Palms to Passion. Mark 11:1-11. 03/24/24

Palms to Passion

Mark 11:1-11

Rev. Dr. Rhonda Blevins

March 24, 2024

When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’”They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,

“Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

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Public service announcement: when you’re traveling overseas, and you need to access local currency, one of the most economical ways to do so is simply to use your debit card at an ATM once you arrive. But buyer, beware! The ATMs overseas try to trick you and make some money from you far beyond the normal $3 or $4 ATM fee. When you insert your card and select how many euros you need, for instance, it gives you two options: “Withdrawal With Conversion” and “Withdrawal Without Conversion.” Now, unless you know this little trick, you might be tempted to select “Withdrawal With Conversion,” recognizing your need to convert dollars to euros (or whatever the local currency is). DON’T DO THIS! This is simply a trick for the ATM owner to take a cut above and beyond the bank’s fees. It’s called “Dynamic Currency Conversion,” and it should be illegal as it’s a scam at best and, in my opinion, is borderline theft. Always decline the conversion and hold on to a little more of your hard-earned cash!

Hold that thought for a moment.

Today is Palm Sunday. Today is the day we remember Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey with people waving palm branches at him and shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Today is the day that we remember how the people of Israel were longing for—desperate for—the coming of their Messiah. The Messiah would deliver them from the oppressive scourge of the Roman Empire who occupied their “Promised Land” for nearly 100 years, ever since the Roman General, Pompey, captured Jerusalem in 63 AD. So this language, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,” hearkens to the longing of the people for a Messiah who would lead a revolt against the Empire and reclaim the land God had promised their Father Abraham over two millennia prior.

“Could this Jesus be the Messiah?” some wonder. Many have seen him heal the blind and cause the lame to walk. Some have witnessed him casting out demons and feeding the 5,000. And even if they haven’t witnessed these amazing signs and wonders, they’ve heard tell. “Could this Jesus be the one we’ve been waiting for? Could he be our Messiah?”

So the people wave palm branches and shout “Hosanna!” as Jesus rides a donkey into Jerusalem.

What’s the scene in Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday?

The Jewish Temple is the hub not only for religious life but political life as well. Built on a hill in Jerusalem, the Temple Mount stands as the pinnacle of what we now call “The Old City” of Jerusalem. But after the Romans captured Jerusalem, Herod the Great built a tall, fortress tower adjacent to the Temple. He called it “The Antonia” after Mark Antony. The purpose of the tower, supposedly, was to protect the Temple. The ancient historian, Josephus, noted that “The Antonia” dominated the Temple.

Do you think that a Roman tower built next to the Temple which “dominated” it was to protect the Temple? Na. The tower was built to show, well, dominance. A visual reminder of the political reality.

The Roman overlords would make their dominance known especially at the time of Passover, when Jesus and hundreds of thousands of pilgrims made their way into the Holy City. Passover was always a tinderbox, a perfect time for Jewish revolt. So 600 Roman Soldiers stood guard on the rooftops around the Temple at all times, just in case there was any question about who held the power.

Despite this crushing oppression, the Jewish people held out hope—hope for a Messiah who would crush the Romans and reclaim the Holy City. They put their trust in their scriptures and what the prophet, Zechariah, promised about the Messiah (Zechariah 9:9- 10):

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!

Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!

See, your king comes to you,

righteous and victorious,

lowly and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

I will take away the chariots from Ephraim

and the warhorses from Jerusalem,

and the battle bow will be broken.

He will proclaim peace to the nations.

His rule will extend from sea to sea

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

So the people shouted, “Hosanna!” (Hoping beyond hope that this Jesus could be the one.) They exclaimed, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Desperate that this moment could be the moment.)

Can you put yourself in the shoes of those lining the streets of Jerusalem, longing for, pining for, desperate for the Messiah? Can you hear the whispers among them? (“I saw him heal a blind man!” “He cured my friend of leprosy!” “I was at the wedding when he turned water into wine!” “Do you think he’s the one?” “He must be! He must be the Messiah!”

“Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Please? Pretty please??)

Pontius Pilate is entering the city from the west, riding in his chariot, flanked by hundreds of Roman soldiers with their swords freshly sharpened and their armor newly polished. The display of might and force is something to see. And from the other side of the city, here’s Jesus and his rag-tag palm waver throng. Jesus rocks back and forth, riding in from the east on an ass. Just like Zechariah foretold. Making fun of Pilate in what appears to be a staged protest—a lampoon—a mockery.

“Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Please? Pretty please??)

Jesus rides closer and enters the city gates. Do you think this palm-waving crowd is eager to see what happens next? “What’s he going to do next?” “Do you think he’s going to overthrow the Romans today? Maybe he will march right into the fortress and destroy The Antonia today!” But when Jesus arrives at the Temple Mount, he does something completely boring. Absolutely disinteresting. Totally anticlimactic. Let’s read again this underwhelming maneuver from the Gospel of Mark:

Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

“Why is Jesus going to the Temple instead of the Antonia?” “Wait, that’s it?” “All hype and no action?” The palm-waving crowd disbanded. After all the pomp and circumstance, it was a quiet night in Jerusalem.

The next day, however, Jesus went back to Jerusalem. And again, not to the Antonia, but back to the Temple. Listen to what Jesus does on Monday (Mark 11:15-17):

On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’

”Certainly, some of those who waved palm branches and shouted “Hosanna!” witnessed this protest, which was likely not at all what they were expecting. “Wait a minute—you’re supposed to overthrow the Roman government, not the tables in our Temple! What the heck?”

But Jesus didn’t go to the Antonia to confront the Romans. He didn’t wield a sword against the occupying soldiers. He went to the Temple. He takes a stand against his fellow Jews. He disrupts their commerce. This is not what some of the palm-wavers signed up for.

Do you remember my public service announcement about how ATMs overseas want to trick you into paying more for “currency exchange?” That’s part of what’s happening at the money-changers’ tables. The Jewish law required every male to pay a temple tax—half a shekel. But Temple authorities wouldn’t accept all forms of currency. They wouldn’t accept the most common forms of currency. So guess what was happening at the money-changers’ table? Currency exchange. Jewish bankers and the High Priest were sure to get their cut! Just like those tricky ATMs in Europe.

The other thing happening at the money-changers’ tables was the sale of animals for ritual sacrifice. Pilgrims were required to make sacrifice, a goat or a lamb for a family with sufficient means, or for the poor, two turtle doves or pigeons. It would be much easier to buy birds at the Temple than bringing them with you from home. So birds were for sale at the Temple for the “convenience” of poor people in need of sacrificial animals. Once again, a money-making scheme—profiting off the backs of the poor.

Here’s the thing: for years—decades—the people were desperate for Messiah to come turn over the system. What they didn’t expect was that Messiah would turn over their own system! When Jesus turned over the tables at the Temple, his rebuke was not of the Romans but of the Jews who sought to profit from their own people.

‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’

”What if the Messiah were to ride into Clearwater today? Where would you want the Messiah to go? Is there an organization you’d like to see taken down, kicked out, reduced to rubble? I can name one, how about you?

But Messiah’s arrival isn’t about them. We always want to imagine that the Messiah is for us and against “those people”—whoever “those people” happen to be.

The truth of the matter is that Messiah confronts ways of thinking and being that run counter to God’s ideal wherever it exists. And if we look within, we discover there’s plenty of “missing the mark.” Messiah’s job is to turn over the tables of separation in us and to bring us closer to what God intends for us.

Because think about it . . . where is God’s Temple now? 1 Corinthians 3:16 makes the answer to this question crystal clear:

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

So on this, the final Sunday in the season of Lent, let us consider this question: if Messiah were to “ride into town” and enter the Temple of your heart, what habits or practices—routine ways of thinking or being—would Messiah want to overthrow? Everybody I know has a favorite sin . . . patterns of thinking that are so much a part of us that we have a hard time shaking. What’s yours?

Self-righteousness? Pride? Deceit? Envy? Greed? Fear? Gluttony? Excess? Indifference?

When Messiah rides into town, he aims to overthrow that which separates us from God.

And as it turns out, most scholars believe it was this act—overthrowing the tables in the Temple—that led to his arrest and execution. This was important enough to Jesus that he exchanged the triumphant palms of Sunday for the horrific passion of Friday when he would die a cruel death on a Roman cross.

And when he breathed his last, the Bible tells us that the veil in the Temple separating the Holy of Holies—God’s dwelling place—was torn from top to bottom. God’s dwelling place is now in us!

Is there anything separating you from the love, the mercy, the grace of God? If so, will you let Messiah overthrow it during this Holy Week?

That’s the invitation before you this day, and in this moment as we extinguish together, the sixth, and final, Lenten candle:

Preacher: On this sixth Sunday of the season of Lent, we consider the events of Holy Week.

Liturgist: On Sunday, Jesus enters Jerusalem, riding a donkey as the crowd shouts “Hosanna!” On Monday, Jesus curses the fig tree and drives the money changers out of the Temple.

Preacher: On Tuesday, Jesus teaches the people. On Wednesday, Jesus rests in Bethany while Judas agrees to betray him.

Liturgist: On Thursday, Jesus celebrates the Passover with his friends after washing their feet in an upper room. Later that night, Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss, and Jesus is arrested.

Preacher: On Friday, Jesus is executed on a Roman cross. (Pause.) After Jesus breathes his last, his body is taken down and laid in a tomb. A stone is rolled to seal it.

—Extinguishing of the sixth Lenten candle—

Preacher: As we watch the smoke rise, we reflect on this amazing sacrifice and what it means for us today. Liturgist: Anticipating the “Holy Week” ahead of us, will you pray with me, asking God for deepened faith and renewed devotion?

Congregation: Gracious God, source of all wisdom and understanding, we acknowledge the Holy Week before us—a time of reflection, repentance, and renewal. Deepen our faith and renew our devotion to You, we pray. Open our hearts and reveal any barriers that hinder our relationship with You. Empower us to surrender ourselves to Your guidance, that Your love might transform us, Your grace might sustain us, and Your truth illuminate our path as we bear witness to Your kingdom here on earth. Amen.