Holy Week Meditations - Palms or Peace

 

“Palms or Peace?”

John 12:12-19

This King comes with great fanfare on Palm Sunday. As Jesus rides into Jerusalem, the crowds wave palms and shout Hosanna. The people waving the palms expect revolution. They believe that Jesus will free them from the oppression of the Roman Empire. The waving of Palms was an act of revolutionary fervor dating back hundreds of years before Jesus walked this earth. After the Maccabean revolt, the people lined the streets of Jerusalem, waving palms because Judas Maccabeus had been victorious over the Seleucid powers that had oppressed Israel for years. Other ancient sources, such as The Testament of Naphtali, also infer that palms were seen as a symbol of Revolution in first-century Israel.

In addition, the cry, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!” celebrates the expectation of a national liberator. Hosanna means, “save us.” Combined with “Blessed is the King of Israel” this song announces an expectation for deliverance and new leadership. The crowds believe that God has sent this man, Jesus, the deliver them from Roman oppression through violent means.

But, Jesus comes riding on a donkey. He does this to make a statement against revolutionary ideology. Zechariah 9, the prophetic word about a king coming on a donkey, states that this action declares peace. The great king will come and destroy all weapons of war. He will take away the chariots of Ephraim and the war horses of Jerusalem. He will break the battle bow. The king will proclaim peace to the nations.

When Jesus chose to enter on a donkey, he declared that he intended to provide God’s shalom (peace) for all people. This shalom comes true as the events of Holy Week transpire. 

As the Gospel of John recounts Holy Week, Jesus consistently performs actions of peace. In John 13, Jesus washes his disciples’ feet, showing them the true meaning of love. Like Jesus, in love, we humble ourselves for others. If all followers of Jesus adopted this attitude, God’s peace would be known throughout the world.

In John 14, Jesus speaks about his coming departure. The Holy Spirit will come and guide God’s people toward right living. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, God’s people will behave in ways that build up community and offer grace to people outside of God’s community.  God’s people will be instruments of peace.

 In John 17, Jesus prays for unity among the people through the ages who accept the truth of his message. The church should seek to live according to Jesus's prayer. We should live in unity with one another. Jesus entreats the Father to empower us to live in reflection of the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our daily prayers should ask for this as well. We should then seek out Jesus’s desire for unity within his church.

Finally, as Jesus hangs on the cross, he attempts to bring shalom for all people. The dark event that takes place on Golgotha seeks to draw all people back into proper relationship with God and with one another. Through this event, Jesus seeks to make all people into God’s holy family, living in generous grace with one another. Through this event, Jesus reconciles us with our God so that we might be made into new creations who reflect God into the world. Through the agony of the cross, Jesus repairs that which is broken and heals that which is sick. 

All events of Holy Week point to the Shalom that God has in store for people. We need to lay aside our divisive ways and our weapons and instead receive the full grace of God, letting Him reign as King of our lives.

Prayer: Holy God, we know we can only approach you because of the grace of Jesus Christ displayed at the cross. We pray that we would honor the sacrifice made on Golgotha and seek to reflect your peace, your Shalom into the world. Draw us into more loving relationships with you, our God, and with one another. We pray this in the precious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen!