The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” John 12:12-15
A Gallup poll released last year shows that the percent of Americans who consider themselves members of a church, synagogue, or mosque has dropped below 50%. By age group, the decline is more prevalent in younger generations. The reason for this drop in religious institution affiliation is attributed to a growing lack of trust in all institutions, a disillusionment in certain religious leaders, and a desire to have agency over one’s own spirituality. However, according to the Pew Research Center, Americans are more likely than people in other countries to say their religious faith has become stronger during the pandemic. Perhaps in these changing times, people are reconsidering what’s important to them.
At another time in history, religiosity also came into question. When Jesus began His public ministry, He upended people’s thinking regarding religion and threatened the power structure of the religious leadership. Indeed, His kingdom upended the world order, but not in the way that was anyone was expecting.
In Luke 4:1-13*, Jesus fasts for 40 days in the desert and then the devil arrives on the scene to entice Jesus to turn stones into bread. When He refuses, the devil then offers Him the power to rule all earthly kingdoms. When that fails, the devil tempts Him to test God’s protection by throwing Himself off the highest point of the temple. While it’s important to realize that Jesus uses Scripture to refute each of these temptations, it is interesting to look at the significance of these particular temptations: provision, power, and protection.**
Putting these verses into context, Jesus lived during Roman times where Caesar ruled most aspects of life. The Roman government gave provisions of grain for bread to all poor people and it protected all people within the empire from other marauding kingdoms. This strategy of provision and protection helped Caesar maintain his power over the people and ensure his kingdom would continue. Of course, he exercised that power ruthlessly.
Jesus did not come to be Caesar's successor. His plan to furnish provision and protection played out on a different stage where He broke bread with 5,000 men and their families, multiplying a few simple loaves to feed their hungry bodies physically as His words fed their souls. His ultimate sacrifice of His own life bought protection from spiritual death for His followers. Unlike Caesar, Jesus’ way of provision and protection isn't by ruthless power but by love, mercy, and sacrifice. Jesus' refusal of the devil's offers of provision, power, and protection is a display of God's kingdom at work, one where love wins, mercy triumphs, and humility reigns.
It is no coincidence that right after He is tempted by the devil to create an entirely different power-grabbing rule, Jesus declares His mission statement and defines His kingdom (Luke 4:14-21*).
When Jesus reads from the scroll of Isaiah and declares His mission, the people are astonished because this is, after all, their neighborhood carpenter’s son. How did He become so eloquent? But He is not the Warrior-Messiah they expect. They only see a carpenter-turned-miracle worker. When Jesus refuses to perform miracles for them, they become angry and even try to push Him off a cliff (Luke 4:22-30*). Their expectations are poorly placed and they totally miss Jesus' mission and ministry as well as His definition of God's kingdom.
Even the Pharisees and religious leaders fail to see who Jesus is and mistake Him for someone trying to steal their power. He rails against their rules and regulations that prevent the poor from participating in community and in worship. He blasts them for their self-righteousness, hypocrisy, and lack of compassion that reveal their hard hearts are far from God.
When Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a lowly donkey instead of a mighty stallion, He is not the Messiah they expect. While they praise Him and wave palm branches on the day we know as Palm Sunday, they quickly turn against Him and by Good Friday, He is imperiled on a cross. But by Easter Sunday, He triumphs over death as He resurrects to new life.
Perhaps we mistake who Jesus is, too. With all the trappings of organized religion, it’s easy to focus on the music, sermons, and programs, and not see the Jesus who walked the earth to bring food to the hungry and to set the oppressed free.
During this pandemic, there are many people who are reconsidering their values and reevaluating their religious and spiritual beliefs in terms of any related relevance to church. Perhaps if we reexamine our beliefs in light of the life of Jesus, we’ll experience a deconstructed faith that all boils down to what Jesus refers to as the greatest commandments: love God and love people (Matthew 22:37-40***). It’s really that simple.
Jesus is the Unexpected Messiah who came not to conquer Rome as anticipated but to usher in a totally new and unconventional kingdom, one not defined by power but by love, a kingdom where everyone has a seat at the table and where the throne is replaced by a cross. Let all come and freely partake of the Bread of Life.
Risen Christ, You rode into Jerusalem on a lowly donkey instead of a mighty stallion to show the world Your kingdom is not about the world’s view of provision, power, and protection as much as it’s about love, mercy, and humility. Help me follow in Your footsteps to walk out the basic tenets of faith: to love You and to love people with both mercy and humility, with compassion, kindness, and sacrifice. Amen.
*Luke 4:1-30 – click here for verses
**The essay that inspired parts of this blog is Bread, Power, and Safety, by Diana Butler Bass, https://dianabutlerbass.substack.com/p/sunday-musings?s=r
***Matthew 22:37-40: Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Text and photograph copyright © 2022 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of Ruinas de San Francisco (San Francisco Ruins), a church built in 1731 in Mendoza, Argentina. It is the only building that remained after a devastating earthquake in 1861 which destroyed the rest of Mendoza. The city was rebuilt nearby.
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All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
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