Palm Sunday: Simon This Blood’s For You
Matthew 21:1-11; Lev. 23:40; Psalm 118:27; Matthew 27:11-66
My name is Simon and I want to tell you a story about a week that changed my life.
Have you ever been to a parade where there were lots of people yelling and screaming as the floats came down the street? If you have then you would notice that the crowd is often made up of a lot of different people, some watching the parade while others are talking. Some are interested in the parade while some are not. Some know what is going on while others just wonder around trying to find out. Then there are the crowd members who do not know what is going on but they are having a joyful time just being a part of the crowd. These are the one who enjoys the festivities and go alone with whatever the rest of the crowd decides to do. This morning I want to tell you about two parades that I was in – two very different parades. The first parade took place when this man named Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey and the second parade took place when they led him away to be crucified. I will never forget this parade and what happened.
Because of the first parade when Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, the Sunday before Easter for you is known as Palm Sunday. As He was entering the city, these men supporting Him, I guess they were His disciples, and some of the crowds were shouting, “Hosanna, to the Son of David, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” I did not know what was happening but I saw all of these people began to lay their cloaks (coats) on the ground for the donkey to walk on. Some of them did not have cloaks so they took palm branches and laid them out for Jesus. This processional was in recognition of their King – Jesus, the prophet who was the true Messiah. This type of parade was generally held for someone who had done something special, someone famous, a hero or general returning victorious from battle. I remember hearing the scribes reading from 1 Samuel 18:6-9 when king Saul and David returned from fighting the Philistines? As the women of the city came out to meet them they cried out “Saul had slain thousands while David had slain tens of thousands”. When Saul heard this, he became very jealous of David, something that lasted until his death. These women were giving more credit to David than they were to King Saul. This infuriated Saul. Saul’s response gives you an idea of the importance of such a processional and public recognition. The one who is being honored is given praise and recognition for their accomplishments. This is the type of parade that they gave Jesus in His processional – He was hailed as their King. He must have been important I believe because remember I told you that some of them who did not have coats, took palm branches (or branches from other trees) and laid them before the donkey to walk on. This was very important in the recognition of Jesus as King. These people were “rolling out the red carpet” as we say, for Jesus with their clothes and palm branches. It was a sign of high honor. I was told it was because of who He was and the victory that had been gained through Him. They said He had conquered sin, sickness and death. He had healed the sick, raised the dead and had performed all types of miracles. When He entered the city everyone’s hope was that He would establish His Kingdom right there in Jerusalem. I found myself starting to believe and hoping that we would finally be set free from the Romans through this man they said was a king. Everyone wanted to be on the good side of this victorious King. So naturally I joined in with the crowd and offered praise and honor to Him. I waved a palm branch in praise of Him. In my time and long before my time, palm branches were often use in the worship and praise service to God. The use of palms in praise dates back to the Old Testament times and became part of the tradition of the time. Lev. 23:40 says “On the first day you are to take choice fruit from the trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.” The use of palms was encouraged, actually commanded in this celebration of praise to the Lord. They would wave the palms high over their heads back and forth, similar to what we do when we are giving praise with our hand swaying back and forth. David wrote in Psalm 118:27 “The Lord is God, and he has made His light shine upon us, with boughs (palms) in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.” David was encouraging the use of palms (or other tree leaves) in the active praise of God. The waving of the palm branches by a large group of people is a wonderful sight. This was a major part of the praise that went forth.
There were a lot of people in the crowd. I did not know some of them, but it was easy for me to pick out those who loved this man and those who did not. But the excitement was contagious. He looked so at peace and just to be in His presence all of my troubles just seemed to fade away – it was amazing. For the next few days after this parade, the town was buzzing, everyone was excited and talking about this man Jesus. I heard that He went into the temple and drove out the moneychangers with a whip – man I wish I could have seen that. I also heard that he cursed a fig tree and it actually dried up – now some of these stories could be untrue, but that is what I heard. I was in the city yesterday and heard some of His teachings – things I had never heard before. Then yesterday I heard he had been arrested. I could not believe it, I mean this was the king – what had He done. This is when the second crowd began to form. They put Him on trial. This crowd wanted to see blood. The priests were stirring up the people to cry out that Pilate should crucify Him. I could not believe what I was seeing – these were the same people who a few days earlier were praising Him. I looked at the man called Jesus and He never said a word. It did not matter to the crowd if He was guilty or innocent – all they wanted was blood. Pilate, to his credit tried to set Jesus free, but he gave in to the crowd. After it was determined that He would die a horrible death, the crowd cheered. They actually preferred someone like Barabas over Jesus. There were many people in the crowd that day. I saw some were happy, laughing and drinking. Others were crying, heads down knowing what would befall this man they called Jesus. I decided it was time for me to go home.
Before I could leave, they led him out. He had physically changed. They had beaten Him with whips. The whips had metal and bones on the end of them so it tore into His flesh. His skin was torn almost down to the bone. They took a crown of thorns and pushed it so hard on his head that the thorns pulled the skin away from his skull. They placed the cross on His shoulders, but He was too weak from the beating to carry it. He fell to the grown with the cross falling on top of Him. I could not bear to look anymore and I was about to leave when a roman guard pulled me out of the crowd. Why they picked me I will never know, but they commanded that I carry his cross. I leaned over Jesus and lifted the cross off of Him. He could barely stand. When I looked into His eyes, He looked back at me; I could not look at His face. I turned and saw his bloody body, I saw the blood on the cross, I saw His torn body and I saw the crown of thorns. When I looked back at His face as I lifted the cross, He said, Simon – this blood is for you. At that moment my life changed. I understood who He was, what His life meant for me.
I carried His cross to Golgotha, the place of a skull. The crowd followed behind me, some shouting, and some crying. I remember seeing His mother, she was crying too. There were some of His disciples there, they could not believe this was happening. I laid the cross on the ground. They took Jesus and laid Him on the cross. They took 6-inch spikes and nailed them through His wrists and feet. He cried out in pain as the blood gushed from the wounds. When they stood the cross up, I look at Jesus and realized that He was dying for me. The Sky became dark for 3 hours. There was a thief that spoke to Him. I heard him ask for forgiveness and Jesus forgave him. He looked at one of His disciples and told him to take care of His mother. After a little while He hung His head and died. Then all hell broke loose. The earth shook, rocks split and graves started opening up. The dead saints came up out of the graves appearing to many. I almost freaked out. Finally it hit me when I heard the Roman soldier say, “truly this was the Son of God”. It was over. Our short-lived dream for a King was over. Jesus was dead. But I could not forget the words that He spoke to me: Simon, this blood is for you.”
