+ In the Love of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Jesus is ready. It’s time. And Jesus has arranged everything, especially the colt. He’s even arranged the secret challenge― “Why are you untying it?”― and the secret password― “The Lord needs it.”
Why the colt? Listen to the Prophet Zechariah (9:9-10): “Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. He . . . shall command peace.”
Jesus rides a colt into Jerusalem as a new kind of king, a king of peace.
It’s the feast of Passover, and as the crowds of pilgrims make their way to Jerusalem they shout the festival Psalm, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
But the disciples aren’t shouting, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” The disciples are shouting, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
When Jesus was born, the multitude of the heavenly host proclaimed “peace on earth.” And now, when Jesus rides into Jerusalem, the multitude of the disciples proclaim “Peace in heaven.” As he enters Jerusalem, the king of peace unites heaven and earth.
Four days later, Jesus celebrates Passover with his disciples, and after blessing the second cup, Jesus tells his disciples that one of them will betray him.
“A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest.”
― Can you believe it?! Jesus has just told them that one of them will betray him, and they start arguing about which of them is the greatest!―
“But he said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.”
Jesus is a new kind of king; he is a servant king.
Just before Jesus and his disciples leave for the Mount of Olives, he asks them, “‘When I sent you out without a purse, bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?’ They said, ‘No, not a thing.’ He said to them, ‘But now, the one who has a purse must take it, and likewise a bag. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one. For I tell you, this scripture must be fulfilled in me, “And he was counted among the lawless”; and indeed what is written about me is being fulfilled.’ They said, ‘Lord, look, here are two swords.’ He replied, ‘It is enough.’”
Why does the servant king of peace tell his disciples to buy swords? It can’t be to fight, because two swords are not enough for that.
But two swords are enough to fulfill the prophecy, “He was counted among the lawless.” And that prophecy comes from the servant song of the prophet Isaiah: “The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous . . . because he poured out himself to death, and was counted among the lawless” (Isaiah 53:11-12).
Several hours later, Judas arrives, and Jesus says to him, “‘Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?’ When those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, ‘Lord, should we strike with the sword?’”
― but they don’t even wait for Jesus to answer―
“Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, ‘No more of this!’”
― No more violence, no more bloodshed, no more retaliation. Jesus is the servant king of peace.
And so Jesus touches the slave’s ear and heals him.
“Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!’”
― Swords are the instruments of the power of darkness; they are not the instruments of the servant king of peace.
Twelve hours later, the servant king of peace is being crucified.
“One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Jesus is a new kind of king, he is a merciful king.
George MacLeod, a Scottish Presbyterian minister who founded the Iona Community, once said this: “There’s an old Celtic saying that heaven and earth are only three feet apart; but there are thin places where that distance is even smaller . . . , where the veil that separates heaven and earth is nearly transparent, and one is able even to catch a glimpse of the glory of God.”
When Jesus entered Jerusalem as the king of peace, he created a thin place. When Jesus celebrated the Passover as the servant king, he created a thin place. And when Jesus showed mercy to the thief, he created a thin place.
You and I have the power to create thin places, too. Whenever we truly “pass the peace,” we create a thin place. Whenever we truly serve another person, we create a thin place. And whenever we truly show mercy, we create a thin place.
And so, in the words of the song The Servant King,
. . . let us learn how to serve,
and in our lives enthrone Him,
each other’s needs to prefer,
for it is Christ we’re serving.
This is our God, the Servant King,
he calls us now to follow Him,
to give our lives as a daily offering
of worship to the Servant King.”
Amen.
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