Palm Sunday

(NIV): 21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5 “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” 10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

This well known event of Jesus entering Jerusalm on Palm Sunday can be compared to a parade. Right now, parades are among the many things on our list that we “used to” see and enjoy. Hopefully, they will soon be a part of our culture again. What types of parades do we see?

Holiday parades celebrating holidays such as Christmas, the Fourth of July, and Halloween.

Memorial parades featuring the honoring of our armed forces such as Memorial Day or Veteran’s Day parades.

Victory parades after a team has won a championship.

This parades often have several purposes. They celebrate events but they are also used to promote area businesses. Many of the floats are provided by local businesses advertising their goods and services. The parades also entertain us with bands, choral groups, and dance troops.

We are used to annual parades that have been done for years. We realize that they need time to prepare and that they need to be coordinated with whom will be in it, their order, the route, the time, etc.

On the one hand, Jesus’ parade does not seem to have been planned ahead of time. Jesus sent two disciples ahead of him to procure the donkey (Most likely that was prearranged but not necessarily because of his omniscience.)

(NIV): 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

On the other hand, this had been planned by God and foretold by the prophets Isaiah and Zecheriah:

(NIV): 5 “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

This event takes place at a critical point in Jesus’ ministry. We may often associate his ministry with the area around Jerusalem but in fact he did most of his ministry in Galilee working around a base in Capernaum. But now he was headed to Jerusalem for the final showdown as it were. Just prior to this he had performed his most dramatice miracle to date. As we were reminded in the last sermon I preached or other sermons for the fourth Sunday in Lent, Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead. As a result, his popularity grew, (NIV): 45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. But as so often happens with public figures, a person who is very open about what they are doing can have mixed reviews. One group is strongly loyal to them and another group does all they can to undermine or even destroy them. John tells us that this is what is happening with Jesus.

(NIV): 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.” 49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” 51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life. 54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples. 55 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?” 57 But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.

It is within this climate that Jesus determines to ride into Jerusalem in a very public way. He did this for a very important reason which he had taught his disciples but which was still not understood by many of the public. He was coming so that he would be crucified.

(NIV): 17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

The purpose of his crucifixion is stated in the New Testament (see passages)

(NIV): 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

(NIV): 24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Jesus was very aware of his purpose in riding into Jerusalem. He was coming to do battle against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. The Son of God was going forth to war against that old evil serpent, the devil, who had deceived Eve and led the whole world astray. Already in the Garden of Eden, God has prophecied that the seed of the women would come to crush the serpent’ head. That victorious battle would take place later that week in what would seem like a horrible defeat for Jesus and his followers. Even though many in the crowd shouted “Hosanna!” — “Save Now!” because they thought Jesus would miraculously drive out the Roman occupational forces, he would instead by brought before the Roman governor on false charges and condemned to death. But it was by that death that Jesus would sacrifice himself on the cross for the sins of the world.

So even though many did not fully comprehend how Jesus would save, he did save.

He saved the people then and he saved us.

Application: If I were to ask, what do you need to be saved from? The people of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday would have most likely said, “The Romans” “Sickness like leprosy” “Famine” or “Violent People”. If I had asked this question to you two months ago, you may have said sickness in general, unexpected accidents, poor weather. If I asked during a violent storm you would have said the storm. If I asked during wild fires (such as in Australia), you would have said fire. Now, of course, the number one answer woudl be COVID-19. This is a real threat to the health and welfare of people throughout the world because of the disease itself and the measures being taken to curtail its spread. Christians throughout the world are praying fervently to God for healing and relief and being saved from it. And rightly so.

And God can save us from this. But the greatest threat to us is not anything worldly just as the greatest threat to the Jews was not the Romans. Our greatest threat comes for sin and its effects. By entering into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and then carrying out his plan to die for us on Good Friday, Jesus saved us from our sins and gives us eternal life through faith in him.

(NIV): 9 In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

Psalm 62:5–8 (NIV): 5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. 6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. 7 My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. 8 Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.