Palms of Victory
(topical)
1. Thinking his son would enjoy seeing the reenactment of a Civil War battle, my niece’s husband took the boy, Will, to the event. But the poor child was terrified by the booming cannons. During a lull, Will’s dad finally got him calmed down. That’s when the Confederate general hollered, "Fire at Will!" Reader’s Digest-- Betty Ammar
2. Palm Sunday is a bit of a reenactment. We align ourselves with the crowd.
3. TRUE OR FALSE?
Palm Sunday celebrates the day Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Test your knowledge of that day’s events, recorded in all four Gospels, with these true or false statements.
1. According to the Gospels, the people waved palm branches when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
2. The date of Jesus’ triumphal entry-five days before Passover-was a special holiday in his time.
3. By their actions, the people were publicly proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah.
4. The fact that Jesus rode a donkey portrayed him as a warrior king.
5. The shouts of "Hosanna!" meant "Praise the Lord!"
6. The route Jesus chose for his triumphal entry was down the side of Mount Zion.
7. When the people spread branches and garments in Jesus’ path it was to pay him honor.
8. The shouts of "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" were words of a Jewish hymn.
1. False (Matt. 21:6, Mark 11:8, Luke 19:36, John 12:13). None of the four Gospels say the people "waved" branches but that they spread garments and branches in Jesus’ path. Only John mentions palm branches, a tree not native to Jerusalem.
2. True. It wasn’t called Palm Sunday in Jesus’ day, but each Israelite family chose the lamb they would sacrifice for Passover on the tenth day of the month. As the people shouted "Hosanna," they didn’t realize they were choosing the Lamb of God as their sacrifice.
3. True. When Solomon was anointed king, he rode into the city on a mule, to the shouts and praises of the people (1 Kings 1:43-45). Zechariah prophesied the Messiah would arrive the same way "gentle and riding on a donkey" (Zech. 9:9).
4. False. Conquering kings would ride war horses; the donkey symbolized peace and humility (Zech. 9:9, 10). Jesus’ entry was a stark contrast to the war-like Romans, whose military presence was very visible.
5. False. The Hebrew word Halleluia means "praise the Lord;" Hosanna means "save us!" or "save!" The Palm Sunday crowd falsely assumed that Jesus would bring political liberation.
6. False. Jesus rode down the Mount of Olives offering him an excellent view of Jerusalem, which is built on Mount Zion. According to Zechariah 14:4, Jesus will again stand on the Mount of Olives at his second coming.
7. True. The people were boldly declaring that Jesus was their king, an accusation eventually written in condemnation above his cross. It was common in Bible times to spread garments in the path of princes and kings, especially at their coronation (see 2 Kings 9:13).
8. True. The phrases "Hosanna" and "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" both come from Psalm 118: 25-26, one of the "Hallel" or praise psalms (113-118) used every Passover. These Jewish hymns would be as familiar to the Jewish people as Christmas carols are to Christians.
SOURCE: From Sermon Central from Christianity Today International/Christian Reader magazine. March/April 2000, Vol. 38, No. 2, Page 39.
Main Idea: The Palms of Palm Sunday speak of Christ and His Kingdom. This Kingdom will be realized completely during the Millennium, but we have a taste of it now!
I. The Palm Signifies PROMINENCE (Isaiah 9:14-15)
They tell us "Jesus is King"
A. The Messiah is Prominent
"So the LORD will cut off from Israel both head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day; the elders and prominent men are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail." Isaiah 9:14-15
They would hail a conquering King with a procession like this. The palms tell us not only that Jesus is prominent, but that He is the King.
B. Jesus is Humble
Yet Jesus’ parades through town not on a victor’s horse, but a young donkey!
Zech. 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
C. Jesus is both gentle and conquering
The Rabbis were confused, because they read of two ways the Messiah would come: in one instance, it says He will come in the clouds of heaven, in another on a donkey; they harmonized this contradiction by making it an either/or proposition:
R. Alexandri said: R. Joshua b. Levi pointed out a contradiction. it is written, in its time [will the Messiah come], whilst it is also written, I [the Lord] will hasten it! — if they are worthy, I will hasten it: if not, [he will come] at the due time. R. Alexandri said: R. Joshua opposed two verses: it is written, And behold, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven whilst [elsewhere] it is written, [behold, thy king cometh unto thee … ] lowly, and riding upon an donkey! — if they are meritorious, [he will come] with the clouds of heaven; if not, lowly and riding upon an donkey. King Shapur [I] said to Samuel, ’Ye maintain that the Messiah will come upon an donkey: I will rather send him a white horse of mine.’ Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Sanhedrin Folio 98a
The truth is that it is not either/or, but both/and….He will come the first time on donkey, the second time in the clouds!
D. Jesus Reigns in His Stealth Kingdom
1. During World War II, some conquered countries preserved what they could of their nation through underground movements and secret meetings, sometimes outside of the conquered nation -- to keep their identity and government alive. The church is different; we are not in survival mode, but "thrival" mode…
2. Jesus current Kingdom on earth is growing.
3. "Most evangelicals now live in China, South Korea, India, Africa and Latin America, where they are transforming their religion. In various ways, they are making evangelical Christianity at once more conservative and more liberal. They are infusing it with local traditions and practices. And they are even sending “reverse missionaries” to Europe and the United States.
4. "In 1960, there were an estimated 50 million evangelical Christians in the West, and 25 million in the rest of the world; today, there are an estimated 75 million in the West, and 325 million in the rest of the world (representing about 20 percent of the two billion Christians worldwide), according to Robert Kilgore, chairman of the board of the missionary organization Christar."
[source: http://www.religionnewsblog.com/13711/evangelical-christianity-shifting-outside-west]
II. The Palm Signifies REJOICING (Leviticus 23:40)
They tell us that following Jesus brings joy
A. We Live A Tabernacles Lifestyle in a Subjugated World
"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." Leviticus 23:40
The Jews were subjugated to the Romans, but Jesus’ followers were free in a different realm…
B. God wants us to manifest His joy
1. Romans 14:17, "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit…"
2. Life is better if we take a joyful attitude
3. Les & Leslie Parrots: key to marital joy is a positive attitude and adjusting to circumstances beyond one’s control…
III. The Palm Signifies God’s SALVATION (John 12:12-16)
They tell us that Jesus saves now but will one day bring His salvation to the entire earth
Note: typo in sheet…should be John 12:12-16
A. HOSANNA means, "save now"
B. Based on a PSALM
Psalm 118:23-27
"The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
"O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you. The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar."
• Tabernacles is the Feast of the Millennium; this was a taste of it…
C. But God’s timing is not ours; His first century followers wanted Jesus to set up His Kingdom on earth; 2,000 years have gone by, and he hasn’t yet.
D. We want God to answer our prayer, but He takes His time; we want an unpleasant era of our lives to pass quickly, but God takes His time; we want to see a wayward child return to the Lord, but God takes His time…or sometimes we do not see it. But it is not wrong to cry out, "Lord, save now!"
E. We will experience God’s salvation, not a matter of "if" but "when." After all, what is a few thousand years in light of eternity? It is long to us, but, objectively, all of human history has been like a flash in the pan.
IV. The Palm Signifies VICTORY (Revelation 7:9-10)
The palms tell us that, in Christ, we have the victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil -- and death itself!
A. Believers are pictured as holding palms…
"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ’Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’" (Revelation 7:9-10)
B. Palms are the visuals for victory!
Simon Maccabeus entered the Akra at Jerusalem after its capture, "with thanksgiving, and branches of palm trees, and with harps, and cymbals, and with viols, and hymns, and songs: because there was destroyed a great enemy out of Israel" (1 Macc 13:51) [source: ISBE article, "Palms"]
CONCLUSION
Palm Sunday tells us that Jesus is the King, that the Christian life is a life of joy, that God has brought salvation to this earth, and that in Christ, we have the victory!
