Who is this
Who is this?
Matthew 21:1-11
Today we celebrate what most of us call the triumphal entry to Jerusalem. The term triumphal entry brings forth images of a conquering army entering into the capital of a defeated nation. But I wonder if Jesus would have called it a triumphal entry at all. According to the gospel of Luke when the time came, Jesus sent messengers ahead of him to a Samaritan town but they did not received him because he was going to Jerusalem. In a sense they did not want any trouble with the Jewish leadership; and Jesus could not be convince not to go to Jerusalem. Luke tell us that when James and John, saw that they denied them passing through their town they asked Jesus, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” The disciples were ready to begin the war and begin to kill all the possible opponents to the new kingdom. Instead Jesus decided to just go around their town, even thought this would make the trip longer. Even during the last days, the disciples did not get it.
On their way Jesus tells them for the third time that they are going to Jerusalem, where he will died. This continual prediction of what they considered a possible failure could only add to the frustration of a group of men that had left everything behind to follow the person they thought would be a second Moses that would free the Jewish people from the Roman Empire. The weakness of this raggedy army is seen in their need to beg for assistance. We are told that some of the disciples were sent ahead of the delegation in order to secure the upper room where they would prepare the long awaited Passover dinner; while others were sent to secure the young donkey on which Jesus planned to ride into Jerusalem. Because the young animal was never ridden before, they had to bring the mother of the small donkey as well. In other words Jesus continued to have to ask his sympathizers for economic help in their journey towards the kingdom.
To make matters worse, as the group got closer to the Mount of Olives, the mother of James and John approached Jesus and kneeling down before him asked him for a favor: “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” Jesus immediately knew that this request was coming from James and John and not from their mother, so Jesus told them: “You don’t know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. But they had no idea what Jesus was talking about. It could look as a triumphal entry to the disciples; but for Jesus it was a painful experience.
The evangelist Luke tell us that; “ As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” There was sadness to the whole event that only Jesus was experiencing. He knew what the final outcome of this entrance to Jerusalem would bring; and for Jesus it had little to do with a triumphal entry.
Last Friday my grandson has a presentation in his school in celebration of Easter that he wanted Maria and me to attend. He told me that even grandparents were invited so see the presentation. I arrived and sat down to watch. He looked at me and I could tell that he was disappointed. When within a few minutes, his face was shining and his participation change. I looked around and notice that Maria had arrived. I am sure that as Jesus looked at the people watching the crowd enter Jerusalem, he saw some faces that were happy to see him and others that were disappointed that he showed up, and yet others that were angry to see him.
Matthew states that a very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. It could appear as a large crowd to them, but the group was not large enough for the Romans soldiers to be worry. “The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!” The crowd were quoting from psalm 118:26 and Isaiah 53, under the shadow of fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 and 13:1. Hosanna actually means “save now.” The Pharisees that were part of the crowd appealed to Jesus: “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” They were aware that all this talk about saving the people now could only end in a disaster. Jesus responded that the people were so excited that it was totally impossible to keep them quiet. “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” “When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
For the last two weeks I have been reading the book entitled: “Why the Jews rejected Jesus, by David Klinghoffer. “Judaism per se was never designed to be a mass religion.” The fact is that the practice of the commandments is a discipline unsuited to the requirements of a mass religion. Even with the oral Torah jettisoned, Judaism requires expertise. It’s not for everyone.” First is the long list of persons that have claimed to be the messiah; he even mentions Sun Myung Moon the founder of the church of the unification. Second, Jesus could not be the Messiah because all the radical changes that are promised in the scriptures that will happen when the Messiah comes have not happened. Third, “The Jews rejected the Christian claim for Jesus in large part because if God wanted them to see the true Messiah in Jesus, if in fact their eternal salvation was dependent on their making this identification, then He would have made it much clearer, far less open to doubt. God is fair, after all. To think that He wants Jews to abandon the Torah and its commandments on the basis of an interpretation of the prophets that seems so arguable, so tenuous---well, that’s just very hard to believe.” (pg210) And fourth, “No authentic Messiah would inspire a religion that ended up calling upon the Jews to reject the manifest meaning of Sinai. It is really that simple.” (pg 215)
Matthew tells us that Jesus sent for the donkeys in order to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Zechariah. And yet when the question comes, “The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” This coincides with the beliefs of the Muslin faith. They believe that Jesus was a prophet just like Muhammad. The belief of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon is that Jesus was a failed Messiah. His job was to get married, and create a new people like Abraham. But instead Jesus got himself killed and God had to send the Rev. Moon to finish what Jesus could not. There are some Christians that believe that Jesus was a good teacher, just another way to get to the Father; there are others who think that it does not matter how you answer the question, there will be no consequence of getting the answer wrong. “Who is this?”
This is the most important question, in fact the entire New Testament is written with the purpose of answering that single question: Who is this? As this moment got closer, Jesus became more open about his identity. “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some says John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” The general agreement of most people was that he was a prophet, someone sent by God to bring the people back into relationship with the Creator. “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Who is this? The answers have been many. To the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, he is a failed Messiah. For many Jewish people Jesus is a traitor that attempted to have them leave the law of God. For the Muslims Jesus is a prophet. For many others it does not matter. What about you? Who do you say that Jesus is? How do you answer the question, who is this?