This Sunday, the lectionary invites us to ponder Luke 19:28-40. The English Standard Version supplies the passage with the title “The Triumphal Entry.” It tells of Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey, and people greeting him like the Israelites of old used to greet their kings.
On Saturday, I got out of bed at 2:30 am. Because the word Pathrakaliamman[1] was buzzing in my head and I couldn’t sleep.
Pathrakaliamman is the name of the deity in a 130-year-old Hindu temple in the Masjid India[2] area of Kuala Lumpur.
It was in the news because our Prime Minister officiated at a ground-breaking ceremony for a new mosque at the site. To be built by the Jakel group, which had bought the land from DBKL, the City Council, in 2014.[3]
It was controversial. Because DBKL had asked the temple to move to another site, far from Masjid India.
The temple’s not an illegal structure; it’s been recognized by DBKL for decades; the sale by DBKL may have contravened the law.[4]
Happily, the controversy has been settled. The temple will be re-built 50 metres away, at little cost to the temple.
Hindus have spoken about the controversy, all in favour of the temple. Some Muslim groups and individuals have spoken about it, mostly unfavourable to the temple.[5] Christians appear to have been silent.
Should religious groups speak out about public matters? Should they speak about matters which involve faith traditions other than their own?
I’ll leave aside the question of why it was the Prime Minister and not the Yang diPertuan Agung who officiated at the ground-breaking, since the head of Islam in KL is the Agung.
I return to Jesus, the Messiah.[6]
He entered Jerusalem. It would be his last visit to the city. Because within a week, he would be crucified there. He entered as a king: He signalled this by riding in on a previously unmounted donkey. He did this to evoke a prophecy spoken 500 years earlier by Prophet Zechariah.[7]
The crowds understood. They did what their ancestors had done long ago when King Jehu rode on a donkey into Jerusalem. They spread their coats on the road, along his path.[8] They shouted the words, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” from Psalm 118, a psalm of royal entry.
The Jewish leaders were represented by some Pharisees. They became concerned that the Roman governor, Pilate, would be alarmed by Jesus’ “kingly” entrance. They asked Jesus to tell the crowds to stop. Jesus refused. Because they didn’t “get it”.
They didn’t “get” that Jesus’ choice of a donkey was also to strike a contrast with Pilate’s fearsome warhorse. Pilate would look ridiculous if he arrested a claimant to kingship who rode in on a donkey![9]
Jesus went further. He said that if the crowds didn’t shout in acclamation, the stones would: he signalled that his entry was an event of cosmic significance.
The true king of the holy city, of the world, the subject of prophecies, the worker of miracles, a teacher with no equal, was entering the city. The city governed by a Roman governor.
What did he do after he entered?
Luke says he “entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, ‘It is written, “My house shall be a house of prayer”, but you have made it a den of robbers.”’[10]
In the next chapter, Luke tells us the religious leaders of the day tried to trick Jesus into questioning the governor’s authority: they asked him whether people, who never like paying taxes, should pay taxes to Caesar.
Jesus answered carefully. He said that since coins were issued by Caesar, they should return coins to Caesar.
Does Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem, his clearing of the Temple, and his answer about Caesar’s taxes, shed any light on how we should regard public policy, especially when it concerns the faith of others?
Jesus didn’t “cleanse” the temples to Caesar, which were grand edifices in Galilee: in fact, close to Nazareth and Capernaum where Jesus spent much of his time. And in Caesarea Philippi and Tiberias. Jesus reserved his criticism and cleansing for his own faith group, the Jews.
We preach Christ and him crucified. We abhor the worship of idols.[11] We hold our own accountable. We respect the rights of others. We uphold the rule of law.[12] We insist that everyone must be accountable.
I’ve broken the Christian silence. I hope in a way which honours Christ. Peace be with you.
[1] Also known as Goddess Bhadrakali. More here.
[2] “Indian Mosque.”
[3] Mkini, citing the temple’s lawyers. FMT, citing Jakel’s CFO, says 2012.
[4] See report of comments by the temple’s lawyers Ambiga Sreenevasan and N Surendran, Lawyers set record straight on temple saga amid ‘misguided’ polemics, Malaysiakini, May 29, 2025.
[5] A notable exception is an article by Faisal Tehrani in Free Malaysia Today: Memahami kuil India, 27 March 2025. He sensitively discusses historical reasons for Hindu temples.
[7] Zechariah 9:9.
[9] (1) Like the approaches described in James C Scott’s 1985 book, “Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance,” set in Malaysia. (2) According to John 19:19, Pilate put up a notice above Jesus on the cross: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
[10] Luke 19:45.
[11] This is the Second Commandment. Exodus 20:4.
[12] R Nadeswaran has written an excellent article about the underlying issue: Can you and I buy land from DBKL? Malaysiakini, Mar 27, 2025.
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