PALM SUNDAY IS MORE THAN JUST THE WAVING OF PALM BRANCHES. PALM SUNDAY IS MORE THAN TELLING THE STORY OF JESUS RIDING ON A DONKEY. PALM SUNDAY IS THE CATALYST FOR FULFILING PROPHECY. PALM SUNDAY NEEDED TO HAPPEN.
THE HIGHEST PEAK OF SALVATION HISTORY IS NOW BEING ACCOMPLISHED WHEN ALL THAT HAS BEEN ANTICIPATED AND PROMISED WILL SOON BE ACHIEVED. IT WON’T BE LONG BEFORE JESUS SPEAKS THE WORDS OF LUKE 22:37, “…EVERYTHING WRITTEN ABOUT ME BY THE PROPHETS WILL COME TRUE.”
THE CELEBRATION OF PASSOVER HAS JERUSALEM PACKED WITH WORSHIPPERS AND AFTER THREE YEARS OF MINISTRY, JESUS NOW TALKS IN A WHOLE NEW TONE. THIS YEAR, FOR PASSOVER, JESUS SAYS, IN MATTHEW 26:18, “MY APPOINTED TIME IS NEAR.”
LUKE’S ACCOUNT OF WHAT WE KNOW AS “HOLY WEEK” ACTUALLY BEGINS BACK WITH LUKE 9:51, “WHEN THE DAYS DREW NEAR FOR HIM TO BE TAKEN UP, HE SET HIS FACE TO GO TO JERUSALEM.” THE TIME HAS COME AND JESUS OBEDIENTLY SETS HIS SIGHTS ON BEGINNING THE END OF HIS MISSION. THERE ARE TEN CHAPTERS IN LUKE COVERING THIS JOURNEY THAT IS WAY MORE THAN JUST RIDING A DONKEY DOWN THE STREETS OF JERUSALEM.
THE FIRST ENCOUNTER OF JESUS ON THIS JOURNEY IS ONE OF REJECTION AS THE SAMARITANS WOULD NOT RECEIVE HIM. JAMES AND JOHN IN BITTER DISGUST WANT TO COMMAND FIRE DOWN FROM HEAVEN TO BURN THEM ALL UP. JESUS RESPONDS WITH A POWRFUL STATEMENT, “FOR THE SON OF MAN DID NOT COME TO DESTROY MEN’S LIVES BUT TO SAVE THEM” (LUKE 9:56).
THERE WAS MANY THINGS JESUS ACCOMPLISHED: HE SENT OUT THE SEVENTY INTO MINISTRY. JESUS TOLD THE PARABLE OF “THE GOOD SAMARITAN.” HE TEACHES HIS DISCIPLES TO PRAY. JESUS HEALS 10 LEPARS AND WELCOMES CHILDREN TO BLESS THEM. HE TAKES THE TIME TO STOP AT A SYCAMORE TREE TO HAVE A PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH A MAN NAMED ZACCHAEUS.
LAST, BUT NOT LEAST, THERE ARE AT LEAST 45 PARABLES, TEACHINGS, PREDICTIONS, WARNINGS, AND HEALING ENCOUNTERS THAT JESUS MAKES WITH THE PEOPLE AND HIS DISCIPLES. JESUS HAS COMMANDED EACH SITUATION WITH PRECISION AND IN FULL AUTHORITY. JESUS, THE PROPITIATION, REACHES THE MOUNT OF OLIVES AND NOW PREPARES FOR THE DESCENT INTO JERUSALEM.
JESUS OCCUPIES THIS CRUCIAL GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION AS THE MESSIAH. THIS IS NO ACCIDENT, FOR IT SPEAKS OF PROPHECY WHEN JESUS WILL RETURN TO THIS VERY PLACE A SECOND TIME AS THE PRINCE OF PEACE! ZECHARIAH 14:4, “ON THAT DAY HIS FEET WILL STAND ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, EAST OF JERUSALEM.”
JESUS IS READY BECAUSE HE HAS PREPARED HIMSELF TO BE READY AND WILLING TO TAKE SUCH A JOURNEY. FIRST, JESUS SENDS TWO DISCIPLES AHEAD TO GET A SPECIFIC COLT FOR HIM TO RIDE. THIS IS A COLT THAT HAS NEVER BEEN RIDDEN. ANOTHER CLUE! AN UNRIDDEN ANIMAL IS A SYMBOL OF PURITY AND SOMETHING THAT IS ONLY FITTING OF A KING!
THE “CODE WORD” FOR GETTING THE COLT IS TO JUST SAY, “THE LORD NEEDS IT. THE WORD “LORD” IS THE WORD “KYRIOS” WHICH IS A TERM USED FOR BOTH A PROPERTY OWNER OR MASTER, AS WELL AS THE PRIMARY NAME FOR GOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. THAT IS ANOTHER CLUE! SO, BY SAYING THE “LORD HAS NEED” IS ACTUALLY SAYING THAT IF ANYONE OBJECTS, THE OWNER, GOD HIMSELF, NEEDS THE ANIMALS. HERE WE SEE THAT THIS WAS TRULY GOD’S PLAN ALL ALONG!
THEN, WE MUST ASK, WHY A DONKEY? HISTORY TELLS US THIS IS NOTHING NEW! RIDING A DONKEY FOR CEREMONIAL ENTRY INTO A CITY WAS AN ACT OF KINGSHIP. 1 KINGS 1:33-44, WE READ OF KING DAVID HAVING HIS SON, SOLOMON, ANNOINTED AS THE NEXT KING. “AND THE KING SAID TO THEM, “TAKE WITH YOU THE SERVANTS OF YOUR LORD AND HAVE SOLOMON MY SON RIDE ON MY OWN MULE, AND BRING HIM DOWN TO GIHON. AND LET ZADOK THE PRIEST AND NATHAN THE PROPHET THERE ANOINT HIM KING OVER ISRAEL. THEN BLOW THE TRUMPET AND SAY, ‘LONG LIVE KING SOLOMON!’”
THE DONKEY IS A SIGN OF PEACE! THEREFORE, A MAN WHO RIDES A DONKEY COMES IN PEACE AND ISN’T LOOKING FOR WAR. ALSO, FROM A ROMAN INTERPRETATION, HE IS A KING WHO IS NOT LOOKING TO CONQUER NOR LOOKING TO REBEL AGAINST CAESAR!
THE PEACE JESUS SYMBOLIZES THROUGH THE USE OF A DONKEY IS THE PEACE HE GIVES TO EACH OF US! JOHN 14:27, “I AM LEAVING YOU WITH A GIFT—PEACE OF MIND AND HEART. AND THE PEACE I GIVE IS A GIFT THE WORLD CANNOT GIVE. SO DON’T BE TROUBLED OR AFRAID.” THE DONKEY NOT ONLY SYMBOLIZES PEACE, BUT PROCLAIMS THAT JESUS IS KING!
THE TIME HAS NOW COME! JESUS IS HELPED ONTO THE DONKEY AND BEGINS THE RIDE INTO JERUSALEM FULFILLING MORE PROPHECY OF ZECHARIAH 9:9, “REJOICE, O PEOPLE OF ZION! SHOUT IN TRIUMPH, O PEOPLE OF JERUSALEM! LOOK, YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU. HE IS RIGHTEOUS AND VICTORIOUS, YET HE IS HUMBLE, RIDING ON A DONKEY—RIDING ON A DONKEY’S COLT.” THE PEOPLE LINING THE STREETS BEGIN TO REJOICE AND PRAISE GOD.
THE MULTITUDE OF PEOPLE BEGAN SPREADING THEIR CLOTHES OUT ONTO THE ROADWAY, SHOUTING “BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’PEACE IN HEAVEN AND GLORY IN THE HIGHEST!” AGAIN, THIS IS NO ACCIDENT, BUT SACRED IMAGERY OF THE VERY WORDS OF THE ANGELS THE NIGHT JESUS WAS BORN WHEN THEY SAID IN LUKE 2:14, ““GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST, AND ON EARTH PEACE, GOODWILL TOWARD MEN!”
THE MOMENT IS ALSO POWERFUL, BECAUSE WITH IT BEING PASSOVER, THEY ALWAYS RECITED THESE WORDS OF PSALM 118:26, “BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD! WE BLESS YOU FROM THE HOUSE OF THE LORD.” HOWEVER, THIS TIME, THE PEOPLE REPLACE THE WORD “HE” WITH THE WORD “KING.”
THE DISCIPLES RECOGNIZED THAT JESUS WAS THE PROMISED KING SENT FROM GOD. THIS UNDERSTANDING INSPIRES THEM TO THROW THEIR CLOTHING ONTO THE ROAD AS AN ACT TO HONOR JESUS. THE CLOTHING BEING LAID WAS THE EQUIVELANT OF OUR PRACTICE TODAY OF “ROLLING OUT THE RED CARPET.”
THE ACTION OF PUTTING YOUR GARMENTS IN THE ROADWAY WAS NOT ONLY A SIGN OF RESPECT FOR A KING, BUT BY ALLOWING THE KING TO STEP ON THEM WAS AN ACT OF SHOWING SUBMISSION TO HIS AUTHORITY! THEY WERE PROCLAIMING JESUS AS KING AND SHOWING SIGNS OF SUBMITTING TO HIS KINGSHIP!
THE PEOPLE MAY HAVE BEEN ENGAGED, BUT THE PHARISEES WERE ENRAGED AND WANTED NOTHING OF IT! THEY WERE SMART ENOUGH TO KNOW NOT ONLY WHAT THE PEOPLE WERE SAYING, BUT THE MEANING BEHIND THE WORDS OF PRAISE.
THE PHARISEES SHOUTED AT JESUS, BUT NOT WORDS OF PRAISE, BUT WORDS OF REBUKE TO DEMAND THAT JESUS SILENCE THE PEOPLE. THEY WERE DETERMINED WITH THEIR PURSUIT TO KEEP JESUS FROM GETTING RECOGNITION AS “KING” OR AS “MESSIAH.”
JESUS DID RESPOND, BUT NOT AS THEY HAD HOPED. WHAT JESUS SAID IF THE PEOPLE WERE SILENCED THEN THE STONES WOULD CRY OUT. WHAT JESUS MEANT BY THIS IS THAT THERE MUST BE SOME PROCLAMATION THAT HE IS THE MESSIAH. IF NOT, EVEN INANIMATE OBJECTS, SUCH AS ROCKS, WOULD BE CALLED ON TO TESTIFY FOR HIM.
HE WAS INDICATING THAT ALL OF HISTORY HAD POINTED TOWARD THIS SINGLE, SACRED, AND HOLY EVENT WHEN THE MESSIAH WOULD PUBLICALLY PRESENT HIMSELF TO THE WORLD, AND THAT GOD, THE FATHER, WOULD ENSURE HIS RECOGNITION.
I PRAY THAT ANSWERS THE QUESTION OF OUR MESSAGE TODAY, “WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?” JESUS IS WHAT IS GOING ON! THAT ONE EVENTFUL DAY IN THE YEAR 33 A.D. THAT WE NOW CALL “PALM SUNDAY” STILL CHALLENGES US TODAY TO SEE HOW WE WILL CHOOSE TO RECOGNIZE THE ONE CALLED JESUS CHRIST.
WE NEED TO PAUSE AND THINK ABOUT WHAT GOD WAS DOING IN AND THROUGH JESUS CHRIST IN THIS REVELATION OF HIS SON. GOD WAS CALLING EACH AND EVERY GENERATION TO MAKE THEIR DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO ACCEPT JESUS AS THEIR MESSIAH.
REMEMBER, MOST OF THE PEOPLE OF JESUS' DAY MISSED THE WHOLE POINT BY A MILE! THEY WERE TOO BUSY LOOKING FOR A MILITARY LEADER TO KNOCK THE WEIGHT OF ROMAN RULE OFF THEIR SHOULDERS. MOST OF THEM JUST DIDN'T GET IT.
THE PHARISEES GOT IT, DIDN’T LIKE IT, AND REJECTED JESUS AND REFUSED TO RECOGNIZE THAT HE WAS THE MESSIAH. IN FACT, WE ARE TOLD IN MARK 14:1, “IT WAS NOW TWO DAYS BEFORE PASSOVER AND THE FESTIVAL OF UNLEAVENED BREAD. THE LEADING PRIESTS AND THE TEACHERS OF RELIGIOUS LAW WERE STILL LOOKING FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO CAPTURE JESUS SECRETLY AND KILL HIM.” THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS TURNED AWAY FROM JESUS AND TURNED TOWARDS JUDAS, WITH A BRIBE, TO RID THEMSELVES OF JESUS.
WE CELEBRATE PALM SUNDAY BECAUSE WE "GET IT,” WE NOT ONLY “GET IT,” BUT ALSO ACCEPT JESUS CHRIST FOR WHO HE CLAIMED TO BE; THE MESSIAH. THE SAVIOR. WE KNOW THAT JESUS CHRIST IS TRULY THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB THAT TOOK AWAY OUR SINS AND THE SINS OF THE WORLD.
WE REJOICE AND SHOUT "HOSANNA" BECAUSE HE HAS SAVED US SPIRITUALLY FROM THE DEBT OF OUR SINS. WE REJOICE AND PRAISE HIM AS OUR LORD FOR REDEEMING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
SO, BEHOLD AND REJOICE GREATLY PEOPLE OF GOD! SHOUT WITH JOY! FOR YOUR KING HAS COME! HE IS THE RIGHTEOUS ONE, THE VICTOR! YET HE IS LOWLY, RIDING ON A DONKEY’S COLT. HE IS JESUS THE CHRIST, THE WORD MADE FLESH, SON OF ALMIGHTY GOD.
JESUS IS YOUR SALVATION. HE COMES TO YOU AND BIDS YOUR ACCEPTANCE BY CRYING OUT “HOSANNA” FOR JESUS TO SAVE YOU ON THIS VERY PALM SUNDAY! JUST REMEMBER THE WORDS AND BE ENCOURAGED BY ROMANS 10:13, “FOR “EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
