Palm Sunday - Unarmed: The Unarmed King

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It’s Palm Sunday

This is the first day of Holy Week, and commemorates Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  It’s also a day when we see Jesus’ unarmed revolution in full effect.  

Today, we are going to explore the story of Jesus's entry into Jerusalem in a dramatically different way than the Empire. 


And we’ll also learn something about what it means to be rescued by love.  


JESUS SHOWS US THAT LOVE, NOT FORCE, IS WHAT RESCUES US. 

Matthew 21:1-11


When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” 4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:


5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,

Look, your king is coming to you,

    humble and mounted on a donkey,

        and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)


  • The stage is set for a showdown between Jesus and the Empire. 
  • His choice of how to enter the city for Passover is politically charged. 
  • There is a sharp comparison between how he enters and Pilate’s entry. 

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7 they brought the donkey and the colt and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,


“Hosanna to the Son of David!

    Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!”


10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

  • The people gathered were expecting something to change by force.  
  • They wanted Jesus to use the same tactics of the Empire, but he didn’t. 

This passage forces us to confront how our expectations about Jesus often get turned upside down, and how leading with love is the only true way to transformation and rescue from ourselves.  


Some Important Questions

  • Has your need to win at all costs become the driving force of your faith?
  • Are we strong enough to lay down our armor and weapons to let love in?
  • What could it look like if the Church truly embraced Jesus’ example?
Give Me Strength, That waits upon You in Silence and Peace, Give Me Humility in which Alone is Rest, Deliver Me from Pride, Which is the Heaviest of Burdens, Possess My Heart and Soul, With the Simplicity of Love. - Thomas Merton


JESUS SHOWS US THAT LOVE, NOT FORCE, IS WHAT RESCUES US

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