Palm Sunday: The Triumphal Entry

the Church should react. They have varied widely from complete non-involvement to active participation to revolutionary zeal. What does the Bible say? Generally speaking, God ordained the Church to rule in the spiritual realm and He ordained government to rule in the secular realm. As a result, the Christian lives in two kingdoms at the same time.

Jesus taught that good and evil would prosper side by side until He comes to establish His earthly Kingdom (Matthew 13:30). Until then, we need to be politically involved as Christians, while not expecting our political activity to bring in the lasting reign of peace and righteousness that only Christ will bring.

There certainly are dangers from political involvement for Christians, but I believe that there are greater dangers from political passivity. The key here for the Church is balance. We must avoid the opposite extremes of either a political religion or a private religion. Ours is to be a prophetic religion! Our highest calling is preaching the Gospel (1 Corinthians 9:16; 2 Timothy 4:2).

The greatest thing we can do as Christians to positively influence our government is to be true to this high calling. We must be more concerned with what we owe the government than what the government owes us. We are to do those things that the Bible clearly commands us to do: show respect and submission, pay our taxes, preach and live prophetically, and pray for all in authority.

There are, however, clear limits to our obedience. Ours can never be a blind, absolute, unquestioning submission. We must do what is morally right even if it is legally wrong. When the Church is existing in either a secular or totalitarian State, it must never legitimize tyranny and injustice.

There are at least six commitments that I believe God is calling His Church to recommit Herself to: reconciliation, community, servanthood, family, stewardship, and integrity. When we as Christians incarnate these principles before a watching world, I believe that the impact will shake governments and nations.

19

Palm Sunday—Sunday before Easter

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9

It was Passover time: the highest and most holy week of the Jewish year. Jerusalem was crowded with a huge influx of Jewish pilgrims. There was great joy, excitement, anticipation, celebration, and religious expectation. Jesus could not have picked a more dramatic moment to enter Jerusalem.

It was the great desire of every Jew to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover at least once in their lifetime. The Passover reminded them of the lamb that was slain and the blood that was put on the doorpost that caused the angel of judgment and death to “pass over” the Hebrew people when the Lord slew the firstborn of the Egyptians.

It is significant to see the very specific claim Jesus was making in riding a donkey into the city! It was not just some capricious act of the moment, an interesting little demonstration, or a religious act on a whim. No, it was a specific, calculated act to demonstrate unmistakably who He was—the promised Messiah! This was a direct fulfillment of the verse above from Zechariah 9:9.

Isn’t it amazing how the Lord Jesus always chose simple things? He chose a borrowed stable to be born in, a borrowed boat to ride in and teach from, a borrowed tomb to be buried in, and, in this case, a borrowed donkey to ride on!

When a king came riding into a city on a donkey, it was a symbol that he was coming in peace, not in war. The horse was the mount of war. So when Jesus rode a donkey in on Palm Sunday, He was in effect saying, “I am coming to you, Jerusalem, City of Peace, not in

20