Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!

 

 When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"  So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.  But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?"  And they said, "The Lord has need of him."  Then they brought him to Jesus.  And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.  And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.  

 

Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying:

"'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!'

Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."  But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."

 

- Luke 19:28–40 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because His followers thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.  Therefore He said:  "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.  So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.'  But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.'  And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.  Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.'  And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.'   And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned five minas.'  Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.'  Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.  For I feared you, because you are an austere man.  You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.'   And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant.  You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.  Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?'  And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.'  (But they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas.')  For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.'"

 

  When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"  So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.  But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?"  And they said, "The Lord has need of him."  Then they brought him to Jesus.  And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.  And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.  Here we're given an understanding of Christ's deliberate preparation for what is known as Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  This event is celebrated in the Church as Palm Sunday.  My study Bible comments that by Christ's time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control, and to reestablish David's kingdom.  But in humility -- and through the purposeful preparation we read about here -- Jesus shows that He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom, entirely in contradiction to the expectations of the crowd.  He does not ride on a horse nor in a chariot, but on a donkey's colt.  A donkey is a sign of humility and peace (Zechariah 9:9).  My study Bible says that this entrance into the Holy City declares the establishment of the Kingdom of God.  It is also a promise of Christ's final entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem with all believers and of His accepting the New Jerusalem as His pure Bride (Revelation 21:2).  The people who spread their clothes before Jesus did so as paying reverence to a King.  We recall that in yesterday's reading (above), Jesus gave the parable of the minas in direct response to those who expected an immediate manifestation of His Kingdom.  Regarding the spreading of their clothes before Christ, another comment tells us that this is spiritually interpreted as our need to lay down our flesh, even our very lives, for Christ.

Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying:  "'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"  And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."  But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."  This cry of the people comes from Psalm 118:25-26, which was associated with messianic expectation.  During the Feast of Tabernacles (Hebrew Sukkot), also known as the Feast of the Coming Kingdom, it was recited daily for six days, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  We observe the anger of the Pharisees, who seek to silence the disciples.  But Jesus' response indicates the fervor of their enthusiasm, the truth of the spiritual understanding of this entrance into Jerusalem.

Jesus enters Jerusalem to the acclaim of the crowds of what are mostly His disciples, according to this text.  In yesterday's reading (above), as we remarked, Jesus gave the parable of the Minas to those who expected the immediate manifestation of His Kingdom upon entry into Jerusalem.  Between this day of His Triumphal Entry, which we know as Palm Sunday, and the events of the week that follows, there will be a long road to tread, a long, long learning curve for His disciples, and one that continues to stretch into history for us.  For this is not a story of a great triumphal declaration and vanquishing of all enemies or those who oppose.  This way of Christ's for liberation and salvation is one that also includes the hearts and minds of human beings, the judgment to come, and a cosmic significance that just can't be overestimated nor even fully comprehended by us.  And such sorts of reckoning, correction, and establishment of that true Kingdom take much longer than one event of one day in worldly time as we know it.  This is the sign or symbol of the reckoning of a cosmic kingdom, not a worldly one, and it includes the defeat of spiritual powers and their judgment.  We can't really reckon time the way that God does.  As St. Peter writes, no doubt understood from Psalm 90:4, "But beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8).  The events of the week to follow assure us that the Lord is with us, and transfiguring us and the world, even through the worst of the experiences of humanity, and that we are on a path somewhere into the future of the cosmic reality of Christ.  We are all included in what happens, and we all are here to make choices vis-a-vis the life of Christ and the death and Resurrection to come.  Today in the Eastern Orthodox calendar, it is Ascension Day.  Let us remember this day of Christ's Triumphal Entry, and consider the greater expansion of understanding and expectation to come, as we commemorate the Ascension of His battered and broken body, having experienced even human death, becoming a part of the heavenly life of God.