Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt

 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. 

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:

"Hosanna!
'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!
The King of Israel!"

Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:

"Fear not, daughter of Zion;
Behold, your King is coming,
sitting on a donkey's colt."

His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!"

- John 12:9-19

In Saturday's reading, we read about the raising of Lazarus.  We begin with the reading of Friday, which taught us that when Jesus heard from the sisters Mary and Martha that their brother Lazarus was ill ("Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick"), He delayed two more days where He was.  When He arrived at their home in Bethany, Lazarus had already been buried.  Martha said to Jesus that if He had been there, her brother would not have died.  Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."  On Saturday, we read that she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.  Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."  Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"  Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."  Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.  But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did.

 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.   This extraordinary seventh sign in the Gospel of John is an absolute sort of evidence or witness to Jesus' words to Martha:  "I am the resurrection and the life."  After this sign, and the fame that comes from it, there is no doubt of the power of His ministry. It's important to note the pattern that comes to His followers:  they also do not escape the wrath of the leadership, but rather share it; in this sense following in Christ's footsteps.  We read of the man blind from birth being cast out of the temple after being healed and witnessing to His healing from Christ.  So it is with Lazarus, only the wrath is greater in proportion to the work:  for the life given by Christ, they seek to kill him.  St. John Chrysostom has written:  "No other miracle of Christ exasperated the Jewish leaders as much as this one.… It was so public, and so wonderful, to see a man walking and talking after he had been dead four days. And the fact was so undeniable.… In the case of some other miracles, they had charged him with breaking the sabbath and so diverted people’s minds; but here there was nothing to find fault with, and therefore they vent their anger upon Lazarus.… They would have done the same to the blind man, had they not had the charge to make of breaking the sabbath. Then again the latter was a poor man, and they cast him out of the temple, but Lazarus was a man of rank, as is plain from the number who came to comfort his sisters.… It exasperated them to see all leaving the feast, which was now beginning, and going to Bethany" (Homilies on the Gospel of John 66.1.6). 

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem . . .   My study bible points out that "earlier Jesus had come to Jerusalem in a hidden, private way.  But now He enters the Holy City publicly." 

. . . took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:
"Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!  The King of Israel!"  Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:  "Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt."  "Hosanna," says my study bible, "is a liturgical shout which means 'save now' (Ps. 118:25)."  It also tells us, "Jesus' deliberate action of riding in on a donkey signifies He is the prophesied Messiah of peace (Zech. 9:9), for kings and military leaders rode on horses or in chariots.  The Triumphal Entry marks a high point in Jesus' ministry as He brings His message to the Holy City and encounters the central authorities.  This event is celebrated on Palm Sunday, an acclamation of the lordship of Christ as King of kings."

His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  Here's a very important way in which we understand Scripture.  In some sense, we know the people's expectation is incorrect.  Jesus is not going to become the type of king that they expect.  But the Scripture, nevertheless, bears true witness to Christ.  And so, the people are correct in the choice to honor Him with these verses, and they also witness to His true nature as Messiah by welcoming Him with these verses of Scripture.  The people also come to meet Jesus because they have heard about Lazarus.  We note, importantly, that John, one of His disciples as well, testifies that the disciples did not understand these things at first, but only later after He was glorified.  Then it was that they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  So, whatever way in which He was expected and welcomed, the truth is there for the disciples and for us to discover, no matter how much longer that may take for our understanding to be complete.  "Out of the mouths of babes," in this case, comes a truth that is deeper than they can yet know.  The truth was in the prophecy and the Scripture and even in the witnessing of the multitudes, regardless of their expectations.  By the same token, we await the insight Scripture reveals to us, day by day, for this is how our faith works.

The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!"  In an interesting commentary, Cyril of Alexandria writes:  "Even though they did not know it, the Pharisees were telling the truth when they said, 'Look, the world has gone after him,' for not only Jews but Gentiles as well were destined to accept the faith"  (Commentary on the Gospel of John 8.52).  Chrysostom says that perhaps this is said by those Pharisees who thought correctly about Jesus but were afraid to speak up -- in this sense they were trying to restrain the others, presenting it as an impossible task to change this now.

On the day we celebrate as Palm Sunday, we commemorate the events of today's Gospel reading.  That day, for most of the Western world, was celebrated yesterday.  For most Eastern Christians, Palm Sunday remains several weeks away.  But one thing we can note, that the world on this day in the Gospels is "upside down and inside out."  That is, the truth is being proclaimed, although it is out of the mouths of those who either expect something quite different and a different meaning to their words than we understand now (as in the multitudes who welcome Jesus), or the meaning is altogether distorted in intent yet clear in expression (as in the Pharisees who say that "the world has gone after Him").  Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week, and as we know, contrary to the expectations of the crowds, Jesus will not rule as an earthly king.  Quite the contrary, His Passion and death on the Cross are inaugurated at this beginning, His open confrontation and presentation to the City means He will face His human death.  In faith, we know that not only is the outcome the Cross, but also the Resurrection.  But let us know that on this day with so many false expectations, and so many varying desires, and the slavery of envy and the jealous guarding of position, with so much in a swirl and the disciples uncomprehending, the truth is there.  And not only is it there, shouted from the mouths of babes, so to speak, but it is also there in the person of Jesus all along.  "Hidden in plain sight" is a phrase that might have been coined by our Gospel writers, the Evangelists, for this is the story of Jesus.  But the truth permeates the texts through and through, even when the characters have no idea they are speaking the truth, or what that truth is -- especially when truth is being revealed to them, and they have yet to comprehend.  And I think that when we are in situations which are confusing and difficult, or that seem frightening and threatening, in which we don't know the outcome, we should remember this event.  Nothing is as it appears to be.  We know what is coming for Jesus.  And yet, the truth is there in plain sight.  It has not deserted us, and Christ has not deserted us.  There is just so much more depth to understand, so much that is being revealed and that it will take time for us to know.  There is so much that we need to understand.  And there is also irony, the pattern of life in which truth is present even though human beings would desire to deny it, and the resulting calamities that happen from this denial.  The world is confused and mixed up:  but the truth of the Gospels works through it anyway.  This is what we need to remember when life presents us with extreme situations of disappointments, of false expectations, and things beyond our understanding.  The truth is right there.  It is just a matter of time, of re-shifting our orientations and expectations, of prayer and the help of the Spirit, of God's perspective that is waiting there for us to understand.  Let us consider the position of Jesus, what He knows and what is to come.  His disciples understand nothing of what is happening.  And yet these are the events that are the most profound expression of our faith, coming up and unfolding through the rest of this week into the fullness of Jesus' phrase, "I am the resurrection and the life."