Triumphal Entry

I've just been reading Jesus triumphal entry. I've commented on the surprise of the donkey - and it's comedic function - here. But today I spotted something else as I read the account in Matthew.

The theme of hypocrisy and bad religion is so common in the Bible that it's very easy to miss it. It's extremely common in Jesus' ministry. His harshest words, his longest diatribes and his most vicious satire are always directed at the people who think they have religion sorted.

So it's easy to miss that Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey, with the crowd waving palms, a symbol of national identity - and that finally Jesus was expected to do something to vindicate Israel and kick out the Roman oppressors. The donkey subverts that expectation. He is saying that he is building a different sort of kingdom. He is planning a different sort of deliverance.

But the subversion continues. Jesus doesn't take his supernatural powers to the Roman army barracks to destroy them. He doesn't send a storm on them, or summon an Army of Angels. He heads straight to the Temple, because it is a disgrace to his Father's name. And he uses a whip, not an angelic Host, because he is gracious. Do we understand that we will be part of the refining process, not self-satisfied viewers from the sidelines. If Jesus took a whip into you church, would what table would he turn over?