Episode 437 Jesus’ Entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-17)

This week is Palm Sunday in the Christian tradition, and BibleWorm is reading the story of Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem as told in Matthew 21:1-17. While the text is a familiar one for many, Matthew’s version has some intriguing surprises along the way. Jesus seems to ride on two animals at the same time in this text—both a donkey and a colt, and Jesus seems to take these animals from the owner without permission. What is Matthew up to in telling the story in this dramatic way?

What’s more, Matthew combines the story of Jesus’ entry with the story of Jesus overturning the money changers in the temple and then of Jesus healing the blind and lame in the temple while the children proclaim “Hosanna to the Son of David!” In our reading, this text invites us to examine the ways our own communities are going about business as usual while excluding the most vulnerable members of society. It invites us to acts of disruption that shake us out of comfortable modes of operation to make our communities houses of prayer for all people.