Jesus Other Journey: A Path for Us to Follow

Long before Jesus ever set foot toward the city of Jerusalem for Passover, the most important journey of his life was well underway. And his feet never moved. It was the journey inward, to that place that was not a place but grounded all other places. 

This journey kept Jesus rooted in who he was and what he was supposed to do. It kept him on the outward path even when it ceased to be popular. Before Jesus ever answered the call to do, he answered the call to be. His first pilgrimage was inward.

For Jesus, going to Jerusalem for the celebration of Passover was about remembering who he was and whose he was. Before there was Palm Sunday there was Passover. And Jesus was all about Passover on this trip. It’s hard to say if there were palm fronds and jackets strewn on the street. Who knows if there was one donkey or two? It is unclear if there were twenty people or two hundred people. 

Passover is about freedom from bondage. It is the celebration that marks the Exodus and the end of slavery in Egypt at the hands of Pharaoh. Like all Jews who were physically able to make the trip, Jesus and his friends made their pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the celebration. Passover was and remains a central celebration for Jews, symbolizing the belief that God set them free. It is an archetypal story that speaks to the human experience: from bondage to freedom, from death to life, from vulnerability to strength and back again, through suffering to new life.  Every great world religion has a feast/festival or celebration that marks the cycle of renewal and refreshment, freedom and new identity.

Much of Jesus’ teaching and ministry was about setting people free from bondage and slavery that came from too much money and too little money, too much power and too little power as well as those who were broken, isolated and shunned for whatever reason.

What mattered was that Jesus was coming into the city for the feast that called all the children home. Passover was the summons to come and share and pray and remember. It was and remains a time to stop doing and be, a time set aside to remember the past.

This is hard for us to grasp. We are so focused on what we accomplish and what we possess and what comes next. When we read this back into the Bible it’s easy to focus on all the cool stuff Jesus did, but this wasn’t about doing, it was about being.

What made Jesus dangerous and powerful was that his heart was undeterred. He knew what was waiting for him in Jerusalem and he went anyway. He was unafraid of the consequences of his faithfulness. His actions embodied his words; his words mirrored his actions. He was of one heart and mind. He walked one path. The only way you get that kind of clarity and resolve is by being faithful to the inner journey. It is not an act of will. It is not a parade you join just because it happens to be going by.  

The celebration of Palm Sunday has nothing to do with whether or not there were palms and cheering crowds. It is about Jesus’ steely resolve to keep on being who he was and keep on doing what he was doing. Jesus’ inner journey is a path for us to follow, but in a way that is uniquely our own. We discover it by reaching in deep and allowing ourselves to listen for God’s whispering presence. 

As we follow this path, we discover it is how our entire lives are best grounded. It is the journey nurtured in silence, a path discovered and uncovered through listening. It keeps us rooted in what we are supposed to do and keeps us doing it even when it ceases to be popular. This journey will give us the fortitude and clarity to remain undeterred. This is what it means to be a follower of Jesus.