Sermon: “A Surprising Outcome”
Sermon
Passion Sunday/ Palm Sunday Sunday, March 24, 2024
Mark 11:1-11a
Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 Psalm 22:1-21 Philippians 2:5-11 Mark 14:32 – 72
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Has there ever been such an amazing and dramatic ‘about face’? On Palm Sunday the crowds were lauding and praising Jesus in a kind of ‘ticker tape parade. But only a few days later, five days later in fact, the crowds were clamoring for His death. ‘Crucify him,’ they kept yelling. Has there ever been such an about face?
Well, I can suggest several that come close, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the first election after World War II, US President Woodrow Wilson after World War I, and Wayne Gretzky after he was traded to LA in August 1988. I can certainly vouch for this last one, for someone I know well was a devoted Gretzky fan and had a very large fully articulated Gretzky doll. When Gretzky was traded, this person, in a fit of anger, smashed the doll to bits. That was his kind of ‘about face.’ But haven’t most of us fellows also had our own kind of ‘about face’ when we said or did something that deeply wounded or distressed someone we cared about. One moment we were riding high; the next, we were ‘in the doghouse.’
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But coming back to the Palm Sunday ticker tape parade, this was a pretty strange one, one that was very different from what the city of Jerusalem was accustomed to. Interestingly enough, there were probably two other parades that were taking place almost at the very same time as Jesus’ one.
With Jesus’ parade, He entered the Golden Gate across from the Mount of Olives and after crossing the Kidron Valley from Bethany.
However, Pontius Pilate would have simultaneously had another ‘parade’, marching his augmented Roman forces from Caesarea Martina through the Tower or Herod Gate to the Antonia Fortress. Here he would have entered astride a white stallion as befitting his status as the erstwhile ruler of the territory and symbolizing the mighty fist of Roman power that backed up his rule. His parade told everyone that he, and his Roman overlords, were the ones that were really in power, and that to buck or resist them meant trouble, trouble indeed.
And the High Priest, Caiaphas, would have had yet another ‘parade’, this time a parade of the Passover sacrificial lamb from the Shepherds’ Field outside of Bethlehem. He would process it, not from the closest gate to that location, but through the Sheep Gate just north of where Jesus entered. In fact, his procession probably would have preceded Jesus’ entry by just a short period, which would account for such a crowd of people already on hand to greet Jesus. His message was that, as God’s delegated and chosen High Priest, he was offering for all of Israel the sin sacrifice ordered by God, the sin sacrifice they all so desperately needed. He was ‘God’s man on the spot’, like no other.
Interestingly, Jesus’ entry would have conveyed a very different message than either of these other ones, if only people had noticed or been interested. His message would have spoken of—in fact, ushered in--a totally different and surprising outcome and conclusion. (More on that in a moment.)
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That aside, what can we point to that will explain what happened, why there was such an incredible ‘about face’ as this? Indeed, there were some other things ‘going on’, some other factors that will explain something of why this dramatic ‘about face’ took place, so let’s look at them one by one:
The first explanation lies with the common people and what they were up to.
In the days following Palm Sunday and leading up to the Sabbath, the eve of which was Good Friday, they had their hands full. They were focused on friends and family and faith. The Sabbath and the Passover were fast approaching, and they had tons of preparations to take care of. And with those who were only visitors to the city trying to find the necessary provisions in an already busy and crowded city making it even worse. Estimates are that during Passover the normal population of Jerusalem grew from 70,000 to 80,000 to an enormous two and three-quarter million people, greatly taxing everything from accommodations to food stuffs to other necessities. These folks, already so occupied, could not reasonably be expected to keep up to date with what was happening with Jesus.
The second level of explanation has to do with the authorities, the people who were responsible for the peace, safety, and well-being of the city. With such an expanded crowd of zealous, almost fanatical pilgrims from all over the world, Jerusalem was like a tinderbox. Already it was prone to disturbances, riots, and killings, but now it was worse. Tensions had been building up for some time. So, the authorities, Jewish and Roman, wanted to ‘keep a lid’ on things and so, in their eyes this Palm Sunday ‘parade’ of Jesus spelled trouble, big trouble.
And the Jewish authorities for their part were afraid that any kind of riot, disturbance or insurrection would invite a swift, sudden, and violent reprisal on the part of the Romans. After all, they could all remember how the Romans had put down an earlier insurrection in Judaea: something like 2,000 people were arrested and crucified in response to it. And, not only that, Caiaphas, the High Priest, in a kind of fatalistic mood, was worried that any such thing might lead to the destruction of the nation. After all, it had happened before.
As so, motivated by this fear—and by a bit of jealousy or envy—they were more than happy to stir up the crowd in a frenzy of hatred against Jesus. After all, stirring up a crowd, whipping them up into a kind of hysteria is quite easy if you know how. (I have witnessed this taking place a couple of times, so I know.)
And the Jewish authorities weren’t the only ones that were motivated by fear. Pontius Pilate was living on borrowed time; the clock was ticking. His career was on a precipice and was ready to fall. Several evil reports had already gone to Caesar concerning his conduct as prolocutor, and even one more negative report might be enough to tip him over the edge. And so, it was in his best interest to placate the crowd and give in to their demands.
And, as for this fear and frustration, it infected even Jesus’ own followers. Many of them were probably frustrated with His non-performance, His inability to live up to their expectations of His being the Messiah. Judas Iscariot was probably one of them, and possibly Simon the Zealot. And as for the fear factor, every single one of the male disciples, save John, either deserted Jesus or denied Him, at His greatest hour of need.
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And so, it all ‘played out’ exactly as God planned it. Jesus was indeed arrested, tried, and put to death, just as Isaiah had prophesied. However, if only they’d noticed, all of this had an entirely ‘different’ message to what they saw or expected. There were two differences:
Firstly, both Jesus and Pontius Pilate entered the city by proclaiming some sort of kingdom. With Pontius Pilate it was the kingdom of Caesar, a kingdom of force and coercion, a kingdom of tyranny, and imposed rule, an exterior, worldly, and wholly temporary kingdom. With Jesus it was a kingdom of love, a kingdom of choice, an internal and eternal and heavenly one. Jesus’ kingdom would last forever in the hearts of men and women and would eventually ‘set everything to rights’.
And then there was the matter of the sacrificial lamb being processed into the city from the Shepherds Fields. The sacrificial lamb offered by the High Priest would constitute a one-time offering only, a limited one at that. This sacrifice would necessarily be of limited impact and effect because it had to ‘cover’, to atone for, even the sins of the one who offered it, the High Priest. But the other sacrificial lamb, which was Jesus, was good for all time and
for all people, because He, being without sin, didn’t have to offer it for Himself, and thus be effectual for all of us.
The blood of the original Passover Lamb delivered the Israelites from death and slavery there in Egypt, but Jesus’ blood would deliver all humankind, all who put their trust in Him, not only from death and slavery to sin and the devil, but also from guilt and shame, and would make heirs of new life.
It was an entirely different outcome from what anyone had imagined, one that is open to each and every one of us--if only we will believe. Thanks be to God.