The Way of the Cross: Through Jericho, to Jerusalem, and Beyond
by Ken Wilson
Gospels written as teaching documents for growing Jesus movement. Each gospel has it's special emphasis. Luke's emphasis: reaching beyond the "bounded set" to the Gentiles, and the scorned of Israel. (Reflecting Paul's mission to Gentiles.)
Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem is part of a pilgrimage he is making with thousands of other pilgrims from many points of origin. Jesus-disciples coming from North: "Galilee of Gentiles" Final route runs thru Jericho, lowest point on earth, over dusty-narrow roads steadily uphill, then steep climb to two small villages, Bethphage & Bethany, on summit of Mount Olives, spectacular view overlooking Jerusalem. Singing Songs of Ascent, "come, let us go up"
Passover, the exodus from slavery in Egypt, launching Israel on her way Promised Land. The story of Israel is in these places--each place a reminder of a communal past. Jericho was first stop in Promised Land where Joshua sent spies assisted by Rahab, a Gentile prostitute.
Jesus [new Joshua] entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.Luke 19: 1-4)
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.' So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, 'He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.' (Lk 19: 5-7)
Jesus does it again: Confers high honor of table fellowship to some-one outside Israel's bounded set. Every meal a sacramental event for Jews. Kids like Z. (short-enthusiastic) but he had a dark side: ripping off his own people as tax collector (Roman tax burden crushing.)
Everyone has their mad on except Jesus & Zacchaeus. Jesus delighted to see Zachaeus when no one else is--calls out to him like one of his sinner buddies might! Offers welcome without pre-conditions. Are you catching that? Welcome to table fellowship without pre-conditions.
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (Lk. 19: 8-10)
What an impact this extravagant kingdom welcome has! Z offers not a cheap apology ("Sorry if I offended…") but to right the wrong. [12 Steps, admit, make amends.]
What's missing? Guilt & shame expected with repentance. Religion is great at grinding up guilt meter. But can religion light fuse of party-repentance? GLAD do-something real repentance instead of FEEL BAD do-nothing fake repentance?
Z has known all along it's wrong--he just didn't have a reason to make it right! New dad, smoking MJ knew it was wrong, just didn't have a reason to make it right! Jesus comes into my life--remember how GOOD it felt to flush it down toilet! College Cassanova sleeping around? You know it's wrong, just don't have a reason to make it right! Spending all your money on yourself? (Send me your stories--knew it was wrong, then Jesus gave you a reason to make it right)
Impact on Z of extravagant welcome heightened by knowing Jesus took some heat for it. Same hostility Z felt from the righteous was turned on Jesus. Jesus was willing to pay the price….
How about us? Are we willing to pay the price to welcome Zacchaeus? Are we willing to extend the extravagant kingdom welcome when the welcome offends the righteous? The way of the cross is thru Jericho!
Grateful for welcome extended to CS
Next, parable of talents (Lk. 19: 11-27): what do we do with kingdom treasure entrusted to us? Bury it to keep it safe for us? Or risk it, invest it, to multiply? The beef Jesus has with Israel. He knows it will be the tendency of his disciples--not to risk, not to invest. Not to use what they've been given to expand his mission….
After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' say, 'The Lord needs it.' " Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" They replied, "The Lord needs it." They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
Before we get into triumphal entry, think of walk from Jericho, lowest point on earth, to Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem from above:
"Mile after uphill mile, it seems a long way even today in a car. You wind up through the sandy hills of the Judean desert, climbing all the way. Half way up you reach sea level, and you still have to ascend a fair sized mountain." Wright
Way of the cross crosses takes us through some weary terrain--long, hot, dusty, hikes. Every new pastor learns this--fun parts, and the satisfactions in the job; also the walk from Jericho to Jerusalem. If you're just in it for the highlights, you won't last.
We all want to do the fun stuff, in jobs, family, church. Hard work is fine, but I need to use my gifts! Yes, there is that. But how do you get from Jericho to Jerusalem? With your gifts or your feet?
Disciples, the way of the cross includes this! Middle years of marriage…the ones that follow the fun. First child then another; maternity leave over. Dad working 60 hours to keep his job during recession, Mom working 40 hours. Not so easy to get the date night.
Malcolm Gladwell: Outliers, story of success. Rice farmers have to work 3X harder than wheat farmers. Rice farming produces rice and kids trained in persistence. Parenting is a lot like rice farming: getting them places, getting yourself places so bills are paid and you all have a place to come home to. Making life happen day after day.
Gladwell also writes about mastery: We all want to be good at something. To master a skill requires 10,000 hours of practice.
The grind from Jericho to Jerusalem is about mastering the skill of faithfulness: Doing what needs to be done. No kingdom fruitfulness without faithfulness.
What keeps you going on that road? Knowledge that it is necessary, and Jesus is on the road with you. Before we are ready for fellowship of suffering (which we are promised) we must go through fellowship of the uphill trek.
You are following, not your dream, but your master. .
Raised 5 children, buried 4 parents, taken my lumps as a pastor…put in a lot of Jericho to Jerusalem miles….each mile necessary, each one a kind of fellowship with Jesus. Not the fellowship of goosebumps, the fellowship of sweat. But they are now part of my shared history with Jesus, and no one can take that away from me.
This economic contraction is journey from Jericho to Jersusalem. Nothing fun about this.
But as walk uphill from Jericho to Jersusalem, eventually the path levels off, and there you are! Suddenly you reach summit. Can't see it till you get there. Your vision is limited to next step on the road from Jericho---until all of a sudden the dust has settled, the air is clear and there's a wide angle view before you.
These little villages were probably located on the summit itself, Jericho behind, Jerusalem beyond…..but now in sight at last.
Arrangements have been made in advance for the procession that is to take. Jesus has arranged this. ….Go to the village, you'll find a colt tied up there. If they ask who you are, tell them "The Lord has need of it" and they'll know. Jesus has planned this entry to fulfill the prophet Zechariah 9:9: "Behold your king will come to you, lowly, riding on a donkey, a colt the foal of a donkey."
Little Caesars of world enter on Stallions (motorcades). But way of the cross is a different path to power. A different path to power!
Humility is the path to kingdom power. We all want motorcade! But the power it gives us corrupts us.
Are we as a church willing to be the donkey if needs be, humbly bearing transforming presence of Jesus into our city? "Sure, as long as the crowds are screaming hosanna and it's fun!"
A closer look at those Hosannas: singing Psalm 118, the pilgrim song reserved for time when Jerusalem comes into view. With the added excitement of a Messianic Moment: Jesus astride Zechariah's colt, the foal of a donkey! People are thrilled! He's finally ready to step into the saddle of the messiah, and defeat the enemies!
The disciples want this, the crowd wants this. But Pharisees are worried: Master, stop your disciples doing this!"
It's not so much that they begrudge him the accolades. It's their sense of real poltik. Rome is on alert at these festivals for messianic uprisings, and they are primed to crush them swiftly.
Jesus accepts the accolades of the disciples and the crowds but he knows that the Pharisees are right: this will not end in a military coup as crowds think. Nor will it end with the blood of his followers on the streets as Pharisees fear. It will end with his blood alone on streets.
What grace of his to receive these Hosannas! What grace of his to receive ours!
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.
He's weeping [stronger than crying] as he's saying this. Can you hear it in the way Luke records the words? "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come on you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you." (Lk. 19: 42-44)
Why is he weeping? Because message of peace has been rejected. Israel, meant to be light of the world, right here, right now. The world, Gentile nations have arrived in the form of the Roman Army. Love the enemies, do good to them that persecute you, if they insult you, don't return insult, if they conscript you to carry pack for a mile, carry it for two miles.
Show them a God of love by loving them! The only way to break the cycle of vengeance! It's the way of God! It's to be the way of Israel!
Israel was so consumed with being right, they lost their way!
We can lose our way if that's what consumes us: being right.
40 Years from now, they mount a violent uprising against their enemies and it will end badly, they will be crushed.
Jesus is weeping for that day and weeping for himself because he goes ahead of his people to die at the hands of Roman torture device….crucifixion reserved for rebels.
When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. "It is written," he said to them, " 'My house will be a house of prayer'; but you have made it 'a den of robbers.'"
Instead of routing Roman occupiers, he purifies temple of religious consumerism. It's about more than selling a few doves; it's about the corruption of the mission--to be the "house of prayer for all nations." [Isaiah 56:7-8 let foreigners in, "yet others I will gather to them!"]
So easy to focus on them, the misbehaving outsiders, when God is nailing us for ignoring mission.
THIS IS THE WAY OF THE CROSS, DISCIPLES! NO JESUS ANY OTHER WAY, DISCIPLES! He leads thru Jericho, to despised people outside the our bounded set, up in a tree, who would respond to an extravagant welcome w/o preconditions. Even though it infuriates religion as usual. Are we up for that? Are we up for being Israel? Loving our enemies? Finding the outsiders and loving them?
Way of the cross leads along dusty uphill stretches. Are we willing to go…because we know it's necessary it offers a fellowship with Jesus, the fellowship of the uphill trek?
Way of the cross leads suddenly to a summit--a wide angle view as the city we are called to enter awaits us. But will we wait for the motorcade before entering, or will we take the donkey? Will get the donkey? Will we be the donkey?
Way of the cross involves whole range of human emotion: In Jericho the glad welcome, the glad response of Zacchaus, the anger of the righteous which we also feel. On the road from Jericho to Jerusalem road, the longing of weariness: "When will this be over!" On the Mt. of Olives, the exultation of the view, the city of peace that inspires us! Joy of hosannas, and the sorrow over what lies ahead.
The way of the cross stimulates the whole range of human emotion…disciples! bring your whole hearts with you!
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I leave you with this question for holy week, to ponder and to pray, as together, we make this pilgrimage, as we retrace the steps:
Who are the Gentiles today? Who are our Gentiles? Most of us are are Gentiles. But surely as the kingdom message goes out in every generation, every generation of the church has to wrestle with this question: who are our Gentiles? Who are the people outside the bounded set of religion, who are craving an extravagant welcome?
Something prophetic happened 2 Sundays ago. You gave a secular scientist an extravagant welcome. A seat in the band. He wasn't expecting it. No strings attached. [Email before, spewing hostility--why allow that? "The fool says in his heart there is no God!" Jesus could have used his Bible to call any number of us fools.]
Who else are we called to surprise with a dose of kingdom love? At the cost of hostility from the righteous….