The ‘protest of all protests’ follow on from the triumphal entry to Jerusalem which was in fulfilment of Zechariah 9:9 as Jesus rode in on a donkey. There is the very graphic contrast to Pilate’s entry with great pomp and military presence coming in through the gate at the opposite side of the city, as he did annually. The might of Rome on display; time for all to honour the ‘peace’ and order the Empire brings. At the same time, at the opposite side of the city comes a humble miracle-working carpenter from the margins riding on a donkey. In fulfilment of Zechariah he comes as ‘king’! The contrast was great. Here is the wider text from Zechariah (vv. 8-17) with a few highlighted areas:
Then I will encamp at my house as a guard,
so that no one shall march to and fro;
no oppressor shall again overrun them,
for now I have seen with my own eyes.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
See, 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.
As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
today I declare that I will restore to you double.
For I have bent Judah as my bow;
I have made Ephraim its arrow.
I will arouse your sons, O Zion,
against your sons, O Greece,
and wield you like a warrior’s sword.
Then the Lord will appear over them,
and his arrow go forth like lightning;
the Lord God will sound the trumpet
and march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.
The Lord of hosts will protect them,
and they shall consume and conquer the slingers;
they shall drink their blood like wine
and be full like a bowl,
drenched like the corners of the altar.
On that day the Lord their God will save them,
for they are the flock of his people,
for like the jewels of a crown
they shall shine on his land.
For what goodness and beauty are his!
Grain shall make the young men flourish,
and new wine the young women.
Humble and riding on a donkey – the ‘king’ would come on a war horse when coming to conquer, but on a donkey when they came in peace. The people welcome Jesus, the prince of peace, at that gate crying out ‘Hosannah’ which literally means ‘save us’. Save us? We should not reduce this through a narrow evangelical lens, it is the cry for Messiah to come and for the true shalom to be in the land… as Zechariah says, protection, peace and a wonderful extent of shalom from ‘sea to sea’. Little wonder that those who were oppressed were the ones gathered at the gate crying out for salvation; a salvation that was not primarily about internal transformation but about societal and institutional change.
That entry could only lead to the Temple. Compromised and aligned to political and economic structures that promised well being to all who complied; Jesus made a whip and disturbed in no uncertain terms (turning the tables over was graphically disturbing) and told those who ‘sold doves’ that the system they were supporting and propagating had to end.
The den of robbers (and the prophets equated oppression of the poor to the taking of life / murder) was to fall; there had to be a house of prayer (God save us) for all nations (us = all).
Jesus did this all those years ago. Is he the same yesterday, today and forever?
2010-2020 is reported as the decade of protest with more people taking part in protest than any other time in history. Naomi Klien in her book ‘This Changes Everything’ (2014) suggests that protest has brought change to some social issues such as slavery and womens right to vote. Yet she says the underlying inequality and oppression that is finance and power has remained in place. (I haven’t had a chance to read more than the conclusion of my sons copy of ‘If We Burn’ by Vincent Bevins, but there seem to be some similar conclusions). Klein concludes that the current mix of climate, financial and political crises offers the chance to attend to the ‘unfinished work of liberation’. I don’t know what this looks like, I’m offering observation rather than much of a comment. I simply find that phrase alone to be hopeful and intriguing, the language crosses so many barriers, includes so many people, even if not everyone might describe liberation in the same way. It isn’t just (or sometimes even) church language, its real human currency and yes I believe the same Jesus shows the way.
Thanks Simon
Maybe for us all a healthy amount of observation is where we start. The implications for us in terms of protest we have to seriously consider. It has been easy – and a privilege – for Gayle and I to make protest (join protests) in Spain; the cost being minimal. I am also considering the very practical advice of Paul to the Romans to pay their taxes, when the taxation system in those years he wrote were unbelievably burdensome and unjust. Protest – yes… and what and how… Observation has to be a first significant element in aligning us rightly.
I have been also wondering if 2025 might see some levels of unprecedented protests.
For sure there is a protest that was planted in the soil some 2000 years ago.