[ BEHOLD ]
Week 1
Intro | The Tension Behind Palm Sunday
Leaders,
Start your preparation this week by reading all the good background information in this
excerpt from writer, pastor, and musician, Tim Suttle. Read it a few times, making underlines
and highlights, and then begin your group meeting this week with a short summary of the
content.
“1st character: Jesus.
In Jesus’s day if you ordered people from powerful to not-powerful Jesus would have been
pretty far down the list toward not-powerful. First of all he was Jewish – living in a Roman
society. Second, he was a Galilean. Galilee was mostly a farming & fishing region, but it was
part of an active trade route, so it was fairly prosperous. But Herod’s plan for Galilee was to
demand such high taxes that everyone lived on the brink of poverty. If you couldn’t pay your
taxes, he’d just take your land & sell it to his friends in Jerusalem. The Galileans were
powerless to stop it. Plus, Jesus was a Carpenter – it was a decent profession, there were
just a lot of them around.
Any list of the least powerful people in Jesus’s world would have to include a Jewish
Carpenter from Galilee. And yet he has arguably had more of an impact on the planet than
any person who ever lived.
2nd characters: Chief priests and the elders of the people.
They hold Jewish religious power, the ruling elite (mostly older men). Their job description
was to help the people of God to be faithful. But their actual job seemed to be more like
consolidating & wielding power. If you are playing powerful/not powerful… so far as it could
be said of 1st Century Jews: these guys were powerful.
Now, by the end of the week these folks will move to arrest and kill Jesus. Why would that
be? Nice, humble Jesus? Love your neighbor Jesus? Pray for those who persecute you
Jesus? Blessed are the peacemakers Jesus? What do they want to kill him for?
Somehow they had come to see Jesus a threat… which gives us some insight into the
message of Jesus. If Jesus was just saying “give peace a chance” or “here’s how to get into
heaven when you die,” or “here’s how to be a moral person,” he wouldn’t have been a threat
to the powerful. There had to be something else. Why do the chief priests and the elders of
the people decide Jesus must be put to death?
3rd characters: Caesar/Pilate/Herod.
If you remember, the Roman ruler is Caesar. For decades just before the birth of Christ it was
Julius Caesar. Rome was split into two pieces at the time & he was attempting to
consolidate. But he got into a huge thing w/Elizabeth Taylor (Cleopatra picture), & things fell
apart… it was all very sad. So, his adopted son Octavian, became Caesar & he had his name
changed to Caesar Augustus, sound familiar? “In the days of Caesar Augustus.” Caesar
Augustus ruled the world from England to India at the time that Jesus was born. So if you are
playing powerful/not powerful, Caesar is powerful.
Around this time a religious cult grew up known as emperor worship, and it was taken quite
seriously. They had liturgies you may recognize. He was called the son of a God. Their
primary confession was: “Caesar is Lord.” They often said: “There is no other name under
heaven by which people can be saved than that of Caesar.” Caesar wanted to celebrate his
divine origins, started a 12day day festival to celebrate his birth called: “The Advent: of
Caesar” You could make offerings to Caesar for the forgiveness of sins. Caesar was often
called, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”
Caesar Augustus died… He was succeeded by Caesar Tiberius, who was the Caesar at the
time of Jesus’s death. Now Tiberius had a problem. He had consolidated Rome, and the
territory it covered was massive: Too big to control & communicate effectively, so Caesar had
to set up regional governors, who had some limited autonomy. This is where the Herod
brothers come in: Archelaus, Antipas, Philip. They shared control after Herod the Great, their
father, died. Archelaus was terrible. He was deposed & exiled quickly. In his place Caesar
installed a Roman prefect named Pontius Pilate. If you are playing powerful/not powerful,
Pilate is powerful.
Pilate had a palace up in Caesarea Philippi; which actually tells you a lot, living in Caesarea
Philippi was like living in Hollywood: beautiful Climate on the Mediterranean Sea with pools,
temples, gymnasiums, theaters, Roman baths, and ships in port bringing exotic goods from
around the world. Pilate was Roman Prefect – he was very rich & had everything he could
ever want. He ruled Judea from Caesarea Philippi, not from Jerusalem. Caesarea, you can
tell from its name, was a proper Roman city. Jerusalem was a mostly Jewish City. Pilate liked
the Roman way better.
Now, the Jewish people had these pesky festivals every year. The biggest of which was the
Passover: a time of remembering God’s deliverance from the slavery in Egypt. You know the
story; God told Pharaoh, “Let my people go,” but Pharaoh wouldn’t do it. So God sent all of
these plagues: water turned to blood, gnats, flies, frogs, boils; it was bad couple of months
to be an Egyptian. Pharaoh still wouldn’t comply. So God sends a final plague, and killed the
first born of every household except for those who have spread lambs blood over the
doorpost of their house. In those houses the angel of death would pass-over. That’s why it’s
called the Passover. That’s why Jesus was in Jerusalem.
There were at least 2-3 hundred thousand Jews coming into the city at that time. (Some say
a ½ million, or as many as 1 million). And they are fueled by this religious zeal. And they are
there to remember this time when God delivered them from the hands of an imperial ruler.
And they are very aware that they are still suffering under the hand of an imperial ruler. Ruled
by Caesar, taxed by Herod, bilked by corrupt Jewish leadership… that’s what power was
doing to them.
Jerusalem was volatile during the Passover. Hundreds of thousands of Jewish pilgrims had
gathered to celebrate how God saved them from Pharaoh. The spirit of rebellion & religious
fervor was in the air, and it was Pilate’s job to keep it from starting a revolution.
So what Pilate would do is leave his palace at Caesarea Philippi, and march his whole army
South in a massive show of force meant to deter the Jews from any thoughts of rebellion. It
would begin with the Roman Eagle on the Standard… the symbol of the power and speed of
the Roman Empire. Look at this picture: What does it remind you of? (3rd Reich borrowed
Roman symbols). The Roman war eagle struck fear in the hearts of everybody who looked
upon it. If you are playing powerful/not powerful, Pilate’s army was powerful. Jesus’s army?
Well, he didn’t really have one… which is strange…
Because, Jesus’s consistent claim, and the claim of the apostles & his followers, the writers
of the new Testament including Paul, Peter, James, they all say the same thing: Jesus was
claiming power. Jesus believed his power eclipsed the powers of the Chief Priests & elders,
Herod, Pilate, and even the powers of Caesar. But, and this is key, his power was completely
different… it had a different nature, or essence than Roman Power.
So Pilate’s procession would come into the city. The War Eagle on the standard marching in
front. Then came the standard bearers w/flags of all of the Caesars & their divine titles –
listing all the battles they’d won. Then came the Centurions, Legionnaires, Cavalrymen. First
the soldiers marching with Metal shields, rhythmic clanking. Then soldiers mounted on
horses, finally the armored chariots – the M1 tank of their day. And at some point Pontius
Pilate himself would go by w/adoring crowds yelling “hail to Pilate, hail to Caesar.” It was a
show of force… display of power.
Pilate was saying, “you mess w/Rome, you are messing with Raw Power. You resist? Your
going to feel the power. So all of you simple minded Jews, w/ your wine, doing your dances,
and your festivals, singing your songs, don’t get any ideas.
Those are the players. Here’s what Jesus did: John 12:12-19
“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.” At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only
after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and
that these things had been done to him. Now the crowd that was with him when he called
Lazarus from the tomb & raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many
people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. So
the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole
world has gone after him!”
You should’ve received a palm branch when you came in. When Jesus rode into town on a
donkey, the people waved branches kind of like what you have. There’s a story behind these
as well. Ever since the time of the exile, the Jewish people had always suffered under some
sort of foreign power: Alexander the Great, the Seleucid Empire, the Greeks, the Romans…
somebody was always in power over them.
In all that time, there had only been one successful revolution; led by a man named Judas
the Maccabean (he defeated Seleucids Empire and ruled after Alex the Great). When Judas
Maccabeus processed back into Jerusalem the crowds celebrated him by waving Palm
Branches. When he minted coins he stamped a palm branch on them.
The Palm Branch was a symbol of Jewish Rebellion.
So you have these religious pilgrims descending upon Jerusalem, and they were sick of
being Roman Subjects… But they had no army – no real power. If they tried to fight Rome
they had no chance. But Jesus had been performing all of these signs. He’d been making
teaching about the Kingdom of God. He’d even raised people from the dead. He seemed to
possess some kind of power. Maybe if Jesus led a revolution, they had a shot to beat Rome.
So, Jesus rides into town on a donkey, & the crowds shout “Hosanna.” This word does not
mean “hooray,” by the way. It was not really a religious word, it was a political word, made up
of two Hebrew words: hōša῾: which means “help us, save us, deliver us,” and nā: which
means “we pray” or “now, please” – gave it urgency. And it wasn’t like a Michael W. Smith
song… it was this fast, rhythmic chanting: “Ho-sha-na! Ho-sha-nah! Save us now! Save us
now!”
Think about this scene: a crowd of Jewish pilgrims, gathering in Jerusalem to celebrate
deliverance from Egypt, fueled with religious zeal, waving the symbols of the only
successful rebellion in Jewish History, chanting, “Hosanna!” This is a messianic
demonstration, and the Jewish leaders knew it: “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how
the whole world has gone after him!”… one more detail we need to get.
The first day of the festival of the Passover: was what they called Lamb Selection Day, and it
was actually carried out just as it was prescribed in the book of Exodus. (12:3-6)
“Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of the first month each man is to
take a lamb for his family, one for each household. If any household is too small for a whole
lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor… The animals you choose must be
year-old males without defect… Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month,
when all the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.”
Now, they were very particular about the lambs that were used. It had to be blameless & w/
out defect – this had to be verified. So you needed an officially approved lamb. Guess who
owned all of the lambs for sale? The Jewish leaders… it was part of how they held power. You
couldn’t get your sins atoned for unless you bought a lamb from these guys at the temple.
Jewish historians tell us the lambs for the Passover were brought in from the fields of
Bethlehem to the south, up to Jerusalem and through the eastern gate of the city – which
was called the “Sheep Gate” for that reason; (We should immediately think of the birth story
from Luke 2, and the shepherds who witnessed the birth of Jesus; that’s Bethlehem… the
sheep town). No doubt some of the same shepherds who witnessed Jesus’s birth were
driving sheep into Jerusalem that day.
Take a quick look at [a] Map of Jerusalem. Can you see the little green area called the Upper
City? 90% of Jews on the earth were poor – subsistence farmers. But here in the upper city
lived the Jewish elite – Chief Priests and elders. You can Herod’s palace was in their
neighborhood, which is why they were often called Herodians. They were doing well, getting
rich of money changing in the Temple, temple taxes, and Passover lambs. They all lived here
in the upper city. The elite group of leaders who are supposed to be helping the people to
be faithful are actually causing the starvation of the people.
Jewish families would travel from places far and wide, and they’d come into Jerusalem on
Lamb Selection day. They would buy a blameless lamb & keep it with them for five days.
Literally everything the family did during the week, they had to take this lamb with them.
Then at the end of the week they would sacrifice the lamb… Now, Guess which day Jesus
chooses to ride into Jerusalem? Lamb Selection Day. Guess which gate he came to? Sheep
Gate… and he stays with them for five days …and then they kill him.
You know the children’s rhyme: “Mary had a little lamb, his fleece was white as snow; And
everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go.”… that’s this story … this is Mary’s son,
Jesus, born on the hills of Bethlehem; Jesus, whose birth was attended to by Bethlehem
shepherds; Jesus who was blameless, spotless, and without sin; Jesus comes into Jerusalem
on lamb selection day by sheep gate, and he stays with them for five days, and as the Jewish
people are slaughtering their own lambs, Jesus is killed on a Roman Cross. He becomes the
Passover lamb.
Back to the scene at hand, and all of our players: The people want an uprising. Pilate has
come w/shock & awe to keep things quiet. The temple leaders are set to make a ton of
money off the Passover; and here comes Jesus, riding into town on a donkey. Luke 19
describes it this way:
“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you,
had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your
eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against
you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you
and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did
not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
Jesus is weeping because nobody in the whole place gets what is really happening. They
are all scratching & clawing for power; and they are on a serious collision course w/each
other. Pilate wielded the most powerful army on earth. The Jewish people wanted a holy
war. The Jewish leaders wanted to keep their power. And here comes Jesus, riding on a
donkey… the king’s driving in VW beetle… no army… no bravado… just tears.
Everything Jesus is doing speaks of a completely different kind of power. He is claiming
power. He is entering as the king. But his crown will be a crown of thorns, his throne will be a
Roman cross, his coronation will be his sacrifice as the lamb of God – this Jewish carpenter
from Galilee would change the course of human history forever.
And yet the same crowd we see throwing cloaks on the ground, waving palm branches,
yelling “Hosanna,” will in just a few days be yelling, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”1
In review: “Think about this scene: a crowd of Jewish pilgrims, gathering in Jerusalem to
celebrate deliverance from Egypt, fueled with religious zeal, waving the symbols of the only
successful rebellion in Jewish History, chanting, “Hosanna!” This is a messianic
demonstration, and the Jewish leaders knew it.”
Why is it important that we stop and place our focus on the characters, events, and cultural
tensions surrounding Palm Sunday?
1
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/paperbacktheology/2014/04/lent-6a-palm-sunday-john-1912-19-powerful-not-powerful.html
Read | Mark 11:1-11
1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of
Olives, Jesus[a] sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of
you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.
Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need
of it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a
door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those standing there said to
them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and
they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he
sat on it. 8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that
they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were
shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the
coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
Merriam-Webster defines a Messiah as “a person who is expected to save people from a very
bad situation.” The Jews had great expectations! They wanted Jesus to be their Savior and
He was, but not the kind they were looking for. He was there to accomplish far more than
they ever dreamed.
What did the Jewish people want from Jesus? How were they wrong?
Read | Luke 19:10
10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
What did the Jews, and everyone else involved, really need to be saved from?
Do you ever miss the point of what God is doing?
How can we be confident that what we want from God is what God wants for us?
(Prayer. The Bible. The counsel of the Church. Orthodox Tradition.)
If the Jews had paid better attention to the teachings of Jesus, (love your enemy, bless those
who curse you, etc…) would they have assumed the same things about his intentions as the
Messiah?
At least some of the same people who laid down cloaks and branches, shouting “Hosanna
(save us!),” would eventually shout “Crucify Him!”
What does a later “Crucify Him!” response from some in the crowd communicate about their
relationship with Jesus?
When God doesn’t meet your expectations, how do you generally respond?
What BIG lesson can you take from those in the crowd who cried out “Hosanna?”
Pray | As you conclude today, take some time to talk to God about your expectations.
Confess your disappointments in getting something different than you wanted, but also
thank God that ultimately He is for you and knows best what you need.