About a Revolution

Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
“Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.”
- John 12:14-15

We’re talkin’ ‘bout a revolution today. The primary expectation that the crowds would have had for Jesus as they welcomed him into Jerusalem would have been that he was poised to overthrow the Roman oppressors.

Where would this revolutionary expectations have come from?

In their history they would have had the stories of the Maccabean revolt. A Jewish father and his five sons led a small guerrilla army against the Roman forces and, for a time, liberated Jerusalem. The courage of the guerillas and God’s favor on their efforts would have shaped the imaginations of every revolutionary who followed for the next three centuries.

In fact, revolutionaries filled the landscape of the era in which Jesus lived. Even some of Jesus’ own disciples would have been considered members of revolutionary political parties: the Zealots (Simon the Zealot) and the Sicarii (Judas Iscariot). Within a few decades of Jesus’ death the Jewish rebels would capture the fortress stronghold of Masada in a last-ditch effort to cast off the Romans, an effort that dramatically failed.

As if all this wasn’t enough, the crowds would have also heard scripture after scripture prophesying that God would send a king to them to liberate them from their bondage. The text quoted in today’s passage echoes a prophesy from Zechariah which goes on to picture this king going to war and bringing peace through violence.

Jesus would disappoint all of these expectations. He wouldn’t bring peace through violence; at least, not through violence at his hand. Ultimately, any peace won through violence can be threatened through violence.

Jesus’ revolution wasn’t a revolution of violence; it was a revolution of love. Jesus wouldn’t rule and reign as a king by virtue of his military power. His power was of a different kind altogether.

Many of us long for God to show up and lead a revolution in the world. We want things to change, to be different, to be better. Our activist impulse propels us forward. We can be disappointed when God’s confrontation with the powers of this world takes on a gentle, compassionate and tender shape.

We must remember that Jesus’ revolution is marked by Jesus’ character. His love, patience, compassion, and mercy will come stamped on his every action. He’s delightfully and maddeningly consistent.

How do you think love marks the revolution being led by Jesus? How can our embodiment of Jesus’ love change the world?

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