Jesus’ Bold Peace March into Jerusalem
Palm Sunday ● March 24, 2024
Rev. Jeff Wells © 2024
You can view the full worship video recording at:
Scripture Readings:
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 & Mark 11:1-11 (Inclusive Bible)
Today is what we followers of Jesus call, “Palm Sunday.” It commemorates the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the acclamation of a large crowd of people. In many churches today, the story is being presented as a big, joyful, celebratory parade, with adorable children tramping around the sanctuary shouting and waving palm branches.
But the day Jesus and his followers entered Jerusalem it was a serious, risky, march for liberation, justice, and freedom. And it was, at the time, a political act with deep symbolic resonance. First, it’s hard to miss the contrast between Jesus and Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. At that time, it is likely that every year, in the days preceding the Jewish Passover, Pilate would mount his war horse and ride through Jerusalem, surrounded by a huge phalanx of heavily armored soldiers. This triumphalist march through the occupied capital of Judea was part ego-driven, but primarily to show off the overwhelming military power of Rome – a reminder to the Jews of Judea and pilgrims gathered from the diaspora that the Emperor was in charge. It must have been especially galling to patriotic Jews, to lovers of Yahweh, to have to witness this reminder of their national oppression during Passover – their festival celebrating their ancestor’s liberation from slavery in Egypt. It was a slap in the face, linking in their minds that Rome was the new Egypt and Caesar Augustus was the new Pharaoh.
Jesus, on the other hand, took the bold step of riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. Now, rhat might not seem like a very powerful sign of resistance to the empire. Yet, this was a declaration that, even under the thumb of Roman imperial oppression, they would not simply sit back and take it. They would resist.
Let’s dig into the symbolism a bit more. What would the Jews of Jesus’ time have understood in this story that isn’t so obvious to us today? First, the Gospel of Mark tells us that, all around Jesus, people shouted, “Hosanna!”, which meant, “Save us!” And they yelled out, “Blessed is the One who comes in the name of our God! Blessed is the coming reign of our ancestor David!” Why would they say this about Jesus? Because they saw him as the new king of the Jews, the one who God had anointed to save them. Here was the one who would restore the ancient kingdom of David. This directly echoed Psalm 118, which says: “Please, YHWH, please save us! Please, YHWH, give us prosperity now! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of YHWH!” So, this was a deeply ingrained part of their tradition.
But why have Jesus ride on a donkey – referred to as “a colt” in the translation we used today? It’s not just that donkeys are more humble and peaceable animals than stallions trained for battle. The donkey was a signal to Jews who knew the words of the prophets. They recognized the donkey immediately as a reference to the prophet Zechariah, who was active in the 6th century before the common era. The Book of Zechariah says:
“Shout and cheer, Daughter Zion!
Raise your voice, Daughter Jerusalem!
Your king is coming!
a good king who makes all things right,
a humble king riding a donkey,
a mere colt of a donkey.
I’ve had it with war—no more chariots in Ephraim,
no more war horses in Jerusalem,
no more swords and spears, bows and arrows.
He will offer peace to the nations,
a peaceful rule worldwide,
from the four winds to the seven seas.
I can’t say for sure if Jesus had all this in mind when he rode into Jerusalem, but the author of Mark certainly did. He wrote the story so that people who read it, especially Jews, would recognize Jesus as the one Zechariah was talking about – the good king, the humble king, the king who would bring peace.
For certain, Jesus knew that marching into Jerusalem was a very political action. He taught that the way forward demanded nonviolent resistance to the Roman empire and its minions. He proclaimed the kingdom of God in opposition to the oppressive rule of Caesar Augustus. And Jesus tried to convince anyone who would listen that not only was violent resistance futile, but that those who live by the sword often die by the sword. Moreover, the resort to violence is corrosive to the soul and spirit of those who employ it.
So, this march for peace and justice was Jesus’ way of putting his words into action. Jesus was making a big statement going into Jerusalem that day and he knew it was a risky endeavor. But Jesus was a man with a mission and a message. And he was willing to risk his life to get that message out.
Jesus felt God’s call upon his life to bring the message of love and justice to his people and beyond. God beckoned him not to teach people merely to love God or love the people of their synagogue or their town or even all the people of Judea. He learned through experience and God’s lure that his call was to teach people even to love their enemies. Here is what he proclaimed:
“You have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor—but hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for your persecutors. This will prove that you are children of God. For God makes the sun rise on bad and good alike; God’s rain falls on the just and the unjust.”
What? Love the Romans? Love the oppressors? Yes, Jesus said. Even do good to your perceived enemies. Jesus himself demonstrated this sort of love when he healed a servant of a Roman centurion – a soldier of the empire.
I despair, sometimes, at the widespread violence, hatred, and oppression in the world today. It is hard to imagine how we are ever going to convince enough people to choose love for it to make a difference, so we can repair intractable conflicts. How can Palestinians and Jews ever come to love one another? Or Russians and Ukranians? Or people of color, queer persons, and Muslims on one side and fundamentalist white racist Christian nationalists on the other?
For a long time in my life, I was convinced of the necessity of violence as a means to achieve a radical political and economic transformation of society. Even now, I sometimes find myself falling back into despising certain political and religious leaders and groups of people who advocate views and policies with which I so strongly disagree. But then I remember what Martin Luther King Jr. preached in his famous 1957 sermon, “Love Your Enemies.” King asserted we need to practice “an active love for the individuals who may be caught up in an evil unjust system, while we continue to work passionately and unrelentingly to do away with the system itself.”
I believe and I teach often that God is at work every moment in the heart, mind, and spirit of every single person. That doesn’t mean every person responds to God’s generous lure. Every human being has the capacity to change, to grow, to be transformed, to learn how to love. If we condemn, if we hate, if we seek to do violence to our perceived enemies, we will never reach them. But if we keep striving to love them, especially when it is very hard to do so, then they may begin to feel guilt or shame, they may begin to soften, and we may end up cooperating with God, who is always already calling that person to change and grow. With proper humility and recognition of our own faults and failings, we can act as instruments for the positive transformation of our perceived enemies. Friends, this is agape love – the refusal to give up on anyone because we recognize that everyone is a beloved child of God.
Dr. King eloquently stated the issue like this:
“[L]ove has within it a redemptive power…. a power that eventually transforms individuals. That’s why Jesus says, ‘Love your enemies.’ Because if you hate your enemies, you have no way to redeem and to transform your enemies. But if you love your enemies, you will discover that at the very root of love is the power of redemption. You just keep loving people and keep loving them, even though they’re mistreating you…. [J]ust keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load.”
Jesus’ bold march into Jerusalem did not end well for him. But in the immediate aftermath of his unjust execution, Jesus’ sacrificial act inspired his followers to take up the cause of overcoming hatred, violence, and oppression with the power of nonviolent resistance grounded in love. Over the centuries since, he has inspired many other leaders and hundreds of millions of people. Many of them, like Dr. King, Mohandas Gandhi, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer have given their lives in the pursuit of a more loving world.
Change does happen. Today, tens of thousands of formerly conservative evangelicals, Protestants, and Catholics are deconstructing their faith and finding a new perspective on God, Jesus, and the call to love through more progressive, open, and relational understanding. I am continually inspired by stories of former white supremacists who now evangelize for nonviolence and love among their former comrades. Or Israeli peace activists who stand up against their own government to advocate for an end to violence against Palestinians. Or people like Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian doctor, whose three daughters and a niece were killed in their apartment by Israeli tank fire in a previous war in Gaza in 2009. Two years later, Abulaish wrote a memoir entitled, I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity.
God calls our Church of the Village congregation to be the change we seek. Through long, patient efforts, our community seems to be largely able to avoid falling into acrimony and a winners and losers mentality. If we can practice compassion and love for one another within our own community, we can shine that light for the world. Transforming systems and individuals takes time. We have to love with patience and persistence. And, we have to remember it’s not all up to us, yet if we listen deeply, we will hear God calling to do our part and collaborate with God, who is already at work calling us to a better way.
[1] Carl Gregg, “Jesus’ Subversive Donkey Ride (A Progressive Christian Lectionary Commentary For Palm Sunday),” March 23, 2012.
[2] Zechariah 9:9-10
[3] Matthew 5:43–45 (Inclusive Bible)
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 (The Inclusive Bible)
I thank you, YHWH, for your goodness!
Your love is everlasting! Let Israel say it:
“Your love is everlasting!”
Open the gates of justice for me,
let me come in and thank you, YHWH!
This is the gate of YHWH,
and only the upright can enter!
Thank you for hearing me, for saving me.
It was the stone which the builders rejected
that became the keystone;
this is YHWH’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.
This is the day YHWH has made—let us celebrate with joy!
Please, YHWH, please save us!
Please, YHWH, give us prosperity now!
Blessings on the one who comes in the name of YHWH!
We bless you from YHWH’s temple!
YHWH is God and God has enlightened us.
Join the festal procession!
With palm fronds in hand, go up to the horns of the altar!
You are my God, and I thank you;
you are my God, and I exalt you.
Thank you for hearing me, for saving me.
Thank you, YHWH, for your goodness!
Your love is everlasting!
*******************************
Mark 11:1-11 (The Inclusive Bible)
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent off two of the disciples with this instruction:
“Go to the village straight ahead of you, and as soon as you enter it you will find tethered there a colt on which no one has ridden. Untie it and bring it back. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing that?’ say, ‘The Rabbi needs it, but will send it back very soon.’ ”
So they went off, and finding a colt tethered out on the street near a gate, they untied it. Some of the bystanders said to them, “What do you mean by untying that colt?” They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them take it.
They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks across its back, and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. And everyone around Jesus, in front or in back of him, cried out,
“Hosanna! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of our
God! Blessed is the coming reign of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest!”
Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple precincts. Jesus inspected everything there, but since it was already late in the afternoon, he went out to Bethany accompanied by the Twelve.