Marching Orders
Keith McFarren
March 29, 2026
Matthew 21:1-11
    If you have ever moved you know that
packing up all your stuff to leave for another destination can be a very trying
experience.  When you move from one place
to another, maybe to a new home or to a new apartment, or even if you’re on
vacation and you’re ready to leave your motel room in the morning to get back
on the road, you’re always afraid you’re going to leave something behind.  So you check and you double check to make
sure you have everything before you leave.
    But on the other hand, moving or going on
a trip can be exciting as well because you’re heading out into the
unknown.  You’re never really sure what
lies ahead because you don’t know what is going to happen when you arrive at
your final destination.
    Maybe that’s what Jesus’ disciples were
feeling or thinking as they were once again preparing to pack all their
belongings and setting out toward Jerusalem.
    I have a feeling that the disciples may
have been filled with a lot more anxiety than they were with excitement when
they found out they were going to Jerusalem because they knew they weren’t
liked there.  Because they followed
Jesus, the authorities in Jerusalem considered them to be agitators, people who
are always stirring up trouble against the status quo and the powers that be.
    And on top of all that, their anxiety was
high because when they got near Jerusalem Jesus sent them out to do a little
donkey rustling.  That act alone would be
enough to raise their blood pressure twenty to thirty points.  Let’s face it, being sent out to rustle a
donkey for the Son of God sounds kind of sketchy, doesn’t it.
    It could be that the whole donkey rustling
episode was preplanned by Jesus.  The
well laid out directions given to the two guys who were supposed to carry it
all out might imply that Jesus was one step ahead of every one and had it all
worked out ahead of time.
    And then again, the whole thing could have
all been something mystical, something divine, a last minute plan devised
between God and Jesus; a plan that only Jesus could carry out.  We don’t know for sure.  All we know is that we’re made privy to the
donkey rustling.    
    One way or another, Jesus is the
mastermind behind the whole thing and a couple of his disciples, men who are
willing to risking their lives for all of this, don’t even think twice about
the consequences.  In their minds, they
trust in Jesus; in their minds the Lord needs the donkey, that’s all that
counts, and they set out to accomplish their mission.    
    What do you think?  What would you do if Jesus told you to go get
him a donkey?  What would you do knowing
that if something goes wrong and the plan doesn’t work you might find yourself
being found guilty of stealing and shortly after that, you’ll be hanging from
one of those crucifixion crosses along side the road.
    Do you trust in Jesus.  Do you trust him enough that you would you go
without questioning this rather odd and seemingly out of the blue plan?  Would you be willing to risk your life and go
sneaking around looking for a donkey and a colt tied up just so Jesus can ride
it into Jerusalem?
    Would you, in other words, decide to
listen to what Jesus said even though it doesn’t make any sense.  I mean, we’re used to doing Godly things for
Jesus, things like loving our enemies, and welcoming the stranger and praying
for those who persecute us…not sneaking around the neighborhood taking donkeys
that belong to someone else.
    It just doesn’t seem right, and yet, it
comes directly from Jesus,  the one who
we trust and obey, and because it comes from Jesus, our only response can be,
“The Lord has need of it.”
    Maybe instead of going along with the guys
to get a donkey, we decide to tag along with some of the other disciples
instead.  We’ll march behind Jesus as we
go down the road that leads to Jerusalem…a road that is about to become a road
to a revolution, a road about to become be a part of a challenge to for a new
world power.  
    And why not?  The guy is a celebrity.  He’s the Messiah that everyone has been
waiting for and there is a big celebration awaiting us in downtown
Jerusalem.  The whole town is out in the
streets and everyone is in a festive mood because Jesus is going to change the
world.  There’s talk of a revolution
coming, a revolution to change the power structure of the world and we have a
chance to be in on the ground floor of it.
We’re going to march along with Jesus because we want to be a part of
it.    
    Yet despite all that is going on, we’re
still a little reluctant to go…and that’s because we know what the authorities
think about us and we know that they will be on the lookout for us.  But then we remember how many times in the
past have we heard Jesus say, “Don’t be afraid,” and for just a little while
today, our fear has disappeared and is nowhere to be found.
 
For just a little while today, our fear has been replaced by love.  Our fear has been replaced by our love for
Jesus and the guidance and strength that he brings; our fear has been replaced
by our love for one another and the sense of who and what we have become
because of Jesus.  Our fears of failure
and our fear of our inadequacy have been pushed aside because of the love that
Jesus has for us…and the we have for him.
    Because the love of God has cast out our
fear and opened our eyes to the future, a future that changes the powers of the
world, we choose to march along with him.
    Or maybe we’re not ready for all of that
yet.  Maybe we’re not into trusting Jesus
enough to go donkey hunting.  Maybe we
don’t trust Jesus enough to march into town with him.  Maybe all of this talk about Jesus and what
he can do for us is asking a little too much.

    There is so much we don’t know about
Jesus.  There’s so much we lack in who he
really is…or says he is.  And, if we were
to be honest with ourselves, we are a little bit afraid.  We’re afraid of the future; we’re afraid of
the unknown…and yet we feel something changing deep down inside of us.
    So rather than going with the disciples to
hunt for a donkey or instead of marching with the other disciples into
Jerusalem, we stand along the side of the road with so many other people.  Maybe we wave as the parade passes by.  Maybe we find a palm branch and wave way up
high so it can be seen.  
    And as Jesus passes by riding a donkey we
shout, “Hosanna!” along with everyone else…even though we’re not really sure
what it means.  Maybe it means “hello” or
“hooray” or “Hey Jesus, what’s going on.”
    But as we’re shouting a little light bulb
goes on in our brain and as we shout out “Hosanna” and we remember the original
translation of the word means to “Save us.”
We may not know exactly where we stand with all of this Jesus stuff but
we do know that we’re right in the middle of it today waving our palm branches
with the best of them.  
    And as we stand there we find ourselves
asking for Jesus to “save us.”  Save us
from what?  Save us from the Roman
Empire.  Or save us from ourselves.  Save us from our sins…whatever that means.
    The city of Jerusalem is in a state of
confusion. Some people are celebrating the entry of Jesus with pomp and
pageantry. Others are afraid of Jesus and scheming to destroy him. Still others
are fearful for different reasons—for their own lives and the life of Jesus,
whom they love.
    We can only speculate how we might have
responded to all the events in Jerusalem this day. Would we have found
ourselves trusting Jesus enough that would have went to retrieve the donkey for
him?
    Would we have marched into town with him
because of all that talk about him revolutionizing the world and restoring
Israel back as a world power.  
    Or would we have found ourselves standing
along the road waving palm branches because everyone else was…and when it comes
right down to it, we’re not really sure who he is.
    Would we have feared him for any reason?
Would we have been angry with him because he did not live up to our
understanding of the Messiah? Would we have truly known who he was?  Would we have known the true meaning of God’s
kingdom here on earth?  So many personal
questions to ask ourselves.
    We’re right there with Jesus.  We’re either with him…or we’re not.  We’re either on a divine mission with him to
restore the world and bring God’s kingdom to earth or we’re looking on as a bystander
waiting for him to fulfill our own wants and needs.  
    We’re there as the tone of the long
awaited revolution changes and the shouts of joy and salvation suddenly
stop.  We’re there when the shouts of
Hosanna turn to shouts of anger and disappointment.  We’re there when smiles are turned upside
down to become frowns and from the lips of the people that once shouted
“Hosanna! Save us” come the words, “Crucify him.”  It’s as if so much went wrong in such a short
period of time.  
    Today marks the beginning of our own
journey through the streets of Jerusalem.
Today marks the beginning of an unfolding drama that involves rustling
donkeys and marching into Jerusalem amid a parade like atmosphere, and waving
palm branches.  Today also marks the beginning
of a drama that eventually turns sour…a drama that eventually leads to the
opportunity to relive the journey to the cross and experience the incredible
power that is to become ours through the cross and the Resurrection.  
    But the question still stands - where are
you in all of this?  Where will you be
when the tables turn and all that you thought was good and powerful about Jesus
suddenly appears to come up short?  Where
will you be when the parade of celebration suddenly takes a turn and becomes a
parade of condemnation?  Will you stand
with Jesus and continue to trust him and follow his commands?  Or, because he’s not all that you thought he
would be, will you turn against him.