Palm Sunday
Notes
Transcript
Today marks one of the most significant days for Christians, kicking off one of the most spoken of weeks which will end in a celebration of our risen Savior. If I might just say, we should be humbled, and sickened by what happened, but also humbled and grateful of the sacrifice made. Throughout His life, Jesus has pointed others to salvation, while knowing He would be headed to the cross.
Nearing the end of His life, Jesus will make the trip to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. He knew what would lie ahead, from the triumphant entry to the cross. He knew the events that would have to happen to fulfill prophecy. He knew He would be betrayed:
9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
14 Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests
16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.
He knew there was a price that would be paid.
12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver.
15 and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver.
He already knew what the 30 pieces of silver would be used for.
13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter.
3 Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders,
7 So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers.
He even knew what his final fate would be.
23 his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—
But He also knew this would not be the end of the story.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.
6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,
7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”
You see, Jesus could face His fate because He already knew the end. Today, we can face our own concerns, misunderstandings, uncertainties with the knowledge that, while we may not know or understand why things are happening, we know the end.
20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
Let’s take a look at the week leading up to the sacrifice that brings us our hope, our salvation, and confidence in our salvation.
As Jesus draws near, He takes a moment to visit with some of His closest friends.
Preparing for the End
Preparing for the End
1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table.
3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said,
5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”
6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.
7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.
8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
The appointed “hour” is quickly approaching - the time of His suffering, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. God’s work of earth through Jesus is nearing completion. Jesus then uses this last week on earth to be with His closest friends and using this time to prepare the disciples for what is about to happen.
As He is here with His friends, a great feast is prepared. He will dine with Lazarus, a young man He had raised from the dead, as He is six days away from death Himself. There is a time of preparation, making sure He has the time to prepare His friends, His disciples, and Himself for what lies ahead. Some time during the dinner, Mary takes an expensive jar of oil, or ointment make from spikenard and anointed Jesus. More than likely, this would have been her dowry, something of great value for her future husband. Instead, she anointed Jesus. Judas is upset, as he said it could have been sold for 300 denarii to help the poor, knowing good and well he wanted to help his poor self instead. For reference, a denarii was the common laborers wages for a day, and one conversion chart I found showed a denarius worth $25 which would value this perfume at $7,500. One might ask why? Others might ask why not?
Jesus, though, cleared it up by telling them all to leave here alone so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me. Jesus again was trying to prepare them for what was to come.
After the feast, Jesus tells the disciples to go on ahead and prepare the room for the Passover, and He would enter into the last week of His life on earth.
Final Week
Final Week
28 And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples,
30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here.
31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ”
32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them.
33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.”
35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.
36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road.
37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen,
38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”
40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,
Jerusalem was about 17 miles away from Bethany. Jesus knew what He had to do. Jesus knew His time was drawing near to fulfill God’s Will. Jesus sens two disciples into the city to secure a colt. A king riding a colt into a city was a symbol of peace. The colt symbolized service. It was a noble animal, an animal used in the service of men to carry their burdens. Jesus came upon the colt symbolizing that He came to serve men, to bear their burdens for them. The colt symbolized sacredness, for it had never been ridden before. Animals and things used for sacred or religious purposes had to be animals and things that had never been used before. This detail points to the sacredness of the event. It pictured that Jesus was deliberately taking every precaution to proclaim that He is the sacred hope, the promised Messiah of the people.
The whole scene centers around His riding into the city on a colt signifying His peaceful entrance. He already has prepared the people for His arrival. Jesus used the title the Lord in laying claim upon men and their property. The Lord is a strong expression; it is the same as saying Jehovah. Jesus was claiming the right to use the colt because He was the Lord. The owner was bound to have been a disciple who would allow the Lord to borrow his animals. A man of the world might not allow the claim of the Lord to affect him.
Jesus’ instructions were followed carefully. The task given to the two disciples to go and secure the colt may have seemed small, but no task is small in the proclamation of Jesus as King. Fetching the colt was extremely important if Christ were to be proclaimed as King before the people. The task was essential.
As He enters into Jerusalem, there is a welcoming committee that proclaims Him to be King. The people praised God for all the mighty works they had seen. There were teeming thousands lining the roadway, throwing their cloaks down ahead of Him. The people had just recently seen miracle after miracle including the raising of Lazarus from the dead. The whole atmosphere was electric with excitement and expectation. The people knew Jesus had the power to do anything: He could bring the Kingdom of God to earth.
They proclaimed Jesus to be “the King that cometh in the name of the Lord.” They thought the hour had arrived. Jesus was going to usher in the Kingdom of God now.
But, the people failed to see several things. They failed to see that Jesus was riding a colt, coming as the King of Peace. They failed to see that Jesus was riding the animal of burdens, coming as the King who wished to bear the burdens of men. They failed to see that Jesus was riding the animal that symbolized sacredness, coming for the purpose of saving the people spiritually. They failed to see that Jesus was riding the animal that symbolized meekness, coming as the King of meekness.
There was an insistent claim of Jesus. He was to be proclaimed King by the people. The religious authorities were hostile. They had already given the word to hunt Jesus down and arrest Him. Despite this threat, Jesus publicly and triumphantly entered Jerusalem. The great weight and importance of His mission, “to seek and save that which was lost,” is clearly seen in such courageous behavior.
Jesus wept over the city. He was looking and gazing upon the city with deep intensity. He was looking upon, considering, regarding the city in all its tragic state. Jesus was weeping while the city was engaged in the excitement of feasting and fellowshipping in a jovial, party-like spirit. The whole atmosphere was like that of a present-day convention. The scene can be imagined. But while the people were in such a partying mood, Jesus was off on the hillside weeping over the city and its people. The city and its people had rejected the way of peace, that is, the Messiah Himself. Another way to say it is, they had rejected the things which make for peace. They rejected everything about Jesus.
Closing
Closing
Jesus knew what was ahead. Jesus knew the condition of His apostles, the city, and the world, and it caused Him to cry out and weep, knowing they were rejected Him and the true peace He could bring. Riding in on a colt donkey, He even symbolized the peace He was bringing, as THE King of Peace.
The next time we see Jesus re-enter, He will not be coming as the peaceful King on a colt donkey, but instead as the conquering King on a white stallion. God’s plan will be fully complete, and we will be with Him for eternity.
