Palm Sunday 2021

Our historic days continue as a church. Last week was our first “Elder’s Day.” This is our first Palm Sunday service. I don’t think we could have timed this any better which means we didn’t, but I believe God did. After Resurrection Weekend, we go straight into the book of Acts where we will be for a very long time.

Understand my plan here: We finished Matthew, we got a glimpse of God’s plan of redemption in the book of Ruth all the way back in the Old Testament and now the Son of David, Jesus, the descendent of Ruth comes on the scene. The story continues in the book of Acts and after Acts we will cover Daniel to get a glimpse of what’s to come. It is a high level journey of God’s plan for all of us.

➦Today, is Palm Sunday. We remember this day because it marks the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.

It is called Palm Sunday because people were laying out palm branches to welcome their Messiah into Jerusalem. But each year, most Protestant churches pass by this day. I don’t want that for us. For many, Resurrection Weekend sneaks up and we blink and barely remember that it happened.

But ...

We need remembrances. Not just remembrances in church, but we need them in our individual lives.

Do you think we would approach this season differently if each day next week, in our homes, we read verses centered around what was done for us on the cross? We have to make this personal again.

In the Old Testament, they would set up altars to remember what God had done for them.

They would meditate on His Word to remember how God instructed them to live. Each year, we remember the cross for the very same reason, that we never forget the price paid for our freedom in Christ.

So today, is a beginning for our church. Every year, I pray we focus on this week where Jesus changed everything. So today, let us begin our remembrance of what has been done for us.

*The Triumphal Entry (Matthew 21:1-11)

Matthew 21:1 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.”

This is the beginning of the final week of Jesus’ life. To understand this the way we should, we must move beyond appearances. My goal today is not to go over every detail of the verses like I normally do, but to give some underlying thought as to why this Scripture is here. What is happening at the beginning of Passover week? Why does Jesus come in on a donkey? Why are they laying branches and praising?

Well, I’m glad you asked...

➦Jesus secured a donkey to ride into Jerusalem. This was a statement in and of itself.

Not only is Jesus fulfilling prophecy, the statement is being made and it’s one beyond anyone’s understanding at the time probably. After the fact, we must look at this from the perspective of the cross itself. Jesus came to Jerusalem with a cross agenda, so as He rides into Jerusalem, the nature of His welcome and entry say alot:

Jesus first presents Himself as Israel’s king.

At best, Herod was a pawn of Rome and was widely rejected by the people. We know he wasn’t Jewish. He was an Edomite. He was not Israel’s true king. So in comes Jesus, praised as Messiah and as King.

Jesus also demonstrates the nature of His Kingdom.

When a king went to make war, that king would ride a war horse. We also know of Jewish culture that a donkey was a noble and humble beast. When kings came in peace, they would ride a donkey. Jesus came to offer peace… but do we see it? What kind of peace is Jesus offering here? What is the statement He is making?

I submit to you that Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey as King is the invitation that we could have peace with God. Which Kingdom does He represent when He rides in? God’s Kingdom, right? The Son of God comes to make peace with His people.

➦Matthew continues and describes the prophetic nature of this scene.

His Jewish readership would understand that Matthew was quoting from Zechariah 9. They understood this as a Messianic prophecy from the Old Testament, and it is very apparent who Jesus is portrayed as in the Scripture.

Almost at any Christmas, you can hear Handel’s Messiah. Charles Jennens wrote the libretto and he recognizes the importance of these words from Zechariah. When you listen, it seems that that the words jumps quickly from the birth of Jesus, to the triumphal entry.

We must understand that Matthew makes the reference, but we see more of this prophecy reflected in Handel’s Messiah:

“Soprano Air—Zechariah 9:9-10 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy King cometh unto thee; He is the righteous Savior, and He shall speak peace unto the heathen.”

Remember this is the King James. Handel’s Messiah was written in the 1700s. Jennens adds a portion of verse 9 and 10 together to create this lyric. “He shall speak peace unto the heathen” sounds almost accusing in modern day, but it only means those who are far from God or in their case Gentiles. The ESV says He shall speak peace unto the nations.

Why is this important?

Matthew’s reference here shows us that Jesus entering Jerusalem was something He did for all of us.

When we understand the implications of what is written in the book of Zechariah, Jesus calls for a donkey, rides into Jerusalem, knowing that He would die with everyone of us in mind. This prophecy didn’t escape Jesus that day. He rides into Jerusalem, to redeem Israel and to redeem you and me.

➦The crowds welcome Jesus as His subjects and it teaches us. There is both a lesson and warning here.

The crowds participate in this parade. In waving the Palm branches, these branches were an ancient symbol of victory. To give you a picture of this the Maccabeans carried coins with the image of a palm branch to commemorate their victory over the Greeks. The Jews are waving them now.

See the full measure of the scene. They are waving branches of victory and they are shouting Hosanna. The word Hosanna means “save us” or “save us, we pray.”

To declare “Hosanna in the highest” they are declaring, “Save us now!” The scene is beautiful and it is a lesson.

The crowd didn’t completely understand what they were asking of Jesus. They were looking for political deliverance. Isn’t it amazing that not much changes over the course of years? We would love for God to fix our country, our politics and our city, but we hesitate at the idea of Him fixing us.

This is the last public approval Jesus receives while alive. The warning is simply this: The crowd turned when Jesus didn’t meet their demands and expectations. Some people want Jesus to fix their lives and the world around them. They expect things from God, but the Bible is clear that we are here to do His will, God is not here to cater to ours.

The crowds wanted Jesus to save the nation, but they didn’t understand that He came to save each individual person. And more than they needed saving from Rome, they needed salvation from their own sins. When we understand what Zechariah was saying, no longer was God tied to one nation. He has tethered Himself to our hearts.

The scene is a picture on how we receive Christ. We are His subjects. He is our King.

Whether we know it or not, we are in need of saving. We are helpless without Him, just as Israel was helpless without a Messiah. So we cry out Hosanna because we look to Jesus and in doing so, we cry, “Save us!” “Save us!”

And the beautiful thing about the triumphal entry, the cross and the resurrection, is that His response to our cries of Hosanna is simply, “I will.” Jesus suffers, dies and rises and the lost are found. The cries of Hosanna are heard. He is our King. We are His subjects.

John Newton, who joined William Wilberforce in the campaign to end the slave trade, preached a sermon on Zechariah 9. He said this about being subjects of Jesus:

*"Happy are these his subjects who dwell under his shadow. He rules them, not with that rod of iron by which he bruises and breaks the power of his enemies, but with his golden scepter of love. He reigns by his own right, and by their full and free consent, in their hearts. He reigns upon a throne of grace, to which they have at all times access; and from whence they receive, in answer to their prayers, mercy and peace, the pardon of all their sins, grace to help in every time of need...” –John Newton

The triumphal entry is Jesus coming for us. It established His authority, revealed His heart and we discover the extent that He would go to save those who welcome Him in. The Triumphal Entry is both the historical event and the model that God has laid out for us in receiving His Son.

*The Temple (Matthew 21:12-17)

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.” 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, “ ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” 17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.

➦Jesus goes to an unexpected place to begin reform.

There are those who believed in Messiah that were probably shocked. Rather than Jesus marching up to Roman officials, having a Moses moment consisting of plagues and demonstrations of God’s power, Jesus instead storms the temple.

While in the temple, Jesus demonstrates God’s power in healing others.

Going back to Handel’s Messiah for a second. The masterpiece quotes from Isaiah: "Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing" In the temple, Jesus does this very thing.

What is happening within the temple? Just as Moses went to the establishment on behalf of his people, Jesus also goes to the establishment on behalf of His people. Jesus speaks to His disciples of religious bondage, and religious burdens that no one could carry...

Do we see the similarities?

Matthew would probably have made the connection here between Moses and Jesus.

In Moses day, he leads his people out of Egypt though they often wished to return there while in the desert. In Jesus’ day, they had symbolically become Egypt in the Roman occupation and the identity of Pharoah was no longer found in a person, but in the religious leaders who were holding others in religious bondage.

The language fits more than we could ever understand. The actions of Jesus are consistent with His message. He is here to set the captive free. But before the captivity was Rome, the captivity was first the temple.

The children echo the scene perfectly as they cry out “Hosanna to the Son of David” or in translation, “Son of David… save us.” Jesus before the religious leaders is easily compared to Moses’ moment before Pharoah.

The dramatic oversight of the religious people was their bondage to sin. At the end of the Old Testament as Israel and Judah are conquered, restored and conquered again, God declares over and over that their issue is sin, not enemies. The same mistake by the people is repeated here.

We imagine today, that the world needs fixing, so we do focus on the political. People wanted a political solution then, we want one now. Jesus doesn't do it this way. He starts with the temple.

To put it in a modern sense: He starts with the church. What I love about Palm Sunday, is that Jesus shows us where the problem is. The direction of our nation is important and voting is important, but it's not where Jesus starts. In fact, replacing the institution of government is going to be the last thing He does.

He comes first for the temple... for the church. Let that sink in. Restoration doesn't begin on election day. Restoration begins now, today, not in those outside the church, but those inside of it. Church, we are too hyper-focused on what’s going on outside! I can open up Facebook and see what we care about most. We are way to focused on what’s outside the church!

What is most interesting about Jewish practice is that on the first day of the week, the priests would recite Psalm 24. The entire Psalm is relevant, but listen to verses 7-10:

Psalm 24:7 Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle! 9 Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah

Imagine them starting this day, reciting this chapter like they would at the beginning of every week, but having no idea that God would actually show up and come in. This time He does and they do not want Him there because Jesus threatens the mess they have made of their faith. He will threaten ours as well.

They wanted Him to fix what was outside but they had no desire for Him to fix what was inside.

At the end of the New Testament, we see sin creeping into the Church, false teaching creeping into the church again. It doesn’t take much for us to see that we still have this issue, but the invitation of Jesus is to make church a house of prayer.

That maybe we would look at our lives as we begin Resurrection week. That maybe we would believe that to restore our nation, we must first reform ourselves. To paraphrase the famous verse: Maybe revival comes when we humble ourselves and pray and seek His face and turn from our sins...

Maybe it is then that God hears, forgives and heals.

How Do We Receive Jesus?

➦The crowds welcomed Him on the road, even worshiped Him.

And while this was a good reception, by the end of the week, they were calling for His crucifixion. The question is, “Did they truly receive Him?” The answer has to be an emphatic “no.”

And here’s the concern: We can shout Hosanna, crying out for God to save us, but to receive Him is to actively turn from sin. It is when we return to it that we find ourselves mimicking the actions of the crowd. It is when we don’t want to change that we find ourselves stuck in our faith and in our life.

The most difficult part of this change is letting go of something you may really enjoy to grab hold of what is good for your life and eternity. It’s not the evil we hate that holds us captive. It is the evil we love and welcome in, that we grip way too tightly.

➦What if our nation would begin to change after we first committed to change?

What if rather than blaming Trump or Biden for all our problems, in other words, the political solution the Jews were looking for in a Messiah, we decided that we first would be more, be better.

Pray more, read more, love our neighbor better, love our spouse better, our children. What if our beliefs, our actions and our very lives were dictated by what is written in this book? Do we still believe in the power of God to change a nation, but first change us?

➦How will we receive Jesus?

Will we shout Hosanna? Do we understand that we need saving? Do we understand that He has come for us? It is the beauty of this day where need and provision first meet, where Savior and lost collide as salvation is set in motion.

It is the remembrance of Palm Sunday. Over this next week, will you take time in your home, to read some verses, remember… pray… And where God calls you to change, change… Where God calls you to go… go. And in regards to any sin, when He calls you to turn… turn.

If I could end, this way. George Friedrich Handel, driven by his faith, labored to create “Handel’s Messiah.” When it was first performed in Dublin, the newspaper advertised it as follows:

*For Relief of the Prisoners in the several Gaols, and for the Support of Mercer's Hospital in Stephen's Street, and for the Charitable Infirmary on the Inns Quay, on Monday the 12th of April, will be performed at the Musick Hall in Fishamble Street, Mr. Handel's new Grand Oratorio, call'd the Messiah.

Handel, in receiving Christ could only make his life’s work as a means to honor the Savior that he received. According to an 18th century historian,

*"From that time to the present, this great work has been heard in all parts of the kingdom with increasing reverence and delight; it has fed the hungry, clothed the naked, fostered the orphan … more than any single production in this or any country."

Palm Sunday is powerful, because in the end, a life that receives the King is forever changed and that life changes others.

Prayer, Communion

*Numbers 6:24 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.