Focus/Determination

The One Who Comes In the Name of the Lord

3.28.21 [Mark 11:1-11] River of Life (Palm Sunday)

It always shocks us when people act “out of character”. A quiet old man raising his voice. A stingy sibling spending lavishly or giving generously. A rebellious young teenager taking out the trash without being asked.

Of course, we also realize that what may, at first, seem to be totally out of character for someone, can actually be perfectly in keeping with that person’s character. It’s just that these actions don’t fit their normal pattern of behavior, even though they are perfectly aligned with their character. The quiet old man raises his voice because, though he has learned not to sweat the small stuff, he also knows the value of speaking up in a critical moment. A stingy sibling may have in fact have been saving up for a generous gift or a the vacation of a lifetime. And a rebellious young teenager might be taking out the trash without being asked because they are beginning to appreciate the blessings of family life. Or maybe they just want something.

In our Gospel text for today, from Mark 11, we see two people acting “out of character”—Jesus and the crowds. On Palm Sunday, at first glance, it might seem as if both Jesus and the crowds are acting “out of character”. The people seem to be properly praising Jesus and Jesus seems to be basking in the limelight.

This is not what we are accustomed to hearing and seeing from either of these two. We are used to the people clamoring around Jesus, sure, but usually because they are looking for something.

From the beginning of Mark’s Gospel there have been people crowding around Jesus. One Sabbath Day, Jesus was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum. (Mk. 1:22) People were amazed at the authority in Jesus’ teaching. Then he rebuked an evil spirit who was possessing a worshiper, and the evil (Mk. 1:26) spirit shook the man violently and left him with a shriek. News about Jesus spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee, That night, after sunset, the first moment that people could travel a long distance and not violate the Sabbath laws they were accustomed to, (Mk. 1:33-34) the whole town gathered at the door of Peter’s house and Jesus healed many who had various diseases and drove out many demons.

The demand for Jesus’ miraculous power and authoritative teaching continued to grow in Galilee. Jesus got up (Mk. 1:35) very early the next morning to pray in a solitary place and when he returned to Peter’s house they exclaimed Everyone is looking for you! What excited the disciples, had the opposite effect on Jesus. (Mk. 1:45) As a result Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

On at least thirteen different occasions from Mark chapter 2 to Mark chapter 10, crowds came to see and hear Jesus. If Jesus wanted fame and popularity it was there for the taking. But each time the crowds came to see Jesus he seemed to shy away from the spotlight. (Mk. 10:1) He would teach the crowds. (Mk. 5:22-43) He would heal the sick. (Mk. 6:39-44) He fed the hungry. He spoke with authority and did miraculous things, but it was his pattern (Mk. 3:9) to avoid the crowds, (Mk. 6:45) to dismiss them with a divine blessing when they were itching for a political leader to throw off Rome’s shackles, (Mk. 4:36) and to leave the crowds behind. Jesus was a magnetic individual, but never—as almost all other Messianic figures have been—manipulative. When he saw the crowds, he saw them as (Mk. 6:34) harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd, not as a hungry wolf might view them. Though he didn’t always like where their passion led them, he always had compassion on them. (Mk. 10:45) The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. That certainly included the crowds.

It’s not that Jesus and crowds are an unlikely combination. But this interaction doesn’t fit the pattern we’re accustomed to. The crowds aren’t really asking for anything. There’s no sick people being healed on Palm Sunday. There’s no demons being driven out. There’s no obvious miracles being performed. And it doesn’t seem like Jesus is teaching anyone anything. Palm Sunday feels like a production. A production that is out of character for the crowds and our Christ.

But listen carefully to the words of this clamoring crowd and you’ll see that this is not really out of character. (Mk. 11:9) Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!

To us, these words—especially Hosanna!—are the famous chorus of Palm Sunday. But this crowd did not concoct these words on the fly. These words were actually common place for the Sabbath before the Passover. As people brought their one year old spotless lamb from their hometowns to the Temple and Jerusalem, they had traditions they kept. One of them was to sing and speak the words of Psalm 113 through Psalm 118—a section of the Psalter known as the great Hallels.

So, these out-of-town worshippers entered Jerusalem, heading for the Temple, shouting about Jesus (Ps. 118:25) Lord save us! (Mk. 11:9) Hosanna! (Ps. 118:25) Lord, grant us success! (Mk. 11:10) Hosanna in the highest heaven! The people were exuberant & excited. They were doing exactly what was prophesied. (Zech. 9:9) Rejoice greatly! Shout, Jerusalem!

But they were also taking some creative liberties with their chants & praises. The joyous crowds shouting (Mk. 11:10) Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David was not a quote from Psalm 118. This was their own hope, their dreams for this donkey-riding teacher. They had a specific goal in mind for who Jesus was & what he should do. They were injecting their own agenda into God’s revealed word.

Don’t we try to do much the same, too? Crying out (Ps. 118:25) Lord, save us! when we’re feeling overwhelmed by some trouble or trial? When we look at the problems our world, our country, or our community is facing, there are lots of reasons to cry out Lord, save us! We cry out Lord save us! as we see the lives lost from COVID-19. We cry out Lord, save us! when we see yet another murderer gun down innocent people or yet another home invasion story on the news. We cry out Lord, save us! when we see rioting and unrest, looting and burning. When we see all the people, especially the families and children, struggling socially, emotionally, and psychologically with the impact of this extended lockdown, we cry out Lord, save us!

Don’t get me wrong. We should cry out to the Lord to help us with the things that we are facing. These are cares we ought to cast upon the God who cares for us. But so often what we really want is just for these problems to go away, to disappear, to be solved in some form or fashion. We want COVID to go away so that we can get back to normal. We want crime to disappear so that we can sleep better at night and not be so fearful. We want a serene society and flourishing families because we want stability for our society. It’s good for the gander and good for this goose, too!

But what else do we cry out for personally? When we are swimming in debt, don’t we want the Lord to save us from our past due bills, our debtors, and our credit history? When we are sick, don’t we want the Lord to save us from our aches and pains, our diagnoses and our illnesses? When we are dealing with stress at work or at home, don’t we want the Lord to save us from frayed relationships and stressful situations?

And when God does all that, our silence is hard to miss. Not that we never return to thank and praise him. But we stop crying out Lord save us! when our finances, health, work and family life are all good. Because we don’t really see the need! When life is comfortable, we don’t cry for salvation.

The children of Israel went through this same pattern again and again in the Old Testament in the book of the Judges. Israel would experience a time of national peace. Then they would do evil in the eyes of the Lord. Eventually God would allow some foreign power like the Midianites to make life miserable for his people. After some time, they would cry out to the Lord to save them and he would send a judge to deliver Israel and restore them to the peace God always wanted them to have. But over and over again, Israel didn’t learn what they really needed saving from. They thought the problem was the Moabites, the Midianites, or the Philistines.

So why did Israel keep cycling through this problem? Well, if you asked them, they probably would have told you that the Judges eventually died and that’s why they returned to doing evil in the eyes of the Lord. But God’s answer would have been different. The real problem was Israel. Their hearts were corrupt, so they did evil. So God sent someone to deal with the real problem. Sin.

Jesus is announcing God’s agenda on Palm Sunday. Demonstrating his wisdom, his power, and his focus. The Blessed One knows exactly what the lay of the land is in the village ahead. So he sends his disciples with exact directions and instructions to get him the ride he needs. (Mk. 11:2-3) Go to the village ahead of you and just as you enter it you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Until and bring it here. If anyone asks you, “Why are you doing this?” say, “The Lord needs it”

Our Deliverer is commanding the whole situation. His two disciples find everything exactly as he said it would be. The colt is right where he said it would be. The people ask exactly what he said they would. The answer he provided is powerful even though he is not physically present. Even more amazingly, an unbroken colt complies with our Deliverer’s directions and trots through jubilant and cheering crowds tossing cloaks and branches in its way without stopping or bucking. Everything is going exactly according to plan, because the Lord has planned exactly how and when he would save his people.

Jesus is not basking in the limelight. He is fulfilling God’s plan of salvation. He is the Gentle and Humble King that rides upon a donkey, as Zechariah prophesied. He is not surrounded by generals, but Galileans. He is not flanked by foot-soldiers, but children. He has not come to throw off Rome’s shackles. He has come to ransom his people from their sins. He has not come to fight tooth and nail to take power from Caesar. He has come into the teeth of Satan to face the nails of the cross. He is Righteous. And he will be Victorious.

You see, Jesus doesn’t just know what’s going on in the village ahead of him. He knows what is going on in Jerusalem. He knows what is happening in this world. And he has come to be our great Deliverer. Like the Judges of Israel, he has come to fight for God’s people. But unlike the Judges of Israel, his death will not mean back to the same old, same old. No, his death makes atonement for our sins. He has come to exceed our wildest Hosannas.

Though he himself is God, he will not use his divinity to make this easy on himself. Instead he will humble himself and become obedient for disobedient sinners. He will die as a condemned criminal so that we might be declared not-guilty. The Lord himself will save us through his innocent suffering and substitutionary death.

Jesus receiving the praises of the people on Palm Sunday may be unexpected, but it is not out of character. This showdown with sin and Satan is exactly what he came for. Receiving the praise of these people is not out of character. It is God’s will. Not just because he prophesied in through the prophet Zechariah. But because there is another day, that is coming soon, when (Php. 2:10-11) every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that this Jesus Christ is Lord. On that day, all the little hosannas will melt away. COVID and crime, financial concerns and family friction will be wiped away forever. We will see the Blessed One who has come to rescue us from this dying world and glorify us and his creation once and for all.

We eagerly anticipate that day. And we know that it will come, because Christ has delivered us from sin, death, and the devil. That is why we still sing: Hosanna! Because the Lord himself has saved us. Hosanna in the highest! Amen.