Palm Sunday 2023

Well here we are. It has been a long road, longer than you likely know. I am so glad to be here and to be your pastor on this Palm Sunday.

If you have your Bibles, open them to Matthew 21, we’re going to be spending most of our time there this morning, but we will also be jumping over to Revelation 7, so have a finger or bookmark there to be able to find it quickly when we come to it. Again, Matthew 21 and Revelation 7.

While you turn there, I’m going to tell you a story. This story comes from a book called 1 Maccabees. How many of you have heard of this book?

Well, for those who don’t know, there are about 400 years in between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament and while we don’t talk about them much in evangelical churches, we have some writings that come from that time frame. These are called the “apocrypha” and they are still kept in Catholic Bibles.

Now, while we reject them as being part of the God-inspired canon of Scripture, they do contain reliable history that we can learn from. And one such helpful historical narrative comes from 1 Maccabees 13.

During those 400 “gap” years between the Old and New Testaments, Israel had essentially been conquered by one empire after another. In the Old Testament we see Israel’s fall to the Babylonians and their subsequent subjugation to the Persians, but the Bible ends with them still being ruled by the Persians, and that reign continued for about 100 more years until the Persians were defeated by the Greeks and Alexander the Great. Alexander was succeeded by Greek Kings for about 200 years when, in 167 BC, the Greek King Antiochus IV decided to overthrow the Jewish priestly line, raid the temple, and desecrate the altar by offering a pig (a very unclean animal to the Jews) to Zeus.

Well, this abomination wasn’t going to be allowed without a fight, so a Jewish priest named Judas Maccabeus led a military revolt against Antiochus. This is where we get the title for the book, 1 Maccabees.

The Maccabean Revolt was, and is, one of the key events in Jewish history. Fighting a war to regain Jerusalem from the conquering Greek Empire who had desecrated God’s Temple, the forces of Judas Maccabeus prevailed 3 years later. When Judas Maccabeus entered Jerusalem as a victorious hero, he was celebrated “with praise and palm branches” by the Jews as he entered Jerusalem (1 Macc 13:51).

He was a conquering hero! He had set the Jews free from their conquerors and oppressors! He cleansed and rededicated the Temple! (Today, Jews still celebrate this event with Hanukkah, also known as the “Feast of Dedication” [see: Jn 10:22].) This successful revolt gave the sole rule of Jerusalem back to the Israelites for about 100 years until they were conquered yet again. This time by the Romans, which then takes us to the time of Jesus.

By the time Jesus had started doing ministry, the Romans had been their masters for nearly 100 years. The people had heavy tax burdens placed on them by their overlords, there was a sham king on their throne who was actually a descendant of Esau, not Jacob, and they were ready to be rescued like they had been 200 years ago by Maccabeus. That was the savior they wanted. That was the savior they thought they needed.

So now, with that in mind, let’s read Matthew 21:1-11 together this morning.

Matthew 21:1–11 (ESV)

1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.

8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Why Branches (palm leaves)?

We know from John’s telling of this event that the branches being used were palm fronds. But why?

It was common practice to welcome home a king or war hero by laying palm branches on the road as he returned to his city. Upon entering the city, it was customary for the people to line the streets and lay down palm branches or wave palm them as the king returned to his palace.

Why a Donkey?

To Fulfill prophecy

Zechariah 9:9 ESV

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

To show His Kingship

Pilgrims coming into Jerusalem for Passover were expected to walk, and yet Jesus rode in on a young donkey.

Solomon did that when riding into the place of his coronation.

Jesus came into Jerusalem as a victorious conqueror coming home to His palace to receive His crown. Which seems incredibly bold for someone who hasn’t physically conquered anything yet. But we get more clarity on this by reading the next few verses.

Where was Jesus’ palace that He was returning to?

Matthew 21:12–13 ESV

12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”

What did Jesus do upon entering His palace? He cleansed it.

Court of the Gentiles - Sacrifices

Isaiah 56:7

Isaiah 56:7 ESV

7 these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

Why is this important? The nations who came to worship Yahweh were impeded.

In an almost opposite way to how Maccabeus removed the desecration of the pagan gentile worship from the Jerusalem Temple, Jesus removed those who were simply looking to capitalize off the travelers who were coming to worship the One True God in righteous ways. In their greed, the (most likely Jewish) sellers made a place of worship a place of business.

Judas Maccabeus was a Jewish savior for the Jews who overthrew the pagan rulers who stood in the way of right worship under the Law. He came in military might, fighting and destroying the oppressors. He conquered by killing. And this is the savior that the people expected.

Jesus was a Jewish savior for the whole world in all of time who overthrew all of those who stood in the way of people from every nation who were seeking to be right with God. He came in humility, teaching and healing and inviting people back into a relationship with their Creator. He conquered by dying. This is the Savior that the people rejected.

Jesus, however, was far more than just a Jewish Savior. He is the Son of the Living God, the One True Sacrifice that can cleanse us from the sin that so easily ensnares and binds us. He is the Sacrifice whose blood is eternal and so eternally efficient.

When Job cried out, “I wish I had someone who could mediate between me and God!” he had no idea that God would grant that desire so fully by sending His only Son to be that mediator for us! And this isn’t just for the Jews, this is for ALL people who would believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, and who would treat Him as such!

People from every tribe, language, and nation will one day be united, worshipping Jesus in a world where suffering, sin, and death will be destroyed. Where the earth will be made new and our human foolishness will no longer cause the earth to groan in anticipation of the coming final redemption. Where things like the travesty of the train derailment and subsequent contamination of air and water won’t ever happen again.

How could I be so sure? Because I trust my King and He has promised to return, and this time it won’t be in the peaceful position of riding a donkey, this time He will be riding in on His war horse to destroy all that binds His people in darkness.

Revelation 7:9–17 (ESV)

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.

16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Revelation 19:11–16 (ESV)

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.

14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Revelation 21:1–8 (ESV)

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Jesus is the Lamb who will save and shelter His flock

Jesus is the Savior who will destroy His enemies

Jesus is the King Who is Worthy of all Praise From all People from All the World

Jesus is Returning And He Will Make all things Right again

Are you like the people who surrounded Jesus who completely missed the point? Have your thoughts and expectations been shaped more by your culture around you than they have by Jesus, the living Word of God?

Are you expecting that the only way to save the world is to overthrow the Democrats (or the Republicans)? Do you place your hope in earthly powers?

Do you say you represent Christ by calling yourself a “Christian” and then say things that cause people to profane the name of Jesus?

Be careful to not put words in the mouth of your Creator that He did not speak. He is a God who will defend His own glory. Let Him speak for Himself.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus is a glorious king who offers us life and hope. May we worship Him as such, and look forward with joy, not fear, to His second triumphal entry.

Let me close by reading the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism.

Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A. That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death

—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.

Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.