Mark 11:1-10 *
In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:
“The Perfect Storm” is the name of a book (which was later
turned into a movie) that tells the story of the 1991 Halloween Nor’easter that
ravaged the eastern seaboard of the
How did it happen?
What began as a typical
nor’easter developed into a true hurricane when it was stalled offshore by the
high pressure in
It was a Boston meteorologist by the name of Robert Case who preserved this storm’s place in history when he said: “These circumstances alone, could have created a strong storm, but then, like throwing gasoline on a fire, a dying Hurrican Grace delivered immeasurable tropical energy to create the perfect storm.”
This is probably about the time you are thinking to yourself: “Okay, pastor, I appreciate the history lesson. But I don’t see the connection. What does ‘the perfect storm’ have to do with Palm Sunday?”
All four gospels record the events of Palm Sunday, but not
one of them includes a weather report.
And even though you and I don’t know what the weather was like when
Jesus rode through the streets of
If my imagination is correct, if in fact Palm Sunday was a warm, sunny day (and there is nothing recorded in the gospels to make us think that it wasn’t), the question needs to be asked again: What does this day have to do with “the perfect storm?”
Most people don’t remember the storm that pummeled the east coast some fifteen years ago, but the phrase that Robert Case coined to describe it lives on. “The perfect storm” is used today in a figurative sense. It is a reference to a series of seemingly unrelated events that converge to create a situation far more significant and much more intense than the individual parts.
And that is exactly what happened on Palm Sunday, the day when a number of different people, places and events came together to set in motion the most important week in the history of the world. And that is why it is fitting, that is why it makes sense for us to call…
PALM SUNDAY: THE PERFECT
As Jesus approached
Maybe it was because
The Jewish leaders were talking about Jesus too, but they
weren’t excited. They were furious. They heard the miraculous reports about
Lazarus. They heard what the people were
saying about Jesus. They decided that if
they were going to survive Jesus had to die.
And so from that day forward they actively plotted to take his life
(John
Jesus knew what they were thinking. Jesus knew what they were planning. But that didn’t stop him. That didn’t stop him from going to
The disciples didn’t think twice about getting a donkey as Jesus had instructed him. They didn’t know why Jesus needed it, but they didn’t need to know. Over the course of three years they had learned to trust him. If it was important to Jesus, it was important to them. And so they did exactly as they were told.
The owners of the donkeys didn’t seem all that concerned
when the disciples started untying their animals. We don’t know if Jesus had approached them or
if God himself had appeared to them. But
when they received the explanation, “The
Lord needs it” (Luke
The people who had come to
It was no surprise that the Pharisees tried to cut short
Jesus’ moment of glory. When they saw
what the crowds were doing and heard what the people were saying, they came to
Jesus and insisted: “Teacher, rebuke
your disciples” (Luke
If you think about it, everything that happened in the days
and hours that led up to Jesus’ triumphant entry into
But on Palm Sunday these seemingly unrelated people and places and events came together to create the perfect storm. And even if that day was as bright and sunny as I picture it in my mind, dark storm clouds were gathering on the horizon.
The people who reported on the perfect storm of 1991 spoke of it in terms of an amazing string of coincidences, but what happened on Palm Sunday was no accident. This perfect storm was the direct result of God’s perfect plan.
When Jesus walked along the road to
When Jesus asked his disciples to go into the village and
get a donkey for him to ride, he knew what he was doing. He didn’t need it because he was tired. He needed it to fulfill what Zechariah had
prophesied about him hundreds of years before (see Zechariah 9:9,10, the Old
Testament lesson for today). And so
Jesus rode into
When the crowds exclaimed, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!,” Jesus knew that the calls for his coronation would soon be replaced by demands for his execution. And even though his triumphant march into the city would end five days later on a hill outside the city, Jesus forged ahead to fulfill God’s plan.
As soon as sin entered the world, God had a plan to save the world from sin. And God’s plan had to be perfect to remove all of our imperfections. God’s plan took into account all those times when we fail to (or refuse to) do what he asks us. God’s plan covered all of those times when we fail to give him the honor and glory he deserves. God’s plan to save us hinged on a perfect Savior. And that is exactly what Jesus was.
Jesus was perfectly humble. He gave up his divine glory for us. He gave up his human dignity for us. He even gave up his life for us. And we catch a glimpse of that humility on Palm Sunday as the King of kings and Lord of lords enters the city on a lowly beast of burden.
Jesus was perfectly obedient. When the Father told him, “You must die so
that others might live,” Jesus didn’t argue or complain or question God’s
plan. He obeyed…perfectly. And we see Jesus’ obedience on Palm Sunday as
he rides resolutely through the streets of
Jesus was perfectly loving. Even though he had done nothing wrong, even though he had done nothing to deserve death, he died. He gave up his life on the cross. He gave up his life willingly for us. He was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for us because he loved us. Because of Jesus, the cross is the universal symbol of God’s unconditional love. And on Palm Sunday we anticipate Jesus’ love in action in that single word of prayer and praise: “Hosanna” (Save us)!
Jesus was perfectly humble, perfectly obedient, perfect loving. Jesus was perfect…period. And at the risk of repeating the word too many times, our perfect Savior perfectly fulfilled God’s perfect plan.
It’s been a few months now, but perhaps you can still remember some of the news coverage from last year’s hurricane season. No matter what channel you watched, you could see the same image over and over. There was a reporter with microphone in hand in the foreground, all bundled up and struggling to hold his ground. And in the background there were trees and tree branches bending and sometimes even breaking off because of the strong force of the winds.
What a difference between those storms and the perfect storm! On Palm Sunday the people weren’t putting on extra layers of clothes to protect themselves from the elements. They were taking off their cloaks and spreading them on the road. On Palm Sunday the crowds weren’t seeking shelter from flying branches and debris. They were cutting down branches and waving them in the air.
And at the center of it all, in the eye of the storm, was Jesus. He intentionally put himself in harm’s way for us. He deliberately went into the teeth of that storm for you and me. That kind of love inspires us. That kind of sacrificial love motivates us to join with Palm Sunday worshipers from centuries past and proclaim: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord...Hosanna in the highest” (9, 10)! Amen.