TWO SYMBOLS OF THE PASSION – THE PALM BRANCH AND THE SCOURGE Matthew 21:1-11, Luke 23:20-22
Today is Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week. What exactly is Holy Week? Holy Week is that special week in the church year that leads up to Easter. During that week we celebrate Maundy Thursday, the day that Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper. We also remember Good Friday, the day Jesus died on the cross for our sins. The most important thing Jesus ever did to rescue our world happened this week – that’s what makes this week holy week.
Holy Week is a week of symbols. I brought some symbols along today to show you – there are lots of symbols you could point to during Holy Week. First there is the palm branch. Back in the first century, the palm branch was a symbol of victory. When a king won a battle, he would return to his city, and all the people would greet him, waving palm branches, to celebrate the victorious king. The Bible tells us that the people of Jerusalem waved palm branches when Jesus rode into the city. Did they know that Jesus was their king? That Jesus would soon be winning a victory over Satan? That Jesus would die for their sins, and then rise victoriously from the dead? Little did they know, as they waved their palm branches, that they were celebrating the victory that the King of Kings would win for them at the cross.
Another symbol of the passion is this basin. On the night Jesus was betrayed, before he instituted the Lord’s Supper, we are told that Jesus got a basin of water, and washed the disciples’ feet. He was trying to teach the disciples something about humility and service. The wash basin is a symbol of an attitude of humility and service that God wants all of us to have.
Money is a symbol of the passion. Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver – money was his downfall. And to this very day, people betray Jesus for money. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Money is a symbol of betrayal and sin during holy week.
The scourge is a symbol – it was commonly used to whip people as a punishment for a crime. Jesus was brutally whipped before he was crucified. What do you think the scourge represents? We’ll learn more about that later.
The crown of thorns is one of the most well-known symbols of the passion. The Bible describes how the soldiers made a crown of thorns for Jesus, and then very violently pushed it into his head before he was crucified. They were making fun of his claim to be the King of the Jews. Little did they know that Jesus really was a king, that he really did deserve to wear a crown, but not that kind of crown. The crown of thorns symbolizes Jesus’ kingship, and the world’s mockery.
A spike is another symbol of the passion. During crucifixion, it was common to drive spikes into the hands and feet of people as a way of fastening them to the cross. The spikes symbolize the suffering that Jesus endured to take away the world’s sin.
And finally there are the strips of linen. When Jesus was born, he was wrapped in strips of linen and placed in a manger. When Jesus died, he was wrapped in strips of linen and placed into a tomb. The strips of linen remind us of Jesus’ death.
There are many other symbols of the passion that we haven’t mentioned – the most important symbol, obviously, is the cross. On Good Friday, we will be focusing on the cross, what happened there, and what it means to us today.
This morning, I would like to focus on two opposite symbols, two opposite moments in the life of Christ. The symbol of the palm branch, and the symbol of the scourge. As we focus on these two opposite symbols this morning, we will learn much about ourselves, what we are like inside. We will learn much about Christ – who he is, and how far he was willing to go to take our sins away. These two opposite symbols will teach us one main message, and that message will become clear to you as we look into our text.
In Matthew, we see Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, to fulfill the prophecy from the book of Zechariah – our Old Testament lesson for today. Hundreds of years earlier, God told the people that their king would come to them riding on a donkey, and that’s exactly what Jesus does here. A very large crowd came and welcomed Christ. They spread their cloaks on the ground, palm branches. Many people waved palm branches.
Why do you think the people were so excited? They probably had no idea what Jesus would be doing for them that week. What was it that filled with the people with so much excitement? Perhaps it was the excitement of the disciples, or perhaps they just got caught up in the moment. It doesn’t really matter. What the people proclaimed as they waved their palm branches was true – Jesus was the King of the Jews.
Isn’t it amazing how things changed so quickly five days later? On Good Friday, we no longer see people waving palm branches. Instead, we see Roman soldiers whipping Jesus with a scourge. Let’s take a look at this very opposite moment in the life of Christ – Luke 23 – Jesus is standing before Pontius Pilate, and Pilate was trying to release Christ. What did the crowd say? They no longer shouted “Hosanna.” Instead they shout “Crucify him. Crucify him.” Pilate tried to appease the crowd by saying,. “I will have him punished, and then release him.”
When Pilate says that he is going to have Jesus punished, what he meant was that he was going to have Jesus scourged. A scourge was a special whip, and in that whip were pieces of bone and metal. The purpose of the scourge was to make deep wounds in the person that was being punished – in Roman times, they would normally tie a person to a pillar, with his chest and back exposed. Often, they would strike the person 13 times on the chest, and 13 times on each side of the back. It was not unusual for a person to die as a result of the scourging. Usually, the scourging would take place after they condemned the person. But it seems that here, Pontius Pilate scourges Jesus before condemning him, because he’s hoping to appease the crowd. As you well know, that didn’t work, and Jesus was eventually crucified.
What does the scourge represent? The scourge represents just how shallow and unstable human beings are. Look at the crowd – one day they’re cheering Jesus on, waving palm branches. And now, they’re shouting for Jesus to be crucified, cheering as he is scourged. These people were unstable in their beliefs about Jesus. They were shallow. And why didn’t Pontius Pilate stand up to the crowd? He knew that Jesus was innocent. But Pilate was weak. The scourge represents how shallow, how unstable, how weak human beings can be.
We learn much about ourselves here, don’t we? There are moments in our lives, when we are cheering our Savior on, proclaiming him to be our King. But then there are those other moments, when we reveal just how shallow our love for Christ can be. There are moments in our lives when we reveal that we aren’t as stable in our faith as we would like to be. Sometimes, we are like that crowd – we quickly turn away from God. Sometimes we are like Pilate - instead of making an effort to do what is right, we sin, in order to please the people around us. The scourge symbolizes our sin. It wasn’t just bone and metal that dug into the back of Christ – it was our sin, our weakness, our shallowness.
Just think of what was happening when Jesus was scourged. It wasn’t just his back that was being punished, it was his soul. It’s true that those soldiers were whipping Christ, and they probably received some perverse pleasure from it. But really, it was God the Father who was in charge – God the Father was punishing Christ here – and it brought the Father no pleasure, only pain.
Things should have been different. It should have been Pontius Pilate who was being whipped. It should have been the Roman soldiers getting whipped for their excessive violence. The crowd should have been whipped for their shallow belief in Christ. And really, it should have been us who received that scouring. After all, Jesus was innocent. We’re the ones who have sinned.
And yet, Jesus wanted it this way. He wanted to be the one who was punished, and not us. He wanted to take our place. You see, the scourge not only is a symbol of our sin, it’s also a symbol of our Savior’s substitution. “I will take your place,” Jesus says. I will take the world’s place. I will allow myself to be scourged for your sin.” That’s how the plan of salvation works – instead of God punishing you, God punishes Jesus Christ instead. That’s how you are set free – forgiven of all of your sins.
A number of years ago, a news story told of a dramatic incident that occurred in a small midwestern town. The residents were warned to take cover because a tornado had been sighted. Living in this town was a young couple with a small baby. Knowing that the tornado was upon them and that they had no time to take cover, they laid the tiny infant on the floor of their living room, and covered the baby with their own bodies. The tornado struck with devastating force and leveled a row of homes, including theirs. The next morning, as rescue workers were rummaging through the destroyed homes, they heard muffled crying. They came upon the lifeless bodies of the young couple, with their baby still safe beneath their shattered bodies. They gave their life for their child.
That’s what Jesus has done for you. The tornado of God’s punishment was coming. But Jesus covered us up, and allowed that punishment to sweep over him with all its devastating force. The scourging of Christ is just part of the storm that Jesus absorbed to save us.
Have you ever wondered, why? Why would Jesus do this for you? Is there something about you that’s so special, that God would become a human being and allow himself to be scourged for you? Is there a logical reason why the Son of God would do this for you? There is no logical reason. The reason why Jesus did this for you, can be summed up in one word – grace. Grace is God’s undeserved love that he shows to you, regardless of who you are, and what you have done.
There’s the story of an attempted assassination of the First Queen Elizabeth of England. The woman who wanted to assassinate the queen dressed up as a male page, and hid herself in the queen’s closet. She didn’t realize that the queen’s room was always searched as a safety precaution before the queen would go to bed. The woman hiding in the closet was discovered. They confiscated her knife, and took her to the queen to be condemned.
The would-be-assassin realized that her case was hopeless, and so she threw herself at the queen’s feet and begged for mercy. At first the queen said, “If I show you grace, what promise will you make for the future?” But the woman said, “Grace that has conditions is not grace, O queen.” Queen Elizabeth caught the idea right away and said, “Alright. There is no reason I should pardon you. There is nothing you can do to make up for what you have done. But I will pardon you because of my grace.”
That’s what Jesus does for us. He doesn’t give us conditions – I’ll die for your sins if you do this or that. Jesus says to us – I’ll pardon you, I’ll die for you, even though there is no logical reason for me to do that. There’s nothing you can do to make me want to die for you. But I will die for you anyway,” Jesus says, “because of my grace.” Grace is God’s undeserved love – that’s why Jesus endures the scourge for us.
The scourge reminds us of our sin. But it also reminds us of our Savior’s substiution. It reminds us of his grace.
How are you supposed to feel, when you see Jesus cheered on Palm Sunday, and then scourged on Good Friday? How are you supposed to feel? Do not feel pity for Christ. Instead, feel a sense of gratitude and relief and love and joy, because you know that your sins have been paid for, your guilt is gone.
The palm branch symbolizes the victory that Jesus wins for us at the cross and at the empty tomb. Did you know that the book of Revelation pictures Christians in heaven waving palm branches? Someday Jesus will come again, but not on a humble donkey. Someday he’ll come in all his glory. And when he comes, we will be able to celebrate, and cheer with all Christians: “Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
May these symbols we have looked at this morning help you to grow in your love for Christ, in your appreciation for all he has done for you. Amen.
