The following is an excerpt from a book I am busy writing on the development of Simon Peter as a disciple. I am posting this in lieu of a sermon and will try to post the events as they may have unfolded throughout the week to Resurrection Sunday.
It was cool the next morning. The fragrance of pure nard used by Mary the night before to anoint Jesus’ feet still lingered in the air. Simon quietly tiptoed outside. The air was sweet and crisp. The almond trees in Bethany were covered with subtle pink blossoms serving as a somewhat startling contrast to the blood-red poppies that seemed to blanket the ground. It was slightly overcast and there was a gentle breeze from the west. Simon looked up at the sky. Would it rain? One never knew if it would or would not at this time of year.
He noticed that Jesus was standing alone on the far side of the courtyard, praying, hands stretched out, palms facing upward as if to receive a gift. Simon thought that he had seemed overly tense the past few days…something was on his mind. He kept on talking about his death as if this was imminent…even last evening when Judas had challenged what appeared to be a waste of expensive perfume, Jesus referred to it as an act of preparatory anointing for his burial. None of the disciples understood this sudden morbidity. It had shattered the atmosphere of festivity that had filled the room up until that point. To be sure, rumours abounded that Jesus’ opponents were plotting to kill him, but that had never seemed to bother him before. Not like now…
This sombre mood of Jesus was all the more difficult to understand because there seemed to be every reason for rejoicing. Many people had heard that he had arrived, and all sorts of expectant rumours were circulating. Those who had been at the raising of Lazarus continued to spread the word about this miracle working rabbi…and besides, this was a very auspicious time…Passover. The whole land seemed to be filled with pilgrims. Inquisitive people flocked in to see the resurrected Lazarus and as a result they put their faith in Jesus. This was a threat to the chief priests…of that they were all very aware…but Jesus had triumphed over disease, demons, and death itself…what were a few threats from the leaders when they had the crowds?
“Today we go into Jerusalem.” Simon had been so lost in his thoughts that Jesus’ sudden speech made him jump. “Rouse the others. I need two to bring me a colt.”
“A colt?” Jesus had never done anything like this before, so the repeated statement in the form of a question did not seem impudent to Simon. Perhaps he had not heard correctly.
“Yes, a colt,” Jesus said, “One on which no one has ever ridden. You will find it tethered just as you enter the village ahead of us…untie it and bring it to me.”
Simon turned to call the others, but he bumped into James and John who had been standing behind him listening to this strange request. The three disciples had become quite close over the past year…by drawing them closer to him, Jesus had drawn them closer to each other.
“If anyone should ask you why you are taking the colt, just tell them, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it shortly.’”
Most of the disciples had learned not to question Jesus even when they did not fully understand him, because over time, they had learned that everything he did was deliberate and significant. They believed that a constant need for clarity often revealed underlying doubt…after all, wasn’t that what faith and trust was all about? Didn’t the prophet say that it wasn’t for the clay to question the potter?[1]
The two disciples left immediately and soon returned with the colt and its mother in tow, meeting the rest of them halfway between the villages. It had been exactly as Jesus had said. They threw their cloaks over the colt so that Jesus could sit on it. By this time a large crowd had gathered, and many were coming out of Jerusalem in anticipation of his arrival.
“This is it,” Simon thought. “Today is the day of salvation!”
The people obviously thought the same as they began to throw down their cloaks before Jesus on the road, just like when Jehu was anointed king over Israel,[2] and some began to chant from the Psalms, “O Lord, deliver us! O Lord let us prosper! May he who enters be blessed in the name of the Lord; we bless you from the House of the Lord!”[3] Such expectation! For too long the Jews had chafed under Roman rule…ever since the squabble of those Hasmonean brothers had allowed the Roman General Pompey to take over under the guise of arbitration, the Jews had longed for freedom.
“Brother!” Andrew had a look in his eyes that Simon had come to recognise as one of profound understanding. He had learned the Scriptures well and could often rehearse whole passages at a time. “Brother, it is the prophecy!”
“What prophecy?” Although he was older than his brother, Simon had much to learn when it came to the memorization of the Scriptures.
“Rejoice greatly, fair Zion,” Andrew quoted from memory, “Raise a shout, fair Jerusalem! Lo, your king is coming to you. He is victorious, triumphant, yet humble, riding on an ass, on a donkey foaled by a she-ass. He shall banish chariots from Ephraim and horses from Jerusalem; the warrior’s bow shall be banished. He shall call on the nations to surrender, and his rule shall extend from sea to sea and from ocean to land’s end.”[4]
“Yes!” Simon nearly shouted. “I knew it! That’s why he has been so preoccupied lately! Jesus is openly declaring his right to be king! His time has finally come! Today is the day!”[5] And then he shouted for all to hear, “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Save Lord! Glory to God in the highest!”
People were now cutting down branches and spreading them on the road before Jesus. Some had even brought palm branches up from Jericho, anticipating this triumphal entry. They truly believed that God’s anointed king had come at last…come to set the captives free…to set at liberty the oppressed…to proclaim the Jubilee year! How they flocked around him, some running on ahead, others dancing on behind.
Some of the Pharisees were indignant. They knew what the people were thinking, and they were very afraid. Rome did not look kindly on those who spoke of a king other than Caesar. “Teacher,” they shouted. “Rebuke your followers! Tell them to be silent!”
Jesus seemed to be amused. “Silent? You want me to tell them to be silent? You don’t understand. If they keep quiet, the stones of the walls will cry out!”[6]
They threw their hands up in the air. “Oh, what’s the use?” they said. “Look, the whole world is following after him!”
At that very moment, the company crested the hill and Jerusalem lay before them, basking in the early morning sunlight. The view was breath-taking. Simon thought it looked like the snow-capped Mount Hermon, glittering in the sun…but unlike Hermon, the reflection off the gold of the Temple was warm and inviting.
But with a shock, Simon noted that Jesus’ expression had changed from mirth to one of deep distress. Clearly the view did not have the same effect on him as it did the other pilgrims. Indeed, the expression on Jesus’ face was one of profound horror. What did he see that they did not?
“O Jerusalem!” Jesus sobbed. “If you, even you, only knew the source of true peace on this day…but you do not…it is hidden from you.”
His whole body shook as he wept. Those who noticed were perplexed and didn’t quite know what to do, but many were too emotionally caught up in the excitement of the moment…there was so much noise very few heard him speak. “How odd,” Simon thought. “People can be so preoccupied that they fail to see the pain of others right beside them.” He instinctively drew closer to Jesus. He didn’t know what to do, much less what to say, but in times of grief, he knew that the mere presence of another caring individual could offer such comfort. Andrew came to stand at his brother’s side.
“O Jerusalem,” Jesus said through his tears, “the days will come when your enemies will build a siege mound around you and trap you inside. They will annihilate you...you and your children within your walls. Not one stone will be left upon another because you were blind to the truth and did not recognise the time of your visitation!” After he said this, Jesus regained his composure and moved the colt forward once more.
Simon saw the blood drain from Andrew’s face. “What is it, brother? What does he mean? Tell me!”
“It is the oracle of Isaiah…I can’t say for certain, but he used similar words to those used by the prophet in his denouncement of Jerusalem. The prophet called for weeping and lamentation as God had pronounced the destruction of the city.”[7]
“Surely not,” Simon said. “That can’t be right, can it? I mean he is the king foretold by Zechariah, is he not? How can his own city be destroyed? We are on our way to crown him king, not so? Andrew, what on earth is going on? I just don’t understand.”
But the company was moving forward quickly now, down into the Kidron valley, and there was no time for further debate. It would be a while before the disciples understood what had happened that day.
Crowds of people were streaming out of Jerusalem to meet him as he approached the eastern gate. There was much laughter and singing and dancing, like when David brought the Ark to the city so many years ago. Whatever had happened on the crest of the hill was now forgotten. The people in the city were in an uproar. “Who is this man?” they demanded. “Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee,” the jubilant crowd shouted in response.
Jesus now entered the Temple precincts. The air was pregnant with a sense of expectancy. Everyone was waiting for Jesus to say something…do something…exactly what they didn’t know, but they waited with bated breath all the same. “This…this was the day of reckoning,” Simon thought. “This was the day they had longed for…yearned for…prayed for…this…but wait! Where was he going? He was leaving…leaving without having done anything.”
The people also looked confused…even lost…dejected. They had been expecting something…something more than nothing. At least some teaching if not a rallying of the people to overthrow the Romans. But Jesus simply turned around and left without a word. Joyful voices faded away…arms dropped…branches fell to the ground. They just stood there and watched him leave the same way he had come.
The disciples followed silently, liked whipped dogs with their tails between their legs. They did not dare look the people in the eyes…they did not understand Jesus’ behaviour themselves. Simon suddenly felt drained…his emotions had been stretched from one extreme point to the other. At one stage he had been filled with such hope…such expectancy, but now he felt like they had missed the best opportunity they had ever had…the crowds had been ready…all Jesus had to do was say the word and they would have crowned him king. They had already hailed him as such. But now the joyful acclamations had ceased…the dust settled in the streets of the city as people slowly turned to go to their respective places of abode.
The king had left the city…and, it appeared, he had left them in the lurch. The twelve silently followed him back to Bethany.
“Perhaps it was just too late to get anything started,” Simon thought. “Perhaps tomorrow.” In one sense he was right. In another he was altogether mistaken.
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[5] William Lane Craig says: “Jesus is deliberately and provocatively claiming to be the promised king of Israel who will re-establish the throne of David. His action is like a living parable, acted out to disclose his true identity. The Messianic secret is now open news. The triumphal entry shows us Jesus’ messianic self-consciousness and who he took himself to be. He identified himself with the Shepherd-King predicted by Zechariah.” https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/popular-writings/jesus-of-nazareth/the-triumphal-entry/
[6] I believe this statement of Jesus to be reference to Habakkuk 2:11 where the stones cry out in judgement against the rulers of the people.
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