Homily One for Palm Sunday
By St. John of Kronstadt
(Delivered on April 7, 1902)
By St. John of Kronstadt
(Delivered on April 7, 1902)
“Tell the daughter of Zion: Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Matthew 21:5).
On His way to His voluntary and world-saving Passion in Jerusalem, the Lord wished to visit His sick friend Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary. As He, by Divine omniscience, foresaw his impending death, He intended to perform the glorious resurrection of Lazarus from the dead to assure the general resurrection of all mankind. The miracle of raising the four-day deceased who had already succumbed to decay most prominently glorified Jesus Christ as the Messiah and the Victor over the universal death of mankind, and it was the cause of His triumphant reception by the inhabitants and visitors of Jerusalem, who had gathered for the celebration of the Jewish Passover. But among the high priests, scribes, and Pharisees, it aroused dreadful envy and malice, and they decided to definitively kill Him who rebuked their vices, and who came to put an end to our very death. The crucifiers did not realize that they were crucifying their Benefactor, "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29) and their own sins — who prayed to the Father: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). And today's blasphemers, like Leo Tolstoy and his companions, are aware that they blaspheme the Savior of the world, preached and accepted by faith throughout the world, yet in their pride, they wish to deride the common faith, and unless they repent and believe, they will all perish miserably (Matthew 21:41).
Since today the Holy Church solemnly and memorably celebrates the entry of the Savior into the Holy City of Jerusalem on a young donkey that had never borne any yoke, amidst the joyful exultation of the people and especially of the children, let us discuss what this extraordinary and seemingly strange entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey and its colt signifies, rather than on a horse, as was customary for Eastern kings and conquerors; what this joy and exultation of the people, particularly of the innocent children who glorified the Lord, meant; and how the all-evil hell motivated impious individuals to murder the Giver of Life and Lord, without foreseeing that the One they killed in the flesh, Christ, would thrust His wooden spear, that is, His cross, into the belly of hell and pierce it with a mortal and eternal wound, thereby delivering the souls consumed by it from its all-devouring belly.
Let us listen to how the holy evangelist Matthew describes the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem (Zech. 9:9).
"Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, 'Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, "The Lord has need of them," and immediately he will send them.' All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: 'Tell the daughter of Zion: Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: 'Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!' And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, 'Who is this?' So the multitudes said, 'This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.' Then Jesus went into the Temple of God... Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the Temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the Temple and saying, 'Hosanna to the Son of David!' they were indignant and said to Him, 'Do You hear what these are saying?' And Jesus said to them, 'Yes. Have you never read, Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise?' (Psalm 8:3). Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there" (Matthew 21:1–17). This is the description of the Lord’s entry into Jerusalem.
Why, contrary to all custom, did Jesus Christ enter Jerusalem not on a horse, but on a donkey and a colt? Here we see the wisdom of God; the Lord teaches us not only through words, but also through both living and inanimate objects. Thus, He cursed the barren fig tree as a rebuke to the fruitlessness of the Jewish people and Judas the traitor; here He sits upon a donkey and a colt as a sign that He will bring into the knowledge of His dominion and His eternal kingdom the Gentile nations, who do not know the yoke of the Mosaic law, in place of the people of Judah who have turned away from God, and when the full number of Gentiles has entered the Christian Church; then the Jews will turn to Christ. Thus, the entry into Jerusalem on a donkey and a colt had a mysterious significance – it symbolized the conversion of the Gentiles, among whom we, Russians, are also called. As for the rejoicing of the people and the children who joyfully welcomed the Lord approaching on a donkey, this collective joy stemmed from the overwhelming ecstasy in their hearts due to the resurrection of the four-days-dead Lazarus and their amazement at the Divine Miracle Worker; through the mouths of innocent children praising the Lord, the Holy Spirit spoke.
The entrance of the Lord into Jerusalem had a completely opposite effect on the proud and envious Pharisees – a feeling of extreme jealousy and malice arose within them, and they resolved to kill Him. It seems that from that moment on, all of hell took residence in them. Passions blind a person, and he does not even realize what he is doing – engaging in the most absurd and reckless deeds, just as He Himself, while being crucified by them, said: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Christ came as the immortal God to destroy the death that consumed humankind and to grant us immortality through His victory over death; yet, His enemies killed Him in the flesh, thereby, unknowingly and without awareness, bringing about the greatest good for humanity. Undoubtedly, they would have also been forgiven by the Lamb of God who took upon Himself the sins of the world, had they repented of their act of deicide.
Wondrous are Your works, O Lord! Hell, in its blind and boundless malice, set in motion all its strength through the high priests, scribes, and Pharisees to kill Christ, tempting one of Christ's apostles with the lure of silver to betray the Life of all to death, and by God's permission, to fulfill the wise and eternal Counsel of God regarding the salvation of humankind through the death of Christ – hell achieved its infernal efforts, killing the flesh of the Life-Giver, but above all, it destroyed itself. Had it known the consequences of the sufferings and death of Christ for its infernal kingdom, it would have exerted all efforts to prevent Him from suffering and dying.
The cross and the death of the Giver of Life destroyed the power and kingdom of Satan, and he gave all the souls consumed by him to the Redeemer of our race, who captivated hades. This victory over hades of Christ crucified is glorified by the Church in the following way: "Pilate set up three crosses in the place of the Skull, two for the thieves and one for the Giver of Life. Seeing Him, hades cried to those below: Ό my ministers and powers! Who is this that has fixed a nail in my heart? A wooden spear has pierced me suddenly, and I am torn apart. Inwardly I suffer; anguish has seized my belly and my senses. My spirit trembles, and I am constrained to cast out Adam and his posterity. A tree brought them to my realm, but now the Tree of the Cross brings them back again to Paradise" (Service of the 4th Week of Lent; Wednesday; Oikos of the 6th Ode). This is what hades did on its accursed head, bringing Christ to death on the cross. Christ crushed his empire and plundered all his gain; all his many-human riches, as the Holy Church bears witness to this in her Sunday services.
So let us all cry out to the Conqueror of death, Christ the Life-Giver: Blessed is He who comes to suffer voluntarily for our salvation and through His sufferings on the cross and death conquered our death and granted to all the resurrection, which will take place on the last day of the world.
Having the time given to us for the feats of correcting our lives and every virtue, let us take care to overcome the passions of the flesh and spirit in ourselves and adorn our souls with mercy to our neighbors, meekness, humility, obedience, patience, long-suffering, abstinence, purity and chastity. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
