Giovanni di Paolo, 1326
Yesterday we celebrated the raising of Lazarus which was, as we sang, the “prefiguring of the General Resurrection”, when all mankind will be raised from death – “those who have done what is good will rise to life, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.” John 5:29 That day Jesus was demonstrating, before His Resurrection, that He has the power to “do it”, that He is the Lord of life and of death.
The authorities in Jerusalem did not see it quite that way. They were appalled and worried. There had been fake Messiahs before, all of them fools or charlatans. It had been easy to discredit them, and they and their followers had disappeared into the woodwork. But this Jesus from Nazareth they had not been able to stop.
And now here He was again at Bethany only two miles from Jerusalem, where He had pulled off this “publicity stunt”, this supposed raising of a dead man. Many people in the City were taking Him seriously. He must be stopped. Now. So thought the priests, the scribes, the sadducees and the pharisees.
Remember, the raising of Lazarus took place some while before Holy Week. Jesus and the Apostles then went down to a town near the wilderness called Ephraim and stayed in hiding. Not to escape death, rather because Bethany was too near to Jerusalem. The authorities were already plotting His death, but it was too soon for Him to let them catch Him. He was timing His death for Passover. He would be the new Passover, the new Paschal Lamb who would take away the sins of the world. As we go through this Week, it is obvious that Christ was in control throughout.
But now the time had come.
Palm Sunday: Holy Gospel at Divine Liturgy – John 12:1-18
Six days before the Passover, Jesus came again to Bethany to stay with Martha and Mary, and Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead.
Martha and Mary and Lazarus hosted a supper for Him. Martha served as always. (Good steady hospitable blessed Martha.) Lazarus and the others were at table. Mary took a pound of fragrant oil (nard) and anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped His feet with her hair.
Women did not typically let their hair down in public like that. Nard, imported from the Himalayas, was very expensive, worth about 300 denarii. A denarius was approximately a worker’s day’s wage. (I always wonder: where did she get that kind of money?) Altogether this was a sign of extravagant devotion.
Jacob Andries Beschey, 1736
Then Judas Iscariot who would betray Him asked: “Why was this fragrant oil not sold and given to the poor?” John wrote that he said this “not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box he used to take what was put into it.”
It was a good question nevertheless. People sometimes complain that the Church wastes money on beautiful things: icon screens and icons and vestments. Shouldn’t this money be spent on the poor instead?
Yes, by the command of Christ, if we had to choose between the two, the needy should come first. And sometimes Christians have spent disproportionately on “art”… well, have you ever seen the Vatican Museum?
But I have another question: How many of us live very comfortably, decorate our homes beautifully, have the latest devices and conveniences, drive nice cars? Do we ever also spend disproportionately on ourselves? Often we have sufficient resources to cover all three: our needs and the needs of the poor and to make the Temple of God glorious. But do we?
Before we proceed, another digression, a clarification: John often referred to “the Jews”, sometimes in a way that some have taken to be anti-Semitic or to justify anti-Semitism. No! John himself was a Jew – who had become a Christian. The explanation: he was writing for a Gentile non-Jewish audience, and he simply wanted them to understand who was doing what. Sometimes he refers to “the Jews” positively, as when “the Jews” came to mourn with Mary and Martha. His negative references to “the Jews” refer to the Jewish authorities and those who accepted what they said.
Now back to the narrative:
Jesus’ answer to Judas took an unexpected direction: “Let her alone. She is doing this to prepare for my burial.” Indeed, only a week later Mary will be one of the Myrrhbearing Women going early to His tomb to anoint His dead body. Or so they thought. He continued: “For the poor you have with you always, but you do not always have me”. A shocked silence must have fallen over the table.
Now, let’s return to the Jewish authorities. This is only my opinion: I think we make a mistake if we demonize the scribes and pharisees and priests, make them into just wicked men, evildoers. For myself, I think they believed they were doing the right thing. (I think this is true of most people, even if not all.)
Annas and Caiphas, by James Tissot, c 189
I can’t believe Annas and Caiphas cried “Here’s our Messiah, our Savior. Let’s kill Him!” Not to justify their blindness, but I think they truly did not believe Jesus was the One. Here’s the scene: The Holy Land was occupied territory. The Jewish people were eager for their Messiah to come, hoping he would lead a rebellion against the Romans and drive them out and restore the Jewish nation. Now, here was the authorities’ big worry: What if this fraud Jesus of Nazareth comes into Jerusalem, and stages a rebellion and the people follow – and then what? Stomp. The Romans would wipe them out. As the Jewish nation was destroyed only a few decades later.
And now here He is back again in Bethany, only two miles away. We must do something before this gets out of control. The authorities began to plot to kill not only Jesus but Lazarus as well, another fake who was obviously in on the scheme.
They were absolutely sure Jesus was not the Messiah. (Religious leaders are often so very sure.) Therefore, as Caiphas the high priest said: “Better one man should die than that the whole nation be lost.”
And so… Who will cause the nation to be lost? They will! They will kill this innocent Man, this sinless God made Man, and because of them the nation will be “taken away from you and given to those who will bear the fruits of it”. Matthew 21:43
And so, in a way they never imagined and never accepted, by what they will do this Week the will of God to save all mankind will be fulfilled. And today billions of people all over the world worship the God of the Jews.
Palm Sunday Morning
Vassilis Hadjinicolaou, at “English Orthodox Byzantine Chants”
The next day, Sunday, people heard He was coming to Jerusalem for the feast, and a great crowd prepared to welcome Him as a conquering hero, as the Messiah. When dignitaries came to town in those days, it was customary to put clothing and tree branches on the road to settle the dust. And people began to cry out quoting a Messianic Psalm: “Hosanna! [Save us now!] Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel.” We still sing that as Christ the King comes to us in the Holy Eucharist. “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.” Psalm 118:26-27 When they told Jesus to quiet the people, He answered, “I tell you: if these shall hold their peace, the very stones will cry out”. Luke 19:40
So here comes the conquering Hero, riding not in a chariot, not even on horseback, but on what? A young donkey. Who rode on donkeys? The underclass, nobodies, servants. People must have shaken their heads in confusion.
But Jesus was acting out another verse from the Scriptures, which no one had ever before applied to the Messiah. From the prophet Zechariah: “Fear not, daughter of Zion. Jerusalem, behold, your king comes sitting on the colt of a donkey.” John wrote that it was only afterwards, after His death and resurrection, that the disciples understood.
Icons by permission of Saint Isaac’s Skete at skete.com
However He had said it befor, more than once. We heard it last Sunday: “In the world the great ones exercise authority over them and make them obey, but I am among you as one who serves, who will give His life as a ransom for many”, for the life of the world.
Nevertheless, John says, many believed. Some had seen His miracles or heard His teachings or had been there when He raised Lazarus from the dead.
In the verse following this morning’s reading, the Pharisees are desperate. “We are acomplishing nothing. Look, the whole world has gone after him.” It was time for them to take immediate drastic action.
Their words were a prophecy, weren’t they? Because of what they were about to do, Christ would die and conquer death, and the world indeed has “gone after Him”.
The Next Post will arrive Palm Sunday afternoon – for Palm Sunday night Matins of Holy Monday. If any find this dating confusing (as don’t we all?), I’ll attempt to explain tonight.