From the Triumphal Entry to Calvary

Introduction to the Dramatic Reading of the Passion for Palm Sunday, according to Matthew

You may ask why we read an account of that first Holy Week, from the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem to when Jesus is laid in the tomb on Good Friday.

Why not linger on Palm Sunday, the joyous celebration of a humble King, who rides into the Holy City on a donkey?

We can celebrate that triumphant day, remembering it with palm branches and palm crosses, but we must also prepare ourselves for the more painful remembrance of how Jesus was betrayed, put on trial, and put to death as even his most loyal followers deserted him.

There are four tellings of this story in the Bible. And if you read the passion accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John you will find many differences.

For me that adds power and truth to the story. If all accounts were identical there would always be lingering doubts if the writers had combined to agree on what story to tell.

Instead we have different oral traditions passed down and written down for different audiences from 30 to 50 years after the events described.

These are not histories. They are the Good News, a statement of faith.

While there are differences, there are also common elements.

The best way to think of it is scenes in a movie. First, there is the triumphal procession. Then later in the week in the upper room Jesus gathers his small community of disciples to share a last meal together.

Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper, which we call the Eucharist or the Holy Communion, using the bread and wine as his body and blood. “Do this in remembrance of me,” he tells his friends.

Then in Garden of Gethsemane as Jesus goes to pray, we see his vulnerability as he awaits his betrayal.

In the Judgment Hall of Pilate, Jesus is brought before the power of Rome. But he says little in his defense.

When he faces the Jewish religious leaders, the chief Priest and the elders, there is another confrontation, but Jesus doesn’t blink.

Then there is the mocking, scourging and beating at the hands of the Roman soldiers before the harrowing trip through narrow city streets carrying the cross to Calvary.

On that hill Jesus faces the almost unimaginable pain and suffering of a slow death on the cross.

This is a familiar story. But it bears repeating. It is our story as Christians. It touches us deeply.

I pray that as you listen, you will let the power of the story both inspire and move you, as we continue on our journey as followers on the risen Christ.