(2) Why was Jerusalem selected as the city into which He would. (4) Who greeted Him? Well, virtually everyone greeted Him, it

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1 HINDSIGHT ON PALM SUNDAY a sermon delivered in the DUKE UNIVERSITY CHAPEL by THE REVEREND DR. HOWARD C. WILKINSON Chaplain to the University Palm Sunday, 11:00 a.m., March 26, 1972 Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:28-44; John 12:12-19 Last October 2, the Duke University football team went against the team of Stanford University, in California, Several days before the game was played, the Stanford quarterback, Don Bunce, was quoted on sports pages from coast to coast as having predicted that Stanford would beat Duke by seven touchdowns. This was an awesome prospect for Duke football supporters to ponder. I overheard the girl friend of one of our athletes say, "Oh, if they beat us THAT bad, I'll just die!" Although the prophecy did sound a bit dramatic, there were realities which made it look possible. Stanford had a great team and they were ranked in the top twenty. Duke was then unranked nationally, its numbers were thin, its injuries were numerous, and its most consistent ground-gainer was unable to play. So perhaps they WOULD beat us by seven touchdowns. But late on Saturday afternoon, as a stunned stadium-full of Stanford fans slowly trudged to their automobiles, it was being announced, again from coast to coast, that the Stanford team had not made even ONE touchdown, that Ernie Jackson had converted a Stanford pass into a DUKE touchdown, and Stanford was on the short end of a 9-3 ball game. Looking back at Don Bunce's prediction from the vantage point of late Saturday afternoon, it appeared vastly different from the way it sounded on Wednesday. Had we known what would happen Saturday, we would have greeted the prediction of a seven-touchdown victory margin with a very different response. Hindsight puts MANY of the events of history in a totally different perspective than the one in which they originally were viewed. I Such is the case with regard to the original Palm Sunday, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on an animal while the multitudes were hailing Him as their king. Today we can analyse that event with the benefit of hindsight, and when we do, Palm Sund,ay takes on a radically otf.fevent me>aning. In order to get that meaning, let's begin by noticing the main features of the event itself. Because the people spread palm branches before the Master as He rode, and they joyfully claimed Him king, this has been called Palm

2 -2- Sunday. The accounts which describe this event in the life of Jesus may be found in all of the Gospels. Indeed, each one furnishes de- tails not supplied by any other. Matthew, for example, is the only one which mentions that two animals were requested by Jesus. Mark alone mentions that the disciples promised the borrowed colt would be returned. Were it not for the Gospel of Luke, we would not know that Jesus wept over Jerusalem as he looked down upon it from the hill. John is the only Gospel which reports that the Pharisees admitted to each other that their plans to ruin Jesus were temporarily blocked for, as they put it, "the world has gone after Him." Putting together the information supplied by the four Gospels, it is possible for one to see a composite picture of what took place. One way to approach this is by the use of questions and answers. (1) The first question is, What happened? The answer is that Jesus made a triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem, coming along the road which leads from the Mount of Olives, and He was accompanied before and behind by a large host of admiring worshipers. (2) Why was Jerusalem selected as the city into which He would thus enter? Jerusalem, we should remember, was doubly the chief city of Palestine, in that it was the political capitol and the religious capitol. Of even greater significance is the fact that the common people expected the Messiah to make a triumphal entry into Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. (3) On what did Jesus ride? He rode on a colt of a donkey. This is significant, in that Jesus deliberately chose this animal, thus setting the tone of his triumphal entry. Let us imagine that today, Palm Sunday, 1972, were the original Palm Sunday, and that Jesus were riding into Washington instead of Jerusalem. Ver,rlikely the procession would be a motorcade, led by the highway patrol, with official Cadillacs at the head of the procession. Where would Jesus be riding? Almost certainly, He would not be up front in one of the Cadillacs. Rather, he likely would be in the middle of the procession (as indeed He was on the road into Jerusalem) hitchhiking a ride with some friend in a Honda or a Pinto. Jesus could have gone into Jerusalem on a horse, but the horse was the symbol of military conquerors. The donkey was the symbol of humble service. This is the means of transportation our Lord personally selected. (4) Who greeted Him? Well, virtually everyone greeted Him, it seems. The political and religious leaders are exceptions. Aside from them, it seems that His popularity was virtually complete. John's Gospel reports that His enemies{ the Pharisees, witnessed the spectacle and conceded (to themselves) that "the world has gone after Him." (5) What did the multitude say? They shouted "Hosanna," a Hebrew word meaning "Save now!" It is a prayerful shout addressed to God, invoking God's blessing upon the person and the occasion. (6) What did Jesus say? It appears that He said very little. He did weep over the city of Jerusalem as he approached it, and His only recorded utterance of the entire journey came at this juncture. He said, "Would that even today you knew the things that make for peacel But now they are hid from your eyes." II We are considering this matter today, partly because this is the anniversary of the event and there is perhaps some didactic value in

3 -3- rehearsing significant events on their anniversaries. However, it is worth noting that we never celebrate Christ's birthday on the anniversary of His birth. Furthermore, we should have a healthy skepticism about some of the formalities and formalisms which are put on by religious groups on special church days or seasons, for some of them have little relevance to the true purpose of Jesus Christ. But having observed this, itremains true that whether we consider the events of Holy Week now or in August, we must at some time come to grips with the puzzle presented by the fact that Palm Sunday comes only five days before Good Friday. The day on which Christ received the greatest public acclaim of His career was only five days prior to His total rejection by that same v,ublic. On the outskirts of Jerusalem the people shouted "Hosanna' on Sunday, and on the outskirts of Jerusalem they shouted "Crucify Him" on Friday. While it is true that there was a very small group on hand who were not in sympathy with what happened at the Mount of Olives, and there was another very small group on hand who were not in sympathy with what happened at Calvary, it is significant that neither minority was able to prevent what happened. This indicates that the larger group was responsible for both the tumultuous ovation and the terrible crucifixion. That larger crowd was made up of people like you and me. People like us were able to wave palm branches of approval for Christ and to shout "Give us Barabbas"-- all within the same week. When we come to scrutinize the mood which prompts us to claim Jesus as our Christ, and the mood which prompts us to nail Him to a cross, we find they are so fundamentally different that they exist in open and irreconcilable conflict. All of the elements which compose the crucifixion syndrome are low, base, selfish and sick. All the elements which prompt the claiming of a lowly, donkey-riding teacher and prophet as king, are high, unselfish, wise and mature. While these conflicting moods may -- and often do -- arise within the same person, they may not both be offered hospi tali ty i n the same person. To attempt to cling to the baser passions which led to the crucifixion while holding a palm branch and not making a basic, all-out choice between them, is to develop a schizoid religion, if not actual schizophrenia. Jesus did not say "Very few men can serve two masters." He did say, "No man can serve two masters." Every person must make a choice! III In making this choice, there are three facts we should remember about that original Palm Sunday, which in hindsight, stand out very clearly and which relate to our contemporary situation. (1) There was a dramatic reversal in the crowd's acceptance of Jesus between Sunday and Friday. Whereas on Sunday they appeared to be ready to promise Christ the equivalent of a seven-touchdown victory margin over evil, by Friday they were willing to hand Him a virtual shut-out. On Palm Sunday they called Him their king, and by Thursday they were willing to ask for Barabbas -- a criminal -- instead of Christ.

4 -4- (2) This reversal was not due to any change in Jesus' character, His teachings, or His deeds. At the end of the week, He was the same person in every way that He had been at the beginning of the week. The reversal was due to the fickle nature of public popularity and to the scheming of His enemies. (3) Jesus was aware of this, even on Palm Sunday. At the moment of His greatest popularity, while the multitude was shouting His praises, what did He do? He paused at the brow of the hill overlook 'ing the great city - and wept! He knew their acceptance of Him even at that moment was shallow and fickle, and that as soon as they realized the price they would have to pay to be true to Him, most of them would fall away. IV As we look back at that original Palm Sunday from the vantage pointaf hindsi~ht, what lessons do we learn that we can apply to our lives today? (1) One lessonm that we should not make the fundamental choices of our lives on the basis of the current popularity of those options. Popularity is a tide that ebbs and flows. The person who makes his decisions with that as a guide will change his decisions as often as the tide changes. Look at a few examples. Now even President Nixon, a Republican, is pushing the development of friendship with Red China very hard, yet only a very short time ago the most unpopular thing you could do in America was to say something friendly about Red China. Or look at "Women's Liberation." A few years ago any gentleman would certainly assist a lady with her chair when she was being seated, yet I understand that a young man was recently slapped 1 only because he attempted to assist a young lady with her chair. She apparently considered this act to be some type of insult. I don't have to remind you of the many and frequent shifts in the popularity of hair styles for men and women! Moral and ethical issues, too, are subject to popularity shifts, just as suddenly, and for that reason a person should choose his or her life styles on the basis of what is right, what is Christian, what is according to the will of God, rather than according to the latest Gallup Poll or the current campus fad. (2) A second conclusion we can draw is that, if one chooses to be Christian, he can expect fluctuation in the acceptance which his life style receives from his associates. Even as with Christ, there will be occasions of popularity and occasions of rejection:-, or even of crucifixion. Cross-bearing certainly will be a reality in his life from time to time. Bonhoffer wrote that one should not choose to be a Christian unless he is willing to pay the price. The person who wants to be Christian and who insists on always being popular is like the fellow Stuart Henry tells about. He said, "I would give my right arm to be ambidextrous." Well, of course, if he gave his right arm he could not possibly be ambidextrous. So with the person who chooses to be Christian. He has given up that which would enable him always to be popular. Yet there are many who attempt to make their brand of Christianity always fit the popular mold. In ancient Attica, there was a legendary character, named Procrustes. All travelers who fell

5 -5- into his hands became unwilling guests for the night and had to lie on an iron bed to which he tied them. If a "guest" were shorter than the bed, he stretched his legs to fit it, and if a "guest" were longer than the bed, Procrustes lopped off enough of his legs to make him just the right length for the bed. Well, popularity is a Procrustean Bed on which many Christians lay their Christian principles. But it will not work. The principles do not always fit the "bed 11, and chopping and stretching only succeeds in mutilating one's Christianity until it dies. (3) The third conclusion is that a Christian life is worth whatever price it may cost. During that first Holy Week, it cost Jesus His life. The eternal purpose of God, revealed supremely in Jesus of Nazareth, is the only value in this world worth making great sacrifice for, and it is worth any price one has to pay to participate in it, and every lesser purpose and value is enchanced when the purpose of God is given priority.