Life is a journey, and we are Christ-followers. We also belong to a company of pilgrims that is walking together. We are walking in step with Christ, making sure we neither get ahead nor drag behind. Life has to be lived at walking pace, which ensures that we walk in company and that we notice more, learning as we go.

The four Gospels have spent the last few chapters describing the disciples’ walk with Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem. He has made them aware on a number of occasions during that journey that he has a date with destiny. He maintains his distance during the final part of that journey in order to commune with his Father and prepare himself for what lies ahead. As they approach Jerusalem, a spontaneous, public worship event takes place. Such an event gathers a diverse crowd and generates a great deal of excitement that raises concern for the Jewish authorities who are ever watchful of their Roman masters.

HOW INFORMED IS OUR WORSHIP?
Worship entails recollection, re-enactment and anticipation. This is especially the case during the Passover season when the nation celebrates the great miraculous deliverance from bondage in Egypt with the exodus, and anticipates a further deliverance from Roman bondage. The atmosphere is charged with great expectations. Yet great expectations need to be combined with patience and perseverance in the face of opposition and apparent devastating setbacks. Our expectations also need to be in line with Jesus’ revelations concerning the nature of his kingdom. True worship focuses on what Jesus is about, not on meeting our expectations that are often misguided and ill-informed. The fact that Jesus went on ahead of his disciples represents a quickening of pace. Events are moving rapidly towards a climax. The importance of the last week of Jesus is evident in all four Gospels, which dedicate between a quarter and a third of their entire narratives to Holy Week.

The last seventeen miles have been an exhausting uphill journey from Jericho, 800 ft. below sea level and the lowest point on the earth’s surface to the top of the Mount of Olives and then down into the Kidron Valley. The climb represented an assent of about 3,400 ft. Now Jesus and his disciples have arrived at Bethany, a village just two miles from their destination. This is the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus and so it likely that Jesus had made prior arrangements to borrow a colt for his entry into the city.

CELEBRATION
The crowds who lead the exclamations of praise are initially Jesus’ disciples according to Luke’s account. Luke is including more than the Twelve, ‘for the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen.’ The many additional disciples who had traveled from Galilee for the Feast of Passover swelled their numbers. For them their act of celebration was not an isolated event, but an outpouring of praise for the teaching of Jesus they had heard and his acts of healing and deliverance that they had witnessed. In addition, Jesus had performed miracles in Judea, including the raising of Lazarus and giving sight to blind Bartimeus.

Our worship is not simply an expression of religious exuberance, but is an appropriate response to the grand story of our redemption as it is revealed in the life and teaching of Jesus. When it fails to be rooted in that story our expectations are likely to become ill-informed and divorced from the realities of life.

EXPECTATION
The crowds praised God for these demonstrations of his power over disease and demons. They also recalled his miraculous provision of food for the multitudes and his stilling of the storm. They believed that king Jesus could exercise his powers in other ways to bring about the salvation of his people–including deliverance from their Roman oppressors and corrupt Jewish officials who served as their puppets. Jesus has indeed come to bring salvation to his people, but not according to popular expectation. He had come to bring reconciliation by his death and resurrection, not to instigate violent revolution. He has not come to fulfill our desires and expectations, but in accordance with his purposes for our lives in the larger context of the advancement of his kingdom in the world.

SETTING THE STAGE
There are three elements. One initiated by Jesus and the other two by the crowds in response to Jesus’ approach to the city.

–COLT: Jesus has taken the initiative by making prior arrangements to make clear the duel nature of his coming. He approaches the city mounted on a donkey like Kings David and Solomon before him. Yes, he comes as a king to establish a peaceful reign. The donkey symbolized peace in distinction to the war-horse. His action was also in fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy. “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech 9:9). The fact that the colt had not previously been ridden, meant that it was fit for sacred use. The donkey’s owner donates his animal in recognition of the Lord’s claim on it. Jesus coming in humility and peace sets a model for our witness to him in every age. Extravagance and prestige have no place in our approach to people in his name.

–CLOAKS: People gave their cloaks to serve as a saddle and also to provide a carpet to pave the way. This was a costly gesture as for many it would be their only outer garment. On the occasion when Jehu was announced as king the crowds did the same thing, symbolizing their complete submission in acknowledging him as king (2 Ki 9:13). It is one thing to do the flamboyant thing in offering our cloak; it is another to lay down our lives.

–CHORUS: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” The crowd is taking up a familiar cry from Psalm 118:26, that was used to acknowledge the arrival of the King leading the pilgrims to Jerusalem. This is a pilgrim song of victory, proclaiming a God who defeats his foes and establishes his kingdom. It is heady stuff! Their praise is uttered as a spontaneous outburst not orchestrated liturgical response. Jesus receives their acclaim knowing full well the limitations in their understanding. Now is not the time for explanation and correction. Likewise Jesus receives our praise despite its limitations and lack of understanding.

–CONSTERNATION:The Pharisees are alarmed by the praise offered by the crowd. The scenes they were witnessing of messianic praise represented political dynamite. They want Jesus’ to silence his disciples, fearing that the authorities will become aware and takes steps to intervene. They had to demonstrate to their Roman overlords they could deal with the situation before it got out of hand. Yet with the crowd in this mood they could not confront Jesus directly. These leaders were compromised, governed by self-interest and political expediency. They wanted to Jesus to intervene to shut them up, calm them down and persuade them to disperse quietly. But Jesus refuses to silence them. He will not back down, even though he is all too aware of their misguided expectations. On the other hand Jesus is not carried away by the adulation of the crowd. He does not wave his followers on to occupy the city. Instead he weeps over it, aware how Jerusalem has treated the prophets in the past.

The emotions of the moment must never blind us to the fact that the kingdom of God always advances in the teeth of opposition, especially when those people in power sense that their positions are being threatened. Our worship must always be grounded in reality rather than become an escapist denial.