Look, the world has gone after Him!

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to  purify themselves.  Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, "What do you think -- that He will not come to the feast?"  Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him.  Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead.  There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.  Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair.  And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.  But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"  This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.  But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.  For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."

 

 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.  Not only Jesus, but also Lazarus is plotted against.  The chief priests seek to put Lazarus to death also because by the fact of his being raised by Christ, he is a sign of the power of God in Christ, and so many believe simply because of his life.  Also let us note that many also seek to see Lazarus because of the miracle (the seventh sign in John's Gospel) concerning him.

 

 

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!"  The people cry out from Psalm 118:25-26, which was associated with messianic expectation.  During the Feast of Tabernacles, this was recited daily for six days, and then seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Hosanna means, "Save, we pray!"  It is associated with a deliverer.  The Feast of Tabernacles commemorated the time when Israel followed Moses toward the promised land, dwelling in tents (or tabernacles); this is also understood to be the feast of the coming Kingdom.  

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."  This is a quote from the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9.  Christ deliberately rides a young donkey, rather than riding in a warrior's chariot as symbolic of a king's victory.  This young donkey is a humble domestic animal used commonly for transportation.  This King is One who has chosen to be one of us, whose weapon is the compassion of God and the truth of the Gospel.

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!"  The people bore witness, the text tells us, emphasizing the significance of the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead.  We hear also the exasperated response of the Pharisees, who clearly see Jesus as a rival for their positions of leadership.  For them, there is no compromise, only competition.  St. John Chrysostom comments that wealth is just as liable as power to destroy those who are not careful. The first leads into covetousness; the second, into pride.  The example, he says, is here, in how the multitude understands, while their rulers are corrupt.

It's quite interesting that the Gospel tells us that Christ's disciples did not understand these things at first.  They only understood after Jesus was glorified; that is, we can understand this as telling us that the disciples only understood after the Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost.  The Gospels are clear where the disciples fail, where they do not understand, and that faith is a journey.  Some, like Judas, fail entirely.  That would include so many of the religious leadership, and especially those at the top.  But John also tells us about Pharisees who were faithful, and certainly it is presented that this crowd believed.  How many retained their faith we do not know.  But all of Jesus' earliest followers were Jews:  His disciples, the multitudes that followed, His friends such as Lazarus and his sisters, the women who supported His ministry, and these crowds who welcome Him to Jerusalem as Savior.   Tomorrow the Gospel will give us a reading that involves Greek-speaking proselytes who come to Jerusalem for the Passover, and their own desire to see Jesus.  So, once again, as we have observed throughout the past several readings, our Gospel does not give us a clean easy picture of what was what.  This picture is as messy as the real world always is, and we don't flinch from it, like the Gospels teach us not to flinch from it.  Life is complicated; there are always degrees of faith, just as there are those who believe and those who do not.  Quite clearly, when it comes to faith, we are to understand that we are on a journey somewhere.  No one comes to faith as a one-time, one-shot experience.  Instead, we are to grow in our faith.  Either that, or we come to some point where we need to make new choices and face hurdles that make our faith difficult, and we struggle.  This is all a part of the road of faith, and it is all a part of our world.  Repentance is the process of turning around, or making the choice to return on the path toward Christ.  When we struggle with dilemmas and difficult decisions, we can be said to be at a crisis point.  The Crucifixion of Jesus is one such crisis point.  All may look at the Cross, and Christ crucified upon that Cross, and make a strong and tough decision.  What will we go through in our own lives, and yet still come more deeply to faith, and to understand our faith in greater depth?  What are the hurdles we have to pass?  Are there difficult experiences on this road?  Do we have to sacrifice for our faith?  Will we lose friends, or income, or status of some sort?  Certainly for the people in this crowd, as for Jesus' direct disciples and followers, all of these decisions will come to the fore, and be crucial in their lives following this week Jesus begins here, which we now call Holy Week.  Let us remember that for the faithful, the Cross will always be central to everything, and it will be hidden "in plain sight" sometimes right in the middle of our dilemmas.  When we're caught between two places, sometimes in the middle there is Christ, teaching us to follow His way, and not to pay attention to what the world would offer us.  Just like these people who welcome Christ, who may feel at one point that it is clear their Messiah has arrived, but will soon hear from the leaders that He is, instead, a deceiver, we might have to make choices in difficult circumstances.  These crowds will neither be able to boldly proclaim Christ openly if they retain faith, but then if they have faith they also will not in good conscience be able to follow their leaders who have failed.  Instead, the early Church will find its own way through difficult circumstances and struggles, both within the context of the Jewish community and the wider Greco-Roman world of the Gentiles.   In short, the Gospels do not present us with a fantasy world or a fairy tale.  They teach us about what the real world is all about, and they teach us about the faith we have to find in a rather messy world, where things are not always completely clear.  Even the disciples, we're told, do not understand the things that are happening on this day, until after the Holy Spirit has come.  We are to make our way through the world doing the best we can, and clinging firmly to our faith.  Maybe most importantly, we are to do the things that shore up that faith and engage in participation of our faith, especially through prayer, so that we are ready to hear and learn how to more deeply participate in Christ's truth and what it is God wants us to see and to bear into the world.  The fruit of the Spirit, St. Paul says, is "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).  These things are the prescription for what faith looks like in a struggling, complicated world where things aren't always clear.  It is these fruit that we fall back on, and that we seek to cultivate and to know.  These are the ways in which we may endure as Christ has taught us, even when things are unclear.  Let us remember who we are through it all.  Our Lord shows us His humility as Leader and Deliverer, Messiah and Savior, as He sits on a donkey's colt in this Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  By contrast, the religious leaders are furious in their helpless inability to stop Jesus -- and they will stop at nothing short of murder.  In these two contrasting parties is the only clear choice we're given in the Gospel reading for whose example we are to follow.  For it's not the struggles of the world in which we must engage, but the struggle for our faith.  For the struggle for our faith really is the struggle for our world.