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March 28, 2010
“A Palm Sunday Action Figure Jesus”
Zechariah 9: 9/Luke 19: 28 - 46
Sunday, March 28, 2010
It is said that George Lucas made as much if not more money from the licensing of his Star Wars characters action figures as from the Star Wars movies. Since his success in both areas, many stories and movies seem to be written and produced with as much of a concern about licensing products and action figures as about creating a successful novel or movie.
If Luke had written his account of the day we call Palm Sunday in our time, we might suspect that he had an eye on marketing an action figure of Jesus as he wrote his account because he shows us the most active Palm Sunday Jesus of the Gospel records. So on this Palm Sunday morning, as we look at Luke’s account of the first Palm Sunday, I want to think about the actions of Jesus and what they were to convey to those present and to us.
First we see Jesus in a quiet moment, on the Mount of Olives. His group had joined other groups who were processing into Jerusalem for the pre-Passover events which were held annually in that city. It appears that while some of the other groups of pilgrims went on into the city, Jesus and his group stopped on the Mount of Olives. Jesus called aside two Apostles and instructed them to go into a nearby village, probably Bethpage, and fetch a young male donkey that had never been ridden. He told them where they could find the donkey and what they were to say to its owners.
This was all probably pre-arranged by Jesus with the owners of the donkey, but the Apostles were only informed of this part of Jesus’ plan at this point. Sometimes, God does not let us in on how he has prepared for what he wants us to do. Some missionaries have discovered that God had for years been preparing people for their coming, but they did not know that when they felt God calling them to be missionaries. When you feel that God is calling you to do something, remember that God may have been preparing others to be receptive to what God is asking you to do.
Jesus did not select a young male donkey to ride on that day as a simple matter of preference. He did it in deliberate fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9 and following, which we read as our first lesson today. In riding into Jerusalem on this beast Jesus was proclaiming that he was the long-expected Messiah.
His Apostles and other followers and some of the other folks who were traveling into Jerusalem that day understood what he was doing and they responded by rejoicing. They shouted, waved palms, and put their coats on the donkey and in the road in front of Jesus and sang “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven” and other things.
By these actions and sayings they were stating that they, or at least some of them, understood that Jesus was the Messiah, the great king whom God had sent to them. They also understood that what was happening on their little parcel of earth was affecting and causing events in God’s residence in heaven. Heavenly beings were praising God in heaven as people were praising Jesus on the way into Jerusalem. So our first action figure Jesus would protray him riding on a small donkey being praised as the Messiah.
But I need to add that in the midst of all this great celebration there were dissenters. Some of those traveling into Jerusalem near Jesus were Pharisees. They did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah and they did not appreciate all the praises. They asked Jesus to order his disciples to stop their praises. He refused. He replied “If these were silent, the stones would shout out”.
I think we need to see his response directed in two ways. First of all he is stating that the events of the day, while orchestrated by him were also planned by God. It was the will of the Almighty on that day that praises would accompany Jesus, and there would be praises even if the stones along the side of the road would have to shout.
But Jesus was also aiming his response at them. By refusing to admit that he was the Messiah, they displayed that they were harder than rocks. This is important because in our life with Jesus in this world, we will meet people whose resistance to accepting Jesus makes them spiritually has hard as rocks.
But I urge caution here. I have heard and read Christian apologists and evangelists who sometimes equate hardness with lack of intellect. They imply that some otherwise brilliant people are really stupid because they do not accept Jesus as the Son of God. That does a tremendous disservice to many unbelievers. They are not stupid, they just do not or cannot believe. We need to recognize their intellects and their wisdom while praying that God will soften them and enable them to believe.
So, our first pose for an action figure of Jesus on Palm Sunday would be of a bold, joyous, defiant Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey while being praised by his followers and others. Why did I say defiant? Because the chief priests and others had already put a price on his head. They were seeking information about Jesus that would lead to his conviction and death and were willing to pay for such information. On Palm Sunday, Jesus triumphantly and defiantly rode into the city where his enemies lived and ruled over the temple.
But Luke tells us that at one point in the procession, Jesus paused and his demeanor changed. As they followed the meandering road from the Mount of Olives to the gates of Jerusalem they got a couple of different views of the city of Jerusalem. Usually these views were the occasion of greater praising and singing on the part of pilgrims going up to Jerusalem. But at one of these points in his journey, Jesus stopped and cried out a lament over the city. He predicted its destruction and the virtual annihilation of its residents because they did not recognize him as the Messiah.
Here we see a sad Jesus, a Jesus with bowed head and crying eyes while sitting on that donkey. As all Jews do, Jesus loved the city of Jerusalem and its people, but he would allow terrible things to happen to them because of their disobedience and unbelief. Now I want to remind you that the Jews living in Jerusalem were probably no more disobedient than we have been. We are promised salvation not because of our obedience, but because of our belief in Jesus.
Now we get into the real action part of Palm Sunday. According to Luke’s and Matthew’s accounts, Jesus entered into Jerusalem and probably after dismounting from the donkey, entered the Temple and drove out the money changers and those who sold sacrificial animals there.
The selling of animals and the changing of money were necessary items. Each family who celebrated Passover in Jerusalem would probably offer a sacrifice in the courtyard of the temple. These sacrificial animals needed to be perfect, without a flaw. Since the people came into Jerusalem from all over Palestine and beyond for the Passover, there needed to be a place where they could purchase such animals locally. There was a market on the Mount of Olives where such animals were sold. Such animals needed to be sold somewhere in the vicinity, but not in the temple court. That was where Jews and Gentiles were invited to pray and study the scriptures. It was not to be a noisy market. It was especially not to be a place where people would be cheated which seems to have been occurring through the exorbitant prices for some of the animals.
Jesus also drove out money changers. All Jewish men had to pay an annual temple tax at the temple in Jerusalem. Many paid this tax during their annual Passover pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Now the tax had to be paid with money that did not have the image of man on it. The commonly used Roman currency had pictures or images of people, as do all our coins and bills. So in Jerusalem there were kept a lot of coins minted in Tyre that had no pictures of people. There was of course a premium attached for purchasing such coins. Money exchanges were necessary, but having them in the temple courtyard and allowing them to make unfair profits from people who desired to Worship God was improper.
So Jesus got off his donkey and cleaned house. Did he think this would make a difference in the long run? Probably not. Some stands have to be taken, some declarations need to be made, even if lack of success seems guaranteed.
So the Jesus we see on Palm Sunday was the Messiah, our King riding into Jerusalem. He was the king who grieved over his disobedient and unbelieving people. He was the king who took action to clean up corruption and malfeasance in his temple.
If we are to follow him, we must praise him as King, grieve with him over those who disobey and reject him, and receive his call to stand up for Him when people corrupt his world and his church, even though the odds might be against us.
Pastor David Horner
Faith Presbyterian Church
West Lafayette, IN 47906
Posted by faithpres at March 28, 2010 07:23 PM