Palm Sunday - Who is This?

 Today is Palm Sunday, and so my text is found in Matthew 21:1- 10

“When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,  saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them."” This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, gentle, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

 

It is on this day 2000 years ago that the Lord rode into Jerusalem. In a few short days, He will be crucified on what the Church calls Good Friday – crucified – as Peter told it – according to the predetermined plan of God (Acts 2:23).

 

Predetermined? Yes. Predetermine by God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. For example, listen to Isaiah, 700 years before the Lord’s entry into Jerusalem: Jesus “pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we were healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5-6)

 

Palm Sunday also marks the beginning of what many in the Church call “Holy Week.” Tradition tells us Jesus cleansed the Temple on Monday. On Tuesday He and His disciples went to the Mount of Olives where He delivered his Olivet Discourse found, for example, in Matthew 24. On Wednesday, He and His disciples probably rested in preparation for their Passover celebration on Thursday. On Friday, the Lord was crucified. He lay in the tomb on Saturday. Then, on the first day of the week – Sunday – He arose, just as He said He would.

 

The Gospel writers record that the Lord’s Last Supper – His last Passover supper – occurred four days AFTER He rode into Jerusalem. This year, however, Passover occurred yesterday, on Saturday. The reason Passover and Palm Sunday occur at different times each year has to do with the differences between the Lunar and Gregorian calendars and that history is beyond the scope of my message today.

 

But what IS within the scope of this message are these two main points:

 

First, before His crucifixion on Good Friday, Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Passover as was proscribed in the books of Moses. You’ll find such references in Exodus 12, Leviticus 23, Numbers 9 and Deuteronomy 16. And second: When the Lord rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the crowds hailed Him as a prophet – but not as Messiah.

 

So, let’s begin today’s message by looking briefly at the Passover Jeus and His disciples celebrated to commemorate the time God rescued His people from Egyptian slavery. We won’t look at Exodus 12 in detail today because of time, but you will remember God inflicted ten plagues on Egypt to force the Pharaoh to let Israel leave Egypt. The last of those plagues was the death of all the first-born in Egypt. Moses writes: “And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.” (Exodus 12:29)

 

In preparation for Israel’s protection during this last plague, God commanded His people to kill a sacrificial animal, catch its blood in a basin, and put the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts of their homes. God further said: “The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 12:13)

 

The lintel and the two doorposts – making a sign of a cross – a foreshadowing of what the Lord Jesus was going to do on Good Friday when the blood from His head wounds, and from His hands and feet would remind those on Calvary’s hill – and remind us today – of the places on the doors of Jewish homes in Egypt which were marked with the sacrificial blood.

 

And it is very much worthwhile to pause here a moment and consider what would have happened in any Jewish home in Egypt where they ignored God's commandment about that sacrificial blood to be painted on their lintels and doorposts. Actually, we don’t have to wonder very long. God warned them: “When I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 12:13)

 

In other words: No blood – No protection.

 

So, the question for each of us in this sanctuary in application is this: The Lord Jesus died and shed His blood on that cross as our sacrificial Lamb, the Lamb who would rescue us from the wages of sin – which is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Which begs the question: “Is your house – your LIFE – protected by the blood of Christ?” And that question raises another: HOW does a person ensure his or her life is protected by the blood of Christ?

 

The answer is not complicated. Peter said it very succinctly to the crowd on the Day of Pentecost. You’ll find his words in Acts 2 – but essentially he said this when they asked what they needed to do to be saved. Peter responded: “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” (Acts 2:38-39).

 

Believe. Put your confidence in God's promises of forgiveness to the penitent. Obey His commandments. Be baptized. THAT’S how we become protected by the sacrificial blood of the Savior – protected from eternal death in the Lake of Fire.

 

Which brings us to the second point of this Palm Sunday message. As the Lord rode into Jerusalem to their adulation and song, Matthew records: “all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.” (Matthew 21:10-11)

 

And therein lay the problem they faced, and the problem we in the 21^st century face: WHO is Jesus? Merely a prophet, like one of the prophets of the Old Testament? Or is He much, much more?

 

Listen, please. If any prophet in the Old Testament said the things that Jesus said of Himself, he’d have been taken out and immediately stoned to death. God commanded Israel through Moses: “But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.” (Deuteronomy 18:20). And it was BECAUSE many of the Pharisees and Sadducees believed Jesus was a false prophet that they often tried to stone Him.

 

So, what kinds of things did Jesus say that would give the religious leaders reason to call Him a false prophet, a demon, a liar from hell? Well, He said many things that brought their wrath down on Him, and if you know your Bible, you know what He said. But for the sake of time, let’s look only at a few texts.

 

First, Jesus told the religious leaders: “I and the Father are one.” The apostle John goes on to tell us that at this word, “The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.” (John 10:30-33)

 

Jesus also referred often to Himself as the ‘Son of Man.’ The Pharisees knew that title, as Jesus was using it, referred to the Messianic title of Daniel’s prophecy. And that further infuriated them. Why? Listen to that text in Daniel chapter seven in which the prophet writes:

 

“I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, its wheels were a burning fire. A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before Him;
Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, and myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, and the books were opened . . . . “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.”

 

Coupled with this prophecy of Daniel, is this from Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore.”

 

Prophet, or much more? The Lord asked His disciples a similar question. Matthew records it this way: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:13-16)

 

On Palm Sunday the crowds in and outside Jerusalem were shouting to one another, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.” Which now brings us to this next question for you and me. Is Jesus to us simply prophet? Or is He, as Peter said, “The Christ, the son of the living God”?

 

This is REALLY an important question. For two millennia some held him to be simply a prophet – but no more. Even today, in some church pulpits and church pews, there are those who do not believe Jesus to be God incarnate.

 

What do you believe about Jesus? I expect all of you will answer that question as St Peter answered it: He is the Christ, the son of the living God. I expect that you will say Jesus is Lord.

 

And that is why I think we should pause here for a few minutes and ask ourselves what it actually means when we say Jesus is Lord.

 

Listen to what the Lord Jesus said of Himself: “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; depart from Me, all you evildoers.’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth . . . .”

 

Here also is what He tells us in Matthew’s gospel: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23)

 

In other words, Jesus told them what He also tells us, “Don’t call me, ‘Lord’ if you are not going to do as I say.” And what He tells us encompasses a range of attitudes and behaviors – not only of immoralities, but also of attitudes such as prejudice, greed, selfishness, anger, gluttony – and hanging onto a spirit of unforgiveness toward others.

 

We all know the Lord’s prayer: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. ‘Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. ‘And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’  (Matthew 6:9-13)

 

But now look with me at the next two verses: “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” (Matthew 6:14)

 

We don’t have time to also read the parable about forgiveness in Matthew18:23-35, but that parable ought to be very disturbing for those who refuse to forgive others, because at the end of that parable, Jesus warns those who refuse to forgive others that they will themselves NOT BE FORGIVEN by God.

 

We all need to let that grave warning sink into our souls. If we refuse to forgive others, God will not forgive us.

 

Some think forgiveness is driven by feelings. But that’s wrong. Forgiveness isn't a feeling, it's a decision. It’s a decision to treat the offender with kindness and respect – despite how much they hurt you. It’s a decision not to carry a grudge. It’s a decision to push thoughts of revenge out of your mind and to let God be judge, and not we ourselves.

 

When the Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem, the city was stirred to ask: “Who is this?” And so, as I close this message on this Palm Sunday, with the question that ought to remain with us, not only on Palm Sunday, but every day. Who is Jesus to you? Who is Jesus to me?

 

We do not want the Lord to say of us as He said of those in Isaiah’s day: “This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Isaiah 29:13)

 

God loves you. He loves me. But because we hear that so often, I wonder if we sometimes no longer actually HEAR it. God loves you. That’s why He’s given us His rod and staff – His scriptures – to guide and protect us.

 

God loves us. That’s what Passover is all about: God's promise to redeem us from bondage to our sin nature. That’s what Palm Sunday is all about: God-Incarnate riding toward His torturous death that would occur later that week. And that’s what Good Friday is all about. As the apostle Paul writes: (1 Corinthians 5:7) “For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.”

 

Palm Sunday and Good Friday would never have occurred if God did not love us with a passion so great that all creation bows its knee in awe and wonder. So, come, let us in our own minds do as the Psalmist urges us to do: (Psalm 95:6) “Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.”