Palm Sunday
April 16, 2000
INTRODUCTION
There is a legend about an ancient village in Spain. The villagers learned that the king would pay a visit. In a thousand years, a king had never come to that village. Excitement grew. "We must throw a big celebration!" The villagers all agreed. But, it was a poor village, and there weren’t many resources. Someone came up with a classic idea. Since many of the villagers made their own wines, the idea was for everyone in the village bring a large cup of their choice wine to the town square. They said, “We’ll pour it into a large vat and offer it to the king for his pleasure! When the king draws wine to drink, it will be the very best he’s ever tasted!”
The day before the king’s arrival, hundreds of people lined up to make their offering to the honored guest. They climbed a small stairway, and poured their gift through a small opening at the top. Finally, the vat was full! The King arrived, was escorted to the square, given a silver cup and was told to draw some wine, which represented the best the villagers had.
He placed the cup under the spigot, turned the handle, and then drank the wine, but it was nothing more than water. You see, every villager reasoned, "I’ll withhold my best wine and substitute water. What with so many cups of wine in the vat, the king will never know the difference!" The problem was, everyone thought the same thing, and the king was greatly dishonored.
A. Palm Sunday is all about a day when the King of Kings was greatly honored. Because people gave the very best they had – a gift of praise.
This day marks the beginning of the end for Jesus’ earthly life. The first day in what was to be his last week. His weekend would take him to a cross on Friday morning, into a tomb on Friday night and all day Saturday, then ultimately result in him being raised to life again on the following Sunday morning. Let’s read from the Bible how the events of Palm Sunday turned out approximately 1967 years ago today.
***READ TEXT***
Mark 11:1-10
1As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”
4They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”
“Hosanna in the highest!”
I. JESUS’ MISSION: TO SAVE
A. Jesus rode into Jerusalem that day on a mission.
It was Passover. The greatest of all the Jewish feasts, and people from all over Israel made their pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate this holiday commemorating God’s mighty work of freeing the Jews from Egyptian bondage during the days of Moses.
Jesus, already having traveled and taught and performed miracles over the past three years was making what would turn out to be his last trip to this Holy City. He knew what would happen there…how he would be treated…how he would die. But he had a mission.
1. Just a few days earlier he had made the statement, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10)
2. The word Hosanna literally means “Save!”
“Save!” the crowd shouted. I wonder if Jesus thought, “That’s exactly what I’m here to do. How right you are, but how little you understand.”
3. Without knowing the details, the crowd was clearly articulating what Jesus came to do.
B. As Jesus rode into town, the people let loose with joyous, uninhibited praise.
A crowd of people, probably from his home region of Galilee, gather and shout Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
1. By Jesus’ time, Hosanna had become a common shout of Jewish praise to God.
Hosanna literally meant to save – To say Hosanna was to praise.
The text says the people were laying things down before Jesus. Their cloaks and branches from the fields.
2. By spreading their coats on the road, as well as freshly cut branches, it was their version of rolling out the red carpet.
What a scene that must have been. The Pharisees told Jesus he ought to rebuke his disciples.
3. Jesus said, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out!” (Luke 19:40)
God deserves praise. And if people won’t do it, his Creation will continue to cry out. Majestic mountains, mighty oceans, the expansive stars of the universe, sun, moon, stars, trees, hills and yes even rocks scream forth the praises of the Creator – the One God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The One who also happened to ride into Jerusalem on an inauspicious donkey to face a cruel death at the hands of sinful men.
***
Close your eyes and imagine something. I want you to imagine your street – the street on which you live. Picture in your mind what that street looks like – where you live – where the trees are – where the other houses or apartments are – where people park their cars – the general amount of traffic that is typically on your street. Imagine yourself standing outside next to your street very close to where you live. Got that picture?
Now I want you to imagine that coming down your street you spot a crowd of people. And in the middle of that crowd of people is a man riding on a donkey. You recognize the man as Jesus. People are laying things down. Some of your neighbors are rushing to the curb to lay things down too. Jesus approaches where you are standing, riding closer, as he passes by what do you lay down?
C. Key question: If Jesus came riding down your street, what would you lay down before Him?
II. OUR MISSION: TO PRAISE
A. To praise Jesus is essentially to give Him a compliment.
1. It can be done publicly or privately.
2. It can be done in a variety of ways. (Spoken words, printed words, words that are sung in a song. Can be painted, signed with hands, or even perfomed through drama or dance – just about any mode of communication is an avenue for praise)
3. It’s what we’ve been called to do: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)
Part of our mission, if we’re followers of Jesus is to praise
Praise means to pay Jesus a compliment
Put in a good word for Him
Say good things about Him and what He’s done
Tell Him thank you for something He’s done
Make a joyful noise
So again we need to ask ourselves this key question: If Jesus came riding down your street, what would you lay down before Him?
To answer that best we should consider if there is anything standing in the way of our ability to praise.
B. What kinds of things inhibit our praise?
1. Pride?
We may not want to admit it, but perhaps pride stands in the way of our praise. I wonder if sometimes we might overlook pride as it relates to praise by referring to it as temperament. We might say, “Well, by nature, I’m just not a very expressive person. My temperament doesn’t lend itself to the kind of praise that took place on that first Palm Sunday. I’m too reserved.”
I’ll tell someone who is not reserved. Roberto Benigni. He’s the Italian guy who won the "Oscar" for best actor last year for the film "Life Is Beautiful."
I didn’t watch the Academy Awards last year, but I read that upon hearing his name called, Roberto Benigni leaped to his feet ... threw his arms in the air ... skipped across the tops of the seats ... bounded to the stage ... squeezed Sophia Loren so tightly that he nearly crushed her... and then rambled (in half-English, half-Italian) about "this being a moment of colossal joy," and wanting to "kiss everybody and die in this ocean of generosity."
This being the same man who once bear-hugged the Pope, kissing him over and over, while calling him "Babbo" ... or "Daddy." Leading the Pope to say: "You are very Italian."
Roberto Beningi would have fit right in on Palm Sunday. He’d have no problem throwing down his coat and waving a palm branch.
There was another guy who came up to get his Oscar last year ... one of the lesser Oscars ... shortly after Benigni received his. And, in expressing his gratitude, this very reserved gentlemen, whose name I do not know, began by saying: "Inside, I feel like Roberto Benigni." And the audience chuckled.
Now that’s temperament. The second man was just as grateful, but he expressed it in a different way. Praise to Jesus can be offered in many different ways, just as sincerely by someone who raises their hands and dances and by someone who bows their head in reverent respect.
So how might we sometimes confuse temperament with pride? When we don’t engage praise when we have the opportunity, and shrug it off as temperament, or just being reserved, we’re kidding ourselves.
My Dad is a very reserved individual. But something many people think of when they think about my dad is how LOUD he sings in church. You put him in a church of thousands and you could still hear him – he can really let it rip. And what makes him stand out is that he always sings the bass line. (Kim and I were talking about our dad’s recently and it’s funny – she said her dad does the same thing – and when she was little it kind of embarrassed her b/c her dad sang so loud – I said I felt the same way about my dad). But one thing I have found about Kim and I is that through our fathers we gained a love for praising God.
I noticed in our church growing up that many of the men wouldn’t sing. And then I noticed that their sons didn’t sing. As a youth minister, I noticed that many of the boys who went to youth conferences and conventions would never sing – and I noticed the same of their dads. I’m sure many of those people would say, “Well, I’m not a very good singer. Or they, might say, it’s just my temperament – I’m more reserved.”
That may be, but if we don’t at least attempt to praise Jesus in church, are the odds very likely that we’re doing it consistently somewhere else?
My parents went with me to Lincoln Christian College back in February when I spoke there for chapel. Several of the choruses that the praise band led were very, very contemporary pieces. Things that Kim and I enjoy and listen to, but I doubt if my parents were very familiar with the songs. But I looked down the row where I was standing, and there was my Dad singing, not quite as loud as he does on the hymns, but still at good volume getting out the words and clapping a little bit here and there as best as 83 year-old arthritis stricken hands can do. And I thought, there’s a man who just loves to praise. He has no pride – he’s proven that through the years by blasting the eardrums of anyone who has sat within 7 rows of him. He just loves to praise any opportunity he gets. And because he does it at church, it carries over into other venues.
When I was 14, I had the Grand Champion barrow – market hog at the Illinois State Fair. The moment the judge announced the winner – a reporter happened to be standing near my father and captured a quote from him that got printed in Springfield’s paper, The State Journal Register. My dad’s quotable shout… “Praise the Lord!”
A popular song on the radio right now says
“I throw my hands up in the air
Here’s my heart – cause I don’t care
What they say about me – I gotta praise!”
If Jesus came riding down your street if it’s pride standing in the way of praise, would you be willing to lay it down?
2. Fear?
Perhaps fear at times stands in our way of praise.
The classic example I think of when someone had opportunity to put in a good word for Jesus, and was just too scared to do it is Peter. You know after Jesus had been arrested, Peter sort of lurked behind in the shadows to see how things would turn out. Someone said to him, “You were with Nazarene, Jesus, weren’t you?”
What a perfect opportunity for Peter say, “I sure was. And let me tell you about him. I saw him heal a deaf man, cause a blind man to see and make a cripple walk. One time I saw him stand up in a boat during a storm and when he yelled at the wind the storm stopped. I saw him walk on water. I’ve even seen him bring people back to life – just this past week he did that again for a guy named Lazarus. Jesus is innocent. He’s the Son of God – yes I follow Him and I proudly call him my Lord.”
But of course, Peter didn’t say that. He said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Within a few moments he denied knowing Jesus two more times. He could have praised, but he was afraid.
Sometimes it is scary to praise Jesus. We don’t know what people might think of us if we really let loose with genuine Palm Sunday praise.
But if Jesus came riding down your street, and if it’s fear that stands in your way of praise, would you be willing to lay it down?
3. Doubt?
Or if could be that doubt hinders your ability to praise Jesus.
When I was a senior in college I went on my first mission trip to Mexico. The missionary thought it would be a good cultural experience for us to attend a bullfight. I was excited to go.
Let me tell you a little something about bullfighting that I didn’t know before I went – THEY KILL THE BULLS! I didn’t know that!
So imagine my surprise as I’m sitting in this arena, enjoying the color, the fanfare, thinking I’m just going to watch a man with a red cape jump out of the way each time a bull charges toward him.
Even though everyone else around me was cheering and going wild, I wasn’t so sure this was something I should be applauding.
Maybe some of you have a similar feeling when you are surrounded by people who are praising Jesus. You may think, “I know a lot of others are really into this.
I’m just not sure if I should be applauding. I have some serious questions that need to get answered before I can praise.”
It’s tough to praise when you have doubts
I think about a novel I read years ago called The Flight of Peter Fromm. Peter Fromm was a young man with Midwestern roots wanting to be a minister and the high minded idealism that he, as a Christian, could enroll at the University of Chicago Divinity School, face the challenges of liberal theology, which has lost faith in miracles, the inspiration of Scripture and the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, and make a difference for Jesus Christ. The book chronicles how day after day Peter’s faith is confronted by intellectual arguments he’s never considered, and almost imperceptibly at first instead of his faith changing the trends of the academic environment around him, the environment changes him.
At the end of the book he stands before a church in Chicago on Easter Sunday to preach a sermon, no longer sure of what he believes. As he attempts to tell the congregation about the wonder of the resurrection of Jesus Christ – something he is no longer sure of himself – the inner battle between what he believes and what he is saying overcomes him. He suffers a mental breakdown right there at the pulpit and has to be physically restrained by some people in the congregation. That’s an extreme case, but it just goes to show that doubts can really get in the way of praise – even sometimes for those who want to praise.
I know this is a tough one…
But if Jesus came riding down your street, and if it’s doubt that’s standing in the way of your ability praise, would you at least be willing to consider laying it down?
If you’re willing, I’m certain he’ll help you with those doubts.
It could even be…
Possessions
Sin
Sadness/Burdens/Worries stand in your way of praise
4. Whatever it is, would you be willing to lay it down?
C. You are probably here today because you know that where He is going is better than where you are now…that what He is offering is better than what you have now…and what He is asking is better than the agenda you have set for yourself. That’s why Palm Sunday means something to you.
So praise!
At church – sing, clap, raise your hands, close your eyes, bow your head – don’t confuse temperament with pride
With a friend or co-worker – instead of saying – “Boy that really worked out well,” “Say, God sure took care of that one!”
At home – whisper a love song to Jesus as a time of prayer, sing it at the top of your lungs like my Dad
Begin each of your prayers with praise – Jesus taught us to say, “Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name”
READ PSALM 150
1 Praise the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings and flute,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD.
D. So praise Him! “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 150:6)
And if things that have breath ever stop their praises, the rocks will still cry out! Because Jesus, the King, is worthy of being praised.
CONCLUSION
When I consider the story of that first Palm Sunday, I am struck by the thought that…
A. A coat might not be worth much after a donkey walks on it. In a crowd like that there was no guarantee that once you laid it down you were ever going to get it back.
For some reason, the text leads me to believe those people probably weren’t real interested in coats at that moment when Jesus rode by. No, these people, many of them probably very poor, weren’t as concerned about coats as they were about praise.
B. For the people on Palm Sunday, praising Jesus might have cost them something. That sounds a little bit like a sacrifice.
The Bible speaks of a sacrifice of praise.
Fitting, isn’t it, for someone who saved our lives by sacrificing his own?
