Palm Sunday, Palm Sunday Procession
Notes
Transcript
Almost 2000 years ago this week Jesus was drawing close to Jerusalem to celebrate the passover feast which culminates on Thursday. The deliverance of God’s people from Egypt. The Passover was of course the deliverance of God’s people utilizing a particularly gruesome tactic, the death of the firstborn for all in Egypt who did not shed the blood of a one year old male lamb and then place that blood over their doorway. If you’re rusty on the passover feast I recommend you either read Exodus 12 or watch the Prince of Egypt this week. (Free on Peacock)
The introduction Mark 11:1-3
The introduction Mark 11:1-3
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples
Here’s what is happening: Mark 11:1-3 records Jesus and the crowd of people that were following him all the way from Galilee. This is a group of people that have been together for a few weeks!
Not that unusual for a band of people to form, lots and lots of Jews were coming into town for the passover.
The Mishnah, a Jewish book of rules, stipulated that if one could walk to Jerusalem, they should.
Bethany is about 2 miles outside of Jerusalem and is more substantial in size than Bethphage. You’ll notice a few things here.
Bethphage (house of fits) is SMALL. Technically it falls within Jerusalem city limits
Mishna & Talmud
Which way are they coming in from? (Point out North)
As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
Jesus is the Glory of God re-entering the temple.
We face East in worship to anticipate the coming of God. (Facing the sunrise)
It was @ sunrise that the women discovered the empty tomb.
The Lordship of Jesus Mark 11:2-4
The Lordship of Jesus Mark 11:2-4
and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’ ” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it.
Remember by custom, you’re supposed to walk.
This makes the request of Jesus somewhat more pointed - He wants 2 disciples to go into a town, either Bethphage or Bethany and ask for a donkey.
How does Jesus refer to himself? As Lord!
To our modern ears this feels like a biblical carjacking. About a month ago a kid who had done some court ordered community service was here ‘borrowing’ our snow shovels when I came out and saw them- he said “Uh, I’ve got to shovel some sororities out’
Jesus is asserting that He is the LORD, King over heaven and earth- this donkey is His and He wants to make use of it.
There is some evidence that Kings and Priests could do this sort of thing.
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
In the end we loaned out the shovels because they are HIS Shovels! (they all came back)
The Lord of heaven and earth uses means to accomplish His work. Donkeys, snow shovels, pews, etc. Historically the church has understood this and been the most generous people with physical goods.
Ann’s car has been on loan for MONTHS. We borrowed Lightboxes, all sorts of stuff.
This is how the church operates.
Is there something you’re unwilling to loan to the church- to God’s people? To Christ? Why?
Royal Litter vv. 7-8
Royal Litter vv. 7-8
The donkey didn’t have a saddle. So they put coats on it. Nothing biblical here- just practical.
We know from Johns gospel that there were specifically palm branches.
It was also probably part of the local custom from back when the temple was first cleansed in Maccabees:
Therefore bearing ivy-wreathed wands and beautiful branches and also fronds of palm, they offered hymns of thanksgiving to him who had given success to the purifying of his own Holy Place.
A side note, if you’ve ever been at all curious regarding the Apocrypha we’ll study it this fall
Jesus riding on a donkey rounds out the Zechariah prophesy that we read earlier:
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.
What the lectionary didn’t mention was this passage too:
For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have made Ephraim its arrow. I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior’s sword.
This humble donkey rider is supposed to wipe out the Greco-Roman Empire of who’s Eagle was prominently displayed on the top of the temple Mount.
It’s these sorts of customs and artifacts that give texture to the story of Jesus entering into Jerusalem. What is most striking to me of all is the next two verses:
Loud Hosannas vv. 9-10
Loud Hosannas vv. 9-10
And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
They’ve almost got it. Jesus doesn’t just come in the Name of the Lord - HE IS THE LORD.
Hosanna means? “Save us”
Specifically they are crying out not just to a random warrior that they anoint. They recognize that this is their heritage:
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
They recognized that the events unfolding before them is their inheritance. (the kingdom of OUR FATHER)
We still have this cry , ‘Our Father’ - ‘Thy Kingdom come’.
Reconnaissance v. 11
Reconnaissance v. 11
And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
Remember the mall? Did you ever go when it was closing down at Christmas? All those kiosks in the middle of the aisles denuded of merchandise and stores frocked with those roll down cages.
This is how I imagine the temple courts looked. Tables and a few money changers milling around comparing notes on the days business in preparation for their high holy days.
Jesus sees the mess and resolves to do something about it. He sees a place and a people worth redeeming.
What did we learn?
What did we learn?
I believe the crucial lessons for us today come from verses 9 and 10 where the crowd, the mixed rabble, calls out for this Lord to come and save them. They recognize that His humble power is being manifest for them.
As I look around at our own patterns of living we are largely disenfranchised from the solutions to real problems in the world. Too often we don’t see ourselves or our world as worth saving.
We will protest for a few hours or change our profile picture to support a cause but when it comes to deep change we tend to give out. Why?
Because we don’t even pay attention to our own proximity.
Wednesday night I had our last midweek lenten service on in the background while I did a zoom premarital counseling- I didn’t listen to myself preach. When I got up the next morning, Thursday it was Paul’s birthday. I ran out before sunrise to grab birthday donuts and life giving coffee. My college student neighbors chronically cannot get their act together and their overflowing recycling can had been put out on the wrong day and then been tipped over.
I waited an hour. I didn’t think it was worth it to go out. Begrudgingly I went out at 7 and picked up with the help of a nice mormon high schooler named Nigel. Then I came into my office and watched my own sermon. Just to be consistent in practice with you. At the end of the sermon I exhorted you church to combat coveting by caring for what God has given you. It was at that moment that I realized that I needed to listen to my own advice, to follow the model of Christ.
Church, God has given up His lofty position - the form of God to empty Himself and journey into our proximity. He has come to save you.
We should take up the cause of the crowd from Galilee and see our world and ourselves as something worth saving. We too should cry out to our maker Hosanna. Save us.
Christ certainly thinks you and your neighbor are worth saving.