Setting the City Astir: Matthew 21:1-11

"When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” 4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, 5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7 they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” 10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds were saying, 'This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.'"

I. The Entry

I wanted to entitle this essay "Hail to the King!" After all, that is what happens in the heart of our narrative today. Jesus' way is prepared for him, he sits on the donkey and colt (only Matthew has Jesus try to negotiate the trip into Jerusalem on two animals simultaneously!), and the crowds shout "hosanna" to him repeatedly (v. 9). Yet, the little-noted verse 10 really moves the story as it unfolds in chs. 21-28. The text says that the whole city was shaken. The verb used in v. 10 is eseisthe, and you can see behind it the notion of something "seismic" that is happening. The Greek word seismos means "earthquake." It is interesting that only Matthew, among the four Gospel writers, indicates that there was an earthquake when Jesus was crucified. That curious verse runs:

"At that moment (i.e., when Jesus breathed his last), the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split," (Matt. 27:51).

The same verb that appears in 21:10, eseisthe, appears in 27:51. Thus, the events surrounding Jesus' crucifixion were presaged by the "earthquake" in the hearts and minds of the people who witnessed Jesus' entry into Jerusalem.

The upshot of this is that Jesus didn't seem to mind if his appearance and action shook people up, as we say. But what I would like to do in the balance of this essay is to ask what it was about Jesus' entry that shook people up? Why are the people in turmoil? Though an argument can be made that Jesus' appearance triggered the anxiety because he was already known, I will argue here that it is also the symbolism of his action, both in riding the donkey and Matthew's use of Scripture, that shook people up.

II. Symbolism in Life and in Faith

The underlying point in Ernst Cassirer's massive four-volume Philosophy of Symbolic Forms, a neo-Kantian descent into mushland for most people, is that we live in an age of symbols. The "rational man" (his term) of an earlier period has now been replaced by the "symbolic man" of the 20th century. We are creatures who interpret, who bring to every encounter a series of concepts that we insert between the thing that actually is observed and our understanding of the event. This symbolic universe "in the middle" consists mostly in our concepts, our sensual nature, and our past experience. Thus, on the one level, all Jesus was doing in this passage was riding a donkey (or trying to ride a donkey and colt) into Jerusalem. But because the people of Israel were full of symbols swimming in their minds, they were able to see the event as much more than simply a trip on a donkey. In the apocalyptic sections of the prophecy of Zechariah we have a word of the Lord against Damaascus and then Tyre and then Ashkelon (Zech. 9:1-8). The Lord draws nearer and nearer to the people of Israel, with violent words and threateneing gestures. But then, upon arriving at Israel, the tone of the poetry changes. We have:

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey,
On a colt, the foal of a donkey" (9:9).

What will this king do?

"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 antions;
His dominion shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth."

This was part of the mental furniture of the people of Israel as they saw Jesus riding slowly into Jerusalem. Jesus had specifically played on that knowledge in challenging the people. Thus, he was "saying" through this silent action that a king comes, a king who would exercise wide dominion in the earth.

Lest we think that Jesus' act of symbolism is a unique or rare occurrence, we should be aware of how symbolism is all around us--giving us silent messages through its pictures, sounds, smells, or tastes. The Olympic Games are coming up in a few months. We see the rings, we see the flame of the eternal torch licking up against the night sky, and we are bold to entertain the thought that there may someday be the kind of spirit of unity which the interlocking rings represent.

But symbolism goes much deeper. Scholars who study the decline and collapse of communism now point not only to the failure of communism as an economic system, but its failure as a symbolic system. The symbols of brotherhood and joint effort, of sharing the wealth together and harmony just didn't seem to comport with the realities that people faced each day.

We don't have to go far in our world to see the effect of symbolism in national politics. Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister of Australia, within the last month issued the first official policy to the so-called "Stolen Generation" of Australian aborigines for the national policy of separating young Aborigines from their families and turning them over to state institutions to try to "integrate" them into Australian society. To some people the symbolism of that one apology was overwhelming. It reprsented the weight of the government admitting that what it had done for more than two generations was wrong, just plain wrong. The people were shaken, and now all eyes (or many eyes) are upon Australia to see if there will be some kinds of compensation or other forms of reparations in the offing.

What are symbols that have been influential with you? With your people? Can a symbol still shake people up? I think the last question is wrongly worded... Can anything other than a symbol really shake people up? Sometimes a word can, but a gesture, an act, a smell, a taste...all these contribute to the toppling of people's concepts.

III. A Word on the Scripture

This passage is bathed in Scripture. Scripture interprets the action itself and gives the people the words to say when Jesus rides before them. The first words, in Matt 21:5, quoting Zech. 9:9, however, conveniently leave out a line from that prophecy. The line? "Triumphant and victorious is he.." Why is that left out by Matthew? Perhaps the symbolism here is not only the ride of Jesus into the city, but the fact that the Scripture quoted is truncated. We may have a king, but we don't have a "triumphant and victorious" king. But what kind of king is it that isn't triumphant and victorious? If the appearance of Jesus on the donkey shook the people to their core 2000 years ago, then the absence of the "triumphant and victorious" king in the Scripture passage ought to shake us to our core. We are dealing here with a King who isn't triumphant and victorious, but is bruised, battered, rejected and crucified. Granted, he rises from the dead on Eastern morn, "Our triumphant holy day," but we still have yet to witness acts of the triumphant kingship that the passage in Zechariah promised. When will that come? That is both the promise and dilemma of faith. It isn't here yet, and it won't in fact be here this Easter season. But we are asking ourselves and our people to keep up the faith that someday that extra line from Zechariah will re-appear in our consciousness and in our reality.

Conclusion

That, friends, is what we pray for today. The symbolism is rich and almost overpowering, but one little line is missing. The mere presence of Jesus on the donkeys set the city astir. The absence of the words from Zechariah ought to set us astir. But that is just Jesus' way. He sets us all astir. Can we expect that it would be any different today?

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