For Holy Week Reflection 2: The Last Week by Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan

 For Holy Week Reflections 2: The Last Week by Marcus J.Borg and John Dominic Crossan

My second recommendation for Holy Week is The Last Week: The Day by Day Account of Jesus’ Final Week in Jerusalem by Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan which is exactly what it says it is. In this book from 2007, the authors of The Heart of Christianity and The Historical Jesus, and Jesus Seminar members bring their systematic critical Biblical analysis to Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem. 

Beginning with the "triumphant entry"  known as Palm Sunday and ending with Easter, each day is explored for its theological meaning.  For them, “Palm Sunday” itself opens the door to Holy Week and contains with it the essential content of Jesus’ mission.

It was startling to read of another triumphant entry into Jerusalem that day, through another gate, of course. The authors posit  that it was the Roman Governor Pilate’s custom to be present in Jerusalem during the pilgrim festival of Passover, a season with great potential for civil disruption by an occupied people.   And that his entrance would  have been one week before. 

From this perspective, Jesus’ entry was a carefully staged and planned counter procession with enough street theater to criticize the empire. Interestingly, the record shows that beginning with Augustus, the emperor was known also as son of God, savior, bringer of peace on earth, titles we have come to associate with Jesus. The occupying empire was thus  not only a political affront but a theological one as well to the Jewish people and their religion.

The authors describe the the domination system that was the context of Jesus’ witness. A system that used political power, economic exploitation and, especially significant for Jesus, religious legitimation to maintain dominance over an occupied people.

Such a system required collaborators on the Jewish side to make it work. Thus Herod serves as “ethnarc,” or ethnic ruler serving in thrall to the Roman Empire and the Temple authorities help to enforce the system and provide religious cover for their own people's oppression. One can always find contemporary examples of  this system.  In all fairness, some collaborators can be perceived as actually seeking to mediate between their people and the empire, keeping them safe. But it becomes clear why for Jesus, the Temple establishment becomes the focus of his witness,

The authors  argue that in those days in the religion of the Jewish people, belief was not about giving assent to theological propositions but about trust and commitment.  That Jesus never wanted the focus to be on him as an individual but on the countercultural alternative kingdom of God over against the kingdom of the empire. Thus he would be executed for the capital crime of encouraging refusal to accept the authority of the empire.  

With this understanding it becomes clear that for Borg and Crossan to claim the name Christian is to commit to following Jesus which leads to Jerusalem which leads to confrontation with the powers which leads to death and ultimately resurrection.  To follow him is to commit to the whole journey.

So for our Holy Week we can contemplate these two processions and their implications for us. And ultimately ask ourselves, which procession are we in?

Well worth it.