Blogging Holy Week

It's Palm Sunday, the day the Jesus was welcomed into the city of Jerusalem.  As depicted in scripture, it's a grand and glorious entry, though a bit comical and ironic.

In less than a week, however, the same people who extended welcome would turn into a lynch mob.  Now, I am against killing (anti-war, anti-death penalty, and I'd even go vegetarian if I could stomach veggies), but I think the crowd gets a bad rap.  You see, they had been taught to expect a certain kind of Messiah, one who would overthrow their oppressors.  And what great timing, it being Passover, the time set aside to celebrate when Pharaoh and Egypt were overthrown.

So the stage was set.  The long-awaited Messiah marches on the holy city to overthrow the new Pharaoh and the new Egypt just like what happened in the Passover story being celebrated.  At long last they would be free again, thanks to Jesus, the anointed one.

But, no.  Instead of overthrowing the Empire, he attacked the vendors and money changers in the Temple!  Instead of riding the momentum and growing support of the people, he turns on his followers.  All their hopes and dreams were bound up in this man from Nazareth, but he would disappoint them in much the same way as the ones before him.  They thought he was different.  They were wrong.

And so I understand their frustration, their anger.  I don't agree, but I see where they're coming from.  It's the traditional portrayal of God in the story that bothers me.

According to parts of the Old Testament (but, contrary to many, not all of the OT!) and parts of the New (e.g., the book of Hebrews), God demands a blood sacrifice to atone for sin.  And, says this interpretation, Jesus himself is the ultimate sacrifice.  After he dies on the cross for our sins, God is satisfied.

I may be heretical (what else is new?), but I'm not okay with a God who demands blood.  Sin is a real problem and I'm fine with Jesus offering himself on behalf of all humanity.  But I have a problem with a blood-thirsty God.

We'll work on a solution moving forward.