Who's the Boss?

I have to confess that today’s message is meant to be for Palm Sunday but somehow I got the dates wrong and I ended up thinking that today April 6^th, 2014 is the day.

First of all I want to paint you a picture.

Take a look at this clip from a football match! I’m sure you are wondering what that’s all about? If you’ve ever been to a big match you will know it is very loud. Yes and vibrant and happy…when things are going well.  

London, Highbury Stadium, May 1st 1989 - Photo Bomber

In 1989 I stood in a crowd on the terraces at Arsenal. On May 1^st we were only three and a half weeks away from winning the title for the first time in eighteen years. When we scored, you could not stay in the same place…you are picked up and physically moved by the crowd uncontrollably in a big random circle dance. It can be very frightening the first time. But when the other team scores the atmosphere completely changes. There is no big circle dance. First there is silence. Then there is a lot of abuse. Of the referee of course, the other team naturally, but surprisingly even your own team. You wouldn’t even recognise it was the same crowd. A crowd can turn very quickly.

The next thing I’d like to do is look at these photos from June 14^th 1940, the day the Nazis marched into Paris. Famously Germany took France with barely a fight. In order for that to happen you need a betrayal from a collaborator at the highest level. What did you notice from the photos?

Nazis March into Paris June 14th 1940

The most striking thing is that the streets are virtually empty of people. The faces you see are of people arms folded, tears, anger. On such an unhappy day as that when an invader takes over your country there is no cheering. Just silence except for the sounds of the horses clip clopping down the Champs Elysees and the sound of marching feet. That’s it.

A military parade like that is all about showing who’s the boss. There is a display of power to send a message to the people – that there is a powerful authority in charge, one to fear. The bigger the display, the more authoritarian and dictatorial the government tends to be. Certainly Nazi Germany was like that. But even today you see them in countries like North Korea, China and Russia especially. As a citizen in those countries you know that it is impossible to step out of line. If you do you will be shot or run over by a tank. As at Tiananmen Square June 5th 1989 just one month after I was at the Arsenal match.

Tiananmen Square June 5th 1989

Paris August 26th 1944

Contrast that with this clip from the day Paris was liberated, August 26th 1944. Quite a difference isn’t it? Look at the happy crowds, what a wonderful day that was!

 


It’s April 6^th, 33 AD and it’s about a week before the Passover on April 14^th. There are large crowds coming to Jerusalem for the religious festival which lasts for the next week. 125,000 is estimated to be the number. Jerusalem normally has 25,000 so it’s going to be packed to the rafters. You know that large highly charged crowds tend to make authorities very nervous. Especially authoritarian dictatorial governments. High chance of terrorist activity. High chance of an assassination attempt. High chance of a coup if the people join in en masse.

You are Pontius Pilate and you were appointed Governor of Judea by Caesar in 27 AD and you know this place is a tinderbox. You cannot afford to lose control as you did once before. Your neck is on the line. So just before Passover every year you order a military parade to send a message to the large crowds just who is boss. The people don’t like it, there’s no cheering but it’s very effective at keeping them under control. There are also the occupied crucifixes just outside the city walls for the incoming crowds to walk by in case they missed the parade.

Now I want to set the scene just prior to Jesus going to Jerusalem. We can read in John 11:55-57; ^“55 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. ⁵⁶ They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?” ⁵⁷ But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.”

Up until now Jesus had been in the regions doing great miracles and was famous all over Galilee and Samaria but was lesser known in Jerusalem. The people coming to the Passover from out of town knew him well and they were excited asking amongst themselves “Is he coming?” You can imagine the excitement building as Jesus gets closer and closer to Jerusalem.

I was waiting 18 years for Arsenal to win the title. These people had been waiting 600 years for their Messiah and King.

Now a large crowd can make a make a very loud noise as you know. It is quite reasonable to guess that 50,000 people formed the crowd that chanted “Hail to the King!” as Jesus rode into Jerusalem. How loud is a crowd of 50,000 people? VERY LOUD! That sound like a football match is going to be heard very clearly by Pilate sitting in his palace and by Herod who is also there for the Passover and it’s going to raise their eyebrows and nearly make them choke on their grapes.

Matthew 21: 1 – 13

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

⁵ “Say to Daughter Zion,
    ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
    and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

¹¹ The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus sets out for Jerusalem on a Donkey 33AD

Jesus at the Temple

¹² Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ¹³ “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”

The very first thing that Jesus does is to go into the Temple, turn over the tables and drive out the merchants. With a 50,000 crowd of people supporting him, to the Authorities it’s going to look like he’s about to start a revolution and take over the City. Because they were afraid he would start a riot, from that moment they hatched their plot to kill Jesus. But they would have to be clever because of Jesus’ popularity.

It has always puzzled me why the Crowd that shouted Jesus is King on Palm Sunday shouted for him to be crucified just 5 days later. We know crowds are fickle but that was a polar shift.

I want to share what I discovered this week as I researched Palm Sunday that I think is very important to understanding what happened between Palm Sunday and “Good” Friday.

Impostor Kings

There had not been a Jewish King in Israel since the time of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians. King Zedekiah was the last king mentioned of the southern kingdom (586 BC). The last king mentioned of the northern kingdom was Hoshea (721 BC). Israel had been waiting nearly 600 years for their Messiah. Sometimes with God you have to wait a long time!

Do not be in any doubt who ruled Israel at the time of Christ. It was Caesar in Rome since 63 BC. And Caesar had three Roman Collaborators to ensure Rome ruled Israel with an iron fist!

1.     Herod Antipas – King of Galilee and Paraea

·         Appointed by Rome

·         Father Herod the Great, the Butcher of Bethlehem (37 BC – 0 AD and not a Jew)

2.     Pontius Pilate – The Governor of Judea from 27 AD

3.     Caiaphas the High Priest – appointed by Rome 18 AD

The most surprising discovery for me this week was that Caiaphas was appointed by Rome. Forget all the spiritual talk from Caiaphas about Jesus being a blasphemer deserving death. Caiaphas wanted Jesus dead because he himself was a Roman collaborator with a keen interest in maintaining the status quo.

Two Crowds

The answer to the question of why the crowd turned on Jesus within 5 days is that there were in fact Two Crowds;

•       The Palm Sunday Crowd

•       Disciples, Followers, Jerusalem Residents, Passover Visitors

•       Large but powerless

•       Shouted  Jesus is King

•       The Lynch Mob

•       Chief Priests, Jewish Officials, Judas, Temple Guards, Police

•       Small but powerful

•       Shouted for Jesus to be crucified

The Mob that arrested Jesus was the one shouting for Jesus to be crucified not the Palm Sunday Crowd.

Crucifixion Timeline
This becomes even clearer when you consider the Crucifixion Timeline which started on the first day of the Passover (Mark 14:12 Note: evening comes first in Jewish day). Therefore the ”evening of Passover Day” (John 13:1) is Thursday evening.

6pm – Last Supper

9pm – To the Mount of Olives

12am – Mob arrives sent by the Priests and Officials, betrayal and arrest of Jesus

3am – Trial with the High Priest Caiaphas

•       5am – Rooster Crows

6am – To Pilate (Mark 15: 1 “Early in the morning”)

•       Trial with Herod, Pilate hands over Jesus, flogging, carrying the cross

9am – Crucifixion (Mark 15:25)

12pm – Darkness (Mark 16:33)

3pm – Jesus dies (Mark 16:37)

6pm – Jesus buried (the following day is the Sabbath and Passover – John 19:31)

Jesus was arrested and on the Cross by 9am. That’s only 9 hours from when he was arrested. It was too late before anyone in Jerusalem knew it. Everything had to be done at night and very quickly before the crowds knew what was happening. The Mob that arrested Jesus, the one organised by the Religious Authorities, was the crowd calling for him to be crucified.

The One True King

I don’t want to finish today with the sadness of the Crucifixion because the Gospel is the Good News : ) Easter Sunday is coming in 2 weeks and we’ll celebrate Jesus victory on that day – our Liberation and VE Day.

We are regularly told that we live in the Free West. New Zealand, it was claimed this week is the most Liberated Country in the World.

Yet you can be living in a free country and not be free. If you had to put yourself in one of the two Parisien crowds I showed earlier, which would it be? Is your life one where you are captive or have you been liberated? Is your heart happy or sad?

The Amazing Gospel is that Jesus is the One True King. He is not an imposter.

1. Jesus is the true King from David’s line (Son of Man). He was rightfully entitled to the throne not Caesar as the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew explains.
2. Jesus is also Heaven’s King (Son of God).

The Authorities completely misunderstood when Jesus rode into Jerusalem. They thought he was coming to take over. When he turned over the Temple tables they thought he was going to start a Revolutionary Uprising. They were afraid and they murdered him for it.

But Jesus comes humbly and in PEACE. To ride into Jerusalem on a donkey was a message that he was coming in peace. To turn over the tables in the Temple was to show that the old religious system had failed and that he is the New Temple where the people can connect directly to God without the old religious practices.

Jesus wasn’t interested in earthly power of the kind we’re used to. Though he has every right there is, the surprising thing about Jesus is that he comes humbly to us offering peace.