Luke 19:28-44
28 When He had said these things, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As He approached Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, He sent two of the disciples and said, “Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter it, you will find a young donkey tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say this: ‘The Lord needs it.’”
So those who were sent left and found it just as He had told them. As they were untying the young donkey, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the donkey?”
“The Lord needs it,” they said. Then they brought it to Jesus, and after throwing their robes on the donkey, they helped Jesus get on it.
As He was going along, they were spreading their robes on the road. Now He came near the path down the Mount of Olives, and the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen: Hosanna! The King who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven!
Some of the Pharisees from the crowd told Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out!”
As He approached and saw the city, He wept over it, saying, “If you knew this day what would bring peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days will come on you when your enemies will build an embankment against you, surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you and your children within you to the ground, and they will not leave one stone on another in you, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

The Roman governor enters Jerusalem riding a war horse. But the Jewish Messiah and promised king enters Jerusalem riding a donkey. Not just any donkey, not even a full-grown donkey, but a colt—a young donkey. A domestic field animal, not a war horse. Let that contrast sit for moment. Do you see the contradiction? It doesn’t appear that the worshippers in our story could see it.

Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday is an event filled of contradictions, of great insight and great misunderstanding, of cheers and tears. On one hand there is celebration among the worshippers as they wave palm branches as a call to arms. Their hope is that the miracle-working prophet from Galilee will turn out to be the long-awaited Messiah-king that will liberate Israel from Roman occupation. They shout “Hosanna!” — liberate now—save now! But they weren’t talking about a kind of liberation and salvation into heaven. They were talking about revolution. Jesus may be the Messiah, the Son of David, the long-awaited Ruler of Israel and fulfillment of all God’s promises, but the idea that he would enter Jerusalem and, by his mighty works, take his throne and free Israel from Rome is not the kind of liberation he’ll bring.

Despite their Palm Sunday cheers, the crowd does not see the Prince of Peace as Israel’s true Messiah-King—they are blinded by their own political agenda. And what we learn from history is how the tragic result of this failure to see Jesus as the promised Prince of Peace comes 40 years later with Jerusalem’s total destruction, including the Temple and the loss of thousands of lives. This is why Jesus weeps.

As He approached and saw the city, He wept over it, saying, “If you knew this day what would bring peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days will come on you when your enemies will build an embankment against you, surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you and your children within you to the ground, and they will not leave one stone on another in you, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:41–44)

It’s as if Jesus is saying, “If only you would have believed in the possibility of a kind of peace powerful enough to change the heart of humanity and whole of society. If only you would have remembered the power of God and would have believed that he could change the world, not with military might, but with self-giving love. If only you would have known and understood the words of the prophet Zechariah when he prophesied of this day and said:”

“Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem. The bow of war will be removed, and He will proclaim peace to the nations. His reign will extend from sea to sea, from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.” (Zechariah 9:9-10)

It’s as if Jesus is saying, “If only you would have understood your prophets and poets when they spoke of me as your Messiah-King:”

“This is My Servant; I strengthen Him, this is My Chosen One; I delight in Him. I have put My Spirit on Him; He will bring justice to the nations. He will not cry out or shout or make His voice heard in the streets. He will not break a bruised reed, and He will not put out a smoldering wick; He will faithfully bring justice. He will not grow weak or be discouraged until He has established justice on earth. The islands will wait for His instruction.” (Isaiah 42:1-4)

It’s as if Jesus is saying, “If you only you would have listened more closely and understood what I meant when I taught:"

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:3-9)

On Palm Sunday we begin our journey of remembering how a different kind of power changed the world—changed our lives. When thinking of power we will remember the cross. God does not love with a bullying love. God is liberating the world through Jesus who establishes God's reign—power—in the world through self-giving love. God reigns not by taking absolute control of everything, but by emptying himself and becoming vulnerable, making that the kind of power that liberates us. This is the kind of power that creates, that redeems, that restores, that blesses and that offers peace. Today the Messiah-King rides in to our lives not on a war-horse like the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate, but on a donkey as the Prince of Peace.

We forget that the cross is the sign of God’s power and a Thursday night surrender is the way. We may even say, “How can that be? On the cross, Jesus seems like a victim, as someone having the opposite of power.” The apostle Paul agrees and says:

“The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,“But to those of us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)

2:6 However, we do speak a wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. On the contrary, we speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1 Corinthians 2:6-8)

A prayer written by Dr. Walter Brueggemann:

The pushing and shoving of the world is endless,
We are pushed and shoved.
And we do our fair share of pushing and shoving in our great anxiety.
And in the middle of that
you have set down your beloved suffering son
who is like a sheep lead to slaughter
who opened not his mouth.
We seem not able,
so we ask you to create the spaces in our life
where we may ponder his suffering
and your summons for us to suffer with him,
suspecting that suffering is the only way to come to newness.
So we pray for your Church in these Lenten days,
when we are driven to denial
not to know the suffering,
not to engage it,
not to acknowledge it.
So be that way of truth among us
that we should not deceive ourselves.
That we should see that loss is indeed our gain.
We give you thanks for that mystery from which we live.
Amen.