Only a
little imagination is needed to picture the crowds welcoming Jesus into
Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday. We have seen enough parades and
festivals to put faces into the crowd, branches waving in the air, and all the
noise that would make some of the Pharisees demand Jesus tell his disciples to
quiet down. (Luke 19:39-40) The heralded prophet from Galilee had come to the
center of Jewish power. The country folks had their hero.
Mat
21:8-9 A large crowd of people spread their cloaks on the road while others cut
branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds walking in
front of Jesus and those walking behind began to shout, "Praise to David's
Son! God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise be to God!"
Things changed
in less than a week. The crowds that created so much noise would be gone. The
joyful cheers from the crowd were replaced with cries for a death sentence, a
Roman crucifixion. Instead of palm branches being raised, angry fists were
shaken in the face of the man who had so recently taught and fed thousands.
We are left
wondering what happened to all the flag wavers. They were so certain about whom
they followed. They gave him royal and messianic names such as “”Son of David”,
“prophet”, “he who comes in the name of the Lord”, “the King”, and “the King of
Israel”. They waved palm branches before him and laid them on the road ahead of
him. They laid their cloaks before the one they saw as their rightful king.
They were
flag wavers. They were caught up in the emotion of the moment. They remembered
all the good times, the miracles, the heart-touching words spoken in open
fields and crowded rooms. They were cheering on their hero who would set all
things right. They were on his side – as long as he did things their way.
Then came
the week of verbal jousting with the temple rulers. There was the Temple
cleansing. Jesus told stories of the choices that would have to be made,
sacrifices that were coming to all who followed him. The cloaks lay torn by the
trampling of the mob. The palm leaves turned brown and then into dust. As
surely as the dust was blown away by the wind, the welcoming, flag waving crowd
disappeared. Their dreams for their kind of messiah were once more disappointed.
We are in
the midst of March Madness. College basketball teams are seeing their last
chance to achieve national acclaim. Sixty-four teams began the tournament. Now
only sixteen remain. Forty-eight teams have seen their flag wavers
disappointed. Some may have been glad just to get as far as they did, but all
would like to have won. When it is over, only one set of flag wavers will still
be standing.
What will
all the others think? Yes, some will be proud their team got invited to the
tournament. Others will be proud their team won more than one game. Many will
just be glad they had a chance to go see some of the best basketball teams in
the nation play a game they love so much.
There will
be many who will go home disappointed. They cheered their team all season
hoping for the best. Their team looked so good. They had such a great record.
Instead of looking so good here at the end, they did not meet expectations.
They didn’t come through the way all their fans had anticipated. They lost when
so many were hoping for victory, just like the crowds who had waved their palm
branches on Palm Sunday.
Flag wavers
can be loyal followers. They can also be fickle. Give me success and I’ll
follow you anywhere. Disappoint my expectations and I’ll drive nails through
your hands. Jesus wants those who walk with him into Jerusalem also to walk
with him to Calvary. Our flags must bear the symbol of the cross. Victory has a
different meaning in the Kingdom of God.
