The Ways Of Peace

Some people call it the triumphal entry. I don't know why! It never felt that way to me. Not how it turned out anyway.

Jesus had said, "John, we're going into Jerusalem today".
Of course I said, "You wanna go into Jerusalem?"
He glanced at me, "That's not what I said."
I shook my head.

We all knew that was madness. Things had been going downhill for weeks. The city would be heaving with people. I'd been to Jerusalem a couple of times before during Feast of Tabernacles, and you could hardly move.

Everybody singing that song. You know "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever." Personally, I think it's one of those songs that doesn't bear too much thinking about!

When they get to that bit ...

"All the nations surrounded me,
but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
yes, I cut them down, I cut them down.
They surrounded me on every side.
I cut them down. I cut them down."

But we didn't cut them down, did we? For centuries we've been singing the same old song.

We've been passed like unwanted rubbish from one empire to the next - Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, now the Romans.

If ever there's a people that should be cut down, it's them. I mean they are disgusting. Perverse. Corrupt. Arrogant. Godless. Abusive. They abuse our women. They abuse our children.

Their emperor is the worst. Have you heard about him? Thinks he's a god! He'll have anyone for his pleasure.

These people, this crowd around us, are thinking - this time we will cut them down. Because this man is something else. He absolutely is the Messiah from God. They're singing the song, and shouting the refrain "Hosanna".

It's not going to be like that though. I feel it in my bones. You see, I know Jesus. He's one of a kind. He turns your questions around and you find you understand why you should be asking something else. He turns things upside down, and you realise you've been looking at it wrong all your life. He says things that seem mad, and then after they settle in your mind, you can't understand why you would ever think any different.

And this is not going to end the way everybody thinks it is. I just know it.

You can't hardly see him! He should be up riding a horse, so everyone can see him. I mean, look what he's riding...

He told us to go fetch it in Bethphage. We found the house. Met the owner. He was rather surprised. He said, "You're taking the colt?!"
And we said, "The master needs it?"
"Oh yeah! Where you going?"
"Jerusalem."
"Jerusalem?! You won't be getting that colt to Jerusalem."

Well we unhitched the colt, but it wouldn't come. Wouldn't move. Just planted its feet and panicked.

The owner said, "He's not even three. He's never been saddled you know. Not even halter-led. There's only one way you're gonna get him to come."
"How?"
"Take the donkey. She's the mother. The colt'll follow."
So we took the donkey, and sure enough, the colt that didn't want to come, just followed.

We had to put our coats on it before Jesus could ride it. It's only a mile ride into the city, otherwise the colt wouldn't make it.

I said, "Jesus, why d'you wanna ride the colt?"

He said, "You'll see, John".

And as usual, within minutes word gets around that Jesus is on the move, and we've got easily fifty people following already. We're going up the mountain road towards Jerusalem on the other side. With the donkey leading, and Jesus on the colt following, and us and the crowd following on. After twenty minutes, the colt's slowing down, but we are near the ridge.

Then the donkey stops. So the colt stops. Jesus is just quiet, breathing hard and shaking his head. The crowd are hopping about wondering what's going on.

I can see Jesus doesn't want to carry on. The colt doesn't want to carry on. The donkey's just stood waiting.

Then Jesus just crosses his arms over the colt's head, and puts his head down. Looks like he's praying.

Peter and I exchange glances, both of us shrugging. But now He looks like He's finished. He doesn't say anything. Just lifts his head and the donkey sets off.

So there they are. The colt who didn't want to go, knows only to follow his parent.

Jesus turns around and looks at me.

Aah! So then I understand why Jesus is on the colt.

Well anyway, we are just coming up to the top of Olivet Mountain, it's two and a half thousand feet and it's always the same, suddenly over the ridge, you can see the entire city spread out below you. It's the only place where you have this amazing view of the Temple Mount 250 feet below you. And it just looks incredible.

His shoulders start shaking. And I can see that, even from twenty feet away, he's falling apart. He leans forward and bows his head. I can see he's praying. He's pleading. He's weeping.

I'm not surprised. He is exhausted you know. He's up half the night praying. Then all day chased from pillar to post by people who just won't let him be. He'll say, that's it for the day, I'm tired now. Then five more people will show up. And he'll teach them and he'll heal them. Sometimes I wake up at night, and I can hear him still talking to someone else.

Well, we're waiting and waiting. The crowd are getting restless. They've got Jerusalem in their sights now. They've put coats on the road ahead, and they are cutting palm branches to wave.

And they've started singing that Psalm 118 song again.

And then I remember how it finishes. Maybe you don't know?

All that "Hosanna" stuff, and "we cut them down" and "blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord". But then it goes ...

"With boughs in hand we go,
come join the festal procession,
up to the horns of the altar we go,
up to the horns of the altar."

You see, we sing it as we bring the sacrifice to the altar.

And then I recalled all that Jesus had said for weeks now about having to suffer and die. And it was all to do with sacrifice! Loads of things started to click together into this horrific picture in my mind. He was called "the lamb of God" wasn't he?
And loads of his stories had been about the son being murdered. And he'd kept saying that if you want to live, you have to die. And it was just spinning around in my head.

But then suddenly Jesus straightens up. He's understood something. He wipes his face, then looks around. Then he looks directly at the city and says,

"If only you could have known, even today, what things make for peace! But you just can't see them. The day will come when there is no escape. They'll surround you, they'll hem you in, and they'll cut you down. You. Your children. Your houses. Your walls. Not one stone will be left on top of another. All because you did not know the time of this visitation."

And suddenly, to my worst nightmare of what could happen this week to Jesus - the lamb - and to us, is added the vision of the total destruction of Jerusalem - presumably by the Romans. Oh, they'll do it. We Jews have always been trouble to the Romans.

I don't know when, but they'll cut us down, for sure.

A whole world of trouble! And all because we don't know, and our enemies don't know, it seems no-one knows the things that make for peace.