It must have been quite the sight, the people lining the lingering road that lead from the Mount of Olives down and then up into the city of Jerusalem. People were scrambling to get a glimpse of the man who they heard about, but maybe never got a chance to actually see themselves. This wasn’t the first time that Jesus had been welcomed by people lining the streets or drew such large crowds of people. Jesus regularly throughout the last three years of his ministry had thousands who would come to hear him preach and teach. Remember that account of Jesus’ feeding the 5,000? Crowds would wait and line the roads when they heard that Jesus was coming to their town. So maybe this day described in Matthew 21 which we call Palm Sunday wasn’t quite as unique as we think. In fact, it probably wasn’t even the largest or maybe even the loudest crowd that Jesus had experienced.
But there WAS something different about that day, something different about the atmosphere, something different in the actions and the message of the people. They had cut down palm branches and used their cloaks to line the roadway, something that was reserved for arrival of a king or head of state. Suddenly the crowds were not afraid to publicly proclaim who they believed or wanted Jesus to be. They cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21:9). However, it was the one thing to think that about Jesus, or to even say it up north in Galilee where no one really cared what happened. But it was a totally different thing to say it out loud in Jerusalem, during the Passover Feast that packed full this city, when Romans soldiers were keeping a close watch for even a hint of rebel activity against the Roman Empire. If word got back to government officials what these people were saying, that there was a new king in town, this could ugly rather quickly. It could end in executions.
But the crowds didn’t care. The gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus said to those who were telling him to keep these people quiet, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out” (Luke 20:40). The cries of the crowd could not be contained! “Hosanna” which means, “Save us!” continued to come from the people. But FROM WHAT did they what Jesus to save them? And FOR WHAT did they want Jesus to save them? What did they actually want Jesus to do?
How many of them simply looked to Jesus to save them from the problems of their lives? Save them from the oppression of the Roman Empire, foreigners that had invaded their land, treating them like second-class citizens at best and were taxing them into submission. Save them from the problems that they knew waited for them when they went back home: a sick child, a difficult marriage, the pain of chronic disease, the uncertainty of employment, the sadness of having lost a loved one, the loneliness of an empty house. They cried out to Jesus, “Save us!” but what did they want Jesus to save them from? How many were looking to Jesus and thinking, “Jesus, take away the problems and make our lives more enjoyable , more of the way we think it should be…more of the way we would like it to be. Jesus, save us!”
It makes me wonder, if Jesus decided to make a visible appearance today in our world, how many people do you think would line the streets and cry out to him, “Hosanna! Save us!” Now there might be cynics that would say, “Not many” but I’m not so sure. How many people have already been doing that WITHOUT Jesus making a visible appearance? How many people throughout our world have been calling out to God, “Save us!” If you listen carefully, I think there have actually been quite a few. It’s kind of the natural response when tragedy strikes, when sadness overwhelms, when life is hard, when the future seems uncertain, when financial ruin stares us in the face – when we are reawakened to our limitations, to our weaknesses, to our mortality – people are quick to cry out, “Jesus, save us!” But again I ask, FROM WHAT are we looking to be saved? And FOR WHAT are we asking to be saved? Saved from the things I don’t like, that are uncomfortable, that are scary? Save me from those things so that I can have the life I want to have? So that I can do what I want to do? What are we looking for Jesus to do for us?
Please don’t misunderstand me. Does the Lord Jesus care about the things that you are going through in your life today? Absolutely he does! In fact, it is God who invites and promise us, “Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me” (Psalm 50:15). Yes, the Lord sees and is concerned about your struggles, your sadness, your fears, the problems that you face. He is interested in you and wants to help you. Just look at Jesus’ life and ministry. They were not conducted in vacuum, away from people. Not at all! Jesus was interested in people, he was involved in their lives and in their problems. His miracles relieved people’s suffering and removed limitations which allowed them enjoy life more fully. Yes, Jesus can and, more often than we probably give him credit for, does save us from our problems, take away pains and give us strength to endure them. But if that’s all that we’re looking for Jesus to do, then like many in that Palm Sunday crowd, we’ve also missed who this man riding into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday truly is for us.
If Jesus is only someone to save us from the problems of this life and make us comfortable for now, then Jesus isn’t much of a Savior at all. Then he’s just wining and dining us during this life while knowing that when it comes to an end, we will be lost forever, separated from him for an eternity in hell. But at least he gave us a good time while it lasted, right??? No!
Jesus wants so much more for us. Jesus did not just want FOR AWHILE, Jesus wants FOREVER! Jesus does not just want you to be comfortable or to know joy or happiness for awhile, he wants you to know it without end. While those things are always temporary in this world, Jesus wanted you to have them permanently. What would that take? It would take Palm Sunday. It would take the Lord God Almighty, the creator of all things and everyone coming into this world and taking our place. You see, Jesus is not riding into Jerusalem on a donkey because always wanted to know what it would be like to ride on a donkey or because he needed an ego boost. No!
• Jesus goes to Jerusalem for you and me.
• Jesus goes to Jerusalem, fully knowing what is waiting for him there and what would happen to him over the next week: hatred, betrayal, desertion, arrest, suffering, crucifixion, death.
• Jesus goes to Jerusalem to offer his perfect life in the place of imperfect people – people like us – people who have at times manipulated Jesus into the type of Savior we want him to be instead of the Savior we need him to be, for people like us who have robbed him of the honor he rightly deserves by doing what WE want instead of what HE wants. For us Jesus goes to Jerusalem to sacrifice his life at the cross as the payment for our eternal life with him.
• Jesus goes to Jerusalem to die so that when our life comes to an end, it will not be the end, but the beginning of perfection, joy, happiness, peace, healing, that will have no end. You might be familiar with the glimpse of heaven’s glory that Jesus gives in Revelation 21:4, “God will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
• That’s what Jesus came to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday for, that’s what Jesus is saving you for! That’s what the empty tomb of Easter morning assures us is waiting for us at the end of this life – a perfect life that has no end.
Last week when the CDC guidelines concerning social distancing and various restrictions were extended throughout April, I’m not sure how many people were actually surprised by the extension, but it was a sobering reminder that this isn’t going to be quick, nor is it going to be painless, as we see the growing number of deaths caused by COVID 19. It’s going to be hard and it’s going to be awhile. With that reality setting in I read an article that used a term like “restriction fatigue.” People just get worn down by all the restrictions. The situations tires people out and they actually begin to give up after awhile.
I think that is a danger for Christians as we go throughout life and things don’t go as planned. We face times like the ones we’re going through, times that are hard, times of loss, times when sadness set in because you can’t see or hug a loved one, the disappoints and difficulties seem to come one after the other, and it might feel like there is no end in sight. There we are crying out to Jesus, “Save us!” and it seems like he’s just riding on by not listening to us. While we might be tempted to think his answer is, “No!” actually his answer is, “Not yet.” That’s why we need Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday points us to the Savior who road into Jerusalem to save us – to save us not just for awhile from the hardships of this life, but to save us forever. And so we continue to call out with confidence and praise to Jesus, “Hosanna! Save us!” knowing that he already has, that’s why he came to Jerusalem – to save us from sin and to save us for heaven’s never-ending glory. Amen.
