Voices around Easter 3 - Palm Sunday

Voices around Easter 3.

A radio reporter describes the events for us as Jesus approaches Jerusalem riding on a donkey.

This is the Judea news channel. We’re now coming up to the Passover. Jerusalem is always unsettled and unstable at this time. Just one small event can spark a major public order incident. There’s news of very recent developments there today so we’re now going over to our reporter in Jerusalem. Josephus, can you tell us what’s going on?

 Well, Hugh, I can only just see what is going on. I couldn’t find space at the gateway or in the streets so I’ve just about got a view from this window in the tower. At least I can see some way along the road into the distance. There’s great excitement all over Jerusalem. Some people are very happy, jubilant even. Look at them! But then look around the edges of the crowd. There are armed temple guards and not far away in reserve there are Roman soldiers. The High Priest and the Procurator are taking no chances. Jerusalem is an excitable place at the best of times but now at Passover there are so many more people here. The least disturbance could lead to a riot.

I’ve asked people just exactly what the excitement is all about. They tell me it’s all about Jesus. He’s not from around here. He’s a Galilean, said to be son of a carpenter, but he’s famous, or notorious as some of the leaders would say, as a powerful preacher and healer. His preaching gets to the core of the matter, making it clear what scripture is really saying. He’s happy to be with all kinds of people - tax-collectors, women, poor and sick people and Pharisees too. He’s become a great celebrity and everyone wants to see him. However, I’ve heard that the authorities are very wary of him because he seems to be undermining their status. I would say he’s too popular for them to arrest right now, but, as we see with the soldiers and the police, they are keeping an eye on things. There’ll be spies in the crowd too. Some people are saying that Jesus may be the Messiah, the anointed one of God who the scriptures point to and who will free the Jewish people from their Roman captivity. That’s not at all clear, because he has not made the claim himself, but it’s a good reason for the extra security.

And now they are all straining to see. I can see dust on the road and a small group of people coming towards the walls. They are just near the point where the road goes down the Mount of Olives. There are cloaks spread on the road. One of them is riding on a donkey and I think it may be Jesus. That’s significant, my advisers tell me, because the scriptures say this is exactly the way the Messiah will enter Jerusalem, through this gate, riding a donkey. Some of the people are waving palm branches. Listen to them now …! I can just about make out what they are saying ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’. That’s how the Jewish people do things. They are quoting a Psalm, one of their sacred songs. They refer everything they do and everything that happens to scripture, so when something happens that is exactly as scripture says, as this seems to be, well, that’s really significant. It implies the direct action and presence of God.

So Jesus is now well into the narrow streets of Jerusalem and the crowd is slowly dispersing, so I can get out of this narrow corner of the tower. I’ll try to mingle with the crowd to see what they think is going on. Maybe I’ll get a word with one of Jesus’ followers, or even hear Jesus himself. The word is going round that he will be teaching in the temple this week. That could be interesting. Great potential for a dispute that might turn nasty. Just a moment, I think I hear shouting coming from the temple area. It sounds different from the jubilation we’ve just heard. Some kind of disorder. I’m heading over there now. I’ll keep you in touch …

So, we seem to have lost contact with Josephus in Jerusalem for the moment. We’ll get back as soon as we can. In other news reports are coming in of troops of Roman soldiers leaving Caesarea for Jerusalem. Procurator Pilate is expected to arrive later today. It seems that nothing is being left to chance.