A Palm Sunday Devotional - Matthew 21:1-11

Throughout Passion Week (from Palm Sunday 13th April to Easter Sunday 20th April), a daily reflection on a passage of scripture will be shared here by different people from the Kerith Community. Take time each day to read the passage of scripture and reflections from the author, followed by some questions of consideration for you to think and pray through.

Matthew 21:1-11 (NRSVA)

1 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, “The Lord needs them.” And he will send them immediately.’ 4 This took place to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

5 ‘Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
    humble, and mounted on a donkey,
        and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7 they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

‘Hosanna to the Son of David!
    Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!’

10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’ 11 The crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.’

Jesus arrived in Jerusalem in time for Passover, the Jewish celebration of the Exodus. Every year, Jews remember the time God passed judgement on the Egyptians and passed over the houses of the enslaved Israelites, before leading them out of slavery in Egypt and into freedom and the Promised Land. Passover is a time for Jews to celebrate freedom and salvation.

Jesus and his disciples were preparing to remember the wonderful way God had mercy on their ancestors and delivered them from Egypt — but for hundreds of years, the Jewish people had also been waiting for God to deliver them from other nations. Being God’s chosen people hadn’t made their lives simple or easy; they had still suffered terribly under the Babylonian Empire, and now Israel was part of the Roman Empire. The Romans had conquered Jerusalem 60 years before Jesus was born, and the Jews wanted their holy city back. They were waiting for their Messiah, who they believed would lead them to freedom — and many people thought Jesus might be that Messiah.

All through the Gospels, people are hoping that Jesus will be their saviour. But if they want a Messiah to save them from the Romans, they’ll be expecting a certain kind of saviour. The Roman Empire became so successful because of its army, so the Messiah would need an army of his own to defeat them. And at Passover, everyone was hoping this might be the moment. God had always delivered his people from their oppressors — and if he’d done it before, surely he’d do it again… right?

But Jesus doesn’t enter Jerusalem with an army. He enters with his disciples — ordinary men and women. He doesn’t ride in on a warhorse or a mighty stallion. He comes humble, mounted on a donkey. While everyone is watching and waiting to see what sort of amazing hero Jesus will be, Jesus makes it very clear that he isn’t going to be the Messiah they’ve been expecting. Jesus doesn’t come to conquer; he comes to serve.

During Advent, we prepare ourselves to remember Jesus entering the world. During Lent, we prepare ourselves to remember Jesus entering Jerusalem — and all the wonderful and terrible things that happened during Holy Week. As we ask Jesus to enter into our lives again today, we can think about what sort of Messiah we want Jesus to be, and what sort of disciples we want to be.

Questions

• The world seems to think that ‘might makes right’. How can we be more like Jesus — humble, not worried about impressing people, and confident enough to be the person God has made us to be?

• When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’ This Easter, is there anyone in your life you could introduce to ‘the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee’?

Today’s devotional has been written by Bryn McGlashan.