Luke 19:28-40 * March 28, 2010 * Palm Sunday * Pastor Leyrer

Dear Friends in Christ,

We’ve all heard it said that you can’t judge a book by its cover. Meaning: outward appearances don’t always tell the whole story. Things aren’t always what they seem.

Certainly that could be said about the events of today, as well as all of the events of Holy Week that today ushers in.

Judging only by outward appearances one could draw the conclusion that Jesus Christ was nothing more than a flash in the pan. A religious leader who gathered a following and reached the height of his popularity today – but who in one short week got enough of the wrong people upset with him that they put him to death.

By outward appearances it might appear that Jesus was just another dime-a-dozen zealot, a failed revolutionist, or at best a martyr to his own ideals.

But things aren’t always what they seem. Or, as one Bible commentator put it: “There is an inharmonious discord between the internals and the externals” (John Ylvisaker).

Indeed there is. The reason we know that is because, by the grace of God, we view things through the eyes of faith. So as we begin our yearly contemplation of the week that changed and changes our lives forever, let us consider not just the appearance, but

THE REALITY BEHIND PALM SUNDAY

We’ll begin by looking at the Palm Sunday account as we have it recorded for us in our text, and then make a couple of observations on how this event applies to our lives.

²⁸After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. ²⁹As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ³⁰"Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.' " ³²Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. ³³As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" ³⁴They replied, "The Lord needs it."  ³⁵They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.

A brief summary of these verses: Palm Sunday begins with the command of Jesus to some of His disciples. They are to bring Him transportation, specifically a donkey colt. He also gives the disciples the assurance they will not be turned down as they simply inform the owner that “the Lord needs it.”

The disciples did as they were told, met no resistance, and brought the animal back. They then placed their cloaks on the donkey to soften Christ’s ride. He had not commanded them to do this, but was an instinctive show of honor and respect.

The fact that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey colt is significant for at least three reasons. First, because of the obvious humility it conveyed. We live in a very image conscious society. So did the people of Jesus’ day. A donkey did not convey an image of power, speed or strength. Just the opposite. A donkey was plodding and pedestrian. Of the people and for the people.

So we see Jesus appropriately choosing a donkey. Because He, too, is of the people – “the Word made flesh” as described in John 1; and for the people – He came, in His own words, “not to be served but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many.” So we see an unspoken affinity between the Rider and what He chose to ride.

Secondly, Jesus specifically points out that this donkey is to be an animal “which no one has ever ridden.” This is noteworthy when we keep in mind that in the Old Testament God often set aside unbroken or unridden animals for sacred purpose or sacrifices. Could there be any more sacred purpose than transporting the Son of God? He who would soon offer Himself as the once and for all sacrifice to take away the sins of the world and restore us to a right relationship with God?

Finally, Jesus uses a donkey colt to fulfill Old Testament prophecy. We heard it in our Old Testament lesson. The prophet Zechariah said the King would come to God’s people riding on a donkey. And that’s exactly what Jesus did.

³⁶As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. ³⁷When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
³⁸"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

By the time Jesus began His actual ride into Jerusalem quite a crowd had gathered. Those who had followed Him from the nearby town of Bethany (where He had spent the night) were joined by Jewish pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. The news of Jesus’ miracles preceded Him so the people came out in large numbers. It was the equivalent of a modern day ticker-tape parade.

But they weren’t throwing ticker tape. What they did do was line Jesus’ path with their cloaks and palm branches. This was so the donkey’s feet wouldn’t touch the ground – a sign of deep respect and understanding that they were in the presence of royalty.

And they were shouting. Everything they said and all the praises they offered (the other Gospel writers add the well know Palm Sunday word “Hosanna” to the list of praises) indicated they had, at least on some level, an understanding that this was the long promised and awaited Messiah.

Yet on another level, they had no real understanding at all. Because while Jesus the spiritual Savior had come to set them free from enemies like sin, death and hell, many of the people were looking for Jesus the political Savior, who would set them free from Roman subjugation. And when it became evident that this was not going to happen, these shouts of joy would turn into shouts of death, all in the course of five short days.

However, that’s another story – which we’ll take up on Good Friday.

Nevertheless, even on this eventful day amid the shouts and acclamation of the people all were not amused. The envy and discontent of the religious leaders of the day which will result in Christ crucified is beginning to boil over, as indicated in the final verses of our text: ³⁹Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" ⁴⁰"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

At this point, let’s make some observations and applications about Palm Sunday. What are the lessons for us here? There are a number of things we could talk about, but we will limit ourselves to two key observations about Christ, our King.

The first is this: Our King speaks a trustworthy word.

When Jesus told His disciples what to find and where to find it, it happened. This was not the first time this type of thing had taken place. We could cite any number of other examples, but by far the greatest example of the reliability of Jesus’ words has to do with His resurrection, which we will celebrate a week from today. That, too, happened – just as He said and, in fact, had predicted many times.

The point is simply this: Our King speaks a trustworthy word. On a practical, day-to-day personal level this means that we can believe everything He tells us regarding salvation… forgiveness… the power and privilege of prayer… His abiding presence in our lives… His eternal love and care for us.

In other words, all the promises we have in Scripture are not so many pious platitudes or gushy sentiments. They are, in fact, the trustworthy words of a fully trustworthy King. People – even those who have the best intentions – can and will fail us. But Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Savior, never will.

What a comfort that is. What a comfort to know that in those times when things don’t seem to be going our way, our trustworthy King has promised: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”

What a comfort to know that in our darkest and most lonely hours our trustworthy King has promised: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

What a comfort to know that when events take place that leave us stunned or sad or that we just can’t for the life of us understand, our trustworthy King has promised: “All things work together for good to them that love God.”

This leads to our second observation: Because He is so reliable, our King is worthy of our highest praise.

Today Jesus was greeted by the crowd with shouts of praise. In the final analysis we know the sentiments behind them were shallow and misguided, but let’s take them at face value. At least for today we see Jesus at the receiving end of well-deserved exclamations of worship. He is worthy of such praise because of who He is and what He’s about to do for as this week unfolds. We know what is coming…

On Thursday of this week, after living as our substitute the perfectly sinless life God asks of us, Jesus will be betrayed into the hands of His enemies. On Friday, Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, will take upon Himself the vileness of our sin and suffer the punishment that each of us deserves.

Many in that first Palm Sunday crowd as well as many today see that death as a failure; an ignominious conclusion to a man who seemed to have some potential, but in the end couldn’t deliver.

But you can’t judge a book by its cover and things are not always what they seem. This is how it had to be. His death means our life. The eyes of faith see it clearly. And one week from today – after this whole divine drama plays itself out – Jesus will prove to the world that He has successfully completed the mission of our redemption by rising from the dead.

That’s the reality behind Palm Sunday and all the blessed events it sets in motion. What the original crowd may not have fully understood, by the grace of God we do. And that is why we cannot help but offer Him our continued and continual worship and praise.

May God grant us all another blessed and meaningful Holy Week. Amen.