Whom Do You See?

Matthew 21:1-11

I once had an art instructor who constantly reminded us that painting depends deeply on what you see—seeing deeply to catch the full character and content of one’s subject. 

That advice is perfect on Palm Sunday—do we see deeply enough to get what is happening and how what is happening transcends its own time and place to be fully as profound right here and right now as it was when it happened?

Or…let me put it more simply…whom do we see?

There is Jesus. He comes into town astride a donkey showered in the acclamations of the crowd until he gets to Jerusalem where voices of bewilderment, fear, and dismissal filter into the mix. Jesus is silent as he moves into the city. 

Jesus is silent.

He says nothing. He makes no claims. There is no sermon. What does his silence mean? 

It means that Jesus remains true to his core identity. He does not need outside affirmation to know who he is. He does not need the shouts of the crowd to boost his ego. He does not require anyone else to teach him who he is. He is himself—Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God. He knows himself. His silence tells us firmly and securely that Jesus is who Jesus is.

He does employ a prophetic symbol—the donkey, as Matthew tells us, was a sign from Zechariah about the coming savior. We would know him when he came upon the donkey—a humble mount that embodies the self-emptying, other-centered grace of the messiah. Jesus knows who he is. He accepts the mantle. He accepts all that comes with being who he is.

Such independence is rare in our time and place. Our leaders and officials are completely dependent on outside voices. No elected official does anything without first checking her poll numbers. So very few of our leaders can handle criticism from outside, defensively posturing and reacting to every perceived slight. They surround themselves with voices of nothing but praise and affirmation. 

And we are revealed as the insecure, fragile beings we are. We need Jesus. We need his independence because he will meet us freed from needing anything from us. He can offer himself freely and fully because he is free from our response or reaction. He can run counter to conventional wisdom and assumption because he is free from them. He can give voice to the forgotten because their weakness does not repel him, but draws him to them. 

Jesus is our savior because Jesus is free from us to be free for us.

The crowd seems to get that.

Palm Sunday happens because a whole host of “regular folk” from the Judean countryside hear in Jesus someone there for them. Watch them. They go slightly crazy, tearing off their clothes, ripping branches from the trees, and dancing, singing, and shouting their way toward Jerusalem.

What would make you do that? What would possibly lead you to join such a demonstration? 

Here, it is pure joy. They see, they hear, and they know—even if only for a moment—Jesus is their savior. He is who he is. There is hope. There is promise. There is possibility. All can be well and all manner of thing can be well. So, they celebrate like there’s no tomorrow. For them, the time is now!

Jerusalem misses the point entirely.

I want you to note something. This moment is not the first time Jerusalem missed the point. Back at Christmas, it happened again. Remember that story? The magi arrive, kind of like the crowd here, full of joy, wonder, and miracle. They also went slightly crazy, leaving their home in Persia to traipse across the desert to the backwater of Judea, following a light in the sky. They get to Jerusalem, and rather than finding a welcoming companion joy, they instead are coolly met with fear, doubt, and bewilderment. And today…it’s deja vu all over again!

Why?

Because Jerusalem’s power and authority are weak things. It has become self-serving. Its focus is only on its self-preservation. Any threat is terrifying. Any question as to its validity is subject to fierce reprisal. Insecurity breeds a fearsome swirl of overreaction. Remember the horrific outcome at Christmas—the murder of children. And today? Do you already see what’s coming? Good Friday is set in place way back here on Sunday. Actually, you could argue that it was set in place way back at Christmas. Jerusalem cannot see a savior, only a rival. Rivalries can turn bitter. Bitterness can breed strong reactions. Strong reactions often do not end well. This one ends in a cross.

So everything depends on how we see and what we see.

See Jesus for who he is. See Jesus on Jesus’ own terms. He does not come to aggrandize any human effort, cause, or belief. He comes to embody the will of God. That is all he comes for, and it is all he accomplishes, and that is more than enough. 

See also the crowds around us. There remains a hunger for salvation. There remains a thirst for hope. There remains a human longing for something more, something better, and for something that will bring hope to fruition. 

See also those false powers more than ready to give lip service to the wants of crowd, but who in actuality serve only themselves. They are dangerous. They are easily threatened. They will lash out in ways we cannot even begin to imagine.

Answer both with what you see in Christ.

Meet the crowds with compassion; meet the powers with grace. Meet the hungry with feeding; meeting the self-centered with love. Transform and transcend all that is through what we see in Jesus, the one who emptied himself to fill all others.

That is our call today.