It is not uncommon to hear the commentators for televised football games speculate about what the coach says to the team both before the game and at half time to inspire them.
I did have the privilege of playing the game even into the college ranks a little. One season our team was playing in a postseason bowl game and the team anxiously awaited the final speech before the game. The coach was a fine man and had the respect of the team. However he had a high-pitched voice and when he was excited it was even higher.
“Men, we have taken team pictures for this bowl game. One day after you are married and have a son, he will be looking at that picture and ask when it was taken. With pride you will tell him that you were part of the team of mighty Bulldogs when they played in the postseason of 1967. You will tell him who we played and what you did during the game. Then he will look up into your eyes with the most important question. ‘Daddy, who won?’ Let’s go get ‘em boys!” Actually it came across funny. The guys were giggling as they left the locker room. No one ever forgot that speech. I don’t know if it inspired or relaxed the team, but we still talk about it when we see each other. The point he was trying to make for us was obvious. Was this just another game or was it a life-altering event?
It was Passover for the Jews. It was a feast celebrating the most life-altering events in Israel’s history: the deliverance from Egypt’s oppression and the Exodus. There had been a day, a definable day on which God had given special significance to some ordinary events. The Israelites were to kill a lamb, eat it, and put some of the blood on the door posts. Nothing was magical about their actions, but the impact of that day had defined a nation for hundreds of years. When the curse of death visited Egypt, those who had killed the lamb and put blood on the door posts were spared. The descendants of Abraham who were in Egypt and obeyed the instructions were delivered and later became known as Israel. What they had done on that day was significant but just a shadow of a reality that would be fulfilled on a future day when another Lamb would die and shed his blood on a door to eternal life.
After the Exodus Israel had times of prosperity and exile. Under David they had become a great and respected nation with superior government and military power. But it was not long before they had fallen into idolatry again and lost their land, their temple, and their significance in the world. But they still longed for a future day when another Exodus would take place. Their prophets were profuse in promising another day of the Lord when they would be restored to greater heights than ever. Then there was a return. The Persians had miraculously released a remnant of Jews to return to their land and to rebuild their city and temple. They did, but it was nothing like the previous state of glory. Some of them were back in the land but the glory of God was not back in the temple. The Old Testament ends with the mild thud of a returned people but an empty temple.
Millions of Jews had made the trip from the Jericho valley up the mountain to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. But this was another of those ordinary but significant days. Jesus walked that path up the hot, dusty, road toward Bethany that overlooked the hill that held Jerusalem. As he reached Bethany he mounted a donkey. Zechariah had said the Messiah would come riding on a donkey. (It was an unused little colt. Later he would rest in an unused tomb, and even later he would occupy an unoccupied throne.) Most who viewed the scene saw a man riding a donkey. In reality God had returned to Jerusalem and the temple to instigate a new Exodus. This was a life-altering event.
HE DOESN’T APPEAR THE WAY YOU EXPECT The crowd around him began to throw their coats on the road. Some got leaves and branches from surrounding trees. Some began to shout, “Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” The Pharisees were indignant. They warned Jesus that these overzealous disciples could start a riot. Because we know the whole story, we know that some of this crowd was part of a later crowd that would demand that Jesus be crucified as a criminal. Maybe they just got caught up in the excitement of the true disciples.
It is easy for crowds to praise Jesus for who they want him to be rather than for who he is. They will applaud the Christ they want, but crucify the one they need. That is why today there are false gospels being received by large crowds. When allowed to create a Jesus of fantasy many will throw their coats on the ground. When confronted with a Christ of the cross, they will abandon him and cry foul. It is in us all to want Jesus to fit our expectations. We would like for things to change for the better and we would love to have a savior to fix our lives, but most of us resist the change necessary in our own lives.
I have been amused by the promises of the current presidential candidates. They promise change for everything that is perceived as inadequate. They will stop war, provide health care for everyone, fix the economy, and make everyone get along. Now if you put the pencil to their plans, there is not enough money anywhere to get it done, but that doesn’t matter to crowds who want to believe in a messiah that will do everything for them without requiring change in them.
The fantasy Christ of today’s popular religion is expected to fulfill the desires of a materialistic and narcissistic culture. He loves you and expresses that love by giving you a better job, a bigger house, a healthy body, and more money. He will never contradict your self-focused lifestyle nor demand that you live your life for the benefit of another. He will honor your efforts to be good, and never mention that sin is the cause of your pain and frustration. He assures you that becoming better is good enough for God. He would never demand that you wear a righteousness that is as pure as his. He might even suggest that ethnicity and geography influence the blessings of God. He would never want to appear exclusive to the natural mind. He would give everyone the benefit of the doubt regarding the object of their faith. If they believe in anything, it will be accepted in heaven as valid. This is a Jesus who is unknown in the Bible. He is the fantasy of a crowd caught up with hopes for a better world, but no eyes to see reality.
HE IS EVIDENT TO THOSE WHOSE HEARTS ARE TO FINISH THE TRIP We should not forget that there were some in the crowd who saw more than a man on a donkey. They might not have known the full reality of the triumphal entry, but they were in for the entire trip, even if it contained some unexpected bumps. They are the type who can worship God when others see no reason to do so. They are aware of another world that is just as real as the one they can touch with their hands. They know that it is only by revelation that we can see the significance of any event past, present, or future. They have faced the consternation that history is not self evident. They can’t even know what the Old Testament is about without added perspective from God. They can’t distinguish good from evil nor real from false without God’s aid. So they are content to march with him into the crucible of the cross because somehow they see through faith.
Several years ago a friend died unexpectedly and much too young. He had been influential in several spheres. He was an attorney, had served in law enforcement, and many other responsibilities. At his funeral were men and women from all over the state. The church was packed. During one of the choruses being sung during the service, the widow got up and began to dance with the music. I watched as every neck became stiff and all eyes stared forward, refusing to look at this unusual spectacle. It certainly surprised many. Later, she confided that she and her husband had agreed that whichever one was attending the other’s funeral would rejoice. She said, “I chose to rejoice over his victory rather than focus on my grief.” She could worship when others could not see the reason.
Well, we know the rest of the story in Jerusalem. Jesus went on into the city. He returned to the temple and prophesied its destruction. He was tried, but in reality the world was on trial. He died as the Passover Lamb. He was raised from the grave fulfilling and guaranteeing the promises of restoration. He ascended to sit on the throne of David. Forty years later, the city and the temple were totally destroyed by the Roman army. You need enlightened eyes to see what really went on. Was it a man on a donkey? Was it the Lord returning to the temple? Was it a criminal on trial? Was it the world being judged? Was it a resurrection or a hoax? Did he just disappear or did he ascend to sit on the throne of God?
This is our day. Is it significant? Are we missing what is really happening? Are we being duped by a crowd calling for a savior of their own imaginations? Are we in for the entire trip?
SYNERGY - Better Together: October 01, 2010 click for more > Five Pillars of New Testament Discipleship: : October 15, 2010 click for more > Family Reunion Retreat: December 03, 2010 click for more >
