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03.16.08

Palm Sunday

THE CHRIST-BEARER

PSALM 118:1-2, 19-29; MATTHEW 21:1-11

• The Triumphal Entry
• Preparing for the Parade
• The stage was set and everything was ready—the parade was about to begin
• The people of Jerusalem were used to parades, especially at this, the most holy time of the year
• Passover was their biggest celebration, and millions of Jews would come to Jerusalem to remember and celebrate--
• To remember the time that their ancestors spent in bondage as slaves in Egypt and to celebrate God’s miraculous deliverance of them through the hand of Moses
• To remember and celebrate the love and grace that God bestowed upon them by choosing them to be God’s people and forming them into a nation that would play a special role in God’s plan
• During the celebration of Passover, there were many such parades as pilgrims came to Jerusalem from all over
• They wound their way from the countryside through the city streets
• Their destination was the Temple where they would offer their sacrifices of thanksgiving to God for God’s deliverance
• There they would listen for the Word of God to be spoken to them
• As they journeyed, the sang the words of Psalm 118
• But this parade was somewhat different than most of the pilgrim parades that filled the Jerusalem streets
• Jesus had been planning this day for a long time, for this would be the day that he publicly announced to the world, in a most dramatic fashion, who he really was
• There were plenty of rumors about Jesus, but no one seemed to understand for sure who he was
• But by the close of this day, it would all be clear
• Careful attention to Detail
• Jesus made the preparation for this day in advance, arranging with friends in the village of Bethany to have a donkey’s colt ready and waiting for him to use
• Jesus, who was accustomed to walking or traveling by boat, would ride the final two miles from Bethany to Jerusalem as he announced to the world that he was the Messiah, the holy Son of God
• When the disciples that Jesus sent to fetch the donkey returned, the preparations were complete and the parade was ready to begin
• The disciple spread their cloaks on the donkey’s back, and as Jesus began what would be his final journey into Jerusalem, the pilgrims gathered along the road cut branches from the palm trees to carpet the road in front of him and to wave in the air as they made their joyous processional into Jerusalem
• “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they cried.  “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!”
• Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem caused quite a stir
• As he entered the gates of the city, people asked, “Who is this?” to which the pilgrims responded, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
• But on this day, Jesus had hoped to be recognized as more than a prophet
• He hoped to be recognized as the Son of God, the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies that the Messiah would come
• Jesus had planned this day for that purpose
• The time of his glorification had finally arrived
• The Old Testament prophet Zechariah had predicted hundreds of years before that God’s king would come in humility, riding on the back of a donkey
• The reason for his coming in this way is significant
• The purpose of his coming riding on the back of a donkey was to announce that this king would be different from the other kings who ruled over them
• Jerusalem was used to royal processions as conquering kings would ride gallantly into the city on horseback, displaying the spoils of war and the people they had captured
• But God’s king would be different—he would not come in a display of military power to claim his throne as a mighty earthly ruler
• Instead, he would come to bring peace—peace to the nation of Israel, peace to all the peoples of the earth, and peace to the hearts and minds of humanity
• A donkey was the mount of a ruler who came in peace, so Jesus chose the donkey to announce to the world that the was the Prince of Peace
• The Characters in the Parade
• Jesus
• As we try to understand what happened that day, and how a week that began on such a high note of triumph could end with the tragedy of the crucifixion, we need to take a look at some of the characters involved in this Palm Sunday parade
• Jesus, of course, was the central character in this triumphal event, and we know what Jesus was all about
• But we have the advantage of 20/20 hindsight—we have heard this story repeated for over 2000 years
• We have the advantage of the faith of others who have understood it and believed it
• But those who gathered along the road and in the city were experiencing it all first-hand
• The only frame of reference they had was their own experience
• If we were in the crowd that day, would we have understood any better?
• Would we, too, have been shouting “Hosanna” on Sunday and “Crucify him!” on Thursday?
• Jesus’ Disciples
• Besides Jesus, his disciples are the most obvious characters in this Palm Sunday processional
• They take center stage in the drama right next to Jesus
• But did they really understand what was going on, did they really know for certain who this man named Jesus was?
• The last three years of their life was about to come to a dramatic conclusion
• When they first met Jesus, they heard his call to “Come, follow me,” and they left their old lives behind
• But follow him where, and to do what?
• Did they really know what they were getting into?
• Did they understand the mission for which Jesus was preparing them—to bear Christ into the world?
• Several weeks before this, Jesus gave them a “mid-term exam”
• As Jesus prepared to start this journey to Jerusalem, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”
• After hearing all of the pat answers that people were offering, Jesus turned the question on them—“Who do you say that I am?”
• Knowing that his days would soon come to an end, Jesus needed to know what the disciples had learned and how prepared they were to continue his work after he was gone
• To Jesus question, Peter responded, “You are the Christ,” (and “Christ” is the Greek form of the Hebrew “Messiah”)
• But Jesus’ definition of Messiah was different from what the Jews believed, so did Peter and the rest of the disciples really understand him?
• If that question was their mid-term exam, then the events of Holy Week were the final exam
• During this week, they continued to argue among themselves about who would be greatest in the kingdom of God
• By the end of the week, it was obvious that they had failed
• Sadly, they were not much more than guru groupies with little clue of what was really going on
• One of them betrayed him, one denied him, and the rest fled in fear of their lives
• If we’re looking for a role model for our Palm Sunday experience, the disciples are not the role model we need
• The Crowd of Pilgrims
• Another group of characters is the crowd of pilgrims, and that crowd was worse than the disciples
• Many of them were mere curiosity-seekers, attracted by the crowd and the excitement
• They were curious but not committed
• In fact, their loyalty could be bought and sold
• They were the ones shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David” today, but who will soon reject Jesus and call for his death
• New Testament scholar Eugene Boring points out that the members of the crowd know the truth about Jesus, but they cannot bring themselves to do the truth
• They are like college students who make an A in a course on ethics, but who still flunk out in life
• Is this the kind of example that we want to follow?
• Jesus can still attract a crowd
• His picture is on the cover of Time and Newsweek twice a year, Easter and Christmas
• The number of people in 2004 who flocked to see Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ is a testimony to Jesus’ ability to draw a crowd, as are those who flock to what Rex Miller, in his book The Millennium Matrix, calls “celebration” churches where people can see a show, well choreographed and stage-produced
• These people find Christ entertaining but not convincing
• There is no commitment once the show is over
• The Religious Leaders
• A third group of characters in this Palm Sunday drama is the religious leaders
• They were corrupt, mean-spirited, and jealous
• When Lazarus was raised from the dead, they conspired to put him right back in the tomb—where he belonged
• They offered and took bribes, and they solicited false testimony
• They created a bogus trial and sent an innocent man to his death
• They are not much of an example of faith either
• Sadly today, some of our religious leaders are not much of an example as well
• 95% of the pastors and priests today are committed and caring people
• But it’s the other 5% that we hear about
• Those who have abused children, and those who bilk fixed-income people out of their money to pay for lawsuits, private jets, a fleet of cars, and spacious mansions—for themselves!
• Christopher
• But there is one character left in this drama to whom we can turn and from whom we can learn an example of faith and commitment
• That character is the donkey
• This animal can teach us a lot because that donkey was the creature that carried Christ into the world
• And that’s what faith is all about—bearing Christ into the world
• If that donkey had a name, I suppose it would be “Christopher”
• The name “Christopher´ comes from the Greek “Christos,” meaning “Christ,” and “pharein,” meaning “to bear or to carry”
• The donkey was the only one in the crowd who was a “Christ-bearer”
• The donkey was the sole creature in this entire event who faithfully served Jesus Christ
• Our call as Christians is to do just that—to bear Jesus Christ into the world
• And today we have the opportunity to make a commitment to carry Jesus Christ into the world so that others may hear the good news, believe in Jesus as Savior, and find salvation
• What does it mean to be a Christ-bearer?
• It means serving Christ humbly without caring who gets the glory, realizing that serving faithfully may sometimes be a burden
• It means following Christ’s direction; being willing to go where he wants to go, not where we want to go
• It means not getting spooked by the crowds, the noise, or the attention
• It means taking Christ into hostile territory
• It means never asking Christ to “get off our backs”
• It means being obedient to the will of the One who holds the reins
• As we carry Christ into the world, we are challenged to do a particular kind of work and show a distinctively different lifestyle
• Paul describes that work and that lifestyle in Romans 12:9-18
• If we can pull this off, and model our lives on the only character who sets an example worthy of following, we will discover the joy that comes from bearing Christ into the world
• There is a legend about this donkey, the source of which is unknown, that I share with you in closing:
• “The donkey awakened, his mind still savoring the afterglow of the most exciting day of his life.  Never before had he felt such a rush of pleasure and pride.  He walked into town and found a group of people by the well.  “I’ll show myself to them,” he thought.  But they didn’t notice him.  They went on drawing their water and paid him no mind.

“Throw your garments down,” he said crossly.  “Don’t you know who I am?”

                            They just looked at him in amazement.  Someone slapped him across the tail and

ordered him to move.  “Miserable heathens!” he muttered to himself.  “I’ll just go

to the market where the good people are.  They will remember me.”

But the same thing happened.  No one paid any attention to the donkey as he

strutted down the main street in front of the marketplace.  “The palm branches! 

Where are the palm branches!” he shouted.  “Yesterday, you threw palm

branches!”

Hurt and confused, the donkey returned home to his mother.  “Foolish child,”

she said gently.  Don’t you realize that without him, you are just an ordinary

donkey?”

• Just like the donkey who carried Jesus in Jerusalem, we are most fulfilled when we are in the service of Jesus Christ
• Without him, all our best efforts are like “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6) and amount to nothing
• When we lift up Christ, however, we are no longer ordinary people, but key players in God’s plan to redeem the world.