Don Friesen
It was a great parade! The first and probably the best Palm Sunday parade ever! And I'd like to tell you about it, but I'm afraid my imagination would run away on me. You wouldn't get the same account from me that you get from the Gospel of Mark. Mark had no stomach for elaboration. Wrong kind of guy to send to a parade and come back to tell you about it. Tight-lipped Mark's version: yes, there was a parade... many people... branches... shouting... end of parade... end of story.
Oh, Mark, even your terse gospel can't suppress the joy of that parade, but there's so much more to tell. My description would be much longer than Mark's, perhaps as long as the parade that I imagine stretched out for miles--perhaps a parade of all those Jesus had healed and taught and touched during his earthly ministry.
There at the front of the parade, ahead of Jesus and the colt, I see his disciples, including the four fishermen, Andrew, Simon, James and John. (Mark 1:14-20) These men had seen large catches of fish in their fish-nets, but never had they seen so many people in one place!
There in the parade, about twenty feet back, I see the man with an evil spirit that Jesus met in Capernaum (1:21-28), the one who screamed, "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?" (1:23) He's shouting the same question now, but with a twinkle in his eye, for the question has been transformed from an angry challenge to a sign of commitment: What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? We're prepared to do whatever you want.
I see Simon's mother-in-law in the parade. Hard to believe she had been so sick (1:29-33), for she looks so robust--the very picture of health! Singing as loudly as anyone! A look of jubilation on her face!
I'd like to tell you about the parade and about all the people who had been sick with all kinds of diseases or possessed by demons (1:34), now rejoicing and shouting, "Hosanna!" There was no need for the stones to cry out. The effects of Jesus' presence and the fruit of his ministry are there for all to see! And hear! Children swarming about, caught up in the excitement, aware from what their parents told them, that Jesus blesses even children!
Were I to tell you about the parade I would mention the man who had suffered from a dreaded skin disease and who came begging Jesus for help (1:40-45). I remember Jesus cautioning him to be discreet about his change in health, but the man couldn't shut up then! And he can't shut up now! There he is, right behind Jesus' colt, shouting his lungs out!
On the edge of the parade I see the man formerly known as a paralytic, and beside him the four friends who lowered him through a hole in the roof of a house in order to bring him into Jesus' presence (2:1-12)--there they are, handing out palm leaves to the swarms of children.
There are people you wouldn't expect to see at a parade, like Levi, the tax collector. Until Jesus met him Levi had been persona non grata at all public functions (2:13-17), but there he is, surrounded by new friends who have forgiven him.
Were I to tell you about the parade I would mention the man whose hand had been paralysed (3:1-6), a man who couldn't do anything useful with his hand, but that very same hand is waving palm leaves!
No wonder the parade was so large. Present were many of the people who had gathered around Jesus at Lake Galilee (3:7-12), pushy people who had been so eager to see and hear him and be healed by him that Jesus had to get into a boat to avoid being crushed. Here they are, just as exuberant but a little less pushy and full of praise for Jesus!
Then there are those who were captivated by his stories and lessons--like the lesson about seeds that bring about various harvests (4:1-20), depending on where they're planted. Or the story about putting a lamp under a bowl! (4:21-25) That was a funny story. Lamp under a bowl, right! There was that story about the mustard seed (4:30-34)--that was a nice story. An encouraging story.
The parade attracted many others, like the man who had lived a miserable life hanging out in graveyards, and who was secured with chains when he was really out of control. (5:1-20) But Jesus had healed him, and the change was astounding! And here he is at the parade, unchained, moving among the living! Beside him is the synagogue official who begged Jesus to heal his very sick daughter (5:21-24, 35-43), whose daughter, in fact, died, but then Jesus raised her to life! He's in the crowd, though he knows that his position could be in jeopardy should the Pharisees spot him.
Right beside Jesus is the woman who was treated by many doctors, none of which could do anything to stop her bleeding, but whom Jesus healed. (5:25-34) There she is, her hand holding the hem of Jesus' garment as she walks alongside the colt.
Oh, it was a large crowd at the parade! Many of the five thousand that Jesus had fed with the meagre provisions of a young boy's two-fish lunch (6:30-44) were there. Many had come from Gennesaret (6:53-56), grateful that many of their loved ones had been healed by Jesus when he visited their town.
I think that Jesus himself laughed when he saw the man from the Ten Town territory near Lake Galilee, a man who, until Jesus touched him. could neither hear nor speak (7:31-37), but there he was, leading the singing at the parade!
It was a great parade! I imagine all kinds of people joining in the parade. The formerly lame were dancing! The formerly blind were taking in all of the vivid colours! The formerly fearful were feeling free and filled with joy. I'd love to tell you about it because then I wouldn't have to tell you about what followed. I could spare you the pain of watching Judas betray Jesus. I could spare you the disappointment of Peter's denial. I could spare you the sight of the disciples' flight at the first sign of trouble. I could spare you Jesus' anguished prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. If I just told you about the parade, I could spare you the jeers of the crowds, calling for Jesus' crucifixion! I could spare your wincing at the horrible sight of Jesus nailed to a cross. Then you wouldn't have to hear the desolate anguish of his final cry to God.
I'd love to tell you about the parade, but it's not the whole story. The story of the parade is a good story, a fitting story, but it's only the first part of the story. There's more. Jesus died before the palm leaves were even cleared from the streets. He suffered and he died.
I'd like to tell you about the parade, but part of me would also like Jesus to stop the parade! Let's just turn around and go back to Nazareth. Let's get out of the middle of the street and quit causing such a commotion. It was a nice parade, a lovely procession of all those you helped, Jesus, but let's go home. Let's go home for Easter, because if you stay here we're going to have to live through Good Friday. Your beautiful, beautiful life will become a broken vessel. You will suffer and die. Your sacred head will be wounded, your heart with grief and shame weighed down. However, the Scriptures tell us that you "...did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but (that you) emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, (that you) ...humbled (yourself) and became obedient to the point of death--even death on a cross." (Philippians 2:6-8)
One of the last things you taught us, by word and by example, was that we were not to seek after authority and power but to be servants--slaves-- of all. And as if knowing that we would forever find this lesson difficult to learn, you paraded into Jerusalem on a donkey, for goodness sake, and then washed your own disciples' feet.
The prophet Zechariah knew about your parade; he wrote, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth." (Zechariah 9:9-10)
Your parade into Jerusalem--a satiric version of a war victor's parade--was a peace victor's parade. We like that. Peace is important to us. Peace is so important to us that we will kill for it. But are we, like you, prepared to die for it?