Rev. Rob Jones
April 2, 2023

Matthew 21:1-11 NRSVue 
Then they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” 4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, 5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7 they brought the donkey and the colt and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” 10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Excitement & Turmoil      

Throughout history, kings and leaders of nations have shown pomp and circumstance to impress the people they lead. Such activities may include, but are not limited to, military parades, public speeches, national colors, and symbols that evoke that nation's strength and glory. If you have ever watched the history channel or PBS late at night, when they show 20th-century examples of this, you know what I mean. The USSR, North Korea, Germany in the late 30s, China, and many countries run by dictators do it best. They know how to rattle the saber and show their military strength, often to the detriment of their people. 

Even the good guys do it to a certain extent. That’s why we, in a government of the people for the people, have flags flying at the entrance of sporting events, we sing the National Anthem before football, and baseball games and the Blue Angels fly over the super bowl. That is us showing pride in our nation. We don’t march down Pennsylvania Avenue with tanks and infantry before the president gives the State of the Union because we do have some decorum left. 

My point is Kings, their nations military leaders, have always had traditions that show who and what they are. We see Jesus do in today's lesson exactly what Kings of his day and time have done. When a King goes to war, he rides a warhorse, or chariot. When they go to a capital city in peace, they rode a donkey. This showed they were ready to negotiate, seeking reconciliation. That was the normal thing for kings to do, when spring sprang, they went out to fight the neighboring kingdom, and the spoils went to the victor, but those seeking peace, for whatever reason, came in a humble manor.

We see the visual signs that point to how a king would behave, however, Jesus was not a military leader, as some wanted him to be. He was not seen by the establishment as a political leader. He was seen as, what today we would call, a community organizer. How often have you have heard someone use that term in a derogatory way? Or how about an Activist? Jesus was an Activist Community Organizer that was upsetting the status quo. The people in and around Jerusalem were accustomed to a normal way of life (as they knew it). 

Jesus is sitting on the Donkey, riding into Jerusalem, and people are shouting praises, and laying their coats, and palm branches down on the road ahead of him. Today we would call this a protest of civil disobedience. Much like folks did in the 50’s lunch counter sit-ins. Jesus was a radical. Plain and simple. This display that Jesus put on did not make him the national leader. The folks in power (earthly) did not abdicate their power and install him as King. What it did do was make a few people mad and scared. Scripture tells us that when Jesus entered the city the way he did, the Excitement of the crowd caused the city to go into Turmoil. 

This Theatrical, Satirical, Propagandic styled display upset the ruling class of Jerusalem. The priests, the Sadducees, The Pharisees, and the Scribes. In other words, the people who had something to lose if things changed. The people who did not hear, want to hear, or even understand Jesus’ message of love and reconciliation became scared. We must consider the wider political ramifications of this “mockery” of the political leadership. What would happen if it upset the fragile “arrangement” local leaders had with the central power in Rome, who ran things and had the means to end the arrangement at any time? This could be bad, very bad. (As would be seen in 70AD when Rome destroyed the temple because of political issues.)

History is filled with people who upset the status quo. 

• Gondi, and the independence movement in India.
• Galileo Galilei: Ironically was silenced by the church for his theory that the earth revolved around the sun. 
• Martin Luther, and the protestant reformation.
• Isaac Newton, and the theory of Universal Gravity.
• Charles Darwin, and the Theory of Evolution. 
• Albert Einstein: came up with the theory of relativity that helped us split the atom. 
• MLK Jr fought for equal rights for minority citizens. Non-ironically, he learned lessons from Gondi’s protests, who in turn also studied Jesus’ methods. (God does work in mysterious ways.)

All these people had something in common with Jesus. They wanted to change the world, and there was someone who stood against them. Opposition almost always comes from the ruling class. 

But Jesus was the prototype, the archetype model of activist, community leader, and martyr. Jesus knew what his actions would cause to happen. He knew that by poking the hornet’s nest with a stick he would be targeted and removed with what military leaders call extreme prejudice. In lay terms, he knew he was going to die. This story as triumphant as it is, for Jesus and his followers to pull off would be just the beginning of God’s plan for the world. That’s why we celebrate it as the beginning of Holy Week. The question we must ask ourselves as Lent comes to an end is this. Was it worth it? Have we lived up to Jesus’ activism? 

To help you figure that out I want you to ask yourself this question. In our lesson today, who do you identify with? Is it Jesus? Is it the leaders in Jerusalem, the crowd, or the Romans whom we all know just stood by watching this spectacle? How do you identify, and to whom do you relate? 

If you say, Jesus, you may be someone who fights for the orphan, the widow, or the least of these. You may even be an activist or a community organizer. You are the one people call when they need a shoulder to cry on or a hand to hold. You are not afraid to get your hands dirty. Chances are you may even be an Elder or volunteer in the church. 

If you say the crowd, you support those who lead the fight for the orphan, the widow, and the least of these. You see injustice and you know it’s wrong, you help with your money, your vote, and your verbal support. And when called upon you may even show up and shout praise and lay your coat on the ground. 

In this story, the last two, character types, are the ones we may need to pray about. Let me explain them and then I will comment. The Leaders, or the ones in power, are scared to lose what they have, either rightfully earned or ill-gotten. Either way, they are afraid to lose the status quo. 

The Romans don’t have a dog in the fight. They just want the Jews to keep the peace and pay their taxes on time, so Cesar can stay comfortable in Rome. There is no reason for them to get into local politics unless it threatens Rome. Then they will come in and silence the opposition, or local leadership, whomever they deem to be the problem. Other than that, their stance is often live and let live. 

In this lesson, it’s easy to see which two characters one should identify with as Christians. Jesus teaches his followers to care for the poor, the widow, and the sojourner among us. Jesus has no time for the status quo or even the non-comital stance in his teaching. 

Throughout the new testament, Paul will claim this as Jesus’ foremost lesson: “Love your neighbor.” There are no if and or buts attached to this lesson, this command. Just love! But life isn’t as easy as reading a Bible story, is it? We get desensitized by constant 24-hour news cycles, political agendas, and a host of other advertisements every single day. It’s easy to get cynical and jaded and to just want to be left alone. 

This is when we need to double down on what Jesus taught, this is when we should revisit our Lenten lessons, this is when we should look at the example of Jesus the activist, who knew that he was going die an innocent man, on a cross, for the sake of each one of the crowd, the leaders, and even the Romans. That’s why we are here this morning, because He gave his life so we wouldn’t have to. Through his sacrifice, we do not have to face the darkness, our sins have been forgiven, and our home in heaven is secured forever. 

I have always been taught, and rightfully so, that there is nothing I can do to earn my spot in heaven. That price has been paid. But I am here this morning to tell you that there is plenty we can do to honor that payment. You don’t receive a birthday gift, a wedding gift, or something like that and not say thank you. Well, we can say thank you to Jesus, through our worship inside this building and our actions outside this building. 

Our justification is made; our salvation is secured. But as we look to Easter, remember the third part is our sanctification. Our sanctification begins when we are saved.

We get the words Holy and Sanctify from the same Greek root word hagios. Holy is the adjective meaning set apart or dedicated to God. Sanctify is the verb from meaning to set apart, to make holy, or to treat as holy. Both mean the object is deemed set apart for a sacred purpose. You are set apart, set aside as holy, intended for a sacred purpose. As you seek God’s will, you become sanctified, your actions post salvation are as important as your salvation itself. 

As we enter Holy Week, which will bring Lent to a close, I want you to ask yourself this question, Have I honored the sacrifice of Jesus by my actions? If not, how can I change my life so that it falls in line with the teachings of Jesus? This is a very personal question and one we each must ask ourselves regularly. If you haven’t asked yourself these questions this Lenten season, I hope you will this coming Holy Week. I will leave you to contemplate this in your heart. AMEN.

Bibliography

Kittle, G. (Ed.). (1967). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (1983 reprint ed., Vol. IV). (G. W. Bromiley, D. Litt., D.D., Trans.) Grand Rapids, Michigan: WM.B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Meeks, W. A., Bassler, P. J., Lemke, T. W., Mays, P. J., Niditch, P. S., & Schuller, P. E. (Eds.). (1993). The Harper Collins Study Bible, New Revised Standard Version with the Apocryphal and Deuterocanonical Books. New York, New York, USA: Harper Collins Publishers.

NRSV Updated Edition Holy Bible. (2021). Holy Bible With Deuterocanonical/Apocryphal Books of the Old Testament., Updated Edition. Washington, D.C., USA: Zondervan.

Strong, S.T.D., LL.D., J. (n.d.). The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible:. Hendrickson Publishers.