Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
Philippians 2:5-11
Luke 19:28-40
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
On Palm Sunday there were so many things happening in Jerusalem. It’s not anything like our Palm Sunday celebrations. The only thing that comes close in our society is the day before Ash Wednesday, the day when we are supposed to get all of the animal fat out of the home in preparation for Lent. Some call it Shrove Tuesday, others Fat Tuesday; we know it more as Mardi Gras. Imagine the festivities being at that high of a fever pitch and you have the idea of what’s happening on that first Palm Sunday.
Because it was the beginning of the Passover, a spectacle was in effect. Our reading tells us the Messiah was surrounded by disciples. Often in the gospels when we read “disciples” it means more than the original twelve, so there were dozens and were more likely hundreds or even thousands of people along the path. Strangely for Palm Sunday, there is no mention of palms being laid out in Luke’s gospel. These disciples laid their cloaks along the road. They came from all around to be a part of the scene. This part of the city was in turmoil, the entry of this one man stirred the pot of Jerusalem. Everything was being shaken up by Jesus’ entry into the city of David.
This part of Jerusalem is shaken to its core by the entry of he who comes fulfilling the word of the Lord. Considering the number of visitors who were in Jerusalem for the Passover, the height of the religious tourism season, this shouldn’t be unexpected. While most of the 40,000 locals probably knew who Jesus was, many of the 200,000 visitors may never have heard of him until this moment.[i]
But then again, this Messianic entry may not have been completely unexpected; Jerusalem has a history of parading kings.
The people of Jerusalem had long expected the coming of the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed. They expected the coming of the one who would save Israel from its oppression. Egyptian, Babylonian, and now Roman, the people anxiously waited for the one who would save them from their enemies.
They waited for the new David who would ride triumphantly, a warrior king who would come on a great war horse to save the people from their oppressors. They were waiting for someone like Moses who took them from Egypt to the Promised Land. They were waiting for a political leader to restore the nation to its proper place in the land.
The history of the Jews is steeped with parades of Kings entering Jerusalem. In Ancient Israel before David was king, the Philistines had captured the presence of God, the Ark of the Covenant. After David became king, after the Ark was regained by the Israelites, the king danced at the front of the procession leading its return to Jerusalem. A parade of 30,000 men accompanied the Ark on its return to Jerusalem.
After a false start, the parade started and once it did, it stopped every six steps so that David could make an offering of an ox and fatted calf. David led the procession of men and the Ark wearing a linen ephod and dancing with all his might.[ii]
While Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem wasn’t as spectacular as David’s, it was a spectacle. The triumphant entry had people throwing their clothes everywhere.
Yet Jesus does not come dancing in his like David with the Ark. Jesus doesn’t lead a procession of 30,000 men. Who the people received in Luke’s gospel was the vision of another ancient leader, one who rode a donkey because they had better footing on the rocks and hills of ancient Israel than a war horse. Today’s procession features the one who rides a colt, a symbol of humility. Then again, Jesus wasn’t bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. He was bringing himself, the New Covenant, into Jerusalem.
The Messiah who comes to town was no conquering hero; he was the ancient image of the humble leader. He is the leader who would die for his people, not one who would send millions to die in his stead.
Our reading is different from the words of the ancient prophets, priests, and kings. Instead of the Ark of the Covenant holding the presence of God; Jesus, the true presence of God, Emmanuel, comes to Jerusalem. Fully human and fully divine, God comes to town as the person of Jesus Christ. In David’s time, God is returning to Jerusalem as the glorious center of the pageant. In our reading, Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of Man, God in flesh on earth, comes to Jerusalem humbly for the Passover.
Two biblical scholars, Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crosson provide another side to this story; one not found in scripture; the story from the other side of town. They imagine that while Jesus and all the crowds are celebrating his triumphal entry; on the opposite side of town the Roman Governor of Palestine, Pontius Pilate, is himself entering town.[iii]
Pilate, like every other political leader, never travels without his entourage, and this time his party is large and well-armed. The Passover was traditionally a time of political uprising in Palestine. This year there was talk of a new prophet in the hills north of Jerusalem. A man named Jesus from Nazareth. If he came to town there could be trouble and like any good Roman Governor, Pilate would be ready for trouble.
So Borg and Crosson write that as Jesus comes to town, Pilate comes loaded for bear. Pilate would be ready for the nearly quarter-million residents and visitors and any rabble they carried in their wake. There would be more than enough soldiers, there would be more than enough arms, and Pilate rode at the head on his war steed to show that he meant business.
You’ll never find this story in the bible because it’s based on extra-biblical sources, histories written outside of the church. It’s not in any church history or anything else I’ve ever read, but according to other writings and the results shown in biblical history, this probably happened exactly how they propose.
To add ceremony to substance, the Roman garrison was probably engaging in some sort of maneuvers daily. I imagine that in Jerusalem and in every other town that held Roman troops, there would be some sort of daily military procession. Not that this is a Roman thing, this is how conquering armies behave in occupied lands. They’re the boss and they continually show who the boss is, and the parade is one very good way.
So while there would be the daily parade, on this day, right before the Passover, in front of a quarter million Jews, the Romans come to town to show just who’s in charge. They come in armor, they carry state of the art arms, they even march their provisions along with the rest of the parade to show that they’re in it for the long haul and they mean business. And again, Pilate rode at the head on his war steed.
So there we are. Jesus has lit the fuse as he rides into Jerusalem on the colt and the donkey. The crowds on this side of Jerusalem praise him laying their cloaks before him crying “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”
In the meantime, on the other side of town, Pilate and the power of Rome come into Jerusalem in their own parade. They come into town to keep the peace, whether by right or by might, they will keep the peace. It doesn’t matter how many are killed, they will keep the peace. If they have to kill thousands they will keep the peace. If they have to kill just one man, they will keep the peace.
Among the people who know what’s happening on both sides of town are the Pharisees. The church leadership is the first line to keep the people in line and in order. If they are unable to keep order, there are a bunch of Roman troops who have just finished their parade who would be more than happy to try out their weapons for real.
This is why the Pharisees confront the Lord. This is why they beg “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” Of course Jesus knows trying to thwart the march of prophecy is futile. He knows that he will not be able to silence the people, and even if the people went still the stones would shout out to the Lord in heaven and on earth.
The people rejoiced. They witnessed the triumphant entry and scared the dickens out of the Pharisees without really knowing what they were seeing.
People who know me well know my love for old music. Today’s sermon title is an homage to song by Willie Dixon and recorded by Bo Diddley called “You Can’t Judge a Book by the Cover.” While age is a relative thing, at the age of 50, this song is old by most people’s standards. The first verse goes like this:
You can't judge an apple by looking at a tree,
You can't judge honey by looking at the bee,
You can't judge a daughter by looking at the mother,
You can't judge a book by looking at the cover.
Oh can't you see,
Oh you misjudge me,
I look like a farmer,
But I’m a lover,
You can't judge a book by looking at the cover. [iv]
The people expected a big ruler who would take care of their big needs. They were excited when Jesus came into town because they thought that the new king would come into Jerusalem and make their dreams of freedom come true. They were partially right; the new king came to town. What they didn’t realize is that Jesus was more than just a king; he was the King of Kings. That’s what happens when you judge a book by looking at the cover. Paul’s epistle helps us see beyond the cover and into the man who is fully human and the God who is fully divine.
Paul reminds us first that Jesus the Christ is equal to God, and that Jesus did not regard his equality as something to be exploited. Without discarding them, Jesus emptied himself of his rightful fully divine trappings to be the fully human Jesus of Nazareth for the world.
This humility did not remove Jesus from his relationship with his Father, nor did it prevent him from exercising his Lordly authority, when cleansing the temple for example. Rather, what Jesus emptied himself of was any wanting to exploit his godliness for his own glory. People often ask why Jesus doesn’t just come down now and make right all that is wrong with the world. Why doesn’t he just come with his power and take care of business? Perhaps it is so that he may exalt the entire Godhead, the whole Trinity, not just himself.
To show how far he is willing to go to empty himself, he was obedient to his father, even to the point of his own death on the cross.
Paul continues; because Jesus emptied himself, because Jesus became a slave to God and to all God created, because Jesus humbled himself to the point that he poured out his life like a drink offering emptied from its vessel; because of this, God also highly exalts him and gave him the name that is above every name. For this, every knee will bend, in heaven and on earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
He was God. He is God. He has always been God. He will always be God. But Jesus of Nazareth emptied himself of title and status to do God’s work on earth; despite the fact that he was judged by his cover.
Because we can now see beyond the cover, we are called to look beyond the cover. We are to look beyond the covers worn by Jesus and by his disciples. Because we enjoy the benefits of life in Christ, we are called to respond to the grace of God by sharing the life of Christ with the world. It is up to us to seek our Lord, God in Three Persons, and find our spots to share the gospel. For if we don’t, well, we see the example of those who don’t on Good Friday. When we don’t respond to the word of God in word and deed we are no better than those who reject Jesus on the way to the cross.
Let us scream, let us rejoice, let us take all of the fun away from the stones. Let us cry out “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”
[i] Rollefson, John, “Feasting on the Word, Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary.” David L. Bartlet and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, page 154
[ii] 2Samuel 6
[iii] Ibid. Rollefson, page 153.
[iv] Dixon, Willie, “You Can’t Judge a Book by the Cover.” 1962
