March 9, 2008: All Debts are Removed (6 of 8) – Michael Hidalgo

To say the writer’s of the Bible were subversive is an understatement. Mark tells us of Jesus’ “march” to his crucifixion, yet he cloaks it in a very familiar procession that his readers would have understood very well. Mark is writing to a Roman audience, and he uses what they know to point toward the triumph, kingship, and deity of Jesus. In the 1st Century there was a ceremony for Caesar when he came to a city that was his triumphal entry. This parade went through the city to a temple on a hill where he performed a sacrifice to the gods. Jesus goes through this Triumphe and shows that victory is found not in human kingdoms - but the in his sacrifice that allows people to enter the kingdom of God.