WHAT DO YOU THINK OF JESUS?
He sat in my office and we talked. We talked about the Bible and its teachings he found mystifying. We talked about religious hang—ups that got in the way of a satisfying life of the spirit. And as we talked, I could see that our conversation, with all its twists and turns, had a direction, a trajectory. We were moving inevitably to the question of Jesus Christ. The one issue that would prove inescapable for this young man was a confrontation with the identity of Jesus. Step by step, this young man’s spiritual journey was taking him to stand before the claims of Christ.
How about you? What do you make of Jesus? You’ve probably heard a great deal about him over the years. Have you made up your mind about who he is?
Jesus is a pretty complex person. In fact, Jesus is still in the news, two millennia after he walked this earth. During this past year, major news magazines have run feature articles about Jesus. It seems scholars are still debating Jesus’ identity today.
But the list of possibilities with regard to Jesus’ identity hasn’t changed much through the centuries. There are people who say Jesus was in the line of the Old Testament prophets. Others have said that Jesus was more the kind of rabbi or teacher you would find in the world of the first century. And then there are those who claim he is something more. Those who declare that Jesus is nothing less than divine. He is nothing less than the one who sets right a broken world. Two thousand years after Jesus lived, the debate rages on.
But figuring Jesus out isn’t such a simple matter. And first glances can deceive. I’ve known people that on first glance seem very low key about their Christian faith. Meeting them for the first time, it seems that they aren’t very serious about following Jesus. Then, later, I’ve discovered that they have a hidden side I knew nothing about. My new acquaintance invests hours working with underprivileged kids, or heads down to the shelter every week to make dinner for the homeless because of a commitment to Christ. And then there are people just the opposite——people who seem to be full of religious sensibilities and who set themselves up as models of Christian piety. But when you scratch beneath the surface, their spirituality is a mask, their Christian commitments nothing more than a fa?ade meant to impress.
What I’m saying is that we can get it wrong about people. Seriously wrong. And the same can happen when we size up Jesus. I’m wondering what you think of him——do you have it right? First impressions can mislead. Do you have it right about Jesus? No issue is more important. For to be mistaken about Jesus is to make the error of a lifetime.
Of course, if you respect Jesus, you might want to listen closely to what he says about his identity. That only seems fair. I find a lot of people have what they think are the right answers about Jesus—yet they never seem to have taken the time to check out what he said about himself. And there is no better time to pause and ask about Jesus than now. After all, we are standing at the beginning of a week filled with the most momentous events of his career. We stand together just days before his crucifixion. During the next few days, we come to the heart of his ministry. Just check out how much of the gospels are dedicated to the last few days of Jesus’ life—in some cases, fully half. It’s obvious that to understand Jesus you will need to unpack the meaning of these last days of his life. Is the suffering that will overwhelm Jesus in the course of the next few days merely a sign of the insane evil in our world? Is the death of Jesus the irrational execution of a good man? Or is it something more? Did something happen during this week that will turn the world upside—down?
The episode that introduces the events of this week—the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem on what is called Palm Sunday—gives us some important clues. Let’s explore the clues Jesus left us in the very way he entered Jerusalem. We’ll do that, right after we hear this song that celebrates his coming.
ROYAL IDENTITY
As we think about what happened on Palm Sunday, one thing is certain. There were a lot of people milling around him that Sunday who had spent the last three years trying to figure Jesus out. They had heard his teachings, witnessed his miracles, processed his claims. And on that Sunday morning when Jesus came through the gates of Jerusalem they thought they had found the answer.
There is a great deal of anticipation in the air. In fact, the followers of Jesus were never more energized than on this Sunday morning. The atmosphere must have felt like an election night party, when the candidate claims victory and deafening cheers fill the hall. You see, the followers of Jesus had been waiting for Jesus to make his move to claim political power for himself. And on Palm Sunday, their dreams finally seem to be seeing the light of day.
Jesus has requisitioned a donkey to make the journey from Bethany to Jerusalem. That doesn’t seem important to us. But it was a big deal to the crowds. In the ancient world, kings rode on donkeys. To the crowds, this procession led by their teacher upon a donkey was the equivalent of a presidential motorcade. It was the equivalent of a prime minister making his way to the seat of government. In the eyes of Jesus’ followers, it has finally happened: Jesus has declared his kingship openly!
Moreover Jesus leads the procession to a royal destination. Jesus is riding into Jerusalem—the city of David, the city of God. Jerusalem, the city where the Messiah King will reign in glory!
And the crowd has picked up the clues. Excitement builds. They respond in ways befitting the coming of a king. Centuries before, Jehu’s friends had spread their coats before Jehu to welcome him as he begins his reign. Now, this crowd does the same for Jesus. Years before, the crowds had cut palm branches to lay before the feet of Simon Maccabeus, as he entered Jerusalem to rededicate the temple. This crowd does the same for Jesus. Coats and branches are strewn everywhere! And now the singing begins! It’s the words of Psalm 118 on the lips of the crowd:
- Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. . .
I will clue you into the significance of their chorus. Psalm 118 was a special psalm in ancient Israel. It was sung at one of the great Jewish feasts, as the King of Israel led a procession of worshippers through the city streets to the temple. As the procession reached the temple gates the people would sing:
Open for me the gates of righteousnessAnd I will give thanks to the Lord
This is the gate of the Lord
Through which the righteous may enter . . . “ And then the people would sing of the King himself:
- Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord . . .
After Israel was swallowed up by more powerful nations, there was no longer a king in Israel of whom that song could be sung. But some day, faithful Jews believed, that song would be sung again. Some day—in God’s ordained future—when a new king had come to the throne—Israel would again say:
- Blessed be he who comes in the name of the Lord . . .!
And on Palm Sunday morning, the crowd is convinced that the future is now. A new Son of David is approaching the gates of Jerusalem. He is to stand before the gates of the temple. And the people will hail him as their King:
- Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. . .
THE GREAT MISTAKE Yes, the people greet Jesus as their coming Lord! They hail him David’s Son! And they are right. But they are wrong. They have not looked beyond externalities. They are expecting a kingdom defined by political realities alone. They expect a king who will simply replace the present power structures—a king who will empower Israel to dominate the world, the way Rome does now. They haven’t broken through to the real nature of his kingship. Great expectations are about to give way to great disappointment.
The disappointment begins almost immediately. For Matthew tells us that this Palm Sunday procession does not end at Herod’s Palace, with a determined Jesus striding up the steps to clean house of Roman authority and demand the keys to the city. Palm Sunday does not end in a Jesus—led attack on the Roman garrison. The Palm Sunday procession ends where Psalm 118 predicts it would——at the temple——where Jesus unleashes his wrath not on the Romans but on his fellow Jews. Money tables go flying. All creatures great and small are driven from the outer courts. And Jesus claims the temple as a house of prayer for all nations. Hardly the talk you would expect of someone who is about to reestablish a Jewish Kingdom. Then, Matthew tells us, he goes out to the hamlet of Bethany to spend the night. Jesus goes back from whence he came!
You can imagine the consternation. “Where is Jesus?“ says someone in the crowd. “I don’t know,“ says another. “But I’ve heard he’s left Jerusalem.“ LEFT JERUSALEM! What’s going on? Did Jesus lose his nerve? What’s going on?
The bubble is bursting on Palm Sunday night. And the air goes out of the balloon as the week progresses. Jesus keeps teaching. He has a few debates with the Pharisees. He spends time visiting old friends. Odd behavior for someone planning the immediate overthrow of the government. The expected coupe isn’t taking place. The king hasn’t claimed his crown. Public opinion is just as fickle in the first century as the 21st. Approval ratings plummet. The Jerusalem poll indicates that Jesus is hitting rock bottom in the ratings. Say some disgruntled folk in the Palm Sunday crowd: “He made us look like fools. Maybe he’d be better off dead.“
PILATE’S VERDICT
In the end, it will be Pilate, the top—ranking Roman official, who speaks the sentiments of the crowd. He asks Jesus on Good Friday morning: “Are you the king of the Jews?“ This is no acclamation. This is accusation. “YOU, a king? YOU a king? The emphasis in the text falls on the word YOU! The scorn in his voice is unmistakable! How deluded can a man get!
And Jesus replies calmly: “YES, it is as you say . . “
In the face of all the evidence to the contrary. In the face of all the externalities—Jesus IS whom the Palm Sunday ride proclaims: A King! But a kingdom with a twist. A kingdom, Jesus says NOT OF THIS WORLD!
UNEXPECTED KINGDOM
Now, when Pilate heard Jesus claim such a kingdom—a kingdom not of this world——he must have been relieved. After all, what does Pilate have to fear from a man whose kingdom is not of this world? There is no danger from a man who builds sand castles in the sky! Pilate doesn’t feel threatened by a man who refuses to define the scope of his kingdom by the number of soldiers at his command. Pilate must have thought Jesus was something of a Don Quixote—a deluded fool who runs around jousting at windmills and saving illusionary damsels in distress. Let Jesus live his version of the chivalrous life—as long as his kingdom is not of this world! To Pilate, a kingdom not of this world is no kingdom at all.
But Pilate has misjudged. Jesus said his kingdom was not OF this world. He did not deny that his kingdom was IN this world. Yes, his kingdom is not OF this world. It does not come through swords loud clashing or roll of stirring drums. In fact, Jesus had declared his kingdom to be not OF this world by the very way he had entered Jerusalem. He had ridden a donkey. The donkey is the mount of kings. But it is also the mount of PEACE.
- Rejoice greatly, says Zechariah,
See your king comes to you
Righteous and having salvation
gentle and riding on a donkey . . .
His kingdom is not OF this world.
Nevertheless, the kingdom Christ brings is still IN this world! It is very much IN this world. In fact, it will shake Jerusalem to its roots! Pilate will soon discover that there is no stopping this kingdom. You can make the grave as secure as you can—you can throw all the armies of Rome at that stone door. You can station your guards and that kingdom still explodes onto the scene come Easter morning.
Oh, this kingdom is very much in this world. And there is no stopping it. You can suppress the message of this Jesus. You can spread your false rumors that his body was stolen. You can cast in prison his witnesses. You can even stone them to death! And still his message spreads like a wildfire across the Empire, as though it were fanned by gale force winds of the spirit.
Oh, Pilate, this kingdom is very much IN the world. And because it is not OF the world, you wouldn’t be able to stop it.
But all this Pilate does not yet know. For he judges by externalities. He judges by what he sees. How could he know that nothing ?absolutely nothing—could stand before the FORCE of this kingdom.
But if this kingdom force exists then, it exists now. And if the king was king then, he reigns today. He looks for everyone to take him seriously as Savior and Lord. And he expects that response not just in the hoopla that greeted him on Palm Sunday morning. He expects that response as true disciples follow him through the events of this coming week. To Pilate’s judgment hall, to a cross on Golgotha—and beyond, to a garden tomb that will soon be empty.
THE CLAIMS OF THE KING
It’s easy, of course, to give Jesus a few cheers on Palm Sunday. But Jesus wants more than that. He wants our continued attention in the ordinary events of life. And that is when he becomes—well, let’s be frank——a bit of an embarrassment. No, if you want the truth, Jesus becomes in the minds of many a downright nuisance.
After all, here you are, in the corporate world where wing tips and business suits are the required uniform. And there is this man in robe and sandals trying to get your attention and shape the way you deal with money and stewardship.
Here you are in the world of government where power lunches are the order of the day, and the one who broke bread and fish for crowds on the hillside wants a word with you about the nature of justice and peace.
Here you are, in a world of education—in a swirl of college courses, and advanced studies—and there is this wandering preacher, who never got beyond Sabbath school—who wants to give you a few insights into the real meaning of Truth.
It’s jarring, quite frankly, to encounter Jesus as King. It’s much more comfortable to think that this kingdom is neither in nor of the world. But he isn’t satisfied to leave it at that. His kingdom is in the world. And he wants you to enfold something not of the world—eternity itself, heaven itself,——into your everyday life by taking him into account!
.
Take me into account—says the King!
As you seek justice in the law courts, take me into account.
As you seek more than knowledge——as you seek true wisdom in your education——take me into account.
As you seek to make peace among the nations, take me into account.
As you seek peace within your own souls, take me into account.
The truth is, the ultimate leader we need today is not some political whiz—kid, regardless of political persuasion. We need someone who can save us from ourselves. And from the incredible evil that dogs our world.
We need a king who can set us free from our own selfishness and inflated egos. We need a king who can win the war against the powers of evil that claw within our own nations. Within our own souls. We need a king whose kingdom is not of this world but in this world.
We need Jesus, the King.
That’s what I told that young man in my office. That’s what I share with you now. I invite you to offer your life to Jesus as your Savior and King. 2000 years ago, when Jesus first entered Jerusalem, the hosannas were hearty—but in the end, hollow. The crowd didn’t really know to whom they sang.
But you know. And you can sing praise a new way. As one who knows Jesus as the true King of the cosmos. You can stand before him and declare in spirit and in truth:
Prayer
Eternal Father, The crowds missed the real identity of Jesus. So do many today. But may we be different. May we embrace Jesus with a faith that accompanies him far beyond the fanfare of Palm Sunday morning. May we journey with him to Calvary and to an open tomb on Easter morning. Today, we confess him our Savior and Lord. Amen.
Robert Heerspink
Rev. Robert Heerspink is a native of west Michigan. He completed his undergraduate studies at Calvin College and holds the degrees of Master of Divinity and Master of Theology from Calvin Theological Seminary. He has also received a Doctor of Ministry degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Bob was ordained a minister of the Word in the Christian Reformed Church of North America in 1979, and has 26 years of parish experience, having served four churches throughout west Michigan. He was appointed the Director of The Back to God Hour in 2006. Bob has written several resources related to congregational stewardship, including the book, Becoming a Firstfruits Congregation. He is a regular contributor to TODAY, the monthly devotional of The Back to God Hour. Bob is married to Edith (Miedema) and they have three children. His hobbies include reading fictional and historical works, watersports, and occassional golfing.
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