YASHA NA, YASHA NA

  

“Yasha na, Yasha na”

On the morning after Mary anointed him by pouring a pint of nard on his feet, Jesus arose and set his face toward Jerusalem, “like a flint” the Bible says, because he had important work to do. According to Mark and Matthew, he sent representatives to bring him a donkey from a nearby village because Zechariah had prophesized that Israel’s King would ride into Jerusalem humbly and triumphantly… on a donkey. He rode it into Jerusalem to show that he was the promised king of Israel and for his believers, this was the news that they had been waiting for their entire lives. They were tired of being taxed into debtor’s prisons. They were tired of being pushed around by their Roman occupiers. They were tired of the collaboration between their own leaders and the Roman leaders. They had had enough. They wanted a Savior to save them from foreign rulers and set them free. According to John, when they heard that Jesus was coming, his "followers" (many of whom had been awed by Lazarus' resurrection)... took palm branches- long a symbol of peace and triumph- and ran to meet him. They laid their palms on the road and they waved them back and forth, as they cried out. "Hosanna, Hosanna," which means "O save" or "please save." Yasha na, yasha na. "Hosanna, hosanna. Blessed is the King of Israel who comes in the name of the Lord." This was their chant, and it was both a glorious truth and an ominous chant... because it offended the Jewish rulers and the Roman rulers alike.

It was as if Jesus, who had avoided conflict up to this point because his "time had not yet come," was now saying, "Bring it on." Riding a donkey into Jerusalem was a threatening act. It was humble in the sense of being obedient to his Father... but the message to the world was anything but humble... which is why the people along his parade route spread palm branches and their outer garments on the road before him.  Hosanna, they cried, and the Pharisees became nervous because they didn't want Rome to come down on them. "Tell your people to shut up," they shouted, but Jesus let them proclaim him king, noting that if they were silenced, the stones they were traveling on... would shout out.  So, he rode the donkey and entered the city from the east through the Golden Gate.

 

It was a gala event, even though the crowd expected Jesus to lead a revolt against Rome, much like Judas "The Hammer" Macabbean had done a century before. "Hosanna, Hosanna," they cried. They were excited and hopeful, but trouble was brewing. In the first place, there were two gatherings in Jerusalem on that day. One was revolutionary. It was focused on Jesus of Nazareth, who had just resurrected his friend, Lazarus, and Jesus’ fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy. The people cheered Jesus because they believed, just as John the Baptism had once believed, that Jesus would overthrow Rome and give the promised land back to his chosen people. The other parade came into town from the west and it was focused on Roman rule and the status quo. The people gathering for Pontius Pilate’s arrival were benefiting from the status quo and, if anything, they would’ve liked greater control over the am ha-aretz (the people of the land). Bad things were about to happen, but the fatal flaw lied within Jesus’ crowd because they didn’t understand his mission, which was not to start a war… but to save the world with love and compassion. Jesus never intended to carry a dagger, but he gave his life to save our souls and to show us his Father’s priorities. Jesus never called for a single weapon, but he did call us to love God with everything we have and to love our neighbors every bit as much as we love ourselves.   

 

Jesus never thought of leading a military war, but he gave his life to establish a world in which everyone of us would be somebody worthy of respect, inclusion, empowerment, second chances, goodwill, and love. The Romans and the Jewish authorities didn’t understand this, but neither did the common people who simply wanted a life in which they would have more money, more freedom, and less pain. They wanted to be saved, but when the saw that Jesus did not mean… right now, in concrete ways, or the use of violence, they quit crying “yasha na, yasha na,” and began crying out, “Crucify him. Crucify him.” And it didn’t take much time at all. Amen!