King to Cross                                                 John 12:12-15

Today is Palm Sunday, the day Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time before his crucifixion. This event has been foretold by the prophet Zachariah; Zechariah 9:9,  “Rejoice greatly…See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foul of a donkey.” Luke describes this event in his gospel; Luke 19:35, “They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.”

This entrance into the city by Jesus is known as the “Triumphant Entry.” Jesus entered Jerusalem as a king; Luke 19:38, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” Jesus, king, praised and welcomed, and in five days he will be crucified as a criminal. What happened?

First, why is Jesus looked at as a king? He has spent more than three years in his ministry. He has spread the word of an interested, active, and loving God. This was important to the population because Israel’s last prophet, Malichi, lived about four hundred years before Jesus. Israel may have wondered if God was still with them. They may have been asking, “Why haven’t we heard from God lately?”

This time gap may have accomplished two things. One, it allowed the religious elite to transition from worshiping God, to worshiping the rules and laws they put in place. Second, it allowed the citizenry to be in a place where they were willing to listen to Jesus’ message of repentance and of a loving God.

People have heard of Jesus. They either heard about or even seen him perform miracles. They’ve heard or seen him heal the lame and diseased, how he restored sight to the blind, how he has driven demons out of the possessed. They are saying, “This man has come from God.”

Jesus enters Jerusalem at the start of the Passover observance, and this was not a coincidence. Jesus is intensifying the memory of Moses and the nations escape from slavery. He is playing on the nation’s desire to be free of Roman occupation by deliberately aligning himself to be compared to Moses.

The people looked at Jesus as the second Moses, a great leader sent by God to release the nation. They saw Jesus as the king to lead Israel, to expel Rome, and to re-establish the nation. These same people, in less than a week, will be calling for Jesus’ crucifixion. John 19, verses 15-16, “’Shall I crucify your king?’ Pilate asked. ‘We have no king but Caesar,’ they answered. Finally, he handed him over to them to be crucified.” King to cross in five days. Again I ask, what happened?

The answer comes in two parts, both of which are directed by God. First are earthly reasons. When Jesus came to the city the people welcomed him as king out of their desire for a messianic deliver, someone who had the power and popularity to lead them in a successful revolt against Rome. They saw the miracles Jesus performed in the same line as the miracles and plagues against Egypt that God sent through Moses. Moses’ miracles were meant to remind the Israelites that God was still there, and to show Egypt that no power they possessed was greater than God’s. The people saw Jesus’ miracles the same way, that God had not abandoned them, and that the power Rome held to maim or kill was nothing compared to God’s power to restore. The people missed the fact that Moses leading the nation out of human slavery was a shadow and foretelling of the Messiah leading the people out of sin. Moses leading the people to the Promised Land was a shadow of the Messiah leading the people to heaven.

So, what happened? For one thing, the people quickly became disillusioned and disenfranchised when Jesus didn’t deliver on what they wanted. They wanted God to conform to their desires rather than they conform to God’s directives.

We can see another reason for the crowds change of heart, and its roots can be seen as far back as John the Baptist. Matthew 3:1-2, “In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” Matthew 4:17, “From that time on, Jesus began to preach ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’”

There were those in Israel who saw Jesus just as a temporal deliverer, and they turned on him when that need was unfulfilled. However, there were those in Israel who saw Jesus as a man of God, a prophet with a message from God. Why did these turn on him? Why do people today hear of Jesus message and turn away from him? It’s because of one word uttered by both John the Baptist and by Jesus: repent.

Mankind has not changed much in the millennia we’ve been on earth. Many of those who saw Jesus, and many who hear his Word today, do not want to admit to themselves that they live in a way contrary to God. Mankind does not like to admit they do anything wrong. Mankind does not like to admit they need God to fix anything they’ve done wrong. Mankind does not like to admit there is anything more powerful than themselves. Therefore, when mankind comes face to face with the Word of God, they reject it, and push it away.

So, what happened? Some men were disillusioned with Jesus actions, and some men were intimidated by Jesus’ message of repentance, and all of these turned on him in Pilate’s courtyard. These are the earthly reasons, but there are spiritual reasons too.

Matthew 20:28, “…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

I want to use a political generality. Many politicians say they work for everyone in their district, but they tend to work hardest for those populations that are in their voting bloc. Jesus came as a king, but if he died as one, it could have been thought that he only came to rectify those in lofty positions, or only those who were of his bloc. Jesus came to Jerusalem hailed as a king riding a lowly and humble donkey. A king for both the powerful and for the deprived.

Jesus, king to cross, is a picture of Jesus himself. Jesus, who left God’s throne room and the kingdom of heaven to lose everything. Jesus went from the pinnacle to the lowest so his sacrifice would be seen as performed and available to everyone, regardless of one’s position in life. Jesus went from king to criminal to announce to the world, whoever you are, whatever you do, his sacrifice covers you.

Jesus entrance into Jerusalem is an event full of contrast. It is a king not riding a noble horse but riding a humble donkey. It is a king not dressed in regal robes but in the clothes of the poor. It is a king who doesn’t reign with armies and sword but with love and peace. It is a king who doesn’t rule over nations of followers but who rules in the hearts of all his followers.

This is Holy Week. Please spend some time in thought on this. Jesus left the throne room of God. He gave up the kingdom of heaven to become the lowest of the low; a convicted criminal, rejected, beaten, and crucified. Jesus did all this to save us from ourselves. He did all this so we can be with him and with God the Father for all eternity.

Amen.