Jesus, A King For All.

12/2/18 Luke 19:28–40

This morning we begin a new church year, a year that will focus on readings from Luke’s Gospel. Luke has some distinctive themes and emphases. One that is central is that Luke wrote his Gospel in a way that would be easily accessible to people in the Roman Empire. The early church held that Matthew wrote his Gospel first, probably just a few years after Jesus’ resurrection, and wrote it in such a way as to show that Jesus was the Messiah, the one whom the Old Testament promised to Israel. But Luke wrote some 25 years later, and his Gospel reflected Paul’s experiences as he had preached the gospel and established churches throughout the Roman Empire. Luke needed to show that the Gospel was not just for Jews, but also for Romans and other Gentiles. As we begin our preparations for Christmas, we’ll begin by considering Jesus, a King for All.

In the coming weeks we’ll see that the beginning chapters of Luke’s Gospel emphatically depict Jesus as a King for All. But our text this morning does so as well, even if it’s perhaps not quite as obvious. One of the things that our text emphasizes in numerous ways is that Jesus is not a warring rival king to Pontius Pilate or the Roman Emperor. For example, at the beginning of our text Luke records that Jesus began the triumphal entry in the humble little village of Bethany, on the east side of the Mount of Olives, a couple of miles east of Jerusalem. Unlike in Matthew, for Luke the triumphal entry begins in humble Bethany. We also note that at the very end of Luke’s Gospel, it’s at the little town of Bethany that Jesus ascends to heaven. Bethany as the town associated with the triumphal entry is associated with praising God, not with organizing a violent rebellion against Pilate or the emperor.

That Jesus is not a rival political king can be seen as the parade continues. In Matthew’s Gospel, the crowds yell hosanna, which means save us Lord, a phrase that could easily be mistaken as advocating Jesus saving Jerusalem from the Romans, like king David driving out the pagan rulers of Israel. But Luke takes various steps here to avoid any political misunderstanding. For example, Luke stresses that the donkey that Jesus rode was one on which no one had ever sat. This clearly anticipates Jesus’ burial in Luke. For it’s only in Luke’s Gospel that we hear of Jesus’ tomb that it was one where no one had ever yet been laid. The donkey on which no one had ever sat anticipates the tomb in which no one had ever been laid. Here Luke emphasizes that Jesus rode into Jerusalem not to conquer politically but rather to die and be buried. Similarly, at the end of the triumphal entry, the crowds exclaim, “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Jesus’ entry is ultimately associated with peace and glory in heaven, not warfare on earth. At Jesus’ birth, the angels proclaimed that Jesus would bring peace to the earth. Now at the beginning of holy week we see that Jesus does this not as a rival king to Caesar. Instead Jesus supports the political peace of the Romans and much more so brings spiritual peace to earth by being our beautiful savior who will peacefully pave the way for our human flesh to ascend to heaven.

In a recent book titled The Last Week, theologian Marcus Borg tells about another parade that was occurring on the opposite side of the city around the time that Jesus entered the holy city. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor was entering Jerusalem at the head of a column of imperial cavalry and soldiers. Pilate was there with his soldiers in case there was trouble. That was a common occurrence in Jerusalem, especially at Passover, a festival that celebrated the Jewish people’s liberation from an earlier empire. Borg writes, “Imagine the imperial procession’s arrival in the city. A visual panoply of imperial power: cavalry on horses, foot soldiers, leather armor, helmets, weapons, banners, golden eagles mounted on poles, sun glinting on metal and gold. Sounds: the marching of feet, the creaking of leather, the clinking of bridles, the beating of drums. The swirling of dust. The eyes of the silent onlookers, some curious, some awed, some resentful.” (Cited from the sermon “When We Feel Unwanted” by King Duncan on esermons.com)

There were similarities and dissimilarities between the entry of the ruler Jesus into Jerusalem and the entry of the ruler Pilate. We can learn from both. For example, Jesus was like Pilate to the extent that Pilate helped bring a sort of peace to the world, the so-called Pax Romana, or Peace of the Romans. Similarly, Jesus was like Pilate to the extent that Pilate had some care for his subjects. Again, Jesus was like Pilate somewhat in that Pilate’s power teaches us some things about Jesus’ power. These similarities are important, for people in the Roman empire would have been very familiar with regional governors and the emperor they represented. Luke by comparing Jesus to secular rulers in some ways was giving the people an illustration that would have been accessible by nearly everyone. Most Romans would have been unfamiliar with Old Testament history and prominent Old Testament kings like David and Solomon. But they would have known about Roman rulers, and this knowledge could help them understand certain things about Jesus when Luke would make a comparison with these rulers. This was true in spite of the obvious fact that Jesus was also very different from these rulers. Whereas the peace that the Romans brought was in many ways by coercion and temporary, Jesus brought a lasting peace. And whereas the Roman Caesar was ultimately a corrupt dictator, Jesus used his power to sacrifice himself for others so that they might ultimately go to heaven.