Hello my friends,

This newsletter will be sent out the first Sunday of Holy Week, otherwise called "Palm Sunday" or "Passion Sunday." Many traditions will hold services to acknowledge both Palm and Passion Sunday. Palm Sunday, which remembers Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, has always been so profoundly impactful for me. Especially in our world today, where Christianity is so often used as a tool of coercive power. So, I wanted to reflect on the themes Matthew 21:1-11 with you today and ponder the question, "what does it actually mean to call Christ a king?" I hope you will find it helpful and encouraging.

Recommended Resources:

​-Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies By N. T. Wright and Michael F. Bird I've recommended this before here but thought I would do so again as its message is very timely for today's newsletter and our world today.

​-Disarming Leviathan: Loving Your Christian Nationalist Neighbor By Caleb E. Campbell My friend and fellow pastor wrote this wonderful book, which you might find helpful.

​-Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy By Katherine Stewart If you haven't had a chance to read this book, I highly recommend doing so.

​-The 3.5% Protest Rule Erica Chenoweth is one of my favorite researchers who has studied nonviolent civil resistance movements over the last 100 years. She is interviewed on this podcast and shares a lot about what she has discovered in her findings and shares how they apply to our world today. I highly recommend listening.

​-The Passion Pill This episode from Hidden Brain is a conversation with behavioral scientist Jon Jachimowicz who looks at how to keep our passions alive. I found it so relevant for personally, but also collectively for our moment in time in our work to keep our passion alive. I think you will find it meaningful.

​-Clarifying Our Moment Part 2: Capitalism and Authoritarianism. Last week, I received quite a few questions regarding how economic practices are related to competitive authoritarianism. So, I wrote a follow up to last week's newsletter to give a brief history and current context to how capitalism and authoritarianism can play off of one another. I hope you find it helpful.

When "Christ Is King!" Doesn't Mean Jesus.

Matthew 21:1–11

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Longing And Joy.

You can feel the joy in this passage from how the crowd is described. They gather. Cloaks are laid down. Branches are lifted high. Voices rise together: “Hosanna to the Son of David!”

What we are hearing here from the crowd is the language of an ancient longing combined with joy that their longing may be fulfilled in this moment. It is the language of hope. The language of a people who have suffered under empire and are desperate for deliverance.

They are not wrong to hope for a king, but we will soon see that they do not yet understand the kind of king who is arriving.

The King Who Refuses Power as We Define It

In the first century, when a ruler entered a city, it was meant to be a display of power. War horses, chariots, armor, weapons, banners, all serving as a visible reminder of who holds control.

Some scholars have speculated that as Jesus was entering the city, Pilate may have been entering with his own military procession on the opposite side of the city, surrounded my the strength of Rome, armed to the teeth, clearly expressing who was in power.

Jesus enters Jerusalem differently. He comes riding on a donkey and interestingly in Matthew’s telling, there are two animals, a donkey and a colt. Matthew is the only gospel account that includes two animals in his telling of the triumphal entry. So, try to imagine Jesus riding both a donkey and a colt into the city. That's the image Matthew evokes here. The image is almost awkward, even excessive, but it is intentional.

Matthew is drawing deeply from Israel’s Scriptures, especially Zechariah 9:9, which he quotes, where the coming king is described as “humble and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” and he is also echoing Genesis 49, where the promise of a ruler from the line of Judah is tied to imagery of a colt and a donkey.

The Greek word used here for “humble” (praus) does not mean weak. It means gentle, restrained, refusing to grasp for power even when one has the right to it. This is kingship redefined. This is the kingship of Jesus.

Matthew is trying to make a point here. He is skillfully expressing that Israel's long-awaited king, from the beginning, the heir of David, the fulfillment of ancient hope, will come in humility, not domination, and that king is none other than Jesus.

“Hosanna” Is A Cry, Not a Slogan

The word "Hosanna" we hear the crowd say comes from the Hebrew root words yasha ("save") and anna ("beg" or "beseech"). It is not merely a "hallelujah" but an urgent appeal to God for salvation. It means "save us, we pray" or "please deliver us." By crying "Hosanna," the crowd was acknowledging Jesus as the promised Messiah.

Also, by evoking David's name, "Son of David," as well as laying down palm branches, which is a symbol of royalty, they were also acknowledging his kingship, expecting him to bring salvation and establish God's kingdom.

So, hosanna it is not a chant of triumph. It is a plea for rescue. They are crying out under the weight of Roman occupation, longing for liberation. But many of them are still imagining a king who will overthrow their enemies through force. Just like the kings of Israel's past, they were imagining a king who will restore their dominance. A king who will make them powerful and great again.

And this is where the tension begins. Because Jesus will not become that kind of king.

The Tragedy of Misunderstanding

We can see this tension begin by the end of the passage, where Matthew points out something subtle but significant. The crowds, who have just cried out “Son of David,” are asked who Jesus is.

And they respond: “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.” It is not wrong. Jesus' ministry is very much embodying the legacy of the prophets. But it is not the full identity of Jesus. Jesus is prophet, priest, king, and messiah. They have seen something real, but they have not yet seen clearly or fully.

They can celebrate him in the moment but they will struggle to follow him when they find out that his kingship leads to a cross instead of a throne. Even his closest disciples have and continued to struggle with this as well.

This is the clear warning within the text: It is possible to praise Jesus loudly and misunderstand him deeply all at the same time.

A Word for This Moment

We are living in a time when the phrase “Christ is King” is being spoken loudly in public life.

But what does this phrase mean when it is said?

I am sure many say it with full genuine conviction that Jesus is king of their lives.

But how have we seen this phrase used?

Writing publicly online, I will get deeply disturbing, vulgar, and even threatening messages from many people. More often then not, when I go to the profiles of the ones who wrote me these messages, it will say "Christ Is King" or "Christian" in their bios. And their timeline will be full of slurs, animosity, aggression, and promoting authoritarianism. It is heartbreaking to say the least. Is that really how we should be proclaiming "Christ is King"?

Because in this passage, Jesus shows us exactly what kind of king he is. He does not arrive with threats. He does not consolidate power through fear. He does not weaponize faith to control others. He comes in humility. He comes in peace. He comes willing to suffer rather than make others suffer.

And yet, in our world right now, we are seeing something very different. War is justified. Fear is cultivated. Power is protected at all costs. The vulnerable, such as immigrants, the poor, and the marginalized, are dehumanized and treated as expendable. And all of it is often done while those in power are invoking the name of Christ as king.

This should unsettle us deeply, because the way of Jesus and the way of domination are not the same. They never have been the same. Jesus' kingdom is "not of this world." He is not like the kings of this world. His kingdom doesn't function like the kingdoms of this world. This is why those who sit on the thrones of power in our world, expressing their coercion, violence, and control in the name of Jesus, who perfectly displayed God's rule through the self sacrificial love of the cross should be so jarring and hypocritical.

Christ is king, but not like that.

The Choice Before Us

Palm Sunday forces a question American Christianity as a whole needs to address:

Will we follow the king who rides in humility or will we reshape him into the kind of king we already prefer?

Will we cry “Hosanna” as a prayer or use it as a slogan?

Will we recognize him not just in celebration but in the way of the cross that follows?

Because the same crowd that shouts “Hosanna” in Matthew 21 will, only days later, be turned toward “Crucify him.”

Not because Jesus changed but because he refused to become the kind of king they wanted.

They chose to release a violent insurrectionist named Barabbas instead who would come back and plan the overthrow they wanted.

A Hope That Does Not Dominate

And yet, even here, there is hope. Because Jesus did not turn away from the city that misunderstands him. He entered it anyway. He moved toward the cross anyway. He continued to embody a kingdom that does not rely on coercion, but on love.

This is a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Not because it conquers others but because it refuses to become what it opposes. Because it is ruled by a king who does not dominate, but restores. Who does not crush, but heals. Who does not save through violence, but through self-giving love.

The question constantly before us is will we accept the kind of king Jesus actually is or reject him for the kind of king we prefer?

Prayer

Lord Jesus,
You entered the city not with force,
but with humility.

You were praised as king,
yet you refused the power we so often chase.

Forgive us for the ways we have reshaped your kingship
into something that reflects our fears more than your love.

Open our eyes to see you clearly.

Not as we want you to be but as you truly are.

Teach us to follow you
in humility when the world rewards pride,
in mercy when the world demands vengeance,
in courage when the world is ruled by fear.

Give us the strength
to seek your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven
to lift up the lowly,
to protect the vulnerable,
to resist the ways of domination.

And when we are tempted
to trade your cross for a crown of our own making,
lead us back to you.

Our true King.
Our humble King.
Our crucified and risen King.

Amen.

Now I'd like to hear from you! Did you find this helpful? What thoughts came to your mind as you read? Feel free to respond to this email and share your thoughts with me. I look forward to reading them. A Lent Day Devotional: I wrote a daily devotional in hopes to provide a companion for people seeking to follow Jesus through the season of Lent. There is also an audiobook version. You can read more about both below: $20.00 When Love Gets The Last Word: A Lent Devotional Each day of this Lenten devotional will focus on a portion of scripture and invite us to reflect on our lives and our... Read more Get it now! ​ $20.00 Audiobook: When Love Gets The Last Word. Each day of this Lenten devotional will focus on a portion of scripture and invite us to reflect on our lives and our... Read more Get it now! ​ Ways to support: If you'd like to support this project, you can do so through one-time-gift of any amount you feel is right. You can also subscribe through a $5/mo, $15/mo, or $25/mo. Several others have also asked for a recurring gift option that is different from the ones offered here, like this one. If you'd like me to set up a different option for you, please just send me an email with the word "support" in the subject line. As always, I really want to thank all of you for reading and for all the ways you support me and this project every single week. I'm thankful for the ways we are building this together and hope it creates a lasting, positive change in our world along the way! I sincerely appreciate you all, Ben Remember, you can now view this and all previous newsletters as well as invite friends to join through this link: https://benjamin-cremer.ck.page/profile.

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