FIRST MOVEMENT: The Hammer
They called him “the Hammer.” He probably got the name from his style of warfare. He attacked hard and fast, guerrilla-warfare style. The Hammer was a seasoned warrior. And, because of his success against overwhelming odds, he was a hero to his fellow Israelis.
Israel was an occupied country. The Syrian army had conquered Jerusalem and plundered the temple, using its treasures to finance a war against Egypt. Then they broke down the walls of the city, rendering it defenseless. Adding insult to injury, they established a fort, known as the Acra, to dominate the old temple area. A permanent Syrian garrison was stationed at the Acra, turning Jerusalem into an occupied military city.
There were some who sympathized with the invading army. They welcomed the broadening of culture and the removal of religious restrictions. They were glad to be free of the rule of religious fundamentalists, even if it meant living in an occupied land. The oppressors appointed a high priest who was sympathetic to their more liberal position.
But a year later, the Syrian leader outlawed the practice of the Jewish religion. He ordered the Scriptures destroyed. The Sabbath day and other religious holidays were no longer to be observed. The food laws were to be abolished, and circumcision was no longer to be practiced. The Syrians built a new altar on top of the old one they had destroyed. Then came the ultimate desecration: they sacrificed pigs – considered by all Jews to be unclean animals -- upon the holy altar in the Temple.
Although many Jews obediently followed these new decrees against their religion, some because of apathy, others because of fear, there were a few who did not obey. These pious Jews fled for the countryside, where they found refuge in the villages. Soon those in the rural countryside began to resist, forming a guerrilla movement to overthrow their Syrian oppressors. Their leader was known as the Hammer.
From their strongholds in the mountains, the Hammer and his followers carried on a guerrilla campaign. They raided villages, overthrew pagan altars, killed their countrymen who sympathized with their Syrian oppressors, and circumcised children by force.
For better or for worse, the pious cast their lot with “the Hammer,” and the resistance movement assumed the character of a holy war.
The Hammer proved himself a master of guerrilla tactics. With a knowledge of the countryside and fresh support with each new success, he defeated every Syrian detachment sent after him.
Finally after three years of battle had given them control of the countryside, the Hammer’s troops moved into Jerusalem.
The Hammer and his men pulled down the pagan altars which had been built in the street. They cleansed the temple and made a new altar. They set out incense and lights and offered a sacrifice. They prayed to the Lord, that even if they sinned against Him again, He would not let them be conquered by a foreign enemy. Then they celebrated for eight days.
As part of their celebration, the Hammer rode through the city on horseback, the victorious commander celebrating his success. As he rode, the people held out palm branches and waved them before him, singing this chant of praise to the one who had saved them from the Syrians:
Psalm 118:25-26
25 Hosanna! . . .
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.
Each day for eight days they shouted “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Then the people decreed that this victory should be remembered each year, celebrated with an eight day festival known as the Feast of Lights, or as we know it today, Hanukkah.
An important battle had been won, but the war was far from over. There were still Syrian forces in the holy city. So when the Syrian leader died the following year, the Hammer laid siege to the Syrian garrison in Jerusalem.
In response, a new Syrian leader allowed the Jews to continue to make sacrifices at the temple. But he ordered the destruction of the fortifications that the Hammer’s forces had erected in the temple area. He deposed the collaborating high priest and nominated a new one.
This appeased many of the Jews, who were tired of war. But it did not appease the Hammer. Not content with the limited religious changes and the continued presence of foreign troops and a puppet high priest, he continued the military struggle.
These fresh disturbances led the new high priest and his sympathizers to call for Syrian help, which came in the form of fresh troops.
Those fresh troops arrived, and, faced with an overwhelming Syrian army, the Hammer’s illustrious campaign came to an end, just as it had begun -- on the field of battle.
SECOND MOVEMENT: Jesus
Almost two hundred years later, a second man rode into Jerusalem, greeted by waving palm branches and the sounds of shouting crowds:
John 12:13b NIV
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
He too lived in an occupied Israel. This time the soldiers weren’t Syrians, but Romans. A Roman governor by the name of Pontius Pilate ruled the area. He too antagonized the Jewish people, threatening to stamp out their religion.
Shortly after assuming office, under cover of night, he introduced Roman flags decorated with images of the emperor. When the Jews protested by surrounding his house for five days, he ordered a trial. He had soldiers surround them and threatened to cut off their heads unless they allowed they allowed these images of Caesar. But the Jews fell to the ground and bared their necks to the sword. Pilate was astonished, and ordered the flags removed from Jerusalem.
On another occasion Pilate raided the Temple treasury to pay for a new water system for the city. Again the Jews protested, but this time Pilate had hidden soldiers dressed in civilian clothing among the crowd. On an agreed signal they began to beat the rioters. Many were killed, and the protest was silenced.
Just as in the days of the Hammer, there were many Jews who sympathized with the oppressors. They were given high roles in leadership in the Jewish ruling council. By and large, they were men who didn’t want to see another failed revolt. Life under the Romans, they reasoned, was not all that bad.
They were still able to live out their faith. They could still offer sacrifices at the Temple. They could still read the Scriptures. They could still observe their food laws. They could still circumcise their children. While they still had to put up with high taxes and the constant presence of Roman soldiers, things could have been far worse.
But there were other, more militant Jews who didn’t share this view. They wanted Israel to be a free country. They thought it was wrong to pay taxes to Rome, for God alone was Lord, not the Roman Caesar. And they believed God would help the Jews throw off foreign rule if they undertook armed rebellion. They had a passion for liberty and a willingness to die for their convictions. These men came to be known as Zealots. And one of these men, named Simon, was a follower of Jesus.
The most radical of the Zealots were known as the Sicarii, or “dagger-men.” They mingled among the large crowds during Festivals, with daggers hidden beneath their robes. In the confusing mass of people they would sneak up behind the hated collaborators with the Roman government, quickly slice open their throats, and then disappear into the crowd before anyone knew what happened.
It was during one of these times, during the Festival of the Passover, that Jesus entered Jerusalem. We read his story in Luke chapter 19.
Luke 19:28b-44 NLT
Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of his disciples. 29 As they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead. 30 “Go into that village over there,” he told them, “and as you enter it, you will see a colt tied there that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32 So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said. 33 And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, “Why are you untying our colt?”
34 And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35 So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for him to ride on. 36 Then the crowds spread out their coats on the road ahead of Jesus. 37 As they reached the place where the road started down from the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen. 38 “Bless the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in highest heaven!”
39 But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”
40 He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”
We’re more familiar with this story of Jesus, than with the story of the Hammer. Perhaps too familiar.
It’s easy to forget what a bold move this was, for Jesus to enter Jerusalem like this. After Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, his popularity had surged. We read in John chapter 11 that
John 11:45-50, 53 NLT
45 Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. 46 But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together to discuss the situation. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “This man certainly performs many miraculous signs. 48 If we leave him alone, the whole nation will follow him, and then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.”
49 And one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said, “How can you be so stupid? 50 Why should the whole nation be destroyed? Let this one man die for the people.” . . . .
53 So from that time on the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death.
The religious leaders feared that Jesus would lead a revolt that would cause the Roman army to come in and destroy their city. It was widely known that one of Jesus’ followers, a man named Simon, was a Zealot. And there was a widespread expectation that God would send a new king, a Messiah, to lead a military revolt against the Romans. Jesus seemed like he might be that man.
He had a reputation as a miracle worker. Rumors had begun to spread that just a few days earlier, in the village of Bethany, just a few miles from Jerusalem, this Jesus had actually raised a man from the dead.
As he rode a colt down the long hill from the Mount of Olives into the city of Jerusalem, the waiting crowds waved palm branches and shouted these words, just as they had shouted for the Hammer:
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
The followers of Jesus added an additional cry:
Luke 19:38 NLT
“Bless the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in highest heaven!”
Jesus’ followers were not afraid to proclaim him king. They were well aware of the centuries-old prophecy from the lips of Zechariah:
Zechariah 9:9 NLT
Rejoice greatly, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey--even on a donkey’s colt.
They knew the story of Solomon’s coronation, of how he too rode through the streets on the back of a mule on his way to become king:
1 Kings 1:38-42 NLT
So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the king’s bodyguard took Solomon down to Gihon Spring, and Solomon rode on King David’s personal mule. 39 There Zadok the priest took a flask of olive oil from the sacred tent and poured it on Solomon’s head. Then the trumpets were blown, and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!”
All of this made the Pharisees nervous. The last thing they wanted was to alarm the Roman authorities with rumors of a revolt. Because of the crowds, they were afraid to arrest Jesus. Instead they yelled at him from the roadside:
Luke 19:39b NLT
“Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”
But Jesus replied,
Luke 19:40 NLT
“If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”
The whole situation must have been very familiar to those watching from the crowd. They knew well the story of the Hammer. Each December for almost 200 years they had celebrated Hanukkah, the Feast of Lights, remembering the Hammer’s victory over the Syrian oppressors. It was a national holiday, commemorating a brief period of freedom from centuries of foreign oppression.
No doubt many in the crowd saw Jesus riding into town, his followers chanting “Blessed is the King!” They observed the frightened reaction of the Pharisees, and how Jesus didn’t deny the claims of the crowd that he was a king. “Perhaps,” they thought to themselves, “the Hammer has returned.”
But they had missed one small, but very important detail. The Hammer had ridden into town on a horse. But Jesus rode into town on a donkey.
MOVEMENT 3: The Donkey
Now that might not seem all that important. But the symbolism was clear: Jesus wasn’t coming as a revolutionary, but as a reconciler.
It was only in times of war that kings rode into town on horseback. The horse was a war animal. A king riding a horse signaled a call to arms.
But in times of peace, kings rode on the back of a donkey. That was how King Solomon had ridden into town, on the back of a donkey. Unlike his father David, who was a great warrior, Solomon was king during a time of great peace. And he announced his kingdom by riding through the streets on the back of a donkey, just like Jesus.
Somehow in all of the excitement, the crowds missed this simple distinction. Jesus wasn’t coming as a revolutionary, ready to overthrow the Roman oppressors. He was coming as a reconciler, a man of peace.
A revolutionary says:
“I believe so much in my cause that I’m willing to kill you for it!”
But a reconciler says:
“I believe so much in my cause that I’m willing to die for it!”
Despite the hopes and expectations of the crowd, Jesus wasn’t a revolutionary. He was a reconciler.
All of that became clear in the week that followed. A few days later, when Jesus was arrested, one of his followers drew a sword and cut off the ear of an enemy. But instead of encouraging the revolt, Jesus rebuked him, and then restored the servant’s ear by healing the wound.
During his trial, the Roman soldiers mocked Jesus, giving him a king’s crown made of thorns. He didn’t resist, didn’t try to defend himself or fight back. He didn’t act much like a revolutionary.
And the people turned on him.
MOVEMENT 4: Cross or Crown?
The Roman governor Pilate had a custom of releasing one prisoner each Passover festival as a sign of good will. That year he gave the people a choice: release Jesus, or release Barabbas. Overwhelmingly, the people chose Barabbas. Although some Bibles use the word “thief,” Barabbas was really a revolutionary. And the people chose him instead of Jesus.
They didn’t want a reconciler. They wanted a revolutionary.
On the cross, a sign proclaimed “Jesus Christ, King of the Jews,” while the passerby shouted taunts at him: “If you’re a king, why don’t you save yourself! Come down off of that cross!”
They didn’t want a reconciler. They wanted a revolutionary.
Jesus knew what the people wanted, and he wept because of it.
Luke 19:41-44 NLT
41 But as they came closer to Jerusalem and Jesus saw the city ahead, he began to cry. 42 “I wish that even today you would find the way of peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from you. 43 Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you. 44 They will crush you to the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you have rejected the opportunity God offered you.”
These sad words were uttered by Jesus himself. He predicted Jerusalem would be destroyed, her citizens would be slaughtered, and her Temple would be completely wrecked, with not one stone left upon another.
Jesus knew that the people of Israel didn’t want a reconciler. They wanted a revolutionary.
Almost forty years later, the people got what they wanted. They chose a revolutionary, and joined the Zealots in a revolt against the Romans:
In February of the year 70, the Roman general Titus surrounded Jerusalem with 80,000 men to crush a revolt that had begun some five years back. In April of that year he began the siege in earnest. Conditions soon became desperate within the city walls. Women ate their own children, and grown men fought to the death over a piece of bird’s dung for food! Finally, in September of the same year, the walls were battered down and the slaughter began. When the smoke had cleared, over a half-million Jews lay dead. A number of these had been crucified by Titus. Eventually the Temple was leveled and the ground under it plowed up.
And -- to this day -- it has never been restored.
CONCLUSION: Which Way Will You Choose?
One path – the path of revolution – led to temporary victory but long-term defeat.
The other path – the path of reconciliation – led to temporary defeat but long-term victory.
Today, few remember the name of the Hammer. But many remember the name of Jesus.
All because our king did not ride into town on the back of a horse, but on the back of a donkey.
NOTE: The historical background for this sermon is paraphased from two sources: Everett Ferguson’s book, Backgrounds of Early Christianity; and the accounts in 1 Maccabees 4:59 and 2 Maccabees 10. (These were footnoted in the original but I can’t replicate that in text format.)
