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 

 

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.   The Gospel emphasizes for us the significance of the raising of Lazarus from death; many of those from Jerusalem have now begun to believe in Jesus.  This is the home ground of the chief priests and the religious rulers, where people begin to have faith in the authority of Jesus.  So great is the perceived threat that the chief priests plot to put Lazarus to death also.

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's cry is from Psalm 118:25-26.   These verses are associated with messianic expectation.  They were recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles, which is the Feast of the Coming Kingdom, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Hosanna means "Save, we pray!"   It is a plea to the Messiah.  In this context, the pronouncement of Caiaphas that it is "expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish" takes on heightened significance, as we can see the growing tension of the religious rulers as Jesus is greeted as Messiah and Deliverer. 

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.   My study Bible explains 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 Jesus does not come as conqueror with horses and chariots and army to establish and earthly kingdom.  He rides on a young donkey, a sign of humility and peace.  The quotation is from Zechariah 9:9, which the disciples only later come to understand as fulfilled by Jesus when He was glorified, and upon receipt of the Holy Spirit.

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!"   Again, the text emphasizes for us this peak of tension with the religious rulers.  The people welcome Jesus as liberating Messiah, and are filled with expectation and hope, especially because of the testimony of those from Jerusalem who had been with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead.  This final and seventh sign of John's Gospel has sent the people to Christ, as the Pharisees say to one another, "Look, the world has gone after Him!"

John's Gospel builds up for us the political tension in Jerusalem and especially among the religious establishment toward Jesus.  Jesus is now hailed and received into Jerusalem as a Messiah, and we know that political tensions are high because of the Roman occupation.  The expectations of the people clamor for a political Messiah, one who will liberate them from occupation, and restore David's kingdom.  It is in this context that John seems to ask us to understand what is happening.  Jesus has come into Jerusalem riding on a young donkey, a "donkey's colt," as the quotation from Zechariah says.  He has come as the Messiah or Prince of Peace, and not to establish an earthly kingdom.  As He will say to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here" (John 18:36).  But the people expect something else, await something else, deeply desire a kingdom that is "of this world."  The religious leaders, who have positions of authority and are entrusted by the Roman rulers to keep the community in order, also fear the people's faith in Jesus, that "the world has gone after Him!" also for political reasons.  They want to guard their places, and they fear Roman response and repression because of the popularity of Jesus.  So what we seem to have in this story are false expectations all around about Jesus.  Neither those who welcome Him as conquering Messiah nor the religious rulers who fear loss of their own authority because of Jesus truly understand what He is about.  Let us also observe the disciples who follow Him in faith.  John's Gospel makes it clear that at the time when this event occurs (which we commemorate as Palm Sunday), the disciples really do not understand what is happening.  They don't understand the significance of the young donkey, for example.  It is only after Jesus is glorified, John tells us, that they begin to more fully understand Christ's gospel of the Kingdom.  But they show us a way through times of great tension and confusion, when all about us seem to be caught up into movements of the day, and especially times of conflict and violence.  In today's reading, we're given a picture of the mixed motivations that are all around in such times, and that would also include the story of Judas and the role He will play, even the betrayal that will come from among them.   But the way the disciples show us, when we are caught up in such times of confusion ourselves, is to follow Christ in faith, even if we do not have sufficient knowledge of the fullness of the time to understand what is happening.  For it is our God of peace whom we truly need; it is Christ who shows us the way to true order and true justice; it is His way and His love we need to seek for ourselves, for through Him we are also the children of God's house by adoption, and there is one Lord we serve and in whom we trust.  The people of Jerusalem greet Him as material Savior and Deliverer, but we have been shown the greater meaning of those titles.  There will be all kinds of people who present themselves to the world as liberators, but it is Christ who truly cares for our souls, and who has suffered for (and with) all of us.