How to take over the world - on a donkey!
Matthew 21:1-11
How do you take over a country – especially one that does not want to be taken over?
Do you take out the leadership, a le Trump?
Do you use military might – shock and awe?
Do you use economic muscle and sanction your enemy into submission?
Or – do you find a donkey, throw some rags on it, ride it into the capital claiming that you are God’s King.
It is a bit of a joke. It is Monty Python-esque
It is a sure way of getting yourself crucified
And it is the way that Jesus chose to come into Jerusalem
So what is going on here?
1. Jesus is leading a revolution.
He is now finally openly declaring himself to be the Messiah, God’s king.
But God does not use power to force us to kneel before him.
He does not compel. He invites.
He uses love to draw us to kneel before him.
And that means that if we choose to reject him, then there will be hurt for us.
If we reject the one who is at the foundation of the universe, we will collide with reality itself. We will be like the drunk man trying to break through a brick wall by bashing our head against it.
But if there is hurt for us, there will also be hurt for him. And because he loves us terribly, the hurt for him will be terrible.
Jesus knows that. He knows what awaits him.
Three times he has told his followers that he is going to Jerusalem where he will be rejected and crucified.
4. This Jesus’ revolution begins with the human heart.
It is not in our reading, but when Jesus goes into Jerusalem, the first place that he goes is not the seat of political power, or the local prisons, or the local TV station. That was probably because they didn’t have one!
Instead, Jesus goes to the temple – and he draws attention to the temple as a place of prayer and praise.
That is where this revolution begins. Not in the corridors of power, but in the presence of God.
It starts here as we listen to the Word of God, respond in praise and worship and kneel down to receive Jesus. It starts when we sit in our bedroom or kneel by our bed each morning and pray. It starts when we pray the Lord’s Prayer: ‘Hallowed be thy name’.
How do you take over a country – especially one that does not want to be taken over?
Do you take out the leadership, a le Trump?
Do you use military might – shock and awe?
Do you use economic muscle and sanction your enemy into submission?
Or – do you find a donkey, throw some rags on it, ride it into the capital claiming that you are God’s King.
It is a bit of a joke. It is Monty Python-esque
It is a sure way of getting yourself crucified
And it is the way that Jesus chose to come into Jerusalem
So what is going on here?
1. Jesus is leading a revolution.
He is now finally openly declaring himself to be the Messiah, God’s king.
He is very deliberately choosing to fulfil the prophecy of Zechariah.
“Look your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey”.
And people knew what he was doing.
In riding into Jerusalem on a donkey Jesus is inviting people to receive him as King.
And his followers and supporters respond by declaring that he is the Son of David, that he comes in the name of the Lord, and that through him God will save us
2. The Jesus’ revolution begins with the Word of God
Jesus has no army.
I went – with my mother - on a tour of RAF Coningsby Battle of Britain memorial on Thursday. We were told that at the end of the second world war the RAF had about 15-20000 operational planes. Today they have in total about 600 working planes.
Jesus could go one better than that. As he prepared to launch his revolution, the total weaponry of his followers consisted of 2 swords. And when one of his followers tries to defend Jesus with his sword, he tells him to put it away.
But if Jesus does not put his trust in swords, he does put his trust in the word of God.
That is what he is doing when he enacts the prophecy of Zechariah.
He is saying, ‘I am coming into Jerusalem, God’s city, as God’s king. I have no human resources – I come completely trusting God and his word.’
His revolution begins with humility and obedience.
And that is what Jesus has done all his life.
Even though it is counter to what everybody else is saying, even though it appears foolish, he has done God’s work in God’s way in God’s time trusting God’s word.
It began with the first temptation in the wilderness when he replied to Satan, ‘It is written – you shall not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’
3. The Jesus revolution is about love and not power
The crowd declare, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’
Jesus comes in the name of the Lord, doing what God would do.
And this is the wonder of Palm Sunday and of the cross.
We live in God’s world, but we are in rebellion against God. He could easily and rightly terrify or overwhelm us into submission and service.
“Look your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey”.
And people knew what he was doing.
In riding into Jerusalem on a donkey Jesus is inviting people to receive him as King.
And his followers and supporters respond by declaring that he is the Son of David, that he comes in the name of the Lord, and that through him God will save us
2. The Jesus’ revolution begins with the Word of God
Jesus has no army.
I went – with my mother - on a tour of RAF Coningsby Battle of Britain memorial on Thursday. We were told that at the end of the second world war the RAF had about 15-20000 operational planes. Today they have in total about 600 working planes.
Jesus could go one better than that. As he prepared to launch his revolution, the total weaponry of his followers consisted of 2 swords. And when one of his followers tries to defend Jesus with his sword, he tells him to put it away.
But if Jesus does not put his trust in swords, he does put his trust in the word of God.
That is what he is doing when he enacts the prophecy of Zechariah.
He is saying, ‘I am coming into Jerusalem, God’s city, as God’s king. I have no human resources – I come completely trusting God and his word.’
His revolution begins with humility and obedience.
And that is what Jesus has done all his life.
Even though it is counter to what everybody else is saying, even though it appears foolish, he has done God’s work in God’s way in God’s time trusting God’s word.
It began with the first temptation in the wilderness when he replied to Satan, ‘It is written – you shall not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’
3. The Jesus revolution is about love and not power
The crowd declare, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’
Jesus comes in the name of the Lord, doing what God would do.
And this is the wonder of Palm Sunday and of the cross.
We live in God’s world, but we are in rebellion against God. He could easily and rightly terrify or overwhelm us into submission and service.
But God does not use power to force us to kneel before him.
He does not compel. He invites.
He uses love to draw us to kneel before him.
And that means that if we choose to reject him, then there will be hurt for us.
If we reject the one who is at the foundation of the universe, we will collide with reality itself. We will be like the drunk man trying to break through a brick wall by bashing our head against it.
But if there is hurt for us, there will also be hurt for him. And because he loves us terribly, the hurt for him will be terrible.
Jesus knows that. He knows what awaits him.
Three times he has told his followers that he is going to Jerusalem where he will be rejected and crucified.
4. This Jesus’ revolution begins with the human heart.
It is not in our reading, but when Jesus goes into Jerusalem, the first place that he goes is not the seat of political power, or the local prisons, or the local TV station. That was probably because they didn’t have one!
Instead, Jesus goes to the temple – and he draws attention to the temple as a place of prayer and praise.
That is where this revolution begins. Not in the corridors of power, but in the presence of God.
It starts here as we listen to the Word of God, respond in praise and worship and kneel down to receive Jesus. It starts when we sit in our bedroom or kneel by our bed each morning and pray. It starts when we pray the Lord’s Prayer: ‘Hallowed be thy name’.
It was so foolish for Jesus to announce his revolution by riding into Jerusalem as the Messiah on a donkey - with no preparation, no destabilising policy, no false communications, no assassins poised to strike against Herod, or Pilate or the Jewish authorities – simply putting his trust in the Word of God.
But this is God’s way of working – through what appears to be foolish to show God’s wisdom, what appears to be weak to show his strength, and through love to show his power.
And Jesus was right.
He was right to put his trust in God and in his word, even though it led him to the cross.
God raised him from the dead, and God began to give to him people – you and me – whose hearts he is beginning to change. The revolution began.
So much so, that here 2000 years after this event, on the edge of a cold remote island (where we like to think we are more important than we actually are), on the fringes of a huge continent, a group of 40 people are meeting to worship him and pledge our allegiance to him as our king.
But this is God’s way of working – through what appears to be foolish to show God’s wisdom, what appears to be weak to show his strength, and through love to show his power.
And Jesus was right.
He was right to put his trust in God and in his word, even though it led him to the cross.
God raised him from the dead, and God began to give to him people – you and me – whose hearts he is beginning to change. The revolution began.
So much so, that here 2000 years after this event, on the edge of a cold remote island (where we like to think we are more important than we actually are), on the fringes of a huge continent, a group of 40 people are meeting to worship him and pledge our allegiance to him as our king.
Comments
Post a Comment