Palm Branches and Red Carpets

Palm Branches and Red Carpets Luke 19:28-40 Have you ever considered the Triumphant Entry from a Hollywood point of view? Do we have any such occasion in our culture today? Jesus, as He came into Jerusalem, was greeted by massive crowds and an Oscar-like enthusiasm. But it remained to be seen whether this celebrity, this Jesus of Nazareth, would be praised or picked apart. Glitter, glamour and gossip; the three G’s of the Hollywood red carpet treatment. Did anyone see the most recent annual Academy Awards a couple of weeks ago? There you would have seen the three G’s in all their glory. Now we have four G’s. Thousands of fans awaited the arrival of the movie stars, to get but a glimpse and to gawk as they passed by in gowns and gaudy garb. Do we have enough G’s yet? I think you get the picture. Did you know that the Academy Awards show has become the most-watched television event in the world, drawing hundreds of millions of viewers in over 200 countries? Imagine that, nearly one in every six members of the human race is glued to the TV on Oscar night. It’s amazing what we find important. Glitter, glamour and gossip and grab; it seems we can’t get enough. But this is nothing new. Think of today, Palm Sunday, as a sort of pre-show for Holy Week. A superstar was coming to town, so the people of Jerusalem spread their cloaks on the road, giving Jesus the red carpet treatment. The crowds cheered and waved palm branches, exhalting their approval and Jesus’ popularity. A major event was underway, a Passover Festival that drew 2.5 million pilgrims to Jerusalem. The city was electrified with Oscar-night enthusiasm. However, instead of being called to the stage and receiving the acclamation of your peers and the world audience, Jesus enters Jerusalem, cleanses the temple — and it’s the end of His career. Jesus was aware of all this. He knew exactly what He was getting into. He expected a hero’s welcome on Palm Sunday, but He also knew how this was all going to turn out. He had been alluding to it for weeks, to the dismay of His disciples. What they say about Hollywood was probably true in Jerusalem as well; “People in Hollywood are always touching you – not because they like you, but because they want to see how soft you are, before you take a fall.” Jerusalem, no less, was a tough town with a tough crowd. So, here we have Jesus riding into town on a donkey. Is there any significance to these proceedings? You bet. Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem is rich with imagery and intended to call to mind the coronation of Israelite kings and to portray Jesus as the royal representative of the Israelite people. There are at least five separate images from the Old Testament echoed here in these proceedings. First, we have the matter of the donkey. Did you know that David and Solomon and the early kings of Israel preferred donkeys over horses? They were better for the terrain, more sure-footed, and very good as 2 beasts of burden, more manageable. Donkeys and their riders could run away into the mountains when the horses and chariots came storming down the plains. Zechariah 9:9 is the first prophetic passage being fulfilled here, that, the promised Savior and King of Jerusalem would be a humble monarch riding on an unbroken and virgin donkey. I Kings 1:32-35 reinforces the notion that the donkey was the preferred royal animal of the Judean kings, with the coronation of David’s own son, King Solomon. Jesus was intentionally identifying Himself with both the use of the donkey in their earliest history and with the coronation of David’s lineage as King over Israel. A third image is that of the crowd throwing garments on the road before Jesus. This custom comes from II Kings 9:6-13 with the inauguration of Jehu, the victor over Ahab’s dynasty and claimant to the throne of the Northern Kingdom. The prophet said, “I anoint you king over Israel,” at which point everyone standing around takes off their cloaks and spreads them under the king’s feet. Likewise, the people of Jesus’ day honor Him as the victor and king over Israel with paving the road with their cloaks. This was really getting under the skins of the Pharisees, all this rich and in-depth parallel to David’s line, royal donkeys and rulers’ inaugurations. But Jesus wanted to leave no doubt who He was associated with and who they would ultimately reject. They could not claim ignorance to not knowing who He was. The fourth allusion to the Old Testament was this age-old custom of profession and praise for all the mighty acts of God prior to the renewal of the covenant. Luke 19:37 says again, “the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen.” Moses, before he begins to give the Law, spends several chapters describing what great deeds God has done. Joshua, Samuel and Solomon also list God’s deeds of power prior to charging the nation to renew their covenant with God (Joshua 23-24; I Samuel 12; I Kings 8). There were three covenants renewed with these acts of profession and praise; namely, those between God and the people, between God and the King, and between the people and the King. Jesus was to begin a new covenant with His disciples. He would unite the three into one and He would be their Lord and Savior, King over Israel, and One with the Father and One with the people through the Holy Spirit (John 17). Finally, after the works of God‘s power is professed and praised, there is the proclamation. The people say, “Blessed is the One, or the King, who comes in the name of the Lord.” Jesus is the Anointed One. It is clear that none of this royal imagery was lost on those in the crowd. Jesus is asked to silence the crowd, but on this rare occasion, He does not prevent the crowd from hailing Him as they would a king, as a rightful Davidic heir to the throne of Israel. Jesus comes into Jerusalem cloaked with all the rich heritage of His people. He comes on a donkey, as did His earliest ancestors, to convey the prosperity of peace. If Jesus had wanted a fight, He would have charged in on a stallion, a warhorse, the first-century equivalent of a Hummer. He certainly has the three G’s 3 going for Him with all the glitter, glamour and gossip the people could glean out of the moment. He enters the Holy City to pick up His prize. But here’s the twist; His prize is a cross. No, He didn’t blow it, He knew it. The people wanted Him to do a Moses. They wanted Him to wave His hand, hold up His staff and part the crowds, destroying the Romans and paving the way for the people to once more inherit the Promised Land. Jesus had a better promise to fulfill. The angel of death that passed over Egypt that set them free from slavery would now be passed-over and destroyed altogether to set free those bound by sin and death. A new Promised Land was being established. It was a promise for all the earth to have peace with itself, a promise for all people to have forgiveness and healing within, a promise for all generations that salvation for a new life was available for the asking. The message of this day of Palm Branches and Red Carpets is that Jesus Christ is Lord, not a La-La Land celebrity. If you are ready to let Jesus step off the red carpet and simply be Himself, be prepared for a life-changing event. Jesus is not interested in glitter, glamour and gossip. He is interested in grace, giving and goodness. We are saved by grace, to give of ourselves as He gave of Himself, the goodness of His love that compels us to better our behavior. Prayer: Gracious God, You call us into the vineyard to labor. You call us into schools and offices, into nursing homes and stores, into factories and onto the streets, to labor with You, gathering Your harvest in all times and places. You call us wherever there is need for your healing word. You call us wherever people hunger and thirst for righteousness. You call us whenever people mourn or bow beneath the yoke of oppression. Grant us the faithfulness to answer Your call whenever we hear it, not troubling to judge whether we were among the first called or the last; let us simply come to Your side to work with our brothers and sisters to welcome all people into Your commonwealth of peace. May we use our lives to help others meet their goals. Amen.