Telling the Story of Jesus: Prophetic Resistance
Rev. Lee Ann Bryce
Community Christian Church
April 17, 2011 Palm Sunday
We continue with the Lenten sermon series, Telling the Story of Jesus. I’m not going to recap the past five sermons. If you missed any of them, they are included on the church website. Today’s sermon focuses on the last week of Jesus’ life. Today we’ll talk about the first part of his week, then at the Maundy Thursday worship, we’ll continue. The last week of Jesus’ life has come to be known to Christians as Holy Week.
The location for the final week of Jesus’ life is Jerusalem. Jerusalem is not just any city. As we discussed earlier, Jerusalem is the holy city, the home of the temple, the place God had chosen to dwell on earth, the focus of Jewish devotion and the destination of pilgrimage. And in the first century world, Jerusalem also had a sinister aspect; it had become the center of the Roman domination system.
And the time period of year for this last week in Jesus’ life is also significant. It is, of course, Passover, the most important of the annual Jewish festivals. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims came to Jerusalem at Passover. And the Roman Empire prepared for the throngs of people, much like we would today. If you’re expecting a big influx of out-of-towners, particularly if many in the crowd are unhappy with the status quo, it’s a good idea to beef up your police force in case things get out of hand, right? It was the Roman practice to reinforce the imperial rule with additional troops at Passover. And so Passover, not only brought a great number of Jews to the city, but it also prompted a much greater imperial presence.
Somewhere around the year 30 or so, Jesus was one of those who came to Jerusalem for Passover. And as our gospels tell the story, Jesus’ journey to the holy city was not simply the routine pilgrimage of a good Jew. Jesus’ journey appears deliberate and intentional.
The gospels provide a more detailed account of Jesus’ last week than of any other portion of his life. Today we will look to Mark’s version of events, our earliest gospel, because Mark gives a day-by-day and sometimes an hour-by-hour narrative. In every single event of Jesus’ last week, we see Jesus’ bold, courageous, and strategic challenge to the domination system. And he establishes his authority by carefully referencing prophets before him.
SUNDAY
At the beginning of the week, what we now call Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem on a young donkey at the head of a procession made up of followers who had come with him from Galilee. Mark tells us that he approached the city from the east, riding the donkey down the Mount of Olives as his followers cheered and chanted, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Why did he ride a donkey? It’s in important question if we are to understand what this act meant. I’ve heard many answers to this over the years, most of them trivial and easily dismissed. Was he tired or had he sprained his ankle? Was it to put him higher so people could see him? It’s not likely any of these. Another idea that is not trivial is that riding a donkey was a fulfillment of prophecy, that it was preordained, predicted by prophecy, that it had to happen this way.
I’m not sure I see it quite like that though it was certainly a prophetic act. As Mark tells us in the scripture with which we began worship, Jesus’ entry was carefully planned, deliberate. Jesus set it up in advance. He enlists two of his followers to get the donkey and bring it to him. (Mark 11:2-3). Why was the donkey important? Take a look at this passage from the prophet Zechariah, written hundreds of years before Jesus lived:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Regarding prophecy, sometimes we think, “Wow – all those years before, the prophet Zechariah predicted that Jesus would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey! How did he know?” It’s not really like that. Jesus, himself very familiar with the prophet Zechariah, made sure he rode a donkey into Jerusalem to reinforce the message he wanted to communicate – that he was the kind of king Zechariah spoke of; a king of peace who would banish chariots, warhorses, and bows and arrows, and command peace to the nations. By riding into Jerusalem on a young donkey, Jesus enacted his message: the kingdom of God of which he spoke was a kingdom of peace, not violence. This was another way of establishing himself.
It must have been quite a processional, but guess what? There were two processionals in Jerusalem. On or about that same day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem from the east, the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate rode into Jerusalem from the west accompanied by the imperial cavalry and foot soldiers arriving to reinforce the troops. They did so each year at Passover, coming to Jerusalem from Caesarea Maritima, the city on the Mediterranean coast, the seat from which the Roman governor ruled Judea and Samaria.
“Can you imagine the scene as Pilate’s procession entered the city, this grand show of imperial power. Weapons, helmets, golden eagles mounted on poles, sun glinting on metal and gold. The pounding of horse hooves, the clinking of bridles, the marching of feet, the creaking of leather, the beating of drums, the swirling of dust. The eyes of the silent on-lookers, some curious, some awed, some resentful.” (Borg, p. 232)
Jesus would have known about Rome’s policy of sending reinforcements to Jerusalem at Passover. His decision to enter the city as he did was what we would call a planned political demonstration. What Christians refer to as a triumphal entry was really a peaceful demonstration against Roman rule. It contrasted the kingdom of God against the kingdom of Rome. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, was intended as a clash with the other Roman military processional. It was deliberate, strategic, and courageous. Can you feel the tension mounting?
MONDAY
On the next day, Monday, Jesus performed a second prophetic act. As Mark tells the story:
Then they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves; and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. He was teaching and saying, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”
Mark 11:15-17
Picture a very large open area, perhaps over 20 acres, bordered by columned porticoes. It was in this temple courtyard that people could purchase animals for sacrifice and get change for paying the temple tax. This is the activity that Jesus disrupted. He drove out the sellers and buyers. And he overturned the tables for changing money. He didn’t allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. Considering the size of the temple courtyard, Jesus could only disrupt the activity in a small area. His disciples might have helped. From a distance it would have looked like a minor disturbance and lasted a short time – 15 minutes? 30 minutes? Not surprisingly, this drew a crowd, an audience for Jesus to begin teaching.
Why did Jesus do this? Was Jesus throwing a “temple tantrum” surprised by what he saw there? Or was this commotion a scheme carefully designed to get the crowd’s attention, as was his entrance on Sunday?
By his actions, was he condemning selling and buying in the temple? This is a popular interpretation, but it’s not likely to be true. After all, the buying and selling of animals was a necessary practice for Jewish sacred practice. Was the issue sacrifice itself? That God didn’t want animal sacrifice? Again, not likely, since there’s no indication that Jesus opposed animal sacrifice.
Mark fills in a motivation for Jesus’ actions. In v. 17, Jesus was teaching and saying, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations?’ But you have made it a den of robbers.”
What does he mean by this? In what sense had the temple become a “den of robbers”? Again we return to prophecy, this time the prophet Jeremiah, to understand why Jesus did what he did. In Jeremiah 7, the temple is described as the place from which justice would spring; that the presence of the temple would mean that aliens or orphans or widows would not be oppressed. If the temple stood for justice, so said Jeremiah, then “I [God] will dwell with you in this place.” (Jeremiah 7:7). Then the passage goes on to question, “Has this temple become a den of robbers?” (There’s that phrase Jesus is quoting.) This is the term used by Jeremiah to describe a temple that didn’t stand for justice, but had rather come to exploit the most vulnerable in society. By using this term, Jesus is strongly indicting the temple authorities, saying that they are robbers, in cahoots with the robbers of the Roman imperial authority.
So now Jesus is really in trouble. Not only has he challenged the Roman imperial authority, but the religious authorities, too. The temple authorities decide that Jesus must die. “And when the chief priests and scribes heart about this, they kept looking for a way to kill him.” But they didn’t do it immediately. Why? Read on, “They were afraid of him because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching.” (Mark 11:19) Can you feel the tension mounting?
TUESDAY
Tuesday is filled with verbal battles between Jesus and the authorities. It’s a long day in the gospels. More verses are devoted to Tuesday than to any other day in Jesus’ final week. There are three episodes that have particular importance. All take place in the temple, in the presence of the attentive crowd. By this time, Jesus had a reputation for effectively putting the powerful in their place, and his followers watched closely to see what he would do next. In each encounter, Jesus succeeds in one-upping the temple authorities.
In the first encounter, the authorities ask him, “By what authority are you doing these things?” (Mark 11). They are referring to his anti-imperial entry into Jerusalem and his anti-temple demonstration the day before. Jesus skillfully engages them in speculation and ultimately evades their question, leaving them looking bad in front of the crowd.
In the second episode (Mark 12:1-12), Jesus tells the parable of the vineyard owner who leases his vineyard to tenants. Time does not permit us to deal with this interchange with any detail right now. Suffice to say that this story serves as another indictment of the temple.
The third encounter (Mark 12:13-17) contains a well-known saying of Jesus, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesars.” Jesus is not speaking about civic vs. religious authority. He’s sparring with them, trying to evade their question. He is successful. The pressure builds as the temple authorities keep trying to trap him and Jesus keeps managing to stay one step ahead of them. Various verbal encounters escalate throughout the day on Tuesday between Jesus and the temple authorities. Read Mark 11-13 for yourself to see these tense encounters, one after another after another, well over a dozen different arguments in these three chapters that take place on this one day. The crowd of people watching closely clearly sympathize with Jesus, to the extent that the authorities are afraid to take action against Jesus in their presence. At the basis of every single encounter is Jesus’ brazen indictment of the powerful and wealthy and his affirmation of the kingdom of God, a place of economic justice. Can you feel the tension building?
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday begins with the temple authorities continuing to seek a way to arrest Jesus. They want to do so in private because they fear the crowd, who they perceive to be on Jesus’ side, will incite a riot. Later that Day, one of Jesus’ disciples, Judas provides the opportunity:
Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him. Mark 14:10-11
Judas’ motive for betrayal is ambiguous. Did he do it for money? Did the devil make him do it? In the Gospel of Judas, Jesus commands Judas to make arrangements with the authorities in order to set up Jesus up as a martyr. Judas is working for Jesus when he does this. Frankly, we do not know which is correct. We cannot know. The end effect is that a close follower of Jesus comes forward to deliver him over for arrest and almost certain execution. Can you feel the tension building?
We will continue with Jesus’ final days of life, his gathering with the disciples in the upper room, his arrest, and crucifixion, when we gather for Maundy Thursday worship. We now approach the time in worship where we will offer ourselves to God by sharing our resources and receiving the bread and cup. To prepare our hearts and to draw on the example of Jesus in his final week on earth, let us join in the responsive prayer found in your bulletin.
ALL: O God, we stand at the gate, hesitant and uncertain.
At times we are unwilling to answer your invitation to work for justice;
slow to take steps into the journey toward your kingdom,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Forgive us, we pray.
Help us to embrace the joy and the pain
which comes with following you,
with loving others,
and with accepting ourselves.
Grant us the courage to join you in the procession;
the selflessness to lay our cloaks before you;
the freedom to lift our palms to your glory;
and the knowledge that by your grace we are forgiven.
(Moment of silence for personal reflection)
One: Hear this good news!
The procession is ever moving forward.
We can join at any moment.
The invitation still stands!
Come through the gate on your journey.
Do not be afraid – walk with Jesus,
in whose name we are made whole.
Many: Glory to God! Amen.
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