The Palm Sunday Revolution

Luke 19:26-40 "He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them--bring them here and kill them in front of me.'" 28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.'" 32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" 34They replied, "The Lord needs it." 35They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. 37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" 40 "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem that day, he was not just rallying his followers. He was symbolically making a bold statement—I’m starting a revolution. You see, when a conquering hero returned from battle, he would ride his horse into the city and the people would go out to greet him in much the same manner they welcomed Jesus that day. It was such a radical display that the Pharisees demanded that Jesus rebuke the disciples, but he ignored their plea. “If they keep silent, the very rocks will cry out.” Jesus was publicly declaring his intentions to establish his revolution and his kingdom. But we must ask the question: What was this revolution about?

1. Jesus came not to destroy but to fulfill. “Do not think that I have come to destroy the Law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17) Jesus never lost sight of the goal: the coming of the kingdom of God into the lives of men and women. He was positive, not negative; he built up instead of tearing down.

2. Jesus placed humanity and their welfare at the center of His mission. Not the institution, nor a ridged set of rules and laws, but men and women. “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27) Our modern leaders would be wise to weigh their own agendas against the simple rule of Christ: What will be best for people from the greatest to the smallest?

3. The revolution of Jesus was seen within the framework of God’s will, and not as some scheme to put a crown on man that he might rule instead. Man is a poor substitute for God. Granted that we need an ever-larger understanding of God, but what changes is our understanding, not God Himself. What made the Palm Sunday revolution so authentic was that it was led by God.

4. Jesus’ actions deeply upset people, but he proceeds because He loved humanity—He loved the very people He was upsetting. We see the same thing happen to Paul, and with every brother or sister who decides to live their life according to the revolutionary standard that Christ proclaimed, who stand against the status quo of our society, and who are willing to uphold the commands of God, not out of spite or pride, but out of genuine love for God and man. We have no right to mess with the status quo unless we have a genuine, Christ-like love for them. We must love the capitalist and the communist, the liberal and the conservative, for persons of every color, race, and creed, for we are all made in the image of God! Only then can we look at the cross. For in the cross of Good Friday we see the beginnings of the revolution. It is still the sign of the revolution that we call the Kingdom of God.

As we celebrate Palm Sunday, are we willing to take the radical, revolutionary steps that Christ asks us to? Are we willing to stand up and be counted as citizens of the Kingdom, even when it goes against the grain? Are we willing to look beyond the institution and the status quo to see people in the light of the cross of Christ?