True Humility
Shalom • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 32:10
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· 9 viewsJesus demonstrates the humble nature of shalom in the way he fulfils Zechariah’s words on the day of the triumphal entry to Jerusalem.
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For this Palm Sunday I am going to connect a passage from the Old Testament prophet Zechariah to a story we see in the gospels about the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. As we have been noting all along in this series, the prophets of the Old Testament display an emphasis on shalom as a key feature of God’s salvation. And here is our weekly reminder that shalom-peace is more than an absence of conflict or violence. Shalom is the active advancement of thriving, flourishing, and wellbeing.
shalom “peace” = thriving, flourishing, wellbeing
Let’s start today with that scene from the gospel of Mark which tells of Jesus’ journey into Jerusalem for the Passover, and then follow it up by tracing this scene back to the prophet Zechariah, who speaks about it as a proclamation of shalom to the nations.
Mark 11:1–10 (NIV)
1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’ ”
4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
Zechariah 9:9–10 (NIV)
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
what Jesus has in mind as triumph, and what the rest of the world has in mind as triumph are two different things
I tend to think the collision of contrasts in the Palm Sunday story gets lost on us. Our Bibles title this scene as being the triumphal entry. The crowds who have gathered are certainly singing in triumph, but Jesus portrays himself as something completely different. He has predicted and told his disciples several times in Mark’s gospel that he must suffer and die. Jesus knows this is the reason he comes into Jerusalem, even if the rest of the disciples and the gathered crowd have altogether different ideas. What Jesus has in mind as triumph, and what the rest of the world has in mind as triumph are two different things.
It would be good to remind ourselves at this point of the way in which the disciples (and others) were expecting a Messiah who would be a military hero to lead a revolt against the Roman Empire. On several occasions the disciples question Jesus about when the nation of Israel will be restored, or question Jesus about who among them will be given positions of power and influence when the kingdom is restored. This is clearly portrayed in the crowd that gathers along the road to welcome Jesus into Jerusalem. They lay down their coats on the road along with palm tree branches. It is their equivalent of rolling out the red carpet for the VIP guests to enter the gala.
hosanna = “Lord, save us!”
The song with they all sing out is a call for victory. The Hebrew word hosanna literally means “Lord, save us!” Indeed, the salvation they had in mind was political. It does not seem at all as though anyone there that day understood their true need for salvation. Ironically, the chant of “Lord, save us!” certainly applies. Jesus knows the salvation that is needed. And Jesus certainly also knows the ways in which their search for salvation is misguided. Something of that shows up in this story as well.
There are layers of symbolism wrapped up in the choice of transportation Jesus selects for this stretch of the journey. The obvious connection is with the prophet Zechariah. Jesus chooses this way of entering Jerusalem in order to fulfil what Zechariah says.
Zechariah 9:9 (NIV)
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
king is portrayed as both victorious and humble
Hebrew anee “lowly” = humble, poor, afflicted
There are in fact shouts of joy in Jerusalem as Jesus comes into the city as a king. The shouts echo what Zechariah says about a king who comes righteous and victorious. The part about Jesus riding on a young colt seems to be lost on the crowd. Zechariah provides the commentary of what it means for a king to ride on a donkey like this. Our NIV Bible says it is lowly. It is the Hebrew word anee which also means humble, poor, or afflicted. It is a deliberate display of humility.
why would a victorious king deliberately appear as humble?
Now the question is why? Why would a king deliberately appear as humble, especially in a moment of victorious procession like this? There are two ways we can approach that answer. One way comes from what we know from the gospels. The other way comes from what we know from Zechariah. These are not contradictory explanations; in fact, I intend to show that they are actually complementary explanations—explanations that join together the gospel’s journey of a king towards the cross together with the prophet’s journey of a king towards shalom.
Jesus knows his journey leads to the cross | appears to the world as humiliating defeat
Let’s start with what we see happening in Mark. I trust you and I are already well aware of the week which is coming for Jesus in Jerusalem. We know the journey Jesus is taking to the cross. We rehearse those scenes later this week when we gather here for our Maundy Thursday communion service. We recognize the path of humility which Jesus is taking because we know that Jesus has committed himself to taking the punishment and consequences of our sins upon himself. The cross does not appear to be triumphant victory. It appears to be humiliating defeat.
John’s gospel says the disciples only later understood this (Jn 12:16)
We know how this story goes. We know that the crowd who happily shouts hosanna today will become the crowd who angrily shouts crucify before this week is over. The apostle John provides commentary upon this in his version of the story.
John 12:14–16 (NIV)
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.”
16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.
Jesus comes to save us from ourselves (bondage in our own sinful nature)
in order for justice to be done, all our sin must be accounted for and made right
Jesus did not come as a warrior king to fight a military battle. Jesus did not come as a political king to seize power and control. Even though the people were looking for that kind of salvation, God knows what it is we really need saving from. The thing that we need saving from is ourselves. It is my own sin and the brokenness of my own sinful nature that holds my soul captive as a slave. It is the bondage of my own fallen human nature that stands in the way. No military victory could ever change that. No political agenda or policy could ever fix what is essentially broken in each one of us. God knows that there is only one way to truly save his people. In order for justice to be done, all our sin must be accounted for and made right. And the way Jesus does this is by humbly stepping into our place of condemnation.
The normal and expected procession of a king into the capital city would have been somewhat different. The king would have been expected to be riding a war horse or better yet a battle chariot. The king would have been expected to be carrying all the spoils of war with him in a display of wealth and splendor. The king would have been expected to tow all the prisoners and enemies in chains behind him. That’s how Rome did things. When the mighty warriors returned in victory, they paraded into the city with all their splendor. They dragged their prisoners behind them in chains to be ridiculed, and then to either be thrown in the gladiator arena for sport or to be crucified alongside the road for all passersby to see.
Jesus comes into Jerusalem as a king, and also as the one who would become the prisoner in order to set the prisoners free
Jesus comes into Jerusalem as a king, and yet at the same time as the one who would become the prisoner in order to set the prisoners free. But I think we can dig just a little bit deeper into what Jesus is doing here by turning our attention the Zechariah. Here is what the prophet offers as an explanation of why the king comes into Jerusalem riding on a donkey.
Zechariah 9:10 (NIV)
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
chariots & horses = symbols of military power
We should remember that chariots and horses were considered the greatest military weapons of the time. It would have been their equivalent to a nuclear arsenal. By the common sense of human understanding it would have been assumed that whoever had the most powerful weapons would be the victorious king. Chariots and horses were the dependable necessities to win a battle.
Israel commanded to destroy them (Josh 11:6)
When Joshua and the Israelites first came into the promised land, God gad Joshua an unusual command that went completely against military strategy and logic. There was a point as the Israelites were entering Canaan that several of the local kings united their forces together to overwhelm and destroy the Israelites. But here is what happened.
Joshua 11:4–6 (NIV)
4 They came out with all their troops and a large number of horses and chariots—a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. 5 All these kings joined forces and made camp together at the Waters of Merom to fight against Israel.
6 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them, slain, over to Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.”
Clearly the enemy had the greater military strength; they had the nuclear arsenal of weapons. The commonsense military strategy would have been to find a way to get their weapons. When one army conquered another, their objective was to capture as many horses and chariots as possible to add into their own arsenal. But God tells Joshua something different. Don’t take their weapons; instead, you are to destroy their weapons. God wanted to make it absolutely clear not only the Israelites, but also to all the surrounding nations, that Israel’s victory does not depend on their own strength. The victory of God’s people was not displayed as a show of dominant force. Rather, the victory of God’s people is displayed as a show of humble weakness.
salvation does not come in strength & power
salvation comes in humble shalom
Zechariah is calling the people’s attention back to this truth from their early history. Their salvation does not come from power and strength and dominating force. Instead, Zechariah says God's salvation comes as a proclamation of shalom to the nations. Shalom is not forceful. Shalom is not dominating. Rather, shalom is humble.
If we want to see glimpses of God’s shalom in our world today, we find it in places of humble service, not in places of power and strength. Jesus demonstrates this by his own example. And by his sacrifice for us on the cross, Jesus opens and invites us into a new life characterized by his shalom salvation.