Reflection: The SUPRISING KINGSHIP of Jesus

KNOWING..... IDENTIFYING.... NEEDING.... GROWING....

1) KNOWING -who Jesus is.

A Day of Two Processions

You might not know that Jesus' procession into Jerusalem was not the only procession the city saw that day. In the year 30 AD, Roman historians record that the governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, led a procession of Roman cavalry and centurions into the city of Jerusalem. ("The Last Week", Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, p.1)

Imagine the spectacle of that entry. From the western side of the city, the opposite side from which Jesus enters, Pontius Pilate leads Roman soldiers on horseback and on foot. Each soldier was clad in leather armour polished to a high gloss. On each centurion's head, hammered helmets gleamed in the bright sunlight. At their sides, sheathed in their scabbards, were swords crafted from the hardest steel; and, in their hands, each centurion carried a spear; or if he was an archer, a bow with a sling of arrows across his back. Drummers beat out the cadence of march for this was no ordinary entry into Jerusalem. Pilate, as governor of the region which included not only Judea, but Samaria, and Idumea, knew it was standard practice for the Roman governor of a foreign territory to be in its capital for religious celebrations. It was the beginning of Passover, a strange Jewish festival that the Romans allowed. However, the Romans must have been aware that this festival celebrated the liberation of the Jews from another empire, the empire of Egypt.

So, Pilate had to be in Jerusalem. Since the Romans had occupied this land by defeating the Jews and deposing their king about 80 years before, uprisings were always in the air. The last major uprising, long before Pilate's time, had been after the death of Herod the Great in 4 BC. The uprising started in Sepphoris, about 5 miles from Jesus' boyhood home of Nazareth. Before it was over the city of Sepphoris, the capital of Galilee, and the town of Emmaus had been destroyed by the Roman army.

After putting down the rebellion there, the Romans marched on Jerusalem. After pacifying the city, they crucified over 2,000 Jews who were accused of being part of the rebellion. The Romans had made their intolerance for rebellion well-known. And so, on this occasion, Pilate had travelled with a contingent of Rome's finest from his preferred headquarters in Caesarea-by-the-Sea, to the stuffy, crowded, provincial capital of the Jews, Jerusalem. The Temple would be the centre of Passover activity. Antonia's Fortress, the Roman garrison built adjacent to the Temple compound, would serve as a good vantage point from which to keep an eye on the Jews. Pilate's entry into Jerusalem was meant to send a message to the Jews, and to those who might be plotting against the empire of Rome. The spectacle was meant to remind the Jews of what had happened the last time of a wide-scale uprising. And it was meant to intimidate the citizens of Jerusalem themselves, who might think twice about joining such a rebellion if it was going to fail.

REMEMBER this was a day of two processions, so let's get back to Jesus and his entry into Jerusalem. Through the East Gate, the back door. If Pilate's procession was meant as a show of military might and strength, Jesus' procession was meant to show the opposite. Both Matthew and Mark record Jesus's own words, as he instructs his disciples to go into the city and find a donkey tied up. They are to ask the owner if they may use the donkey, and they are to say that "the Lord needs them."

Then, Jesus quotes from Zechariah, the 9th chapter - 1-7

But there is more to this passage than just a description of Jesus' means of transportation for that day. The prophet Zechariah is speaking to the nation. In Zechariah 9, the prophet reassures the people of Judah, called Judea in the New Testament, that God has not forgotten them: 8-10

In other words, Jesus' quote from the prophet Zechariah reminded those who heard him of the entire passage. The message they heard was, "God will deliver the nation from the oppressor"-in this case, Rome! But the king they seek will come to them humbly, not on a steed of war, but on a slow-moving donkey, the symbol of a king who comes in peace, according to Zechariah.

The two processions could not be more different in the messages they convey. Pilate, leading Roman centurions, asserts the power and might of the Empire of Rome which crushes all who oppose it.

Jesus, riding on a young donkey, embodies the peace and tranquillity of the shalom that God brings to His people.

2) IDENTIFYING - with Jesus

Those who watch that day will make a choice. They will either serve the god of this world, might and power; or they will choose to serve the king of a very different kind of kingdom, the kingdom of God.

Ask yourself, "If I had been in Jerusalem that day, and had seen both processions passing by, which would I have chosen to follow?"

Because that is the choice, we make each day. To choose power and might over love. To choose "the way things are done" over "the way God intends them to be." Two processions. Two theologies. Two choices. Which would you choose?

What kind of king do you expect?

Do you IDENTIFY with Jesus .. recognise ... associate with ... have a relationship with?

Reflection: The SUPRISING KINGSHIP of Jesus

3) NEEDING - Jesus in our lives

Although we're focussing on Palm Sunday, the story doesn't stop there.
We live in Kingdom times - we can IDENTIFY with a RISEN SAVIOUR
The Christ Jesus described in Philippians 2 who had the very nature of God ...
and yet humbled himself.... even to death on a cross
God raised him from death.
KNOWING
IDENTIFYING K I N - connecting with, relationship
NEEDING

4) GROWING - in Jesus

GROWING - develop... enlarge ... expand ... become
Activity associated with KNOWING Jesus as our KING Philippians 2:5 The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had...
CHALLENGE: to go out from here and spread the good news of the KINGDOM