Protest Sunday
NL #336 for April 13, 2025; Palm/Passion Sunday
Text
Luke 19:29-48 NRSVUE
29 When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ” 32 So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They said, “The Lord needs it.” 35 Then they brought it to Jesus, and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. 37 Now as he was approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, 38 saying,
“Blessed is the king
who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven,
and glory in the highest heaven!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”
Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem
41 As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 Indeed, the days will come upon you when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”[a]
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
45 Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things[b] there, 46 and he said, “It is written,
‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’
but you have made it a den of robbers.”
47 Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him, 48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard.
Footnotes
a. 19.44 Gk lacks from God
b. 19.45 Other ancient authorities add in it and those who were buying thing
Liturgy
Call to Worship
Leader: Show me what righteousness looks like!
People: This is what righteousness looks like!
Leader: Show me what resistance looks like!
People: This is what resistance looks like!
Leader: Show me what Kin-dom of God looks like!
People: This is what Kin-dom of God looks like! Amen!
Prayer of Confession (Unison)
Jesus, we welcome you into our hearts and our lives. We are sick and tired of the way that the world is, we are sick and tired of the way we have been in the world, and we are not going to take it anymore. We lift our palms, we lift our signs, we lift our fists, we lift our hands, we lift our hearts to the Blessed king who comes in the name of the Lord. We want the peace and glory of heaven to be enacted here and now. May your Kin-dom start here: from our hearts, to the streets, to the halls of power. Your Kin-dom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Leader: I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out the salvation of our God!
People: Thanks be to God!
Last Time on Tales of Faith
In between last week’s text and this week’s text is the parable of the pounds or talents. The context that the gospel writer gives is, “because [Jesus] was near Jerusalem, and because [the crowd] supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.” Jesus then tells a story about a nobleman who travels to a far off land to get power for himself.
It seems to assume that the nobleman must have this power bestowed upon him by another, greater, power. This context has an interesting parallel to the granting of the title of Ethnarch (king of the Jews) to Harrod the Great by the Roman Senate, and a title that will be given to Jesus.
Matthew tells this parable in the context of apocalyptic discourse, here it is given as a warning that the coming of the Kin-dom will not immediately appear.
Perhaps the bookending of the Triumphal entry between this parable and the lamenting over Jerusalem is intentional, an invitation to see the Kin-dom as coming out of the efforts of God’s people, even in the midst of great tragedy.
Themes
Peaceful Protest
At the end of the day, Jesus’ triumphal entry is a street demonstration. Like the some 3 million people, across 1,400 locations in all 50 states participated in the Hands Off! protests on April 5th, 2025. It was an act of non-violent resistance, a demonstration that the power of the people is greater than any one person or policy.
Several species on earth are social: dolphins form pods, wolves form packs, ravens form conspiracies, and chimpanzees form troops. These species are able to form simple communities which provide mutual aid, support, and protection. A small number of species on earth are eusocial, able to form more complex communities where more advanced levels of social organization are able to emerge. Bees, ants, and naked mole rats fall under this category. In the natural world, eusocial societies are matriarchal, with one female who leads the group. While all of these communities are sometimes drawn into conflict with one another, they mostly stay out of each-other’s way, and are limited in the size that they can support.
Human Beings show the most complex social structures on earth, starting from simple social communities of families and villages, to exceedingly complex global cultural systems. 5,000-6,000 years ago the first city-states appeared in Mesopotamia, gathering a much higher density of people into one place. These city-states formed alliances, and eventually kingdoms. Around 4,000 years ago the first empires emerged, ruling over multiple kingdoms. As human societies become more and more complex, they generally become more violent (perhaps due to their more patriarchal nature?) in order to maintain control. The kings of those cities were seen as divine, the mighty men and gods of old.
The ancient world generally had two options in response to this violence: more violence, or non-violence. The response of violence was a natural one, the battles and wars and conquests of human history. The victors of these wars took dominance over those defeated by them. The option of non-violence was usually a capitulation to the violent power of a greater force. Arms were laid down in order to preserve life, rule was accepted.
Mighty empires like Rome knew how to deal with both options. No army could stand up to the military might of Rome (in fact it was the internal threat of that military might that turned Rome from a Republic to a Autocratic empire). As the Roman Empire expanded, kingdoms and cultures who tried to oppose them could not compete with the constant supply of soldiers and supplies that the empire could produce. When more local violent resistance arose, like the zealot groups of Judea, they were systematically executed. Accounts of the Galilean Resistance (in the early years of the first century) describe literal miles of crucified would-be violent resisters. These public executions were as much to warn as they were to punish. This violence or threat of violence created the Pax Romana the Peace of Rome, and compelled all under her rule to choose non-violent capitulation or face the brutal consequences.
However, in the early part of the first century, a new ‘third way’ began to emerge, that of non-violent resistance. Unlike simple non-violence, non-violent resistors did not simply give-in to the violent threats of Rome. They provided and inspired real resistance to Rome’s rule by pointing out the hypocrisy and inequities of its power structure. Yet they also refused to take up violence as a tool either. Instead of resisting with the tools of swords and spears (where the Romans excelled), they resisted using the tools of thoughts and ideals. They used some of the same rhetoric that (occasionally) held sway in places like the Roman Senate, and swayed public opinion. They reminded the people that they too held power.
Non-violent resistors called the people back to a communal view of taking care of one another. Perhaps they called them back to a view of all of humanity as bearers of the divine image; not just the kings, priests, and emperors who declared themselves to be gods. Like prophets and philosophers before them, these non-violent resistors used symbolic action to make their points. They used powerful symbolism like baptism, rooted in Hebrew religious practice, to remind the people of their call to righteousness, a call to repentance, and a renewal of the covenant their ancestors had made with God.
According to Luke’s gospel, Jesus, who had been gathering support for his version of non-violent resistance for the last few years, has finally come to Jerusalem. With a multitude of his disciples, he stages a protest march on the Mount of Olives, outside the East Gate of Jerusalem. This march is a direct reference to and satire of the royal procession of a king, governor, or emperor would make when entering a city. In fact, with both Pontius Pilate and Harrod Antipas in Jerusalem this Passover, such a procession would be fresh on the minds of Jerusalemites. Jesus, however, does not enter on a war horse or chariot (signs of violent power) but on a young donkey. He then enters the Temple (the common first-stop of a visiting king or emperor) and stages another symbolic demonstration, driving out those who are selling animals for sacrifice, and calling it a den of robbers.
These symbols of non-violent resistance drew the ire of religious and political leaders alike. Within a week, Jesus received the standard Roman price for those who disturbed the peace, crucifixion. In their experience, leaders of non-violent resistance needed to be killed, but there was little need to execute their followers. Little did they know that the blood of the martyrs would be the seeds of the church. That the resurrection of Jesus would vindicate not only him, but the Kin-dom of God that he began. Jesus showed by his symbolic actions a new way to resist the coercive violence of empire, and the world would never be the same.
Geography Lesson
Jesus approaches Jerusalem from the East, and the daughter cities of Bethany and Bethpage. We learn later that this is a haven for him in the political uncertainty and crowds of the Passover season, Jesus spends his days teaching in the Temple, and then spends the night outside the city on the Mount of Olives (Luke 21:37). Other gospels have him staying specifically in Bethany, possibly at the house of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. While Mary and Martha are in Luke’s gospel, Lazarus is never mentioned, and their location is not given (“a certain village” Luke 10:38).
The Mount of Olives is a 2 mile long mountain ridge with three crests across the Kidron Valley from Jerusalem. It’s peak is just over 100 ft above the Temple mount, and provides a dramatic view of the surrounding area, including a view of the Temple itself.
The name “Mount of Olives’ only appears once in the Hebrew Scriptures, but the ‘mountains east of Jerusalem’ make several appearances, which have deep religious significance. David used the Mount of Olives as an escape when escaping from Absalom. Solomon built high places to Chemosh and Moab, which were later torn down by Josiah. Talmudic tradition associates the mount with the sacrifice of the red heifer, which is sacrificed outside of the city for the forgiveness of sins.
These mountains have deep significance for the presence and return of the Glory of God. According to the scroll of Ezekiel, the Glory of YHWH “stopped on the mountain east of Jerusalem” (Ezekiel 11:23) after departing from the soon to be destroyed Temple. Talmudic reflections claim that God’s Shakina remained on the mount for three and a half years, waiting to see if Jerusalem would repent. When it did not, YHWH’s glory ascended to heaven from the mount. Ezekiel later proclaims that when YHWH returns, it would be through the eastern Gate (43:1-5), the one facing the Mount of Olives. No doubt this gospel writer is connecting the presence of God leaving and returning Jerusalem by way of the Mount of Olives and the east Gate to the arrival and later ascension of Jesus.
The Mount also has apocalyptic significance. Zechariah pictures the Day of the LORD starting when God’s “feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives” (Zechariah 14:4)
In this text, the view of the Temple from the Mount of Olives provides a location for Jesus’ lament, and foreshadowing of the Temple’s destruction.
Gate Gate
It is not explicitly clear which gate Jesus entered, geography would strongly suggest that it was the East Gate (also known as the Golden Gate), considered to be part of the Temple Mount. The gate opens onto the Kidron Valley, across from the Mount of Olives. The East Gate also has religious and messianic overtones, it is the gate through which the Shakina Glory exits the Temple in Ezekiel, and where the Messiah was expected to enter.
The Gospel according to Dallas (aka The Chosen) suggests that Jesus would have come in at the Sheep Gate. This is technically a possibility, the Sheep Gate seems to have been on the north wall, on the eastern side. However, it seems to me that going through this gate from the Mount of Olives would have been an extra (and unnecessary) journey. While I love the symbolism of Jesus coming into the gate specifically for sacrificial animals, not even John’s gospel takes the symbolism that far. If Jesus were to be employing the symbolism of the sheep gate, instead of the more obvious East Gate, then surely one of the gospel writers would have noted such.
Riding of a Colt
Jesus sends two of the disciples to procure a donkey colt for him to ride. The donkey was a utility pack animal used in all sorts of contexts, unlike a horse which was used almost exclusively for military purposes. We might assume the same Zacharia reference to Zion’s king riding a donkey, but Luke’s gospel does not make an explicit reference to the prophet as Matthew’s gospel does (Luke’s gospel also does not have Jesus simultaneously riding both a donkey and a colt). Like Mark’s gospel, Luke’s gospel insists that the colt has not been ridden. One possible reason is a connection to the sacrificial system, an animal that has been ridden before would not be an appropriate sacrifice (however, since the Jewish sacrificial system does not emphasize the sacrifice of donkeys, that may be a stretch). Perhaps this riding of an untrained animal is a sign of Jesus’ ability to tame this wild animal (he has an Animal Handling of 19), or that he is doing something that has never been done before. Likely, this entry into Jerusalem on a Donkey is a direct contrast to the triumphal entry of Pilate on a horse.
Missing Features
Palms
Luke’s gospel lacks several of the features present in the other gospels. Notably (on Palm Sunday) Luke has no reference to the use of palms or other branches in the triumphal entry. The use of greenery in both Jewish and Roman cultures has a meaning of victory and has nationalistic overtones. It seems that Luke’s Gospel wants to make clear that nationalism was not a part of this parade.
John Dominic Crossan suggests that Luke/Acts serves (at least in part) as an apologetic to those within Roman culture, specifically to wealthy Proselytes. Perhaps this lack of palms is an attempt to distance the Jesus movement from the Jewish rebels whose rebellion led to the siege of Jerusalem and destruction of the Temple.
The lack of nationalistic palm branches certainly has some traction in light of the triumphalist Christian Nationalism which has infested so much of the 21st Century Church in the United States. While some of our siblings are busy taking over the ‘seven mountains’ of influence, perhaps we should be mindful of this picture of servant leadership.
Instead the people spread their cloaks on the road, a sign of deference.
Hosanna, Haysanna, Sanna, Sanna
Luke’s gospel also lacks the use of the word “hosanna,” literally translated as ‘save us.’ This too falls under the category of nationalistic overtones. The seeking of salvation from a particular leader, whether religious or political, is almost always a bad move. Leaders get fickle, fail, or fuck things up.
The Great Crowd
While Jesus has been followed by a great crowd, Luke’s gospel is careful to note that the multitude of those who welcome Jesus into Jerusalem is made up of disciples. Matthew pictures the entire city of Jerusalem thrown into turmoil over the arrival of Jesus, Luke’s gospel pictures only disciples.
As poignant as the line from My Song is Love Unknown is, according to Luke’s gospel, those who “strew his way” were not likely the same as those who “for his death we thirst and cry.”
Unique Feature
Luke’s gospel is the only one to include the warning of the Pharisees to tone down the messianic features of the parade.
We have gotten a relatively complex view of Pharisees from Luke’s gospel. It has been critical of them, from Pharisees questioning Jesus for healing on the Sabbath, or Jesus putting them on blast for tithing mint while neglecting Justice. From this less charitable view, we see the more common interpretations of what is going on. Jesus is being too loud, and allowing his disciples to use terms like ‘king’ and ‘one who comes in the name of the Lord’ for him. It is not proper.
We have also seem a more charitable side of the pharisees, they warned Jesus that Harrod was out to get him, and it seems several of Jesus’ disciples are from the pharisees. Perhaps with this more charitable view, we might see the pharisees’ request as less of a critique, and more of a warning. My mind goes to the soul-crushingly risk-averse Democratic Party right now, who seem to be more concerned with norms and keeping their seats than actually addressing the wholesale rape of the U.S. Constitution. Likewise, the pharisees may be so formed by their institutional thinking that the open non-violent resistance of Jesus does not compute for them.
Weeping over Jerusalem
On the way in, Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, another feature of Luke’s Gospel. Jesus makes the declaration that if they had understood the significance of the events of this day, and the things that make for peace, then things could have been different. I suspect that this is much more about the gospel writer’s reflection after the destruction of the Jewish War that precipitated in the destruction of the Temple. Luke’s Jesus pictures the siege of Jerusalem, and the destruction that would come from it, an image that would likely be seared into many of their reader’s minds. This sounds to me like the reflection of someone who has seen both events, and wonders how different the latter would have been if the former had been taken more seriously. If the response to Jesus’ non-violent resistance had not been violence, if Jerusalem had pursued resistive peace instead of resistive violence, how would things have been different? Perhaps nothing would have been different, but I can imagine the gospel writer wondering, what if?
Cleansing the Temple
This short account is not in the official pericope, but I am including it here and in my own sermon. The symbolic demonstration of non-violent resistance to the coercive violent power of empire continues into the Temple with a symbolic demonstration of non-violent resistance to the coercive power of the religious elites. While there is data for corruption in the Temple, and especially the practice of money-changing and even the re-use of sacrificial animals, this does not seem a large part of Luke’s account. The money changers are absent from Luke’s account.
I think that this driving out of “those who were selling things” is a continuation of the prophetic critique that Jesus has laid against the religious elites so far. He is hitting them in their pocketbook to get their attention, much like the recent economic blackouts targeted at large companies which have eliminated their diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.
The message is something different, “My house shall be a house of prayer,’/ but you have made it a den of robbers.” Jesus is not insisting that they are ripping people off at the temple, a ‘den of robbers’ is not the place where the robbers go to practice their thievery. Rather, Jesus is echoing the prophetic critique of the prophets before him: critiquing those who would commit acts of injustice and righteousness, and return to the Temple as if they were safe there. It is the continued critique of the pharisees who “tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God” (Luke 11:42 ff).
The Temple now becomes Jesus’ base of operations. He stages a teach-in, in the place of religious power, teaching the people about the Kingdom of God. The gospel writer clues us into the tools favored even by the religious elites who “kept looking for a way to kill him.” But they are unable to do so, because the power of the people is greater.