Make Way for Christ the King

A man was heading for Jerusalem, a man to whom was given authority and power and he was riding a horse, a war animal.  Surrounding him was an army of well-equipped and expertly trained soldiers.  Trumpets sounded and the army cheered as Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea rode through one of the gates of Jerusalem!  History records that he always arrived this way at the beginning of the Jewish Passover week.

Another man was heading for Jerusalem, approaching from the opposite side of the city, a man to whom was given authority and power and he was riding on a donkey, a beast of burden and peace.  Surrounding him were crowds of ordinary people who waved palm branches and shouted for joy as Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, the Son of God, rode through one of the gates of Jerusalem.

The first Palm Sunday was a day of celebration for the followers of Jesus, not just for the twelve disciples but for all who followed him and who believed he was God’s Messiah who had come to set the Jewish people free.  It was the day when Jesus, in open defiance of the Jewish and Roman authorities, declared publically in an unambiguous way that he truly was the Messiah they had been waiting and praying for.

According to John’s gospel Jesus had visited Jerusalem twice before, but he was always alone and had entered the city quietly; performing miracles and preaching before slipping away again.  This time he wanted people to know from the start that he was there!

Centuries before the prophet Zechariah had predicted the coming of the Messiah.  “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!  Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!  See, your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”  Every first century Jew knew this prophecy and Jesus made sure that he fulfilled it in a deliberate and pre-planned act to show them he was indeed that King!

We know that this entry into Jerusalem was carefully planned because he sent two of his disciples to collect the donkey from a village with an obviously pre-arranged password, “The Lord needs it.”

“The Lord needs it” is a password, but it is more than that.  It is a proclamation of Jesus true identity as God in man.  The word translated as the English “Lord” is Adonai, which is one of the Biblical names of God himself.  The phrase could be translated as “God needs it”.

In one sense God needs nothing because he is complete in himself and because he created all things.  Yet God chooses to work through the people and the things he has created.  Jesus needed the donkey and so he asked for it.  What do we have that God needs to use for his purposes?  What are we holding back that God wants to use?  How do we respond in our own lives to the phrase, “The Lord needs it”?

This pre-planned act of riding into Jerusalem on a donkey was a prophetic act.  If we look back to the lives of Old Testament prophets we sometimes see them performing some dramatic act to get across their message; like Jeremiah walking through Jerusalem with a yoke on his back.  Jesus is doing the same here!  Jesus was riding into Jerusalem in such a way that every Jew who saw him would be left in no doubt that Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah, God’s anointed King!

This pre-planned act of riding into Jerusalem on a donkey was, as William Barclay writes, “an act of glorious defiance and of superlative courage.”  Jesus was a man with a price on his head, he knew that the Jewish authorities wanted to kill him.  He deliberately rode into Jerusalem in a way guaranteed to cause a stir.  It’s a bit like Robin Hood riding into Nottingham and blowing a raspberry at the Sherriff of Nottingham: an open challenge from a known outlaw to authority.

It is impossible to overstate the courage of Jesus here.  He had been on the road to Jerusalem for some time now as he had travelled from Galilee but always had the chance to turn back.  By deliberately entering Jerusalem in this way Jesus was taking the first inevitable steps to the Calvary Cross.  Even as the crowds cheered him Jesus knew that he was riding to his death.

Even in this moment of celebration for Jesus, even as the crowds were acclaiming him as Messiah, there was a hint of the trouble to come.  “Teacher” some Pharisees said, “Rebuke your disciples.”  In itself it was a fairly mild rebuke, but it speaks volumes of the opposition Jesus was to meet in Jerusalem.  It reminded Jesus, and reminds us, of the verbal opposition and attempts to trick him, of the plot against his life, of Judas’ coming betrayal and of the suffering and death that awaited him.

As disciples we are called to be like Jesus.  Can we claim the courage of Jesus that is available to us through the power of the Holy Spirit?  Are we always willing to pay the price of following Jesus, no matter what the cost?  Are we willing to take up our cross and follow him?  Jesus gave everything for us: what are we willing to give for him?

Jesus entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey was a pre-planned act, but the reaction of the crowds wasn’t.  Not only were the twelve disciples cheering Jesus on, but so were large crowds.  We are told that they “began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.”

‘Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’

Mark’s account of the same events tells us that they also shouted “Hosanna!”

We are also told that they took off items of clothing and spread them on the ground for Jesus to ride on.  There was no organisation here but a spontaneous celebration, a joyful celebration of the man they believed was the Messiah.  They were throwing caution to the wind, giving their all in praise and worship.  They could do nothing else: as Jesus pointed out, if they had been silent the stones would have cried out in praise of him.

How often do we, in our pre-planned church services, abandon ourselves in praise and worship of Jesus?  How often do we throw caution to the wind, not caring what others might think of us and truly worship with all our mind, heart, soul and strength?

This Palm Sunday we rightly celebrate with those disciples of long ago the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem; joining with them to praise our Lord.  As we do so, let us abandon ourselves in worship and let us pray for the same courage he showed as he rode resolutely to his death; the courage to give all that we have and all that we are in the service of God.