It is always a great thrill to
visit one of the great cities of the world and to immerse yourself in its life
even for a short time. Sadly the
shadow of terrorism has fallen over many.
Paris, London, Moscow and now Stockholm have all suffered and the ‘threat
level’, the possibility of further terrorist action remains high. The police and other security agencies
are preparing for the worst.
It may seem a big leap of
imagination to make a connection between these modern cities and the ancient
city of Jerusalem in the first century.
But there was one particular time of the year when the Roman invaders
prepared for the worst. This was
in the season of Passover when the people of Israel celebrated their liberation
from slavery in Egypt under their great leader Moses. By some estimates the
population of Jerusalem quadrupled as Jews from all over the Ancient Near East gathered
in their holy city for this special season. It was a time when resentment against the Romans was at its
highest and nationalistic feelings ran high.
Add to this the appearance of a
preacher from Nazareth who some people were claiming was the Messiah, the
promised King of Israel, who would lead his people from oppression and
establish them as the supreme power in the world. His entry into the city was greeted by cheering and
the waving of palm branches. For
the Romans the ‘threat level’ went up a notch or two.
But then a strange thing
happened. This preacher made no
denunciations against the Romans.
If there was any finger-pointing on that day or on following days it was
towards his own people. He wept
over Jerusalem and called it ‘the city that killed the prophets’. He entered the Temple, the nerve centre
of Jewish spirituality, and called it ‘a den of robbers’. He delivered teaching whose emphasis
was the judgement that was soon to fall on Israel for her unfaithfulness and
the need for repentance. The
message was clear. Israel’s need
was not political but spiritual.
Kick the Romans out of Israel and the nation still had a problem. She had grown distant from God and
needed to return.
Five days after Jesus’ entry into
Jerusalem he died on a cross. The
expectations of his people that he would be their political liberator had not
been met. But Jesus’ followers
came to understand that this death made it possible for a deeper liberation to
take place. Jesus himself
had said that he would give his life as ‘a ransom for many’. He would pay the price for the
world’s sin and make forgiveness and renewal possible for the whole of
humankind. It is this
spiritual revolution, happening in the hearts of men and women, that will lower
the ‘threat level’ in our world and bring in the Kingdom of Jesus where
compassion, justice and peace rule over all.
