This Sunday is Palm Sunday (also called Passion Sunday). On this Sunday, the church has two liturgical movements: The Liturgy of the Palms and the Liturgy of the Word. This is carried out in different ways in different traditions. Often, the Liturgy of the Palms and the corresponding gospel reading happen at the beginning of worship. The worship gathering then continues with the Liturgy of the Word and the readings for the day.
That being said, there is often more scripture read on this Sunday than any other Sunday in the church calendar. The gospel reading is so long and so dramatic, churches often have several readers who share the reading.
I have included our notes on The Triumphal Entry here available to all. Our readings on the Passion readings are in an additional post for subscribers. Our Deep Dive includes ALL OF IT plus extended quotes, reflections, and illustrations.
Luke 19:28-40 1
The Passover is the context for Palm Sunday. At the time of Passover, there likely was another triumphal entry going on at the same time as Jesus’: the triumphal entry of Pontius Pilate. The two would have looked very different.
Pilate was the governor of Judea and would often take the Passover as the opportunity to show his military strength. During the festival, the population of the city has pretty much tripled. Pilate would want for everyone to see who was in charge.
As Pilate enters the city, he is not riding a donkey or a colt. Instead, is on a mighty steed, most likely the tallest that there is, a display of his power. People would not have to squeeze through the crowd to see him, they would only have to look up. Perhaps Pilate would be followed by chariots, soldiers with spears, swords, and the latest military technology.
Even though he is the governor, Pilate does not live in Jerusalem. He lives in a place called “Cesarea on the Sea.” Jerusalem is too insular; too dirty and busy. But, for the major festivals, he makes presence known. In case there is trouble, like supposed Messiahs or uprisings, the Roman Imperial military would be in Jerusalem.
Pilate is seen as an image of Rome itself. He is only the governor over Judea, but his power represents something greater. His power is Caesar’s power. Pilate not only stands for himself, he is a representative for the entire Imperial religion, a religion in which Caesar, the big guy, is not only the Emperor, He is considered to be the “Son of God,” the “Prince of Peace.” The way that Caesar shows the force of his power is by his military might. Caesar’s armies conquer a place by force, telling the people that they must proclaim Caesar as Lord and God or else, they will killed.
So, let’s say you are a Jewish person at this time. You are making your pilgrimage to the temple for Passover. You are celebrating your freedom from slavery in Egypt, at the same time recognizing that (although you can somewhat freely practice your religion), you are in another sort of slavery. Pagan people still rule over you. God has called you to be His people, but you are subject to a foreign ruler. You are hoping for a “New Exodus”. You are waiting for the Messiah, someone who will come and liberate you.
You have made it to Jerusalem, which is a long journey, up hill the entire way. It has been nothing but dust, mountainous crags, and wild animals the whole way, until you get to the lush, fertile Jerusalem. Just as you get settled, you see the Roman procession.
Your perspective of each procession depends on your political philosophy, how you believe that you can be set free from Roman occupation.
Perhaps you are affiliated with the political party of the Zealots, a group that believes violent resistance in the name of nationalism is the only way out. All you have known is violence. So, you know that your mission is to respond to violence with violence. You have been oppressed. You are on the under side of power and it makes you angry. So, you hide a dagger in your cloak hoping that one day you could kill a Roman solider. You are frustrated that all of the uprisings have failed, and you feel as if this is a perfect time to begin a new one.
Perhaps you are a Pharisee. You too have a deep desire for the Messiah to come. But, your desire is more nuanced than the zealots. You have been told your whole life that if Israel would just remain faithful to the law, if we could return to the laws that founded us, then the Messiah would come and you would be set free. You have lived your life trying to create more intense and particular ways for observing the laws. You also have been worried that if you hang out with people who are sinful or who are not Jews, then you will be corrupted. So, you have spent your whole life drawing clear boundaries of distinction between “us” and “them.” There are good guys and bad guys in this world. Of course, you believe that you are one of the good guys and people who do not obey these laws explicitly are the bad guys.
Perhaps you are a Sadducee. You have given up on the prophecies. Perhaps you still see them as metaphor. But, you do not hope for resurrection from the dead, you do not believe that miracles happen. Perhaps you smile at the Roman soldiers as they come by. You hope to stay in their good graces so that they will not kill you and so that it might go well for you financially. You are looking after number one. You like to focus on the practical side of things. After all, Rome must be doing something right. They have this big empire and everything. Their numbers make sense.
Pilate passes by. You see the leather uniforms indicative of the Roman empire, the golden armor, and the golden eagle (the symbol of Rome) emblazoned on everything. You try not to look the members of the procession directly in the eye as to not be perceived as a troublemaker.
As they pass, you go back to your celebration, all the while knowing that Rome is in charge.
On the other side of town, coming from Bethpage, rides the man Jesus on a donkey or a colt. He’s from Galilee. He even has an Aramaic accent. It’s clear from the way that he speaks, he is from a rural fishing village.
You might start asking...What political party is He affiliated with? He’s riding on a donkey. One of the common practices of a crowd like this to do is share rumors about potential Messiahs and someone in the crowd said that Jesus picked out the colt Himself! In fact, when He told His disciples that He needed it, He told them that all they needed to say to it’s owner was “The Lord needs it.” Wow! You begin to think for a minute and those words transport you somewhere... Those are the same words that King David said when justifying why he was allowed to eat the consecrated bread. This guy has some connection to David. He is David’s kin. Perhaps He will return us to the time of David...O what a wonderful time that was! The king was righteous and just, and He was a true shepherd of the people. What an amazing time to be in Jerusalem! When the new kingdom is being announced!
But, something about him is also quite strange. Why doesn’t he ride on a mighty steed? Why a colt? Could he not afford one? But then you remember the prophecies. This is what the Messiah would ride on. But, surely we could get him a donkey taller than that one! In fact the donkey is so short that, unless you are close to him, you cannot really see Him.
Jesus seems so inconspicuous. I bet, if you were a wee little man and you wanted to hear this guy preach, you might have to climb a tree. He is looking at everyone directly in the eyes, on their level. It’s like He does not want to portray power, but instead, looks just like everyone else.
Maybe you are a Zealot. You think to yourself, “I mean, He’s not like a weak looking guy. He looks like He might work with His hands, but He surely does not have the weaponry to lead a revolt.” But perhaps you are a Zealot who has become disillusioned to the Zealot way of life and you are hoping for something better. Is that what Jesus has to offer?
Maybe you are a Pharisee. You think to yourself, “This is the Galilean who hangs out with tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners.” Doesn’t he know that they are the problem! He sure is blurring the lines of “us” and “them.” How can He expect us to see Him as the Messiah if He does not distinguish Himself from this riffraff.
But Perhaps you are a Pharisee like Nicodemus who hopes for a better way, who has some inkling that this “us” vs. “them” mentality is not right, who wonders about whether they really are “blessing the world” as our father Abraham was called to do.
Maybe you are a Sadducee. You think to yourself, “I hope that He doesn’t cause too much trouble.” We have built a good little system here with Rome. They let us practice our religion as long as we try not to get in their way. This could cause a lot of headache if this gets out of hand. You remember the historical revolt of the Maccabee family and hope that history does not repeat itself.
Or perhaps you are a Sadducee who is attracted to Jesus. You do not know why. Perhaps He speaks to something deep inside of you that longs to go beyond the status quo.
Whatever category you are in, as You are watching Jesus, you see your friends begin to pick up palm branches. This really meant something. This meant that He’s the one. I mean, you’ve been through this before with other “so-called Messiahs”, but this guy seems different. Palm branches are the symbol of us as a people! He’s leading something big here!
People are laying down their clothes, an ultimate sign of respect. This guy is more than just a great leader. This is the Messiah. That’s just like what they did for Jehu in the scriptures.
You shout “Hosanna” along with the crowd. “Save us!” “Save us now!” You have always been told the stories of how YHWH hears the cry of His people. Does He hear you now? The crowd is singing full-voice one of the Psalms of King David, at the top of their lungs. You have never heard a crowd sing so loudly.
But then another thought hits you. Hopefully he does it right. Hopefully he doesn’t
mess this up. We need him. Can He pull it off in the end? Your experience has been that most of the “so-called” Messiahs start off strong and cannot defeat the powers-that-be in the end. This Jesus seems to have started off pretty slow. He hasn’t assembled an army. Hopefully He will ramp things up soon. Maybe this week will be the week that He begins to gather arms. I sure hope He does it my way, you think...the right way.
Closing
Obviously, Jesus turned out to be pretty disappointing to many in the crowd. He continued to speak about His coming death, allowed Himself to be arrested and ultimately killed. We always know what we think we want. He did not meet their expectations.
How true is this for us? Do we feel like God has let us down? As we come to the table, we always live in the reality that one minute we shout, “God, Save us!” Yet, we feel our pull towards other Kings, Kings that we feel will live up to our expectations.”
Some say that we should approach this passage as a sad time rather than
celebratory because the expectations of the people were wrong. They were eventually let down. However, in this story, we also recognize that Jesus redeems our “Hosanna.” We don’t always know what we want or what we are asking for. But, He does.
Jesus did save them. He saved all of us. But, Jesus did not simply defeat the surface
evil of the Roman Empire. By allowing the forces of evil to do their worst to Him, as our true passover lamb, He defeated evil at its core. Through his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus conquered sin and the results of sin, death itself.
Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, The Last Week: A Day-by-Day Account of Jesus's Final Week in Jerusalem, (New York: HarperCollins, 2006), 2-25.
Many theological conservatives are alarmed when reading the names “Borg” and “Crossan.” But their research into first century culture is really helpful here.
N.T. Wright, Luke for Everyone, (Louisville: John Knox, 2001), 228-230.
Wright, The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is, (Downers Grove: IVP, 1999), 34-53.