Reflection by The Rev'd Deborah Broome

Palm Sunday: A challenging Jesus

After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, “Why are you untying it?” just say this: “The Lord needs it.” ’ So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, ‘Why are you untying the colt?’ They said, ‘The Lord needs it.’ Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying,‘Blessed is the king   who comes in the name of the Lord!Peace in heaven,   and glory in the highest heaven!’Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, order your disciples to stop.’ He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.’  Luke 19:28-40

Who doesn’t love a parade?  What’s described here is an event common enough to be familiar to Luke’s world, but still rare enough to be something out of the ordinary: a triumphal entry into a city.  Conquerors would enter in a procession, Roman generals would celebrate their victories with a triumph, riding into the city on a horse or in a chariot, surrounded by the spoils of war and greeted with shouts of acclamation. Alexander the Great had entered Jerusalem like this three centuries before and had gone on to offer sacrifices in the temple. We greet victorious sports teams in a similar fashion – America’s Cup, Rugby World Cup, returning Olympians – we’ve all seen the celebrations.

Jesus enters the city like this, surrounded by cheering disciples proclaiming him a king.  And he is a king, though he doesn’t look like one – and that’s the great irony here. He’s not dressing in royal robes or fancy armour, and he’s not riding a horse. Sitting astride a borrowed donkey he’s a humble figure, and he’s not surrounded by all the symbols of military might.  Jesus redefines kingship, and when he does this, the challenges our expectations about what being a king, what being a leader, actually means. He challenges our hunger for status.  In a world where having a bigger house, a better job, a fuller diary means we’ve arrived, Jesus’ appearance and actions that day call into question the things people so easily aspire to. The things we can so easily aspire to, unless we’re careful not to get sucked in to the way the world around us lives.

When Jesus enters the city like this, surrounded by cheering disciples proclaiming him a king, he’s mostly silent. Even though he’s not seeking to depose the Roman Governor and the Jewish puppet-king, he’s nonetheless challenging them. He’s challenging their claims to authority, challenging their power, challenging their habit of resorting to violence to get their way. He challenges us, and our understanding of power, in the same way. 

Jesus doesn’t fit our expectations of leadership and power. But if we let him, he can reshape them.