Palm Sunday, Palmarum

Today's Reading: Matthew 26:1-27 or Matthew 27:11-54

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 8:1-32; Psalm 118; Hebrews 1:1-14

“Then Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?’” (Matthew 26:52-53)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

It’s a response that makes sense to all of us. Of course, we would defend Jesus when evil men, armed with false charges, come to arrest the only One who could be called truly good. Matthew doesn’t tell us who draws the sword, but John spills the beans and names Peter. Poor Peter is so often caught between his devotion to his Lord, his impulsiveness, and his all too human fear. A lot of people feel like they can relate to Peter wanting to do the right thing, but falling flat on their faces.

Here, Peter reacts out of love but also fear. Jesus’ rebuke to Peter is not simply about some pacifistic ideals, though we would do well to consider our willingness to live and die by our modern swords; it is also a fierce reckoning with who Jesus is. It is not simply that Jesus will go meekly to his arrest and eventual death in submission to His Father’s will, but also that Jesus does not need Peter to defend Him. At a word, Jesus can call down twelve legions of angels. How much help is that? A legion is a unit of soldiers in the Roman army, consisting of approximately 6,000 soldiers. Therefore, twelve legions would be around 72,000 soldiers, or roughly half of the entire Roman army, composed of fierce heavenly warriors, not just men. The point is clear: if Jesus needed to be saved from arrest at that moment, he could have handled it himself. Peter was failing to submit his own plan to the will of God.

I think most of us can understand Peter in this moment. We want to defend Jesus; we don’t want to see him mishandled by evil men. We revile their intentions and can use this worthy impulse to justify all manner of lawlessness, hatred, violence, and even denial of the very nature of Jesus himself. It is hard for us to understand what Jesus is doing as we’re left in anguish in our various Gardens of Gethsemane, but our call is to follow a crucified God who has already told us how the story will end. In that story, there is no room for fear.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, You sent Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself our flesh and to suffer death upon the cross. Mercifully grant that we may follow the example of His great humility and patience and be made partakers of His resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.