Palm Sunday—April 5, 1998
Luke 19:29,41,45; Revelation 19
Intro:
Passover . . . moments of solemnety and sheer awe . . . hours and days of fun and sheer fellowship. People WALKED great distances to be there . . . TALKED together. SANG the "songs of ascents"
[Ps 122 "I was glad when they said unto me let us go to the house of the Lord"]
Abraham walked up [Zion] with Isaac... David bought Aurauna's threshingfloor there and made an altar ... Solomon built his magnificent Temple there: IT IS AN INDESCRIBABLE FEELING TO JOIN THE GENERATIONS COMING TO THE HOLY CITY TO MEET WITH GOD.
This Passover was different from all others before or since! ALL the prophecies of ALL the scriptures would focus on a CROSS just five days hence.
THIS IS THE CONTEXT OF THAT TRIUMPHAL ENTRY:
I. THE VEILED MAJESTY OF PALM SUNDAY
(What did Jesus DO ?)
He accepted (imperfect) praise! (1) They anticipated victory they THOUGHT they understood (19:11) (2) They rejoiced in the miracles they had seen (19:37) (3) They could not grasp the great SACRIFICE; the tremendous STRUGGLE; the VICTORY JUST AHEAD!
(19:41) The king showed great compassion; He wept! Because He would be rejected and suffer? NO! Because THEY rejected Him, and THEY would suffer and die!
(Illustration: Note the sheer beauty of Boston - - what do we see? Now, what does Jesus see?)
(19:45) The KING must be JUST!
Here is just a hint of what the CONQUERING KING will do to this universe when our probation TIME is ended! "Temple" does not mean church building (to me;) it means Shekinah— your heart— our worship together!
II. THIS IS AN UNFINISHED, INCOMPLETE MESSAGE TODAY.
ANY PALM SUNDAY MESSAGE IS AN UNFINISHED MESSAGE
JESUS IS STILL ENCOURAGING OUR PRAISE...
...even though it is still incomplete and partial. We THINK we have a handle on the truth— and we DO have the advantage of two thousand years' worth of perspective. By now Tony Campolo's sermon "It's Friday— but Sunday's coming!" is famous...and rightly so! But even knowing now what we know, and being invited to be a part of Christ's ministry, we are reminded that the story is unfinished! And at the same time...
JESUS IS STILL WEEPING OVER THE LOST!
It is NOT wrong to say that we must praise and be joyful, and at the same time we must have the Lord's compassion and share in His suffering.
JESUS WANTS TO CLEANSE YOUR HOLY PLACE
...and He wants to cleanse mine! It is important that the temple of our hearts, the place where God's glory can dwell, be cleansed. And when pure hearts come together in worship, THERE is the Church! THEN God's kingdom is carried forward!
CONCLUSION:
III. AND ONE DAY THIS PALM SUNDAY MESSAGE WILL BE COMPLETED.
One day the whole world will see THE MAJESTY OF JESUS! The Palm Sunday's Triumphal March was followed in five short days by another kind of procession, still led by our King. He was led forth to die! But it is important to remember that Jesus was NO martyr!
In Luke 24 we read that even as He was going to Calvary Jesus said to the people that were crying out and weeping: "Don't weep for Me! Weep for yourselves! Weep for Jerusalem! Weep for those upon whom judgment shall fall!" For Jesus was and is the Lamb of God. The Lamb before Whom the powerful of this earth will flee to the rocks and mountains because of His wrath! The same!
(Revelation 6:16 Cry to the mountains, 'Fall on us! And hide us from the wrath of the Lamb!')
But there is yet to be still another processional!
The story is not finished on Palm Sunday, nor Good Friday— nor even Easter— nor even Pentecost! This same Jesus, who entered Jerusalem on a gentle donkey to the shouts of children waving palm branches is coming again in a different sort of majesty!
Hear the words from the closing chapters of the Bible:
(Rev. 19:11-16;22:10-13) And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called. Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. And (the angel) saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And behold I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I AM Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
As we walk with Jesus this Holy Week, as we take Communion with Him Thursday evening, and as we remember Calvary— in it all Jesus is King! And even beyond Easter and Pentecost— remember... one day all this Universe will know and acknowledge the majesty of our KING!
Let us pray:
One day every knee shall bow! Today help OUR tongues to confess that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father! Amen!
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Dr. Russell Metcalfe is Pastor Emeritus of the Wollaston Church of the Nazarene. Permission to reprint or publish this material is GRANTED as long as the reprinting or republishing is not-for-profit.
You can access more of Dr. Metcalfe’s sermons at his scripturally indexed sermon archives web site. Now with MP3 audio sermons and audio bonus material. http://russellmetcalfesermons.nazarene.nl/Sermons/Sermons.htm
