Palm Sunday - Tragedy or Triumph

Palm Sunday

By Bishop Dr. Gary B. McCleod

Scripture(s): Mark 11:1-10

And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples, And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon † never man sat; loose him, and bring him. And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither. And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him. And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him. And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strowed them in the way. And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest. St. Mark 11:1-10

Introduction

As we continue to follow Jesus as he draws near to Jerusalem many are awaiting his coming. They’ve heard about all the miracles he has done and has come not only for the Passover but to see Jesus! On his way he has touched many already restoring sight to the blind, casting out demons, healing folk of their sickness and diseases and even raising the dead!

The sun was rising rapidly. It was beginning to shoot its golden arrows across the horizon to gild the sky and curtain off the dawn that would bring a new day to the history-filled city of Jerusalem. This is the festive season of Passover. The old city was filled with pilgrims, visitors, and travelers who had come from many countries to share in the feast. Secular census records indicate there were at least 2,500,000 people in Jerusalem for the event. An exciting rumor spread through the city: ''Jesus Christ is coming!''

Behind Him were His sermons; ahead, His suffering.

Behind Him were His parables; ahead, His passion.

Behind Him were His suppers of fellowship; ahead, His last supper of betrayal.

Behind Him the delights of Galilee; ahead, dark Gethsemane.

Prophecy was now to become practice.

Let's set the stage and mentally walk through the actual events as Jesus draws nigh to Jerusalem.

Transition

Jesus had spent the night at the home of friends in Bethany on the opposite side of the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem. The two were no more than three miles apart.

Historians tell us that traditionally persons from various regions all had their special area around Jerusalem where they camped for feast days. The south end of the Mount of Olives had for years been the camping grounds of people from Galilee. These were the unsophisticated and unspoiled people of the area where Jesus spent most of His time and performed most of His miracles. They knew Him best. On several occasions they had tried to make Him a king (John 6:15). Mark 12:37 says of them, ''The common people heard Him gladly.''

In the city of Jerusalem were the wealthy and superficially religious leaders. Jesus had antagonized them by referring to the ''scribes and Pharisees'' as ''hypocrites'' (Matt. 23). Also among them were the Sadducees who had long been plotting His downfall. In order to preserve their wealth and lifestyle, they had consorted with the conquering Jews and compromised their faith. They had much to lose if they displeased their Roman overlords. These man-pleasing priests and scribes plotted their nefarious death scheme. The poorer Galilaeans had nothing to lose.

Notice that in verse 9 there were two groups. ''Those that went before'' were persons who had come out of Jerusalem because of their curiosity as a result of all the shouting. ''Those who followed'' and ''cried out'' were the Galilaeans. Our distance from the event causes us to merge the two crowds into one and assume it was the same people who shouted ''Hosanna'' that also cried ''crucify Him.''

It was the jubilant Galilaeans who shouted ''Hosanna'' and the aristocratic, superficially religious ingrates of Jerusalem who wanted to appease the Romans who cried ''crucify Him.'' I wonder which crowd would we have been in with so much going on today I see church folk fighting about who should and who should not be attending church during this pandemic when we ought to be talking about how can the church come together in a time like this whether it be at the church, a parking lot, on the street corner or in our living rooms how can we the church come together to petition God to stop the spread of this deadly virus and send it back to the pits of hell where it belongs! The whole world has come to Jerusalem and I submit to you in order for this virus to stop the whole world must come back to Jerusalem! There you will find Jesus waiting to heal us!

So real quickly I want to deal with 4 points and we are out of here. The first point I want to deal with is,

I. THE RESOURCES FOR HIS COMING

A. TIME. Timing is critical to everything we do. Doing the right thing at the right time is important. Even during this pandemic Don't grow weary and become discouraged in waiting for God's timing in your life. His clock is never wrong. He is a clockwatcher, as this event illustrates and he knows just how much we can bare.

Passover was a celebration commemorating the deliverance of the Jews from Egyptian captivity. It always occurred on the 15th of the Jewish month of Nisan. That's about mid-April for us. All who lived within 20 miles of Jerusalem were required to attend. Actually, Jews from all over the world gladly gathered for this major happening. As excitement mounts with the approach of our holidays, so an air of exhilaration preceded Passover. Extensive preparation preceded it. Roads were repaired, tombs were whitewashed, and children were rehearsed in the significance of the event. The prophet Daniel foretold when this momentous event would occur. In Daniel 9: 24 - 26 he said it would be 173,880 days until it happened. Jesus went to Bethany six days before Passover (John 12:1) and entered Jerusalem the next day, April 6, 32. That was precisely 173,880 days from the time of Daniel's prophecy. In this act, the Father was further validating Jesus as the Messiah. This may have seemed to have been an impromptu happening, but it had been scheduled in eternity 173,880 days in advance. He was also dramatizing for us the fact that He keeps His word and always performs on time. And I want to interject here that God is saying to his saints that, “No weapon formed against us shall prosper”, and “By his stripes we were healed”!

Incidentally, prophecy said the Messiah was to come before the destruction of the temple. The temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. With it all the records showing family ancestry perished. Two unanswerable questions confront those who doubt His Messiahship. If He were not the Messiah who was? If He were not, how can anyone since the destruction of the family ancestral trees were destroyed, prove from which tribe they descended?

B. MATERIALS In any project it is important to have the right resources, the proper materials.

Jesus needed a couple of donkeys. Centuries earlier the prophet Zachariah (9:9) said Messiah would enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey.

Jesus knew where the resources He needed were. One was in the possession of one of His unidentified disciples. He not only had twelve apostles but he had many disciples, and the owner of the donkey was one. A disciple is also a learner or follower. Every Christian is in reality a disciple. Today every true follower of the Lord and supporter of His cause is needed. Our Lord has need of us to pray, study, give guidance, and financially support His cause. And I just want to say here that the church is not open just to collect money as some are saying. God’s church is not broke and never will be because God supplies all of our needs! The church is open because this is a safe haven for the church, it’s a healing station and a hospital for those who need it! Jesus while on his way to Jerusalem healed all kinds of folk even those who had a highly contagious disease called leprosy in which they weren’t even allowed to be in Public and some of us are home quarantining and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with us. But again These things we should do willingly, eagerly, spontaneously and without thought of acclaim or promotion. And so Jesus with his request, Though He had the authority to command it, He gave the opportunity to refuse its use.

He had the integrity to make His request through His disciples. He had the honesty and justice to return it. The Resources For His Coming. My second point is,

II. THE REASON FOR HIS COMING

A. He came to CLEANSE. In 175 B.C. Antiochus Epiphanes conquered Jerusalem. He sacrificed swine on the holy alter and turned the sacred temple into a brothel. Antiochus whose other name ''Ephiphanes'' means ''the Manifest God,'' not only had an ego problem, he had a spiritual problem. Three years later Judah Maccabee recaptured Jerusalem and physically cleansed the temple. Now Christ came to the temple to cleanse it spiritually from hypocritical defilement. That is what He wants to do in our lives. A spiritual cleansing is a joyous thing inherent with unimaginable blessings. Isn’t it ironic that right now the whole world needs cleansing!

B. He came to FORGIVE. He was called ''king'' and ''Lord.'' The Greek word for ''Lord'' is KURIOS. It was used in various ways.

a. It was used as a title of respect like our Southern use of the words ''Sir'' or ''Ma'am.''

b. It was used of one who is in charge. Luke refers to an individual who was the ''lord of the vineyard,'' meaning He was the master in charge of the vineyard.

c. It was used of deity. The Romans mistakenly thought Caesar was divine and called him Kurios Caesar. This is why it is imperative that we adhere by the laws of the land but don’t forget that God is our King and we obey him as well! The Resources For His Coming, The Reason For His Coming and my next point,

III. THE RESPONSE TO HIS COMING

He who could have ridden the wind rode a donkey. He who could have summonsed the Seraphim chose a donkey. Scripture says, ''All things were created by Him...'' Yet, He borrowed a donkey. ''The earth is the Lord's,'' but He borrowed a donkey. Involved was - - -

A. DONKEY. Jesus didn't come riding a high spirited war steed or prancing white stallion, but on a colt, an animal associated with peace. They were ridden by judges.

B. CLOAK. Symbolized His kingship.

C. PALMS. Matthew, Mark and John each use a different word for ''branches.'' Matthew speaks of young branches or shoots. Mark refers to a mass of straw. John speaks of palm branches. Each was right. All three were used. Each writer simply mentions the one that stood out to him. This simply shows there was no collaboration or duplicity in their writing. Each wrote from his own viewpoint. Such was the response of the people when Judah Maccabee liberated the city. This confirmed Christ as Liberator.

D. HOSANNA. Pilgrims today follow Christ's route from Bethany to Jerusalem. As Christ's climactic moment arrived, He and His entourage mounted the crest of the Mount of Olives where suddenly the vista of the Holy City bursts into panoramic view and the exuberant and impetuous crowd shouted ''Hosanna,'' meaning ''Let even the angels in the highest heights of heaven cry unto God, save now!'' ''Save now'' (Matt. 21:9).

And that brings me to my last point,

IV. THE RESULT OF HIS COMING

Some - - -

A. Wanted to use Him. The Zealots wanted Him to be their military liberator.

B. Wanted to ignore Him. The Romans felt superior to this lowly Nazarene whom they sought to ignore.

C. Wanted to obey Him. The owner of the donkey eagerly wanted to obey.

D. Wanted to worship Him. They knew He had resurrected Lazarus (John 12: 17,18). The eventful morning of His entry into Jerusalem was a Sunday. And as he gets ready to enter into Jerusalem the stage is set like a heavyweight fighter getting ready to enter into the boxing ring, the music is playing the folk are cheering Hosanna in the Highest, the women cut their breasts, and everybody praised and cheered him on then all of a sudden the Pharisees cried out and said, rabbi rebuke your disciples make them be quite but the Lord said if these should hold their peace, the rocks would immediately cry out! I don’t know about you but I don’t want no rocks crying out for me I’m gonna praise him because he’s so worthy to be praised........ what the enemy meant for a tragedy is going to turn into a triumph!

On this day, will you allow Him to enter your heart in triumph? He comes in only by special invitation.

May the Lord bless and keep you, Amen.

April 5, 2020

April 10, 2022