Palm Sunday The Triumphal Entry March 29, 2015

Transcription

1 Palm Sunday The Triumphal Entry March 29, 2015 Mark 11: 1-10 (NLT) 11 As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 Go into that village over there, he told them. As soon as you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks, What are you doing? just say, The Lord needs it and will return it soon. 4 The two disciples left and found the colt standing in the street, tied outside the front door. 5 As they were untying it, some bystanders demanded, What are you doing, untying that colt? 6 They said what Jesus had told them to say, and they were permitted to take it. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it, and he sat on it. 8 Many in the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others spread leafy branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! 10 Blessings on the coming Kingdom of our ancestor David! Praise God in highest heaven! Mark 11: 1-10 NIV 1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, Why are you doing this? say, The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly. 4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, What are you doing, untying that colt? 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, Hosanna! (Save us an expression of praise) Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest heaven! John 12:12-19 (NIV) 12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the Festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" (Hosanna = save us) "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the king of Israel!" 14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: 15 "Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt." 1

2 16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him. 17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!" John 12:19 (The Message) The Pharisees took one look and threw up their hands: "It's out of control. The world's in a stampede after him." When I was a kid growing up, we used to listen to the radio on the way to and from school. It was the local AM News station that my Dad liked to listen to and one of the features each day was Paul Harvey s The Rest of the Story. With his unusual inflection and speech patterns, Paul Harvey would describe the life of someone who struggled in one way or another. He never revealed who the person was until the end of the piece. By that time, he had explained how this person had turned their difficulties into success. He d close with and now you know, the rest of the story. The rest of the story that s what the disciples didn t understand the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Here was Jesus, riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey: not on a strong and fierce steed, but on a lowly donkey. The crowd had been building around Jesus. The 10 th chapter of Mark tells us that he had a large crowd following him in addition to his disciples. As they passed by Jericho they had encountered a blind man named Bartimaeus whom Jesus healed. Then Bartimaeus began to follow him, too. In other words, the crowd grew as Jesus walked along. When he got to the outskirts of Jerusalem, many others joined the crowd. They had heard about Jesus and wanted to see him. Many of these people had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover (something a good Jew wanted to celebrate in Jerusalem at least once in their life). So, now there is this whole crowd watching Jesus, riding this donkey down the hill as he approached Jerusalem. The disciples probably knew that Jesus riding on a donkey was symbolic from Zechariah 9:9: 9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 2

3 The disciples must have thought that Jesus riding on the donkey was the fulfillment of Zechariah s prophecy. Here comes their king, riding on a donkey, just as the Old Testament prophet had foretold. Finally, they must have thought, Jesus is going to take hold of his kingdom he s going to assert himself and the people waving palm branches? Well, that must have seemed to the disciples like what they had learned in Psalm 118. Psalm 118: LORD, save us! (which is what Hosanna means) LORD, grant us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you. 27 The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. This was part of the praising psalms known as the Hallel (=Praise God!). They were some of the first verses that a young Jewish boy memorized and they were used as a part of the Passover ritual. Waving tree boughs was a part of worship. It was also connected with the Jewish Feast of the Tabernacles celebrating the fall harvest. Worshippers carried bundles of palm, myrtle and willow branches (lulabs) to the Temple. They marched around altar of burnt offerings with branches 1x/day for 6 days, then 7x on 7 th day singing these verses. So, Jesus is riding on a donkey, just as scripture foretold that a new king would come and the crowds were waving palm branches as if they were celebrating as in Psalm 118 or even at the Feast of Tabernacles (where the first fruits of the harvest were celebrated and the people remembered when they lived in tents in the desert for 40 years). All of the things that the disciples witnessed led them to believe that Jesus was entering Jerusalem and that he was about to take the throne as the King as they had long hoped that he would: to be the political and religious leader that they had longed for. But, they didn t know the rest of the story. In John s version (12:16-19) of this story it says, 16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him. 17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had 3

4 performed this sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!" The disciples understood in part what was happening, but not the full story. Jesus entry to Jerusalem was such a celebration. How could anything diminish that? They had no idea about the betrayal, arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection that were to come. John says, only after Jesus was glorified did the disciples figure it all out. But, isn t that the way life often is? In the midst of the celebration, we often don t see or don t realize the rest of what was going on. Often mixed with the good is some not so good stuff. Right? Maybe it is better that way. If we knew what was coming, would we have continued? If the disciples knew that Jesus triumphant entry would have ended in death, would they have kept Jesus from going to Jerusalem? If they had known the whole story of what would happen, would they ever have started the journey? Even in the midst of Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem there is the back story of the Pharisees (those devout followers of Jewish law) who were commenting on how the whole world was going crazy after Jesus. and they didn t like that very much! Think about Jesus on the day of his entry into Jerusalem. He knew the pain and the anguish that was to come, and yet he rode in on the back of that colt as people waved the palm branches and cheered. What a bittersweet moment! He knew the rest of the story. But the Scripture says that the disciples didn t understand it all until after Jesus was glorified. Jesus was arrested. He was crucified. He was buried in a tomb. He came back to life. He came back and spent time with the disciples, teaching them more about what his life and his death and his resurrection had meant. and then he returned to heaven to be with God the Father. Only then, did the disciples understand it all. That s what John s Gospel said. 2,000 some years later, we know what happened after Jesus entered Jerusalem. We know the story. When we celebrate Palm Sunday, we sense the expectation and the celebration. But, we know that tragedy is coming in a few short days. We ve been talking about that during this season of Lent as we talked about Jesus words from the cross. We know the tragedy that is coming for Jesus, but, we also know the triumph that comes just a few days after the tragedy. We ll celebrate that next week on Easter Sunday! 4

5 A few years ago, I remember watching part of a special on PBS that dealt with the topic of just who it was that plotted to kill Jesus. They explored the various possibilities. Maybe it was the Pharisees (the Jews themselves) that caused Jesus death. Today s scripture says that the Pharisees weren t thrilled over all the hoopla that Jesus was creating. He seemed to be a threat to their way of life. Maybe it was the Romans, who saw Jesus as a political threat. Maybe it was Judas who was evil? Maybe it was Jesus who convinced Judas to betray him. As with any conspiracy theory, the possibilities are endless and get kind of wacky as you get too far down the line. Bottom line, though, does it really matter? In the end, Jesus proved that not even death had power over God. God raised Jesus from the dead. Whoever caused Jesus death to happen, in the end, God wins! Maybe that is what the Gospel stories are trying to get at. In the end, it all made sense to the disciples. They understood what happened on Palm Sunday and how it was a part of the greater picture. The disciples celebrated the triumph of Jesus riding into Jerusalem with the expectation that he was the king to come. The disciples also mourned the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus. They not only mourned, but they feared for their lives because they didn t understand what had happened and they worried what would happen to them next. But then, Jesus was raised from the dead and he explained it all to the disciples. And they understood. Suddenly, they weren t mourning. They weren t afraid. They were ready to go and to share all that they had learned with the world around them. Imagine if the disciples had gotten stuck in the tragedy that came. They would have missed the rest of the story the best part of the story. This week, as you approach Easter, I encourage you to remember the rest of the story, the whole story. Don t be afraid to celebrate today as Jesus enters Jerusalem. And then don t be afraid to feel Jesus betrayal on Thursday and his pain as he hung on the cross on Friday. His death wasn t the end of the story. Let us pray 5