sorrow like great drops of blood, Jesus picked up the cross. The road to Jerusalem was not the highway of Hosannas. The road into the city was not the concourse of cheers. The road to Jerusalem was the road to Calvary. Jesus knew it, the disciples didn’t. Jesus walked it, the disciples only followed. Jesus embraced it, the admirers fled including the so called, “disciples”. But Jesus did not abandon them. There was a third day, when the purpose of His coming was being fulfilled. He came again to restore the fearful and weak disciples.
It is because Jesus picked up the cross and gave his life, that we can live. It is because Jesus picked up the cross that this world was forever changed, that lives were forever made whole, that sin lost its death-grip on humankind.
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