INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURES

Year C - Sixth Sunday of Lent – Liturgy of the Palms

The Revised Common Lectionary includes the first two lessons of the celebration focusing on the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. If preferred, the celebration may be centred on the Passion of Christ using the second set of lessons:

PSALM 118:1-2, 19-29.  This psalm attributed some unidentified victory to Yahweh rather than to Israel's military prowess. The use of the first person singular probably indicates that the person concerned may have been a king or high priest as representative of the whole nation. At some later   date,   along with Pss. 113-117, it was adapted for liturgical use as one of    "The Hallel" sung at one of the great festivals.

LUKE 19:28-40.    According to Luke, following Mark's earlier Gospel, Jesus had planned his entry into Jerusalem by warning the owner of the colt that he would need the beast for this occasion. That the colt had never been ridden emphasized the aura of the incident Jesus' intended to create. The donkey was regarded as a peaceful beast willingly serving its master, thus creating an image of a servant rather than a conquering king. Matthew elaborated the story to include two animals as in a messianic prophecy from Zechariah 9:9-10.

Jesus himself took no part in the celebration. Instead, he rebuked  the Pharisees who complained about the crowd of disciples displaying their joyous expectations.

A MORE COMPLETE ANALYSIS.

LITURGY OF THE PALMS.

PSALM 118:1-2, 19-29.   This psalm may have been sung originally as an individual  hymn of thanksgiving, but quickly became a congregational hymn used to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. One of the six psalms of the Hallel (Pss. 113-118), pilgrims sang it as they approached the temple on this and other high holidays. It is yet another of the Psalms given a messianic interpretation by the Apostolic Church. Several NT passages alluded to it. 

The person who originally sang this hymn (the “I” of the text) may have been the king or high priest, but it soon was reinterpreted as the personification of the nation and sung antiphonally with several parties singing allotted parts.

The “gates of righteousness” (vs. 19) referred to the massive gates at the entrance of the temple precincts representing the holy presence of Yahweh at the centre of the nation. The words would have been sung by the priest at the head of the procession of pilgrims.

Although its use in Christian scriptures invariably refers to Jesus, “the stone which the builders rejected …” (vs. 22) may have come from an old Hebrew proverb. It may have referred to a stone that was too large to be used anywhere but as a cornerstone anchoring a whole wall of a building. Today, most public buildings like churches have a ceremonial “cornerstone” marking the date it dedication and naming the architect who designed it. The psalmist used it to point out that Israel, though despised by the Gentile world, had become an honourable and beloved people in Yahweh’s sight.

The day of rejoicing in vs. 24 is the day of the festival, but is not specifically identified. This may well be the Feast of Tabernacles, for in vs. 27 the festal procession to decorate “the horns of the altar” probably best fits with that festival. The horns were protrusions at each corner of the altar possibly created for just such a decorative purpose or on which the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled (cf. Lev. 4:7).

Vss. 28 and 29 given what appears to be a double ending to the psalm. More likely, vs. 28 is the original ending for the individual hymn of thanksgiving, while vs. 29 is the  ending to the congregation hymn. Alternatively, the first is sung by the celebrant priest while the second is the antiphony sung by the congregation.

LUKE 19:28-40. Those who have visited Jerusalem may have walked the same path that Jesus took from Bethany and Bethphage on the eastern side of the Mount of Olives over the ridge and down the western slope toward the city gates. It is no more than two miles (three kilometres), if that. Presumably the village Jesus indicated was Bethany where he later seems to have made his headquarters during  his Passion  Week.

According to Luke, following Mark's earlier Gospel, Jesus had planned his entry into Jerusalem by warning the owner of the colt that he would need the beast for this occasion. Was it at the home of Lazarus, Martha and Mary in Bethany, that he had arranged for the colt? That the colt had never been ridden emphasized the aura of the incident Jesus' intended to create by acting out the Old Testament prophecy from Zechariah 9:9-10. The donkey was regarded as a peaceful beast willingly serving its master, thus creating an image of a servant rather than a conquering king. Matthew elaborated the story to include two animals as in the prophecy. By choosing the lowly beast of burden Jesus sought to allay the nationalistic feelings the prophecy engendered.

The disciples began the celebratory procession by throwing their cloaks on the colt and setting Jesus upon it. Quickly joining the celebration, people began strewing their cloaks on the path as he rode along. Note that Luke makes no mention of branches being strewn in the way, neither from palm or any other trees as in Mark and Matthew. Palm branches were used in traditional Jewish celebrations of the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:40; Neh. 8:15.) but not Passover.  The palm was an almost universally sacred symbol throughout the ancient Near East. In pre-Christian times it was a symbol of victory and was used in that sense in John 12: 13 and Revelation 7:12.

As the procession moved down the Mount of Olives, a whole multitude of disciples began to praise God. Presumably these were Galileans who had come for the Passover festival and now recognized Jesus whose miraculous deeds they had been witnessing for some time. Luke’s version of their song differs from the one recorded in Mark because he chose words from Ps. 118:26. Originally they were sung by the high priest welcoming pilgrims to the temple. Luke included the word “king” to signal that the crowds believed they were participating in the coronation procession of the Messiah.

Jesus himself took no part in the celebration. Instead, he rebuked  the Pharisees who complained about the crowd of disciples displaying their joyous expectations. His words appear to show that he shared the disciples’ messianic convictions, at least in Luke’s mind.

Preaching Points:

(In future this analysis of the lections will attempt to provide some additional “sermon starters.”)

How can the celebration of Palm Sunday be made truly celebratory? The Gospel lesson is so well known that is may seem impossible to make it “hearable.” Why not use the Psalm as the basis for the sermon? Try emphasizing the cornerstone text (Ps. 118:22). What is the cornerstone of our faith? Does having our faith rejected, sometimes even by our spouse or children, diminish or strengthen it? How can we celebrate that?

LITURGY OF THE PASSION.

ISAIAH 50:4-9A.     The unnamed prophet of Israel's Babylonian exile whose poetry is included in Isaiah 40-55 describes the response of persecuted people to their suffering. The longer poem (vss.1-11), from which      this reading is an excerpt, portrays the exile as the result of the nation's sin against God (vs.1). The prophet-poet uses this reflection as a teaching    moment. Though written in the 6th century BC, the poem was seen by the    early Christian church as a prophecy of Jesus' wholly unjust trial and    execution.

PSALM 31:9-16.     Again the Christian church has interpreted this psalm        with reference to the Passion of Christ. Orignally it was a lament and plea for    God's protection from persecution by false accusers. Though not in this    reading, vs. 5 of this psalm  was uttered by Jesus on the cross: "Into your    hand I commit my spirit." (Luke 23:46) 

PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11.   Paul may have found this hymn in use in one of the congregations he visited, or he may have created it himself. Note that while it does equate Jesus with God (vs. 6,) Jesus did not exploit that honour. Rather, it emphasizes his humanity, his death obedient to God's will, and his exaltation so that he may be worshiped as Lord of all.

LUKE 22:14-23:56.     It is not intended that the whole story of the Passion should be read during public worship, though this is often done in a special, extended service accompanied by  musical selections and hymns. It could be used for personal devotions, however, throughout Holy Week.

Note how as the story progresses many people come and go, each having contact with Jesus in one way or another. In the end, Jesus is alone in death, commits himself into God's keeping, and is buried in a unused tomb. Despite its apparent gloom, the story nonetheless has a deep sense of worship about it.

A MORE COMPLETE ANALYSIS.

ISAIAH 50:4-9A.     We tend to select only excerpts of OT passages with reference to our Christian liturgical themes and seasons. This passage is yet another example of that kind of adaptation. We need to understand both the setting and significance of the original which was never  intended to prophesy the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

The unnamed prophet of Israel's Babylonian exile whose poetry is included in Isaiah 40-55 describes the response of persecuted people to their suffering. Chapter 50:1-11 is a poem of four strophes (or stanzas: vss. 1-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-11). It portrays the exile as the result of the nation's sin against Yahweh's covenant  (vs.1) and contrasts this with Yahweh's faithfulness and that of the servant of Yahweh who suffers for his loyalty. Though written in the 6th century BC, the poem was seen by the early Christian church as a prophecy of Jesus' faithfulness throughout his trial and unjust conviction and death on the cross.

The early church had only the Jewish scriptures from which to discover the relationship between the life, death and resurrection of Jesus to which they were witnesses and the purposes of God as revealed in the historical and religious traditions of Israel. It is not surprising, therefore, that the apostolic community made some unusual connections between various passages and their experience of the crucified and risen Christ. The obedient, faithful and persecuted servant of this passage gave them exceptional insight into the sufferings of Christ and their own sufferings under persecution in subsequent years.

It is hypothesized by redaction critics of the NT that instead of being actual accounts of what happened, the various versions of the Passion story were created, each from a different theological perspective, for very different audiences, and as expositions of relevant OT passages such as this one. Mel Gibson’s controversial movie, The Passion of Jesus the Christ, while drawing on all four gospels, has given a mediaeval interpretation to those sufferings more in keeping with Isaiah 52:13-53:12. While the NT does contain some reference to the great suffering and shame caused by  crucifixion, as in Hebrews 12:3, that is not its main emphasis. As Otto Piper, formerly of Princeton Seminary, put it, "While in the OT the believer becomes so occupied with his own suffering that he seems to lose sight of the rest of the world, the follower of Christ feels as a result of his suffering a deep compassion for the sufferings of others." (Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible. IV, 453.)

This prophecy puts greater emphasis on the trust of the persecuted one in Yahweh in order to encourage fellow sufferers. Physical violence plays a limited role in the action (vs. 6). Rather, this is a teaching moment (vs. 4) when the suffering servant is certain of his innocence and of Yahweh's vindication. He also envisions an end to the persecution (vss. 8-9). It is this victory over suffering through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ which becomes a central theme of the NT.

PSALM 31:9-16.     Again the Christian church has interpreted this lament and plea for God's protection from persecution by false accusers with reference to the Passion of Christ. According to W. Stewart McCullough in The Interpreter's Bible,IV, 158ff, the psalm in its entirety consists of three laments woven together (vss. 1-8; 9-12; 13-18) and concluding with a hymn of thanksgiving (vss.19-24). This selection includes only the middle segments. Its two parts consist of the cry of someone who is suffering from some undefined illness (vss. 9-12) and of someone menaced by false accusations. The parallel with the Passion story is obvious, especially in vss.11-13. One could easily imagine Jesus reciting the prayer in vss. 14-16 as he stood silently before his accuser and bore the cross along the Via Dolorosa.

Or was it only in the imagination of later generations of Christians to magnify events along Via Dolorosa so that these became precious to the faithful in "the Stations of the Cross?" All four gospels have very little to say about the journey from Pilate's seat of judgment to the place where the crucifixion actually occurred. Only the incidents about Simon of Cyrene being compelled to carry the cross and the wailing of the women of Jerusalem appear in the gospel narratives.    

Though not in this reading, vs. 5 of this psalm was uttered by Jesus on the cross according to Luke’s narrataive: "Into your hand I commit my spirit." (Luke 23:46) This gives further evidence of how the early church searched their Hebrew scriptures to better understand and communicate the Gospel.

PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11.   This is an early Christian hymn outlining the essential creed of the early church. In a few well chosen words it recites the whole sequence of the Incarnation, ministry, crucifixion, resurrection and exaltation of Jesus as described in the gospel records. But Paul had not read any of the gospel narratives which were all written after his own death. He knew only what the first apostles had proclaimed or had taught him after his conversion. It may be that he found this hymn in use in one of the congregations he visited, or he may have created it himself.

In NSRV the passage appears as poetry with some aspects of parallelism, one of the characteristics of Hebrew poetry. William Barclay noted that it may well be an elaboration of 2 Corinthians 8:9 "For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich."

Note that it does seem to equate Jesus with God (vs. 6). Yet Barclay examined the original Greek more closely, as did E.F. Scott in The Interpreter's Bible XI, 48ff. Barclay came to the conclusion that this verse does express the "innate,  unchangeable, unalterable characteristics and ability of the man.... So Paul begins by saying that Jesus was essentially, unalterably, and unchangeable God."

If it is easily accessible, Barclay's exegesis of this passage in his Daily Bible Readings Series, The Letter to the Philippians, Colossians and Philemon, is well worth examining in detail. In particular, his definition of the two Greek words for "form" - morph‚ and schema - is helpful in understanding what he believes Paul claimed as the essential divine nature of the human Jesus: "The morph‚ (the word Paul uses) never changes .... However Jesus' outward schema might alter, he remained in essence and in being divine."

The humiliation of Jesus as a servant (again the word is morph‚) emphasizes his humanity and his death obedient to God's will. This humiliation leads to his exaltation so that he may be worshiped as Lord of all. The seven week Season of Easter, from the Resurrection to Pentecost, celebrates this exaltation.

LUKE 22:14-23:56.     It is not intended that  the whole story of the Passion should be read during public worship, though this has been done in a special, extended service accompanied by musical selections and hymns. Which segment should be used as the Gospel lesson for worship on Passion Sunday is a matter of considerable choice. The whole passage could be used for personal devotions, however, throughout Holy Week. A liturgy of the palms would have to look to Luke 19:28-40 as an alternative reading.

Note how as the story progresses that many people come and go, each having contact with Jesus in one way or another, and some role to play in the drama. The first to leave are those closest to him, Peter being that last. They were followed by his most hostile opponents, the chief priests and scribes when they delivered him to Pilate. Then Pilate himself gave up trying to administer justice and gave in to political expedience.

Quickly thereafter came Simon the Cyrene who carried the cross, the weeping women of Jerusalem, the two other criminals, the Roman centurion, and finally the crowds. In the end, Jesus commits himself into God's keeping, and dies alone to be buried in an unused tomb.

In Jerusalem today, two sites are shown to tourists as probable locations of the place of crucifixion and burial. Without question, the site where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre stands is the more elaborate and traditional in Christian lore. Only since the late 19th century has the site of the Garden Tomb been favourably regarded as an alternate location.  The truth is that the actual place of Jesus' death and resurrection are forever lost. The four Gospels each give a different version of the Passion story based on their differing theological standpoint and intentions as authors writing for very disparate communities.

A television documentary broadcast during the week of March 4, 2007 on the Discovery Channel in the USA and Visions in Canada presented a controversial discovery of ten stone burial ossuaries containing bones and three skulls had been located some years ago in a tomb in Jerusalem. The boxes were inscribed with the names of Jesus, Miriam (Mary), Miriamne (Mary Magdalene), and several others, presumed to be members of Jesus’ family. The documentary also claims that DNA has been found on two of the ossuaries which are not related – those of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. This suggests that Jesus and Mary Magdalene may have been married. Church authorities, theologians and archeologists all discounted the validity of this discovery. As with Gibson’s portrayal of the crucifixion, it is clear that the interpreter's own theology determines which site or what objects are acceptable as a places or relics to inspire devotion and to be appropriately venerated. It was so also for the authors of the four Gospel narratives.

Luke's version is not so much the climax to his Gospel as it is "a major turning point in salvation history, inaugurating the new period of the church and its universal mission. This period would be covered by the book of Acts." (Reginald H. Fuller in The Oxford Companion to the Bible, 365. In other words, for Luke, the Passion story is only the middle, not the ending of what Jesus came to do. And so it is for us, despite the sometimes brutal concentration of attention on the crucifixion as in Gibson's movie of Jesus' twelve last hours.

Preaching Points.

Most people in the congregation this Sunday will not likely be at any midweek, Maundy Thursday or Good Friday services. For them the crucial homiletic opportunity is on Palm or Passion Sunday. How to make best use of this opportunity presents some difficulty in choosing the best text and theme for this liturgy and sermon. It cannot all be done at once. It might best to review the themes used throughout Lent and bring them toward a natural conclusion. This will not come this Sunday, of course, but on Easter when we celebration the Resurrection of our Lord.

 Any one of the personalities appearing the Passion narrative may be used as the focal point of a sermon. Arguing the pro’s and con’s of the narrative itself is not advisable. This is a time for belief, not lifting up questions of doubt. But the true meaning of the word “belief” is not credulously accepting the literal details of the narrative, or any specific sacrificial or salvationist theology, as the final word on why Jesus died.

To believe means to discover what we mean by the love that compelled Jesus of Nazareth, Messiah/Christ and Son of God, to accept his own death by cruel execution. Does he love me that much? How then should I love him and show his compassion for those whom he calls my neighbours?

In a recently published work Craig Evans and N.T. Wright have suggested that the gospel accounts describe with reasonable accuracy the execution practice of the Romans and the burial practices of the Jews. [Jesus, the Final Days: What Really Happened (Westminster John Knox, 2009)] While the crucifixion emphasized the terror of experience for victims and witnesses alike, the burial was designed to comfort the mourners that the end of life had come without any hope of life beyond death. So the story is unfinished.

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