Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt

 

Palm Sunday; the Entry of our Lord into Jerusalem.  Armenian illuminated manuscript

 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 

 

On Saturday, we read that, after Martha (the sister of Lazarus) had spoken with Jesus, 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."

 

  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.   On Saturday we read about the raising of Lazarus, the seventh and final sign in John's Gospel (see above).  Between today's reading, and where our previous reading ended, the Scriptures cover some notable events.  There is first of all the response of the religious leaders in Jerusalem, after being told by witnesses of the raising of Lazarus.  They begin to plot in earnest to kill Jesus  (John 11:45-57).  Second, there is the notable event in which Mary, the sister of Lazarus, anointed Christ's feet with fragrant oil, which Jesus said was in preparation for His death (John 12:1-8).  Here we find that the chief priests are not only plotting to put Jesus to death, but to put Lazarus to death also, because it is on account of him that many from among the temple in Jerusalem now believe 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!"  The event described here is called Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, and it is celebrated in the Church as Palm Sunday (commemorated yesterday universally).  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.  Jesus is welcomed into the city as if paying reverence to a King.  The people's cry comes from Psalm 118:25-26, which was associated with messianic expectation.  It was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles, also known as the Feast of the Coming Kingdom, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Hosanna, my study Bible explains, means, "Save, we pray!"

 

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."  In humility, my study Bible says, Jesus shows that He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom.  He does not ride in a horse nor in a chariot, but on a young donkey (a colt), which is a sign of humility and peace.  The Scripture is quoted from Zechariah 9:9.  Christ's entrance into the Holy City, my study Bible explains, declares the establishment of the Kingdom of God.  Moreover, 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).  

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!"   Note how understanding works; the disciples remembered this Scripture and connected these events to their meaning when Jesus was glorified (that is, after His death, Resurrection, and Ascension).  We see how important the raising of Lazarus was to these central events of Holy Week; it is this spectacular sign that has made all the difference, both to the people -- and to the Pharisees.

Palm Sunday conjures up images of processions.  As we know the Church (especially, perhaps, the Orthodox Church) has many processions, times when a saint is commemorated or another type of feast day.  This procession image of Jesus entering into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday might, in some way, be compared to modern parades, especially those of a military nature.  But of course, the difference is really what makes all the difference.  This is "like" a military parade of a king entering into a city to claim it, to take ownership and authority in some sense, to claim a throne.  But in a sense, it's also nothing of the kind, and that is intentional.  For although people expect a King, and many now -- at least at the present moment depicted in the Gospel -- believe that Jesus must be that King, that political Messiah they wanted, a strong man liberator against the Romans and all other conquerors, it is not to be.  For Jesus has chosen not the military style display of power and authority, not an impressive array of great men and generals and war capabilities, but to ride into Jerusalem on a young donkey, a colt.  This is the Jesus who proclaims in humility His authority, His messiahship, His true identity.  For let us face facts as they truly are.  For one thing, there is no possible earthly display that could really convey to us the grandeur of God, the unlimited power of Christ, the power to create at levels of life and death that truly belong to Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.  Nothing could define or narrow down a specific image of that truth, for it is unlimited and also beyond the scope of our imaginations and understanding.  In this sense, it also follows that Christ, of course, cannot give the religious authorities in the temple what they continually ask for, a sign that will convince them of who He truly is.  His signs don't work that way.  His signs are just that, signs of the presence of God, but they cannot be fully defining images of God, for that is impossible.  How can our Creator be limited to an image conveyed in earthly terms?  For that, only humility will do, because the authority of Christ needs nothing of the sort that would convince us of its reality, it need not prove itself to anyone on worldly terms.  It is rather His life, His ministry, and what He will call the sign of Jonah -- His death on the Cross, and His Resurrection -- that will be the fullness of God's gift to us, God's grace, the gift that just keeps on giving to us.  For in His life distinguished by His humility is all the Church, its 2,000 years of history ongoing, its continual expansion -- despite persecution, its endless flow of saints in myriad form and origin, its love, its truth, and all the ways we believers are given ways in which we see in His light and our lives may be resurrected, too.  He cannot be limited to human or earthly form, but His gifts are given to us through His life that keeps on giving to us, and that even beyond the grave, beyond our deaths, beyond our imaginations.  Let us think of this spectacular paradox of Jesus parading into Jerusalem on a donkey's colt, against the wishes of the religious establishment, but into the hearts of those who will receive it.  As He has said, even as Creator, He remains with us "gentle and lowly in heart," offering us His yoke of discipleship and learning, but at the same time, rest for our souls (Matthew 11:29).  He is Isaiah's suffering Servant, who "will not cry out, not raise His voice nor cause His voice to be heard in the street" -- even "a bruised reed He will not break" (Isaiah 42:1-4).  But this is how it must be, for how could anything else teach us of what is unlimited and unimaginable, a paradox our minds cannot grasp?  He is the One who will die for love of us all, given for love of the world; He is our Lord and there is none other like Him. 

 

I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus taught another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because His disciples 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.'"

 

 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.  We note in this interesting passage the notion of God's providence at work, in Christ's command regarding the donkey's colt upon which no one has ever sat.  Moreover there is the hint of the Messianic undertone as the owners of the donkey's colt simply accept that the Lord has need of him.  For the disciples to throw their own clothes on the colt, and the people to spread their clothes on the road, is understood as paying reverence to a King.  Moreover, my study Bible notes, it is spiritually interpreted as our need to lay down our flesh, and even our very lives, for Christ.  There are multiple symbolic meanings here, for the Messiah was prophesied to enter Jerusalem from the East, precisely this route which Jesus takes near Bethphage and Bethany, and the mountain called Olivet.  But, as my study Bible points out, Jesus enters not as a conquering king, riding on a horse or chariot, but on a donkey, and a donkey's colt at that.  Besides its pure quality as in a kind of sacrifice (on which no one has ever sat), a donkey is a sign of humility and peace (Zecharia 9:9).  

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!"  This cry comes from Psalm 118:26, which was associated with messianic expectation.  It was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Again, as my study Bible points out, Jesus is being welcomed by His followers as Messiah. 

 

 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."   Even the stones are in some sense symbolic with meaning, as they suggest echoes of other sayings we read in Scripture referring to those who will inherit and carry the Kingdom.  Jesus will quote from Psalm 118:22 to suggest that He Himself is the stone it mentions:  "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone" (see Luke 20:17-19). In Luke 3:8, Jesus tells the religious leaders that "God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones."   St. Peter, who was given the name which means "Stone" by Jesus, writes, "Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, 'Behold, I lay in Zion, a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame'" (1 Peter 2:4-6).

In today's reading we read the events of what is known as Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  This is celebrated in the Church on Palm Sunday.  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 re-establish the kingdom of David.  Christ's riding into Jerusalem on a humble donkey's colt is a sign that He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom.   To come into Jerusalem this way, greeted as Messiah, is rather a kind of promise, an image to be fulfilled in a teleological sense; that is, in the fullness of Christ's Kingdom.  For Jerusalem as the Holy City is the true Bride, the Church.  My study Bible states that this is 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).  Yet even with such a greeting as one fit for an earthly Messiah, we know what is going to happen in a week, and so does Christ.  He has warned His disciples three times about what is going to come about -- His Passion, crucifixion, and Resurrection on the third day.  As we view these elements of the Triumphal Entry, on the day we call Palm Sunday, let us consider the way that parallel realities can seemingly exist all at the same time.  The people believe the Messiah to be an earthly king, one who will issue in a re-emergence of the kingdom of David, and they greet Jesus as such.  But this is, devastatingly for many, not to be.  Neither is Jerusalem going to be freed from Roman rule except in one of the most terrible battles recorded, the Siege of Jerusalem, at which time the magnificent temple will be destroyed -- which was surely unthinkable to the people.  Christ's kingdom, as He has said, is "not of this world" (John 18:36).  So it becomes an important lesson in looking at Scripture and the powerful symbolism in the events we're given to understand that such "realities" exist on different levels.  While it is true that the people expect a political messiah -- which Jesus is not -- it is also true that He is the Messiah.  While they expect a worldly kingdom, which is not to be so -- it is also true that Jesus has come to bring the kingdom of God closer, "at hand" to us.  Let us consider that we need clear vision to understand more than mere appearances tell us, for such vision would also include meanings that rest within the spiritual realm Christ has anchored more firmly into this world, within us and among us.  Just as we are to understand that as the angels in heaven celebrate and worship God, so we also participate together in the same worship, for this is the communion of saints.  In John 18:36, after Jesus states that His kingdom is not of this world, He declares, "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."  In yet another perception of a layered reality, Jesus' kingdom is not of this world and so His servants do not fight in an earthly fashion, but we understand that parallel with all that we think we see and know is a spiritual battle that rages, and in which we most certainly fight, but not with conventional material weapons.  For that fight we "put on the whole armor of God," as St. Paul tells us.  In Ephesians 6:10-20, he goes into detail about how that battle is fought.  So let us consider this "dueling" sense of reality, how Christ is bringing a Kingdom into the world and is Messiah, yet at the same time He goes to the Cross, and to Resurrection.  We live in such a time as we await the fullness of His promise, and the time of His return.  Let us follow His commandments, for as St. Paul tells us, in so doing, we battle for a Kingdom with a power we can't fully know, even a power to make the stones cry out.

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!

 

 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 

 

 On Saturday, we completed the story of the raising of Lazarus, the seventh sign of seven in John's Gospel.  After Jesus had spoken with Martha, 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."

 

  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.  Today the lectionary moves forward from yesterday's reading, skipping John 11:45-12:1-8.  Here the time is the beginning of what we know as Holy Week, and the Passover festival is about to begin.  These verses explain the setting.  "The Jews" we recall is used as a type of political term, to designate the religious rulers.  Many had come from among this class of people in Jerusalem to mourn with Mary and Martha, and had witnessed the raising of Lazarus.  Therefore, among the leadership of Israel many knew not only that Jesus was there, but they also want to see Lazarus.  Such is the effect, that those who plot to put Jesus to death also have plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because even among the ruling classes, many "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:  "Hoseanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' The King of Israel!"  This is what is called Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  It is celebrated in the Church on the day known as Palm Sunday, due to the branches of palm trees described in the text.  The people's cry is from Psalm 118:25-26, which was associated with messianic expectation.  It was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles (also known as the Feast of the Coming Kingdom), and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Hosanna means, "Save, we pray!" and is said therefore to a Deliverer or Savior.  My study Bible explains that by this time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control, and to reestablish the kingdom of David.  

 

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."  In humility, my study Bible explains, Jesus shows that He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom.  He does not ride on a horse nor in a chariot, as a contemporary king or conqueror would do, but on a young donkey -- a sign of humility and peace.  This is reflected in the people's cry, from Zechariah 9:9.  My study Bible comments that this entrance into the Holy City declares the establishment of the Kingdom of God.  It notes also that it is 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).  

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!"  Note how the understanding of the disciples became enlightened after Jesus was glorified; for then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  The people bore witness in their acclamation from Scripture, that prophecy is fulfilled in Christ -- as they were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead.  And others have also meet Christ with this proclamation, because they heard from those others from Jerusalem that He had done this sign.  As so many among their own in Jerusalem now go after Jesus due to the seventh sign of raising Lazarus (see Saturday's reading, above), the Pharisees conclude in exasperation that whatever they have done so far is accomplishing nothing, as their own world has gone after Him.

 

 Today begins Holy Week for most of the Churches in the West (also for the Armenian Apostolic Church).  Next week will begin Holy Week for most of the Orthodox.  So for my readers, from whichever denomination you are, Palm Sunday was either yesterday or is this coming Sunday.  Our reading for today gives us John's version of the events of that day, when Jesus was hailed as a king coming into Jerusalem.  Let us not forget the tone of John's Gospel, which is so important.  People -- including many from among the class of the leadership -- witnessed the seventh and final sign given in John's Gospel, the raising of Lazarus from the dead.  (See the readings from Friday and Saturday.)  Therefore the expectations in Jerusalem run high that the Messiah has, indeed, come among them.  This is true even among the classes of the rulers in the temple (and therefore of the Jewish people).  But Jesus will defy the expectations of an all-conquering king, someone who will rival Caesar as an earthly ruler, and make Israel's fortunes grow great in a similar manner.  This is because Jesus is a different kind of a King, a different kind of Deliverer or Savior.  Jesus issues in a Kingdom, but it is a different kind of kingdom, one in which spirit and truth will play a role, in which the spirit of the law must be upheld by the letter, and not the other way around.  There will be no "special charges" that God must deliver us in order to outmaneuver political opponents and rivals for power in this Kingdom.  There is only Christ and those whom the Father will give Him to remain with Him for an eternal kingdom, for a life in which abundance does not come through manipulation but through faith and trust and the power of the Holy Spirit to bless the meek and the poor in spirit.  So Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a young donkey, and all of this will be brought later to the remembrance of the disciples, and in the understanding of the fulfillment of the Scriptures in the proclamations of the people.  Of course, the people have no idea that they are truly proclaiming the fulfillment of prophecy -- but in a particular sense they would not have understood.  It is not the first time that prophecy is unwittingly proclaimed in John's Gospel (see also John 11:16; 11:49-50).  As we go through the readings of Holy Week in the churches, we will see the tide turn, and the effective manipulative power of those in high positions.  We can see false witnesses produced who contradict one another, who twist Christ's words, and who are brought only for the purpose of finding ways to get rid of Him.  The readings in John's Gospel that the lectionary gives us before moving on to Luke's Gospel will give us Jesus' perspective, His farewell words to His disciples, and His prayer to the Father.  Let us consider the realities we are given, for they are timeless and remain with us.  If we are true to Him and to the lessons of the Gospels, we remember that truth and righteous judgment always remain our duties -- and that we also will be witnesses to such events.  Let us remember the One who goes before us, and all that He asks of us also.

 

 

 

 

 

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!

 

 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 

 

On Saturday we read that when Martha had finished speaking with Jesus, 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 has been 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."

 

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 lectionary has skipped over John 11:45-57, in which the plot to put Jesus to death unfolded as a result of the raising of Lazarus, and also John 12:1-8, which gave us the story of Mary's anointing of Christ's feet, and the objections of Lazarus, plus the rebuke by Jesus to those who criticized Mary.  The latter took place at the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus in Bethany, thus is the setting for the beginning of today's reading, which notes that a great many of the Jews knew that He was there.  In John's Gospel, we remember that the term "the Jews" is used as a political term, to denote the members of the ruling Council of the religious leadership in the temple.  Bethany is close to Jerusalem, and there had been those also from Jerusalem who had come to mourn Lazarus' death with Martha and Mary, so the story of the resurrection of Lazarus was very well-known.  In these verses, Lazarus sums up the effect of that seventh and final sign in this Gospel:  that the chief priests now plot to kill both Jesus and Lazarus because of the profound effect of this miracle  and the faith in Jesus it engendered.

 

 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."   Today's reading describes Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, celebrated as Palm Sunday, which most Churches of the West (and the Armenian Apostolic Church. a branch of the Oriental Orthodox) celebrated yesterday.  My study bible comments that by Christ's time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah, who would delivers the Jews from Roman control, and reestablish David's kingdom.  By riding on a young donkey, Jesus expresses that He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom.  A donkey's colt is a sign of humility and peace (see Zechariah 9:9, from John quotes here).  This entrance into the Holy City is a declaration of the establishment of the Kingdom of God, my study bible adds.  It's also a promise of the final entrance by Christ into the heavenly Jerusalem, with all believers and His acceptance of the New Jerusalem as His pure Bride (Revelation 21:2).   The people's cry, "Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  The King of Israel!" was associated with messianic expectation.  It was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles (also known as the Feast of the Coming Kingdom), and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Hosanna means, "Save, we pray!"   See Psalm 118:25-26.

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 links the final sign given in the Gospel, the raising of Lazarus, directly to this event of Palm Sunday (Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, and the people's reception of Him as Messiah).   Note that the people from Jerusalem who had come to mourn with Mary and Martha are mentioned here by John as those who bore witness, and therefore the people also met Him.  But the Pharisees respond with their own concern:  "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!" 

John's Gospel has expressed to us the growing separation within the Jewish population regarding Jesus and people's opinions about Jesus.  This hasn't simply been an easy "black-and-white" division between those who think Jesus is Messiah and those who don't.  There have been a variety of opinions shown to be held among the people regarding Jesus, which developed as His ministry expanded, and as the people become also gradually more aware of the growing hostility of the religious leaders to Christ.  We can see this expressed through the events of the various religious festivals in Jerusalem attended by Jesus, and the controversies that surround His teaching and the miracles such as healings that He performs, the objections of the religious leaders, and the opinions of the people.  But all of these events, these divisions, and the growing hostility of the religious leaders coupled with the responses of both the people and the leaders to Jesus' signs or miracles culminates here, at the beginning of what we call Holy Week.  After having seen the stupendous sign of raising Lazarus from the dead -- and of Lazarus' death, which came four days before this event, there was no doubt possible -- clear divisions are drawn.  The people welcome Jesus to Jerusalem as those who were with Mary and Martha who came from Jerusalem witnessed the raising of Lazarus, and in turn they witnessed to the people in Jerusalem.  As at the Feast of Tabernacles, the people wave palm branches to welcome the Messiah, and what they no doubt expect will be a revival of the kingdom of David and the good fortunes of Israel.  But the contradictory opinion of the religious leaders is now set in stone, so to speak.  That is, of those who oppose Jesus, which we're told includes the most influential among the Pharisees, although there are those Pharisees who follow Christ, such as Nicodemus (see John 3:1-21, 7:45-52).  This powerful single unifying event, the raising of Lazarus, marks the final separation of the people who believe Jesus is the Christ from those who implacably oppose Him, and His threat to their places of power and authority.  What that does for those of us who read or hear the Gospel is to give us an important picture of reality that is not sugar-coated or sanitized.  It allows us to observe human nature in response to the unexpected, even to the things of God, and in continuation of the Old Testament Scriptures that came before.  As with the people of the Old Testament, the people demand kings of a certain kind, they want a life of a certain kind, they reject the word of God, they reject those who bear that word into the world.  Elsewhere we read Jesus' lament over Jerusalem:   "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" (Matthew 23:37), and the parables we're given that speak of the repeated rejection of those who were sent by God, especially the Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers, given in Matthew 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19.  But in John's Gospel, we're given the more complete sense of the unfolding of the responses to Jesus, including the many misunderstandings, the confusion at the use of the language with which Jesus illustrates the concepts He gives, drawn from every day experience, but meant to illumine the mysteries He brings into the world to give to human beings.  All through these many conflicts, confusions, and misunderstandings, the Pharisees have stuck steadfastly with accusations of violating the Sabbath rule, with various other ways by which they've rejected Jesus (such as mistakenly claiming that no prophet ever came from Galilee in John 7:52), through vilifying His signs as being performed through the power of demons, and condemning and casting out the man blind from birth who received his sight (see this reading), and now, in today's reading, seeking also to put Lazarus to death as witness to Jesus' final sign.  Through all of these parts of the stories given in the text, we have also the responses of Christ's disciples, who most often really do not fully understand what is happening, and yet they continue in faith.  After many of Jesus' disciples deserted Him over His teaching on eating His body and drinking His blood, Jesus asked the Twelve whether they would leave also.  Peter responded, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."  In today's reading, we're told of these events of this day that 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.   So the Gospel gives us the full panoply of responses to Christ.  They're not at all uniform; some understand better than others.  Often people begin in some faith but must continue in order to grow in that faith and come to fuller understanding.  The religious leadership among the Pharisees become more and more implacably bound against Christ to the point of deciding to destroy Him and plotting crucifixion.  The people are baffled, wearied, afraid to talk in front of the leaders, and they dispute among themselves.  There is nowhere we can find an absolute clear and pure response, except through faith, and that remains a faith that wavers, builds, shares doubts, even denials.  Nevertheless, the Gospel affirms Christ's identity for us right from the beginning, that He is the Logos, the Son.  Let us take into account the wisdom that can put on display for us all of the responses and opinions, and all of the confusion -- even the confusion and paradox of this day when the people are certain that Jesus is the Messiah who will reestablish David's kingdom and restore the worldly fortunes of the kingdom of Israel.  Let us remember that the Gospel gives us the fullness of the responses of the people, the fullness of the response of the religious leaders, the fullness of the truth of Christ.  Nothing is left out or merely alluded.  Nothing is made merely easy or simple.   There is no "clean up" of unfortunate facts and misunderstandings.  We are invited into this story for all that it is worth, and more -- for what we ourselves will find in it for ourselves.   And with all of that, we will say as well, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!"

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.

The Lord has need of it

 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, "Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat.  Loose it and bring it.  And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it,' and immediately he will send it here."  So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it.  But some of those who stood there and said to them, "What are you doing, loosing the colt?"  And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded.  So they let them go.  Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it.  And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

"Hosanna!
'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David
That comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!"

And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple.  So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.

- Mark 11:1-11

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples came to Jericho.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.


 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, "Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat.  Loose it and bring it.  And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it,' and immediately he will send it here."  So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it.  But some of those who stood there and said to them, "What are you doing, loosing the colt?"  And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded.  So they let them go.   Today's reading marks the event known as the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  It is celebrated in the Church on Palm Sunday.  My study bible notes that by Christ's time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah, who would deliver them from Roman control, and reestablish the kingdom of David.  But Christ's ministry has throughout its three year duration always expressed a surprising nature, expressive in His mission of God's loving and saving nature.  Additionally, Jesus has been teaching the disciples all about how power and authority are to be used in His Church, emphasizing humility and service -- and occasions for these teachings have been found throughout the readings that deal with Jesus' travels as He left Galilee for the last time and began what is now understood as His approach to Jerusalem.  The expectations for a political Messiah who would become a great king would be for one with a vast army of horses and chariots, himself riding atop one or the other, symbolic of military might.  But Jesus chooses a the colt of a donkey, humblest of animals, on which to ride into Jerusalem.  My study bible says that this shows He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom.  The donkey is a sign of humility and peace (see Zechariah 9:9).  It is an animal used for every day work and for common travel.  My study bible says that this entrance into the Holy City is a declaration of the establishment of the Kingdom of God.  Moreover it is a promise of Christ's final entry into the heavenly Jerusalem with all believers, and of His accepting the New Jerusalem as His pure Bride (Revelation 21:2).  

Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it.  And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.   My study bible notes that the people spread their clothes before Jesus as paying reverence to a King.  The spiritual interpretation of these acts is that it expresses our need to lay down our flesh, and even the whole of our lives, for Christ.  See also yesterday's reading (above), in which Bartimaeus throws off his garment as he approaches Christ. 

Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:  "Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!"  The shout of the people is taken from Psalm 118:25-26, and was associated with messianic expectation.  At the Feast of Tabernacles (or Feast of the Coming Kingdom) it was recited daily for six days, and then seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  So, we can easily see all the symbolism the people understand in what they do.  Hosanna means, "Save, we pray!"

And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple.  So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.  The first thing Jesus does is to go into Jerusalem and directly into the temple.   Like a king and heir who has ascended a throne entering His Father's house, He looked around at all things.  

What are we to make of Jesus' humility, entering in Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey?   It's a very humble travel or pack animal, used for daily tasks and the travel of the common people.  It's as if He is truly going to work, and is being about His Father's business (Luke 2:49).  This is Jesus' outward show, just as He appears to the world as a humbly born human being, when His true nature we know is also divine, as the Son of God.  Nothing about Jesus is a declaration of human greatness.  And yet, His manner is always one of the greatest authority.  So much so, that it always astonishes people when He teaches.  The scribes don't dare assume that authority or primary voice when they teach about Scripture (Mark 1:21-22).  When Jesus opens His mouth, He speaks with authority, His voice issues forth commands of authority, as when, in yesterday's reading (above), He commanded that Bartimaeus be called.  This voice of authority is the unmistakable Logos that Christ is.  It is "the Word" (see John 1:1-5, 14-16).  It is this Word (or Logos in the Greek) that spoke all of creation into existence, this voice of whom we read in Genesis that "God said" (see, for example, Genesis 1:3).  Christ is the Word, and His commands are unmistakable.  What He utters even with His human voice is the call and command of authority, the voice that teaches us what is what: what is good, and what is not good.   He is the Teacher, and those who can recognize what is uttered with His voice hear the voice of God and will eventually recognize Him as Lord, the Son of God, the Christ (Matthew 16:13-20, Mark 8:27-30).  Perhaps there is a clue to our own lives when we come to understand how appearances can fool us and things can be not as they seem, and that we have to listen with particular ears to hear God speaking to us, and to recognize God's intervention in our lives.  Why does God come disguised as a humble human?  Moreover, He instructs those who will be His servants that theirs, too, is a mission of humility, obedience, servitude.  They are not to "lord it over" others as do the "great ones" of the Gentiles.  And yet, it is His Church against which the gates of Hades will not prevail (Matthew 16:17-19).   2,000 years later, despite heresy of every king, division, corruption, foolishness of all sorts, the Church still stands and still contains her truth.  We can read it in the Scripture, and the holy things still dwell among us, His Kingdom present.  The Holy Trinity is present to us, and the Spirit still "blows where it wishes" in newborn saints and martyrs, and in the conversion of believers, even in each of us as in the disciples, an ongoing process of salvation (John 3:5-8).  Let us consider God's great mystery, hidden behind human flesh, hidden in the presence of believers (Matthew 18:20), hidden among us and within us (Luke 17:21), hidden in our worship services, and in and among those objects through which we may find a contact with this Presence that is yet with us and the holiness of prayer -- even of everyday saints of whom we have no knowledge.  This life continues to live among us and within us -- but it is here in the Triumphal Entry that He reveals His presence most clearly and explicitly.  It is up to us, as believers, to know and recognize the truth He offers, the authority He purveys, the commands we must follow.  And that is the deepest mystery of all, hidden in us, where even the Father reveals truths in our hearts (Matthew 16:17). 

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

On Saturday, we read the conclusion of the story of the raising of Lazarus, which is the seventh and final sign in the Gospel of John.  (See the first part in Friday's reading.)   After speaking with Christ, Martha 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."

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 lectionary skips over two important passages.  The first is that of the plot to kill Jesus by the Sanhedrin, in response to the raising of Lazarus (11:45-57).  After taking this decision, the Gospel tells us, both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where Jesus was, he should report it, that they might seize Him.  It is now the time of Passover, when all devout Jews went to the temple in Jerusalem.  Our passage for today tells us that many believe in Jesus, and apparently also among the leadership and their followers.  Lazarus has also become a target for murder, as his life is now proof of the presence of God with Jesus.  The second passage that has been skipped is the anointing of Jesus' feet, by Mary of Bethany, six days before Passover (12:1-8).  At that time, Judas Iscariot criticized Mary, but she was defended by Christ.

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."   At this time in Jewish history, nationalism and a hope of throwing off Roman rule had led to the expectation of a political Messiah, who would reestablish the kingdom of David.  With the raising of Lazarus, after the other signs performed by Christ in His ministry, expectations regarding Him run very high.  Everyone knows who He is, and that the leadership seek Him out to seize Him.  We can't forget the intense political backdrop to the story, and the passions and different interests, aims, and expectations that run very high.  But Christ sends His own message.   After the feeding of the five thousand, John's Gospel told us that previously He realized the people wanted to forcibly make Him king, and did His best to evade them (6:15).  Here He rides not on a horse or in a chariot -- the image of a conquering king -- but rather in humility, on a young donkey.  My study bible says this is a sign of humility and peace, as referenced in Zechariah 9:9, which the people proclaim here in one of the many notable ironies of the Gospel.  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 His accepting the New Jerusalem as His pure Bride (Revelation 21:2).  The people also shout from Psalm 118:25-26, associated with messianic expectation.  This was recited daily for six days at the Fest of Tabernacles, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved, a proclamation of the coming kingdom.  Hosanna means "save, we pray!" which is a prayer of deliverance.

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!"  It's important to note that the disciples did not understand these things at first.  It was after Jesus was glorified that they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  The coming of the Holy Spirit is so important to all of these events that it illumines and magnifies for the disciples the meanings hidden within them.  But in the meantime, John reports the ferocious political climate of this time, both among the people and among the leaders who tell one another, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!"

The political backdrop to the Gospel is made explicit by the details that John reports.  In the remarks of the Pharisees we can read their full-on attachment to their positions, their political envy and scheming, their desire to simply be rid of Jesus whose very presence threatens their authority over the people.  The people, for their part, expect Jesus to be a king, a political messiah, one who can lead them amidst Roman rule to a victory of the nation.  What did kings do at this time?  The greatest king was the one who could conquer all with his might and tactical fighting abilities, gaining spoils for the nation and the people.  Jewish spiritual history looks back to David, who loved God and sought to lead in righteousness, not always succeeding.  This is the backdrop of concerns and experience reflected in the people and in the leaders in this story, and into this Jesus comes with another kind of kingdom, and asking for a particular kind of faith -- riding on a young donkey.  Even the disciples do not clearly understand this at this time.  From their varied responses in all the Gospels, we know that on the way to Jerusalem they quarreled among themselves as to who would be greatest in the kingdom they also expect to manifest, despite Jesus' several warnings to them of what is to come.  John's Gospel is at once perhaps the deepest mystically but at the same time looks with an acute eye for the politics of the time, the every day political experience of the times.  Even the term "the Jews" is used as a political term, denoting the religious leadership, and giving us -- when we understand it properly -- a picture of an extremely political time, a time when kingdoms were constantly battling each other and Rome ruled the world as a conquering empire at this time.  At the specific period of time in which John's Gospel was written, Rome was at its highest level of prosperity and stability, and greatest territorial expanse.  Moreover, historical documentation reveals to us the persecution of Christians of this period, carried out more in the context of denunciation and which demanded renouncing of Christian faith upon pain of death.  All of this contributes to the acute political backdrop of the time of the writing of this Gospel, as we must assume John's personal experience of exile must have done as well.  But amid all the politics, the one thing remains true, and that is the spiritual kingdom ushered in by Jesus Christ, and especially the true light of His illumination that gives meaning to all things.  The Gospel captures the intensity of political conflict and its deadly effects, while always reminding us of the true reality of Christ amidst the worldly.  Christ's use of images is frequently mistakenly taken literally, and depends upon His illumination to be understood (such as when He speaks with Nicodemus in chapter 3, or with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well in chapter 4:1-42).  But at the time of the Triumphal Entry, which we commemorate at Palm Sunday, there are unprecedented motivations and aims, all of them deadly serious, all of them violent in one way and another.  The urgency of both leaders and the people should be understood in this context.  But in the midst, we have Jesus, who rides into Jerusalem as expected Messiah, but sitting on a young donkey, sending a message it would take the enlightenment of His glory for the disciples to understand.  "Who is the King of Glory?" the psalm asks. "The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory" (Psalm 24).  The story of Christ teaches us to look to that Light, no matter what the times may present us with -- no matter how urgent, or deadly serious, or viciously cruel.  Let us remember whom we worship first, and what He teaches us amidst all other calls and demands we see in our lives.  It is in His light that we see light (Psalm 36:9), and He is the light that gives meaning to all things, and shows us how to walk through our own ruthless times and circumstances (8:12).