The Rev. Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor

© 2023, Dr. Tamilio

Pastors often struggle with Christmas and Easter sermons.  Their churches are filled with more people on these days, so they want to make a big impression, but there are only so many different ways to say that Jesus was born, and he rose from the dead.  The same is true of Palm Sunday: Jesus rides into Jerusalem and the crowd proclaims that he is the Messiah, the Promised One.

Many Palm Sunday sermons focus on the crowd, how when Jesus enters Jerusalem they wave their hands and shout “Hosanna,” but in less than a week they will be waving their fists shouting, “Crucify!”

What grabbed my attention when I reread Matthew’s account of the triumphant entry comes toward the end of the passage.  Pay close attention to verses 10 and 11:

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

The crowd answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

The people in Jerusalem want to know who this person is, and the crowd says that this is Jesus “the prophet.”

The discerning reader will recall the conversation between Jesus and his disciples five chapters earlier.  Jesus had asked them who the people said he was.  They gave him all kinds of answers.  Some say you are John the Baptist.  Some say that you are Elijah.  Some say that you are Jeremiah or one of the prophets.  The answers run the gamut.  Eventually, Jesus asks them, “But what about you?”  “Who do you say that I am?”  Peter gives the best answer — the first true profession of faith: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”  Bingo!  He hits it out of the park, which is why he is given the keys to the kingdom.

Well, in today’s familiar Palm Sunday reading, we hear the crowd again.  This time there are yelling “Hosanna,” but, when the rest of the community asks, “Who is this?” the crowd responds, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”  Jesus was a prophet, but he was more than that — far more than that.

A prophet is not just someone who tells us what will be.  That is what we usually think of when we hear that term.  We think of prophets as being some sort of predictor of the future, a prognosticator.  That is part of what a prophet does, but prophets also comment on what is happening now, meaning that they give us insight into our current reality.  They clarify what is occurring in our midst by giving us deeper (usually spiritual) insight.  This is what Jesus did when he rode into Jerusalem.

Let’s back up a little bit.  It was the week of Passover.  The long-suffering Jews believed that the Messiah would come and that he would liberate the Hebrew people from Roman occupation.  The setting, being the week that they recall the Exodus saga, is perfect.  We’ve talked about this several times in the past.  The people believed that the Messiah would be a mighty warrior-king like his ancestor King David.  Had he been that he would have ridden into town on a great horse, like a stallion.  The fact that he rode in on a donkey is a symbol that he came as a Prince of Peace.

So, maybe Jesus’ prophetic message was that God’s way is different than our way.  God does not look at true power as involving violence.  It’s just the opposite.  Christ reigns from a cross, not a throne.  Christ reigns through surrendering himself to God’s will, not following human concepts of violence.

Toward the end of my undergraduate education, I took a course entitled The Philosophy of Nonviolence.  It was an eye-opening elective.  The professor, Krishna Mallick, was a Hindu scholar from India who was well-versed in the work of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.  You can imagine the surprise to my “Christian” ears when the syllabus listed Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (and other teachings) as our first reading.  As Dr. Mallick said, “Jesus is one of the first advocates of passive resistance that we find in history.”  She also indicated that “passive resistance” is anything but passive.  It is a way of standing up to any violence that is inflicted upon you without resorting to violence yourself.  Eric Jones writes, “One of the central themes of the Sermon on the Mount is Christ’s expectation that His followers be characterized by peace — not violence or war.”[1]

Here are two examples of these teachings:

Matthew 5:38-39

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’  But I tell you, do not resist an evil person.  If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.”

Matthew 5:43-44

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”

This Thursday night we will remember Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples.  When the meal was ended, they went to the Garden of Gethsemane.  Do you remember the story?  The temple guard comes to arrest him.  A fight breaks out.  Matthew tells us that “one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear” (26:51).  What does Jesus say?  “Put your sword back in its place…for all who draw the sword will die by the sword” (Matt. 26:52).  I think that’s pretty clear.

Paul seems to build on this in his Letter to the Romans when he instructs us, “Love does no harm to a neighbor.  Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law” (13:10).

Violence is contrary to the Christian message.  “Who is this?” the people in Jerusalem asked when Jesus rode through their gates.  It is the same person who rides into our church today: this is Jesus of Nazareth, God’s only begotten Son; this is the One who is making his way to the cross to suffer and die for the sins of humankind; this is the One who will face the most painful punishment imaginable.  Does he run?  Does he strike back?  Does he fight?  He doesn’t say a mumbling word, as the old spiritual declares.  No.  He shows us a more excellent way — a way that is centered on love, as Paul says.

When will we ever get it right?  When will we realize that violence has gotten us nowhere?  When will we truly embrace the fact that God is love, as Scripture tells us, and that we are called to love one another?  When will we fully embrace the spiritual ethos that Christ taught and embodied?

It begins here.  It begins today.  Look and see: he makes his way into our town on a donkey — the chosen one, the Prince of Peace, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Living One, the Good Shepherd, the Alpha and the Omega, Immanuel, Rabbi, the Teacher, the Bridegroom, the Rock, the Cornerstone, the True Vine, the Lion of Judah, the Carpenter, the Bread of Life, the Messiah, the Savior, the Son of God, the Son of Man…Jesus.

Who is this?  I think we know.  Amen.

[1] Erik Jones, “Jesus Taught Peace and Nonviolence,” Discern (July/August 2014): online.