Palm Sunday
Matthew 21:1-11
Philippians 2:5-11
"Jesus the Humble King"
The following is an adaptation from a sermon that was heard on Lutheran Vespers many years ago.
"It was a day young Jacob would not soon forget. It was Passover week and Jewish people from all over the world were streaming into Jerusalem. He had seen great crowds before, but on this pilgrim-coming-day, something was different. Jacob was drawn to the crowds by the mighty, earth-splitting noise they were making. He looked down from the hillside on which he lived. He could barely see what was happening. He could see the crowd moving slowly toward Jerusalem.. In the center of the crowd, he could see a man riding on an animal. Everyone seemed to be giving the man in the center special attention. As the crowd drew near, he could see them spreading their garments on the road before the man. Others were cutting down branches from Palm trees and laying these before the man and his animal.
Now the enormous crowd drew so near, that Jacob could hear what they were shouting. They cried, "Hosanna to the Son of David’" Again, Hosanna, blessed be he who comes in the name of the Lord."
Young Jacob thought, ’What could it all mean?’ He hurried down the hillside as the crowd was making its way on the road. He grabbed the hand of one of the pilgrims and asked, "What’s going on,"
The man replied, "What’s going on? Why the king is coming, That’s what’s going on. See him ride on the royal animal. In olden days, all of our kings rode the royal animal on the day of their coronation. The promised of a Messiah are now coming true.
Here he is. See him riding there. See his dignity, see his majesty. His name is Jesus, Jesus from Nazareth. He is the Messiah, he is the King. The king is coming, Hosanna!! Help us now Jesus Save us now Jesus "
Young Jacob still didn’t understand completely. He joined the great crowd hoping he would understand more clearly. He found the stranger he had talked with a little while ago. "How can this Jesus help us," he asked the stranger. "What kind of help can he bring?" "Why do we cry our Hosannas?"
The man decided he would have to sit down with Jacob and explain exactly what was happening. They left the crowd and found a shady place under a tree. "See the man over there, the tall one with ragged clothes", he said as he pointed to a passing man in the parade. "He is a very poor man. He is crying for help, he is crying for an end to his poverty and oppression."
" See the young men over there," said the stranger, pointing to a group of rough looking men. "They want to fight in an army that will drive the Romans from the land." they are crying for help, they are saying their Hosannas to the Messiah - king who will lead them against their enemies." Others are crying for restoration. They may want their health restored, maybe their relationship to God restored, maybe they have a disagreement with a friend, they are crying for the Messiah to restore that relationship."
The stranger got up and left young Jacob with his thoughts. Young Jacob thought, " Hosanna, Hosanna to the Messiah - king Jesus. Jesus save me, save me from hunger. -save me from the slow death of not having enough food.Save me from watching my father die from the evil spirit inside of him. Save my father, Hosanna, Hosanna, Messiah -king Jesus."
Jacob got up from his place under the tree and joined the crowd as it made its way into the city. Yes indeed, thought Jacob, this shall be a day that I long remember.
But unlike young Jacob, who wondered, who was confused we, I hope, you and I know the rest of the story. We know about this king. We know just what kind of king he is. A king who didn’t come with a great army, but a king who came in humility as Paul says in Philippians, "And being found in human from he humbled himself and became obedient unto. death, even death on a cross." Our king came not to conquer, but to serve. He came not in glory, but in humility. He came not to be served, but to serve. To give of himself in the most complete way, to die for our sake. Jesus, the king, who came riding into his coronation on this Palm Sunday, He came not to be crowned with jewels, not to be robed in a cape of splendor, but he came to be crowned with a circle of thrones, and instead of being clothed in majesty, he was stripped, of his clothes.
Jacob was confused about who Jesus was, he did not understand fully, but Jesus knew full well what this day meant. He knew this was just the beginning of something great, something wonderful and at the same time, He knew the suffering that would come, the pain and the agony of the cross of Good Friday.
A poem says:
-When the noise died down, somebody had to pick up the litter.
-When the noise died down, Jesus was alone - but in another sense he was not alone. He was in the center of His Father’s will.
-When the noise died down, Jesus knew that He would be dead before another Sunday came. But of course, death was no threat to Him.
Many came to see the Messiah riding into town. Many had their own ideas of what the Messiah - king would be. Some thought he would be the one who would drive the Romans from the land, others thought he would be the royal king, like David, one who would give guidance to their lives, and still others, maybe like Jacob, who thought the Messiah - king could help his father, help those who were suffering from the brokenness of this life.
Jesus understood all the different thoughts that people had about him. Palm Sunday is the day when, knowing that people are fickle, get tired of parades and go home, Jesus came riding. It s a day when, knowing that religious leaders like things neat and tidy and kill reformers, Jesus came riding. It s a day when, knowing that the humble truth teller is walked upon, knowing that people will sell their souls for a handful of silver, knowing that even good friends will sleep while we suffer, it s a day when knowing all this, Jesus came ridin.
Knowing that the crowd will turn against Him on Good Friday, he came ridin’ anyway. Knowing that even his most trusted disciples could not stay awake in the garden as He prayed for strength to endure the cross, Jesus came ridin’. Knowing that He would be sold for 30 pieces of silver, Jesus came ridin’.
Jesus came riding because he knew that all of needed to have Him ride into our lives as the Messiah - king who would save us from the power of hell through his resurrection on Easter Sunday.
He came riding because he knew we needed his kingship in our lives. It is like the following:
While I was in college, I spent my first 2 years as a drama major. One of the plays that I was in says in a very powerful way what it means to have Jesus be king. The play was Six Characters in Search of an Author. The play begins as a group of actors are rehearsing a new drama. In walks six characters, who say, "We bring you a drama," They say, "We are six most interesting characters but we have been sidetracked. "
Well. that is interesting," says the stage manager, "but what do you want here, what do you want with us?"
"Why," came the reply from the six "we want to to live live in you."
Jesus is the one character who came riding into Jerusalem on that Palm Sunday and he wants to live in us.
Or are you like the boy in the following, missing out:
There’s a story about a little boy who lived in a small country town where there had never been a circus. He knew about circuses from his school books, but never had he seen a real, live circus. And then one day there was a poster on the side of a building announcing that a circus was coming to his town. Well, he knew right there and then that he must see that circus, so he began to save up for it, and he started counting the days. On the last night before the great event, he was too excited to sleep. He was up before daylight to get all his chores finished and be down on the main street by nine o’clock. Shortly after nine, the great circus parade came down the street. He saw lions and tigers, beautiful horses, tremendous elephants, jugglers, clowns, acrobats, and the circus band. His eyes were wide with excitement, his feet couldn’t stop jumping up and down, and he couldn’t stop shouting.
When the parade finally ended, the little boy stepped out of the crowd handed his money to the last man in the parade, and went back home. He thought to himself that the circus was just about the greatest thing he had ever seen. Not till years later did he discover that he still had never seen a circus, he had only watched the parade and gone home.
Have you only watched the Palm Sunday parade, or are you ready for the Easter excitement?
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale March 18, 2002
