Palms
What a day!
The parade, the pageantry, the excitement—it was overwhelming! All the noise and the ruckus always gets my heart pumping. It's a big day when the Roman governor comes to town. I mean, past governors have lived here in Herod's old fortress, but this one doesn't seem to like Jerusalem. He much prefers the palace Herod built over on the Sea. So he lives there most of the time, but he always comes to Jerusalem for the high festivals. Oh, not because he wants to worship with us. No, rather, he wants to make sure there is no trouble.
So he comes to town and makes a big show of arriving. The soldiers come in formation, and the guards' armor is shining. There is celebration and music, all making sure we know that the one who has the power has come to town.
I heard later that, on the other side of town, there was another parade. That rabbi from Nazareth, the one who used to be a carpenter, rode into the city down the side of the Mount of Olives. From what I understand, there was a bit of crowd there, too. Not as large as the group that came out to see Pilate, but he was able to round up a good group of followers. There were, after all, quite a few people on the way from Galilee into Jerusalem for the Passover, and Jesus was their hero. So they cheered him on. He rode into town on a donkey—a donkey! And his followers were waving palm branches. Really? That's nothing to compare to the way Pilate came into town, but it apparently made an impression on his followers.
Yet, who would choose to follow this itinerant teacher riding on a donkey when they could instead be in the midst of the glory of Rome? Pilate has power, and what does Jesus have? A pile of palms? What good will that be in the long run? What difference can this Jesus expect to make anyway?
The parade, the pageantry, the excitement—it was overwhelming! All the noise and the ruckus always gets my heart pumping. It's a big day when the Roman governor comes to town. I mean, past governors have lived here in Herod's old fortress, but this one doesn't seem to like Jerusalem. He much prefers the palace Herod built over on the Sea. So he lives there most of the time, but he always comes to Jerusalem for the high festivals. Oh, not because he wants to worship with us. No, rather, he wants to make sure there is no trouble.
So he comes to town and makes a big show of arriving. The soldiers come in formation, and the guards' armor is shining. There is celebration and music, all making sure we know that the one who has the power has come to town.
I heard later that, on the other side of town, there was another parade. That rabbi from Nazareth, the one who used to be a carpenter, rode into the city down the side of the Mount of Olives. From what I understand, there was a bit of crowd there, too. Not as large as the group that came out to see Pilate, but he was able to round up a good group of followers. There were, after all, quite a few people on the way from Galilee into Jerusalem for the Passover, and Jesus was their hero. So they cheered him on. He rode into town on a donkey—a donkey! And his followers were waving palm branches. Really? That's nothing to compare to the way Pilate came into town, but it apparently made an impression on his followers.
Yet, who would choose to follow this itinerant teacher riding on a donkey when they could instead be in the midst of the glory of Rome? Pilate has power, and what does Jesus have? A pile of palms? What good will that be in the long run? What difference can this Jesus expect to make anyway?
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