Palm Sunday, The Innocence Project Series

In 1992, attorneys Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck, founded an organization called the Innocence Project, which has been at the forefront of criminal justice reform, using DNA and other scientific advancements to prove wrongful conviction. The mission of the Innocence project is defined this way: The Innocence Project works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone.

For most of us, the lead up to Easter begins with Palm Sunday. In case you missed it, that’s today. And in most cases, we look at the celebration and victory celebrated that day. This morning, we are going to look at the darker side of Palm Sunday.

You see, really, the stage was set for Easter, before the celebration of the triumphant entry.

Most of you know that I am a Jesus Christ Super Star nerd, and, in the past, I’ve shown the Palm Sunday clip from the 2000 production of Superstar and for me it just sums up what the day must have been like, it captures the excitement and joy of that day. From the excitement of the crowd to the animosity of the religious leaders and the torment of Judas.

And I didn’t start with that clip, but I will be finishing this message with the song that leads into the Palm Sunday scene. And while some might argue on the orthodoxy of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s view of the events leading up to the Holy Week, I would argue that the scene that we will close with truly captures the emotions of that event as recorded in John’s account that was read earlier.

And part of being a Super Star nerd, is that I’ve seen a number of the professional productions, and I have spent way too much time this week trying to decide which version to use. But I have defaulted to the original 1973 version, which is spite of its weirdness seems to capture the emotions perfectly. But that will be later in the service.

Ultimately, what happened both leading up to and the events that happened on the actual day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey set the stage for what would happen less than a week later.

It seemed that everything in Jesus’ ministry led up to this point. And it would be a turning point for many. This was a veritable “Come to Jesus moment.”

So how could the celebration that happened on “Palm Sunday” lead to the horrors that would happen five days later?

Our theme for Holy Week is the “innocence”, and we are focusing on the fact that what happened on Good Friday was a travesty of justice and we don’t have to look very deep into the story to discover that Jesus was set up and framed by the authorities. And Palm Sunday was where and when the stage was set.

According to the innocence project, the leading causes of innocent people being falsely charged and convicted are:

• Eyewitness Misidentification.

• Misapplication of Forensic Science.

• False Confessions.

• Official Misconduct.

• Coerced Pleas.

The University of Colorado Law School states, “Official misconduct by police officers, prosecutors, or other government officials has been present in 54% of wrongful convictions across the nation.” Think about it, 54%

Normally, when we think of Palm Sunday, we think of the celebration and excitement of the day. This morning, I want to look at the darker side of Palm Sunday, because it was here that we see the seeds of official misconduct, which ended in the conviction and crucifixion of Jesus.

We need to understand that, For Jesus This was Something That was Planned You have to understand this wasn’t something that just happened, you know the stars aligned and Jesus just happened to be in the right place at just the right time, or one of the other excuses we use to explain away divine appointments, this was how it was supposed to go down.

John’s account of what happened on Palm Sunday is very typical of John’s Gospel. He sees the big picture but doesn’t delve into the minutia of the event. So in John 12:14 we read John 12:14 Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it . . . and we are tempted to think that it was just that simple, “Oh look a donkey, let’s use that.”

But if we look into the other Gospels, we see the preparation that went into the event, in Luke’s account we read, Luke 19:29-31 As they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead. “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”