A Fresh Perspective - 03/07/08

Jesus' procession into Jerusalem to begin Holy Week was a deliberate prophetic act intended to contrast with Pilate's entrance into the city from the west (opposite) side. Jesus scholar Marcus Borg says that this was not a triumphal entry, but an anti-imperial entry. At about the same time Jesus led his procession of the poor, marginalized and common people of the land into Jerusalem, Pilate would have been leading an army of cavalry and foot soldiers coming from Caesarea Maritima, on the Mediterranean coast, to reinforce the Roman garrison on the Temple Mount. It would have been an impressive demonstration of military might and power issuing a dire warning to any would-be insurrectionist.

While Jesus is hailed as "Son of David" and "King" he rides not on a war horse, but on a young donkey. Matthew says Jesus does this to fulfill what the prophet Zechariah says: "See, your king comes to you . . . lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey . . . and he shall proclaim peace to the nations" (9:9-10).

The fascinating thing about this is that Matthew's Gospel describes Jesus riding two animals: a donkey and a young colt (Matt 21:1-7), which of course is impossible unless you are Dr. Seuss (Mark and Luke mention only one animal).

Zechariah is using Hebrew parallelism, a common feature in Hebrew poetry: "riding on a donkey, that is, a colt, the foal of a donkey" - one animal, not two. Did Matthew simply misread Zechariah and miss the parallelism? I find that hard to accept since Matthew and his church were diligent students of Scripture, made clear from the way this Gospel draws upon OT Scripture in telling the Jesus story.

So why does Matthew intentionally have Jesus riding two animals (a historical impossibility)? In Matt 13:52 Jesus says that "every teacher of the law who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven (God's new world) is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old." Matthew gives this old text a strange, new reading in order to highlight it. No student of the Scriptures would miss this. Matthew, employing a kind of textual joke, makes it stand out. It's like putting the text in bold print for all to see, calling attention to it.

What kind of king is Jesus? A king who is the exact opposite of an imperial ruler who lords it over his subjects and subdues enemies with a swift stroke. There is no flashing of armor, swirling of dust, beating of drums or marching of soldiers. Around Jesus is a crowd of misfits: those he had healed from their diseases and demons, the downcast and downtrodden, women and children. He wears no armor and carries no sword. He is gird about with a teacher's robe and rides a young donkey as a sign of God's peaceable kingdom.

Two kingdoms - two choices. And everyday we must choose whether we will give ourselves to the domination systems of the world or God's new world of peace and compassionate justice.

Chuck Queen is Pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church, Frankfort (CBF affiliated). You can access his sermons and past articles at www.ibcfrankfort.com. He welcomes your comments at cqueen@fewpb.net.