‘Trouble brewing?”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Thursday, June 15, 2023
Luke 19:28-40 (Forward, p. 48) CEV p. 1088
Oh, oh, this does not look good. Margaret George, in her novel Mary Called Magdalene, surmises that Herod Antipas might well have become anxious and concerned, and more than just a wee bit uneasy, over the immense crowds that Jesus was attracting. So, just think of how the Jerusalem authorities, both Jewish and Roman, would have viewed today’s Palm Sunday procession. They would have been alarmed over the possible insurrection, given the packed city and the volatile nature of zealous pilgrims, so easily kindled, that were there in the city for the Feast of Passover. It was like a tinderbox ready for lighting. No wonder the Pharisees present in the crowd called upon Jesus to silence His followers.
Jesus’ ticker tape parade with all its shouting and associated actions (spreading clothes on the road in front of Him and waving palm branches) would have been bad enough, but there was also the prophecy by Zechariah (Zechariah 9:9), which Matthew quotes (Matthew 21:5), but not Mark or Luke. This was a prophecy concerning the future king, the coming Messiah, and doubtless this would have been in at least some people’s minds. So, regardless of what side of the fence you were on, whether for Jesus or against, you could easily see that there might be trouble brewing.
And yet, Jesus resolutely went ahead, went on with His task, with His mission there in the city. He knew pretty well what awaited Him and yet He fully embraced it. He accepted it, more or less graciously, because He knew what it was for. He knew that it was ‘all for us’ and so He accepted this out of His deep and abiding love for us. I find this pretty astounding, pretty amazing, that He would give His life for us like that, for us humans who did nothing to deserve it, and who, quite frankly, have often spurned it and turned away from it. It truly boggles my imagination, and makes me want, even more, to love Him and serve Him. Yes, there was indeed ‘trouble brewing, but it was all for us. Oh, what amazing love that was. Amen.
Forward notes: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” (verse 38a)
“The triumphal entry of Jesus in Luke is a foretaste of a future, final entry into the new Jerusalem that we hear of in the Revelation of John. On that great day, we will be clothed in the new robes of resurrection so that we can lay them on Jesus’s horse as he rides in to take his throne. We will be given leaves from a tree that John saw in Revelation and wave its fronds in jubilation.
“In John’s vision, creation is renewed so that the stones join us in shouting out glory to God. John saw the stones that made up the streets, gates, and foundations of the new Jerusalem—the jasper and the sapphire and all twelve precious stones that make the same cry as the twelve apostles and the twelve tribal heads—'holy, holy, holy is the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.’
“Jesus enters the city where God’s dwelling place is now with God’s people, and where there will be no more mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away and the procession of palm branches leads into the new Temple, Jesus, Godself.”
Moving Forward: “How do you celebrate the risen Lord?”