A DIFFERENT KIND OF KING
The parade of Palm Sunday is all about welcoming Jesus as an arriving king. Palm Sunday hymns are strong triumphal hymns with bold tunes and texts that are filled with royal imagery. However, if we stop to consider it, Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is a rather curious thing for us to celebrate.
It was the beginning of the end for Jesus’ earthly ministry. In less than a week’s time he would hang on a cross and die. In just days he would be tried as a common criminal. Over the next few days his closest friends would not just abandon him, but two of them, Judas and Peter, would openly betray him. In less than a week his earthly work and ministry would be in shambles. On Friday he would stand before the crowds of Jerusalem as one completely powerless, humiliated, and utterly defeated.
So, looked at in this way today is a strange event to commemorate.
After spending three years of ministry in Galilee Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In Galilee he had performed healings and miracles and his reputation had grown. The people of Jerusalem knew about Jesus. They had come to know something about this itinerant Rabbi from Galilee. Jesus’ reputation as a teacher, healer, and in some minds a hoped-for revolutionary, certainly preceded his arrival in Jerusalem.
The most common images of Palm Sunday come from Matthew, Luke, and John’s accounts of the event. However, the account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem as Mark records it is actually quite different from these others. The massive throngs present in Matthew’s account are absent in Mark. Moreover, the joyful “multitude” of disciples described in Luke are in Mark simply called “those who went before and after”. The “great crowd” in John’s Gospel is not present in Mark. In Mark the people along the roadside appear to simply be those who just happened to be there along the roadside at the time Jesus was riding past.
On many fronts, Mark’s account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is distinctly low-key in comparison to the other gospel accounts. This raises the question: Why? Why does Mark present this incredibly important event in Jesus’ life in such an understated way?
If Jesus arrived at the gates of Jerusalem as a king about to receive his throne, why understate the event? If Jesus’ fame, some might even say notoriety, preceded him and Jerusalem indeed wanted to receive him as a king, what is Mark’s purpose in recording the event so sparsely?
Could it be that Mark doesn’t want us to think of him as the type of earthly king the people of Jerusalem expected? Jesus had shattered every other religious expectation of how the Messiah would arrive and how the Messiah would behave, is it a surprise that he would also challenge and change the notion of what a true king is?
Stepping away from the text for a moment and thinking about the context may help us understand why Mark crafted his account the way he did. At this point in history, we know the Jews were itching for a fight. They were an occupied country under the thumb of Rome. Herod the Great ruled from Jerusalem and claimed the Davidic line of succession as his authority, yet we know that he was not even a Jew and had been hand-picked by Caesar to rule. The once proud and untarnished tradition of priestly worship in the temple at Jerusalem had become tarnished by a corrupt and wealthy priesthood working in collusion with Rome. Without question, Jerusalem was primed and ready for a revolt.
Into this unstable environment came Jesus. While he was in Galilee Jesus had argued against the corruption of the temple priests and their associates the Pharisees. While in the countryside he had taught a powerful new understanding of the Mosaic Law. He had urged a new morality and a new ethical code for all those wishing to be righteous in God’s sight. He had healed people of illnesses and afflictions. In fact, Lazarus had been brought back to life. Jesus’ personal charisma and speaking skills were proven to fire up a crowd.
So, indeed, Jesus approached Jerusalem as a powerful and influential person. Perhaps he was someone capable of challenging the political and economic status quo. Maybe he did deserve a victor’s parade.
Moreover, we should not be surprised that the people of Jerusalem expected him to become a king.  They wanted a new king. A king who would rule as they expected a king would rule; exercising political muscle when necessary, employing military force as needed, and restoring the purity of temple worship. The Jews expected another Hezekiah, Josiah, or better yet, a king in the mold of Israel’s greatest warrior king - David himself.
So, as the people laid out their cloaks and branches before Jesus as he entered Jerusalem this is the type of king they thought they were welcoming, a warrior king ready and willing to rule according to human standards of power and might.
Clearly, Jesus understood their desire for a powerful new king. Jesus understood that he must enter Jerusalem in this way - even if it was not his way. So, then, Jesus was going to be a king, but not the type of King they expected. He was going to be a different kind of king!
Throughout his ministry Jesus had turned conventional teaching and wisdom upside down. He preached that humility was preferable to pride. He preached that thoughts and intentions were just as important as actions and consequences. He preached that love was ultimately more powerful than hate. And so now, Jesus was about to turn one more human notion on its head: The human notion of kingship.
Kings rule by force; Jesus wanted people to willingly follow him. Kings have servants to fulfill their every need; Jesus came not to be served but to serve everyone else. Kings could care less whether their subjects love them or not, in fact the most successful human kings rule with a certain measure of fear.  Jesus wanted everyone to love him and the Father who sent him. Kings use mighty military force to reach their objectives, Jesus was not even willing to defend himself but allowed his enemies to nail him to a tree.
Indeed, the kingship of Jesus Christ is unlike any other. Jesus Christ is a different kind of king. He is our king through service to others, through profound humility, through genuine invitation, and most importantly through love.
So the victor’s parade of Palm Sunday marks the triumph of love over hate, of service over slavery, of God’s love over our sinfulness. In a typical sense it is not a victor’s parade as such, it is more properly a servant’s parade. Our true King is our servant.
As we journey through Holy Week in the coming days, let us remember the nature of Christ’s kingship; a kingship bought at the price of pain and sacrifice on our behalf. Christ paraded into Jerusalem in order to become the Lord of our hearts through the human betrayal of Gethsemane, the physical agony of Calvary, and ultimately the joyous resurrection of the third day. So may it be for us. Amen.
Reverend Marc V. Mason
Palm Sunday: April 5, 2009
Trinity Presbyterian Church
Travelers Rest, SC