There Is Work To Be Done

All four Gospel writers tell a story about Jesus entering Jerusalem just as the Passover celebration was beginning. The city was bustling with visitors. It was a special time of religious observation, but it was also a big social event as people came from all directions to visit the city. Roman soldiers patrolled the streets and demanded order, but it was known that Passover in Jerusalem held the potential for violence and insurrection. The occupying Roman army was a reminder to the Jerusalem population that they were not free, that ultimate authority belonged to the Emperor. Anything could happen in Jerusalem during Passover.

I’m interested, though, in what Jesus did just prior to that palm branch grand entry to the city. And so I asked each of the four Gospel writers and here’s what they said: Jesus healed two blind men as the last act before riding the donkey; that’s what Matthew reports. Mark disagrees, but only slightly. He tells us that Jesus healed the blind, but only one man. Then Luke really shifts the focus. He doesn’t know anything about blind men being healed just before Jesus entered The City, but he does tell us that Jesus taught the crowds an important lesson. He taught, Luke remembers, as the last thing before entering the city. So, it must have been something pretty important…like saving the best until last. In this case, perhaps the most urgent until last. And Luke doesn’t leave us guessing. “The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away.” Then follows the long story of ten servants being given varying amount of wealth to use while their master was away. Recap: the notion existed that when Jesus entered the city, the Kingdom of God would immediately appear and all the suffering and injustices of life would be corrected. But Jesus said “No”…there is work yet to be done. Finally, in John’s Gospel Jesus enters Jerusalem to shouts of welcome and palm branches laid on the roadway. Still fresh in peoples’ minds is the astonishing raising of Lazarus from the dead. Jesus calls Lazarus out of the tomb and orders bystanders to “unbind him and set him free.” The grave clothes were stripped away and Lazarus lived.

Two blind men? Or, one blind man? Or, story telling about using resources wisely? Or, a death to life demonstration? Four writers give four descriptions, and that’s not surprising given the years that passed between the earliest and the latest Gospels. But I think I will find the common thread like this: As long as we can, wherever we can, with whom we can…let’s be about giving life to people who are bound by circumstances beyond their control; let’s unbind the victims of life and set them free; let’s at least announce that new life is possible, even life beyond the reality we know now. And let’s use the gifts and resources given to us wisely, faithfully, and intentionally. There is work yet to be done. In the meantime, grab a palm branch and wave it for the world to see. He is passing by. He is always passing by.