Introduction:
Palm Sunday begins the final week of Jesus Christ’s life on earth. It begins with His Triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus was known to travel on foot or by boat on a few occasions but this time He chose to ride on a donkey for the first time. He was welcomed with the waving of palm branches and shouts of Hosanna from Psalm 118 meaning save or save now. Biographers normally devote very little space to the death of their subjects but the authors of the Gospels devote nearly a third of their length to the final week of Jesus’ life. Each one of them give a detailed account of the events leading to His suffering and death. The many processions taking place this morning is an enactment of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem proclaiming that He is the Messiah. He chose a procession, which was different from that of the Romans, where rulers or generals would ride on decorated horses or in golden chariots accompanied by officers in polished armour. Jesus’ procession was different because Jesus did not come to rescue the Jews as a warring king, but to save the world from sin and Satan as a gentle, humble and peace-loving king. The Messiah knew what awaited Him in Jerusalem but He went anyway Knowing that His suffering was for a purpose.
Step One: The public revelation of the Messiah
a) The ride on a donkey
Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem was a public revelation of the Messiah’s presence. It fulfilled in every detail the prophecies made concerning Him. Jesus entered Jerusalem fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy by riding on a colt that had never been ridden and we all know how difficult and stubborn donkeys are. This was because objects used for sacred purposes should not have been used for any other purpose before.
b) The Passover Lamb
The triumphal entry into Jerusalem was a revelation of the Messiah as the Passover Lamb. He entered Jerusalem at a time when people from all over the world had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. The occasion provided them with the opportunity not only to hear and witness what was happening but to understand the truth that the Messiah was the Lamb of God, the perfect Passover sacrifice.
c) The worship of the people
The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem was the moment when Christ publicly declared that He is the Messiah by accepting the praise and worship of the people. He did this at a time the Roman Governor with Roman soldiers were in Jerusalem to suppress any attempted uprising against Roman rule during the Passover Feast and according to Rome only their emperor deserved to be worshipped.
Illustration:
Jesus entered Jerusalem at a time the Jews were preparing to celebrate their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Their deliverance was not without battle and ten terrible plagues fell on Egypt before they were allowed to leave. The last of the ten plagues was the death of all the firstborn of animals and men. To save His people God made provision to pass over them. They had to kill lambs that were without blemish and sprinkle the blood on the lintels and doorposts of their homes. When the destroying angel saw the blood, he would pass over them since a death had already taken place. The Passover prophetically portrayed the deliverance from slavery and bondage to sin by the Messiah. Just as the Passover lamb gave the Israelites the chance of a new beginning, so our Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ, gives us the chance of a new beginning.
Application:
The death of the Passover Lamb prevented the death of the first born of the Jews when the blood of the Passover Lamb was applied on the lintels and doorposts of their homes. Jesus Christ is our Passover Lamb and His death prevents our death when we apply His blood by “confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead”. (Rom. 10:9)
Step Two: The suffering of the Messiah
a) The shedding of blood
Sin was the reason for the suffering of the Messiah for “The wages of sin is death”. (Rom 6:23) The only person qualified to pay the price for man’s sin is a man without a sin nature. The Messiah was fully man and fully God, was born of a virgin and tempted in every way as we are but did not sin. Jesus Christ, although He is God, humbled Himself and took on the nature of man and shed His blood to pay the wages of sin and give us God’s gift of eternal life. (Rom 6:23)
b) The lack of all things
“Our Lord Jesus Christ, though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Cor.8:9) Jesus Christ experienced extreme poverty on the cross. He experienced the lack of all things. He was hungry and thirsty and one of His last words were “I thirst”. On the cross He had nothing, He was naked and in need of everything. He was buried in a borrowed robe and in a borrowed tomb.
c) The separation from His Father
Jesus greatest suffering must have been to be separated from His Father. One of His last words were a quotation from Psalm 22:1 “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46) Jesus was forsaken and rejected so that we might be accepted as God’s beloved children who can come to Him and call Him Father.
Illustration:
It is easy to wave a palm branch on Palm Sunday, sing, and recount our Lord’s last procession into Jerusalem. But that is not all that Christ demands from us. He demands that our lives are a reflection of His life. Like the relationship of Christ with the Father, we are to have an intimate relationship with Him. Christ learnt how to be sustained by the Word and trust God to help Him in time of need. This was what strengthened Him when they beat his face, pulled out His beard and spat on Him. He wants us to remember that our salvation is only a free gift because He paid the full price for sin. It does not cost us anything but it cost God all He had, His only Son. Jesus Christ took our place and bore the full judgement of God on sin so that we could take His place. He became our sacrifice for the sin offering. Under the Old Covenant the sacrifice for the sin offering had to be repeated over and over again because the judgement of God on sin was far greater than the sacrifice. It pointed to the need for a better sacrifice, a perfect sacrifice that would not have to be repeated. It pointed to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. There Jesus Christ after He had exhausted all the judgement of God on sin cried out “It is finished”. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ was far greater than the judgement and therefore there is no longer any need for a sacrifice.
Application:
Jesus Christ wants us to follow in His footsteps. We cannot pay the price for sin but we can learn how to be sustained by the Word and trust God to meet our needs. Christ suffered greatly for our sakes. Let us be sensitive to His Word and voice and completely trust Him to protect us and take care of our needs.
Step Three: The purpose of His suffering
a) Christ restored our godly nature
Christ suffered in our place to restore our godly nature. When Adam sinned, he lost his godly nature and all of us have inherited Adams sinful nature for in Adam “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23).
b) Christ gives us a new status
Christ took our place and suffered to give us a new status as a child of God. He was made sin with our sinfulness so that we could be made righteous with His righteousness. He gave us a righteousness that had never known sin before to make us children of God.
c) Christ gives us a new direction
Christ has not only given us a new nature and status but also a new direction to follow. As God’s beloved children we are to align our thinking with the Word of God as we renew our mind by studying and meditating on His Word. Christ’s new direction is a way of life that acts in accordance with His Word and His Spirit.
Illustration:
Jesus Christ after offering His blood sat down at the Father’s right-hand signifying that no sacrifice would ever be needed again. The blood of Christ had accomplished eternal redemption for all mankind. It is so important that it must always be remembered. Christ did not leave any pictures of Himself. He did not leave us books He had written. It would seem that what He did in life would serve as a memorial for all time. Maybe if we were perfect, but the frailty of the human nature requires that we are constantly reminded, lest we forget. The communion, using the elements of bread and wine, which signify the Body and Blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, is a reminder and memorial of Jesus’ perfect life on earth and His death on the cross. It is a reminder of the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life. We need to be reminded less we forget why Christ’s body was broken and why His blood was shed? How many of us remember that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus? We need to remember that we do not partake of His blood to become righteous but that we partake of His blood because we have been made righteous. We need to remember that we do not partake of His broken body to be made whole but we partake of it because we have been made whole, not only a part of us but every part of our body and soul. We need to believe and take hold by faith all the provisions of Christ through His suffering and death on the cross.
Application:
The Holy Communion is a constant reminder of what Christ has done for us less we forget. Let us always remember that Jesus took our place and in exchange gives us His place. All that belonged to Him now belongs also to His people and we glorify Him when we enjoy the fullness of His life.
Conclusion:
Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross meant for another person named Barabbas. He had been found guilty of rebellion against the Roman government and sentenced to death with two other people. When Jesus Christ took his place, it meant that Barabbas was declared not guilty and set free. Barabbas represents each one of us. We are all guilty of rebellion against God and deserve to die. But Jesus Christ, the Son of God without a sin nature, took our place on the cross, that we might be freed from the sentence of death and set free. Christ paid a great price for our redemption. The price was the most terrible form of death described as a sadistic form of torture that deliberately prolonged the pain and postponed death for as long as possible. To the Romans it was so shameful that it was reserved for slaves and the worst criminals but it was God’s chosen way of salvation. Christ died as our substitute. He died instead of us, so that we might not have to die for our sins. But He also died as our representative, so that when He died, we died with Him. When He was buried, we were buried with Him and when He rose from the dead, we rose with Him.
Personal Response:
“As He is so also are we in this world”. (1 John 4:17) We are like Him and our celebration of Palm Sunday should remind us to follow His example of humility and obedience to service to the praise and glory of Almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
