If you have grown up in the church, then you are most likely familiar with this Palm Sunday story. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey and as he enters the city the crowds shout out Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. The people wave palm branches in the air and then spread those branches and their coats on the ground in front of Jesus as he passes by. It’s a familiar story for many of us, and we know it is full of symbolism and meaning, but if you were reading the gospel accounts of Jesus for the first time, this event might really take you by surprise. Throughout the gospels Jesus always seemed to be telling people to not tell anyone who he was. Jesus would heal people and perform miracles that amazed the crowds but they would order these people to be quiet and tell no one. In Luke 9 when Peter proclaims Jesus to be the Christ, it say Jesus strictly warned them not tell this to anyone, so for Jesus to suddenly welcome these shouts of praise seems a bit unusual. But that is not all that is unusual, for most of his life and ministry, Jesus didn’t spend his time in the big city of Jerusalem, he taught and healed people as he walked along the lakeshores and hillsides of Galilee, so again, it seems strange for Jesus to suddenly be the center of attention in the capital city.
So the Palm Sunday story takes us by surprise because it is uncharacteristic of Jesus to welcome the crowds and their shouts of adoration, but what really is surprising is that Jesus was the one who set it all in motion. The Palm Sunday parade was not a spontaneous event; this was carefully planned by Jesus. Jesus told his disciples exactly where to go in the city to find the donkey that had never been ridden. Jesus is the one who chose to ride into the city at the time of the Passover when he knew there would be a lot of people there who would be in a joyous mood just waiting to join in this kind of celebration. And when the people started to shout out their praise, Jesus didn’t tell them to stop and be quiet, he encouraged it, in fact, when the Pharisees were critical of the crowd, Jesus said that if the people were to stop singing his praise, the very stones themselves would cry out.
In so many ways this just doesn’t sound like Jesus, but it is and Jesus has set this all up for a purpose. Jesus wants to finally and fully proclaim to the world that he is the Messiah. He wants people to know that he is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, but he also wants to make clear what kind of Messiah he is going to be. Jesus is going to be God’s Messiah, not the peoples. The people wanted a Messiah or a King who would come in power and have the authority to overthrow the Roman government. They wanted a Messiah who would save them and set them free in this world, but Jesus came as a Messiah who would set people free spiritually and eternally. Jesus came as a king who in humble service would save people from sin and death through his sacrifice and love.
That Jesus came to be a humble king is clearly seen here by Jesus choice of transportation. Jesus chose to ride a donkey into the city and that choice tells us two things. First it tells us that Jesus was coming to be a king. In Zechariah 9:9 it says that the coming king would enter into Jerusalem triumphant and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey. The people who had gathered in the city for the Passover would have clearly understood that by riding on a donkey Jesus was announcing himself as the Messiah, but the donkey also made clear that Jesus didn’t come to be a king who was going to achieve victory through military power but humility and sacrifice. So the donkey was Jesus way of proclaiming himself the Messiah, but a humble Messiah who comes to save through sacrifice.
While the people may have struggled to understand that Jesus was coming in humility and service, it was clear that they knew Jesus was proclaiming himself a king. We know this because they placed their cloaks on the ground in front of him. In 2 Kings 9 when Jehu was anointed king of Israel it says that the people took off their cloaks and immediately spread them under him and they blew trumpets and shouted, Jehu is king. The crowds in Jerusalem were faithful Jews, they were there to celebrate the Passover and they would have know this story of Jehu, so when they see Jesus riding in on a donkey they know he is coming as some kind of a king and they accept him by doing what the people did with Jehu, they placed their cloaks on the ground in front of Jesus and cried out, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Now what’s interesting about Luke’s version of this story is that while the people spread their cloaks on the ground as Jesus passes by, there is something missing. Did you notice it? Luke doesn’t mention any palm branches. Now we aren’t exactly sure why he omits this, every other gospel talks about the crowds waving palm branches, which was a sign of victory, but many believe Luke left that detail out because he wanted to play down the idea that Jesus was coming in any kind of political or military way. While the palm branch was a sign of victory, it was also a nationalistic symbolic that many may have associated with a military campaign, the palm branch even looks a little bit like a spear, and so some think Luke left out that detail because he didn’t want people to think that Jesus was in any way proclaiming himself the king of a nation, or a king who comes in military power and strength. The power of Jesus was going to come through his humility and love. The power of Jesus was going to be seen in a few days when he washed the feet of his disciples and offered himself in the bread and cup of the Passover meal. The power of Jesus was going to be seen when Jesus surrendered himself to the will of God and took up a cross to fight the final spiritual battle with Satan. The power of Jesus was going to be seen on the cross where once and for all the power of sin and death would be destroyed. Make no mistake, Jesus was a king who came to do battle, but the only spear in the story was going to be the one that pierced his side as he hung on the cross.
So the purpose of the Palm Sunday parade was for Jesus to proclaim himself as the Messiah, but it is to also make clear to the people exactly what kind of Messiah he was going to be. But I think Jesus had something else in mind and it is something I never thought about this until this year. All through the Lenten season we have been looking at different encounters with Jesus, and I wonder if Jesus set up this parade to force one last encounter with the people.
If we look at the last couple of chapters in Luke we see that more and more people had been following Jesus and these crowds were not only growing in number, but they were growing in momentum and enthusiasm. There was excitement as they headed toward Jerusalem and I wonder if Jesus orchestrated this event to have one last encounter with the people. As Jesus proclaims himself the Messiah, how would the crowds respond? Would the people welcome him? Would they listen to him? Would they follow him not just in a parade but in the way of the cross?
They crowds certainly welcomed Jesus, they cheered him on and sang his praises, but what happened to them later in the week? Where does this Palm Sunday encounter with Jesus lead the crowds in their faith and in their lives? The truth is, we don’t know. What we do know is that a few days later another crowd gathers in Jerusalem and they cry out for Jesus to be crucified. During the course of Jesus trial, Pilate is looking for a way to let Jesus go and he believes that maybe the people will help him out so he asks the crowds if they want him to release Jesus or a violent criminal named Barabbas, the crowd that day chose Barabbas and when Pilate asked them specifically, then what am I to do with Jesus? They cry out crucify him.
Now we have no way of knowing if that is the same crowd that shouted out Hosanna, but even if it isn’t the same crowd, where did the Palm Sunday crowds end up later that week? Where did their faith and trust in Jesus go? Again, we don’t know where they ended up, but that’s not really the point, the point is where will we end up? Where will our Palm Sunday encounter with Jesus take us? You see, our lives of faith are not over; our journey of faith is unfinished – so where will our encounters with Jesus take us?
My hope is that our encounters with Jesus will bring us closer to him. My hope is we will daily return to Jesus in thanks and praise for who Jesus is and all he has done for us. If we turn back to Luke 17 we hear the story of Jesus healing the 10 lepers. They cried out to Jesus for healing and Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priest, (the priests were the only one who could pronounce them clean), and as they went, they were healed. While their encounter with Jesus healed them, only one returned to say thank you. We often wondered what happened to the other 9 lepers, like the Palm Sunday crowds, we don’t know where they ended up or if they ever returned to Jesus, but again, that’s not really the question to wrestle with, the question we need to answer is are we willing to return to Jesus. Since our lives of faith are unfinished, we need to return to Jesus every day to give him thanks and praise for all he has done and all he continues to do in our lives, and we need to return to him daily to find strength and courage to follow him.
But returning to Jesus doesn’t just mean giving him thanks and praise. Returning to Jesus means being willing to go places with Jesus and live for him in ways we never thought or imagined. Think about the Palm Sunday crowd again, if they returned to Jesus on Friday, where would they have ended up? They would have ended up at the foot of the cross, maybe they would have been called on themselves to take up a cross. If our encounters with Jesus continue, they will lead us into a deeper relationship with God where self denial, sacrifice and complete surrender will be needed.
The Palm Sunday parade was set up by Jesus because he wanted to have this encounter with the people. Jesus wanted his relationship with the people to go deeper, and Jesus wants to have that kind of encounter with us today. If our encounters with Jesus end, then so will our faith, and if that happens then our cries of Hosanna, will turn into shouts of crucify him, so it’s important for us to continue to seek out a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. So I invite you during this holy week to encounter Jesus in worship and word and the world around us, encounter Jesus as we give God thanks and praise and as we take up a cross. Our lives of faith are unfinished and it is only our ongoing encounters with Jesus that will deepen our faith and bring us to a place of abundance and life.
So the Palm Sunday story takes us by surprise because it is uncharacteristic of Jesus to welcome the crowds and their shouts of adoration, but what really is surprising is that Jesus was the one who set it all in motion. The Palm Sunday parade was not a spontaneous event; this was carefully planned by Jesus. Jesus told his disciples exactly where to go in the city to find the donkey that had never been ridden. Jesus is the one who chose to ride into the city at the time of the Passover when he knew there would be a lot of people there who would be in a joyous mood just waiting to join in this kind of celebration. And when the people started to shout out their praise, Jesus didn’t tell them to stop and be quiet, he encouraged it, in fact, when the Pharisees were critical of the crowd, Jesus said that if the people were to stop singing his praise, the very stones themselves would cry out.
In so many ways this just doesn’t sound like Jesus, but it is and Jesus has set this all up for a purpose. Jesus wants to finally and fully proclaim to the world that he is the Messiah. He wants people to know that he is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, but he also wants to make clear what kind of Messiah he is going to be. Jesus is going to be God’s Messiah, not the peoples. The people wanted a Messiah or a King who would come in power and have the authority to overthrow the Roman government. They wanted a Messiah who would save them and set them free in this world, but Jesus came as a Messiah who would set people free spiritually and eternally. Jesus came as a king who in humble service would save people from sin and death through his sacrifice and love.
That Jesus came to be a humble king is clearly seen here by Jesus choice of transportation. Jesus chose to ride a donkey into the city and that choice tells us two things. First it tells us that Jesus was coming to be a king. In Zechariah 9:9 it says that the coming king would enter into Jerusalem triumphant and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey. The people who had gathered in the city for the Passover would have clearly understood that by riding on a donkey Jesus was announcing himself as the Messiah, but the donkey also made clear that Jesus didn’t come to be a king who was going to achieve victory through military power but humility and sacrifice. So the donkey was Jesus way of proclaiming himself the Messiah, but a humble Messiah who comes to save through sacrifice.
While the people may have struggled to understand that Jesus was coming in humility and service, it was clear that they knew Jesus was proclaiming himself a king. We know this because they placed their cloaks on the ground in front of him. In 2 Kings 9 when Jehu was anointed king of Israel it says that the people took off their cloaks and immediately spread them under him and they blew trumpets and shouted, Jehu is king. The crowds in Jerusalem were faithful Jews, they were there to celebrate the Passover and they would have know this story of Jehu, so when they see Jesus riding in on a donkey they know he is coming as some kind of a king and they accept him by doing what the people did with Jehu, they placed their cloaks on the ground in front of Jesus and cried out, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Now what’s interesting about Luke’s version of this story is that while the people spread their cloaks on the ground as Jesus passes by, there is something missing. Did you notice it? Luke doesn’t mention any palm branches. Now we aren’t exactly sure why he omits this, every other gospel talks about the crowds waving palm branches, which was a sign of victory, but many believe Luke left that detail out because he wanted to play down the idea that Jesus was coming in any kind of political or military way. While the palm branch was a sign of victory, it was also a nationalistic symbolic that many may have associated with a military campaign, the palm branch even looks a little bit like a spear, and so some think Luke left out that detail because he didn’t want people to think that Jesus was in any way proclaiming himself the king of a nation, or a king who comes in military power and strength. The power of Jesus was going to come through his humility and love. The power of Jesus was going to be seen in a few days when he washed the feet of his disciples and offered himself in the bread and cup of the Passover meal. The power of Jesus was going to be seen when Jesus surrendered himself to the will of God and took up a cross to fight the final spiritual battle with Satan. The power of Jesus was going to be seen on the cross where once and for all the power of sin and death would be destroyed. Make no mistake, Jesus was a king who came to do battle, but the only spear in the story was going to be the one that pierced his side as he hung on the cross.
So the purpose of the Palm Sunday parade was for Jesus to proclaim himself as the Messiah, but it is to also make clear to the people exactly what kind of Messiah he was going to be. But I think Jesus had something else in mind and it is something I never thought about this until this year. All through the Lenten season we have been looking at different encounters with Jesus, and I wonder if Jesus set up this parade to force one last encounter with the people.
If we look at the last couple of chapters in Luke we see that more and more people had been following Jesus and these crowds were not only growing in number, but they were growing in momentum and enthusiasm. There was excitement as they headed toward Jerusalem and I wonder if Jesus orchestrated this event to have one last encounter with the people. As Jesus proclaims himself the Messiah, how would the crowds respond? Would the people welcome him? Would they listen to him? Would they follow him not just in a parade but in the way of the cross?
They crowds certainly welcomed Jesus, they cheered him on and sang his praises, but what happened to them later in the week? Where does this Palm Sunday encounter with Jesus lead the crowds in their faith and in their lives? The truth is, we don’t know. What we do know is that a few days later another crowd gathers in Jerusalem and they cry out for Jesus to be crucified. During the course of Jesus trial, Pilate is looking for a way to let Jesus go and he believes that maybe the people will help him out so he asks the crowds if they want him to release Jesus or a violent criminal named Barabbas, the crowd that day chose Barabbas and when Pilate asked them specifically, then what am I to do with Jesus? They cry out crucify him.
Now we have no way of knowing if that is the same crowd that shouted out Hosanna, but even if it isn’t the same crowd, where did the Palm Sunday crowds end up later that week? Where did their faith and trust in Jesus go? Again, we don’t know where they ended up, but that’s not really the point, the point is where will we end up? Where will our Palm Sunday encounter with Jesus take us? You see, our lives of faith are not over; our journey of faith is unfinished – so where will our encounters with Jesus take us?
My hope is that our encounters with Jesus will bring us closer to him. My hope is we will daily return to Jesus in thanks and praise for who Jesus is and all he has done for us. If we turn back to Luke 17 we hear the story of Jesus healing the 10 lepers. They cried out to Jesus for healing and Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priest, (the priests were the only one who could pronounce them clean), and as they went, they were healed. While their encounter with Jesus healed them, only one returned to say thank you. We often wondered what happened to the other 9 lepers, like the Palm Sunday crowds, we don’t know where they ended up or if they ever returned to Jesus, but again, that’s not really the question to wrestle with, the question we need to answer is are we willing to return to Jesus. Since our lives of faith are unfinished, we need to return to Jesus every day to give him thanks and praise for all he has done and all he continues to do in our lives, and we need to return to him daily to find strength and courage to follow him.
But returning to Jesus doesn’t just mean giving him thanks and praise. Returning to Jesus means being willing to go places with Jesus and live for him in ways we never thought or imagined. Think about the Palm Sunday crowd again, if they returned to Jesus on Friday, where would they have ended up? They would have ended up at the foot of the cross, maybe they would have been called on themselves to take up a cross. If our encounters with Jesus continue, they will lead us into a deeper relationship with God where self denial, sacrifice and complete surrender will be needed.
The Palm Sunday parade was set up by Jesus because he wanted to have this encounter with the people. Jesus wanted his relationship with the people to go deeper, and Jesus wants to have that kind of encounter with us today. If our encounters with Jesus end, then so will our faith, and if that happens then our cries of Hosanna, will turn into shouts of crucify him, so it’s important for us to continue to seek out a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. So I invite you during this holy week to encounter Jesus in worship and word and the world around us, encounter Jesus as we give God thanks and praise and as we take up a cross. Our lives of faith are unfinished and it is only our ongoing encounters with Jesus that will deepen our faith and bring us to a place of abundance and life.
