12 Apr

4/14/19     Matthew 21:1-11       “Riches to Rags-Palm Sunday”

Palm Sunday is one day that I struggle with because on one hand we have the great and triumphal entry where a city claims Jesus to be King.  But on the other hand, no one realizes just what that kingdom is all about.   The Bible says that Jesus came to the city of Jerusalem and wept.  People didn’t understand what all this was about but Jesus did and He wept.  On one hand it’s a day when I want to shout out and rejoice and at the same time I want to cry about what is to come.  Today’s Scripture is familiar as we read it just about every Palm Sunday.  As we look at it today let’s see if we can place ourselves somewhere in the story.

I would like to begin by telling a humorous story told first by Warren Wiersbe.  Just think if Jesus had entered one of our cities today and they had big a parade for Him.  He would be arrested immediately because he would be a wanted man.  The ATF would want Him for turning water to wine without a license and the EPA for killing a fig tree.  The AMA would be after Him for practicing medicine without a license.  The Dept. of Health would want Him for asking people to open graves, for raising the dead and for feeding 5000 people without a permit.

Of course the liberal NEA would have to get in the action for Him teaching without a certificate and OSHA for walking on water without a life jacket.  The SPCA would want him for driving hogs into the sea and the National Board of Psychiatrists for giving advice on how to live a guilt free life.  The NOW would be after Him for not having a woman disciple and the Abortion Rights League for saying that whoever harms children, it is better that they had never been born.  The Interfaith Movement would be upset for Jesus condemning all other religions and finally the Zoning Dept. for building mansions without a permit.  I really think that I could go on with many more examples.  In many ways we live in a pretty ridiculous society.  The point is that Jesus would be a wanted man today in our so called advanced and civilized but foolish society.  And if you don’t believe me then just read about all the ways that people and especially our government are trying to make life miserable for Christians.  Anyway, He was also a wanted man 2000 years ago even though this crowd was praising Him as their King.  Behind the scenes, the religious leaders of the day were plotting to have Jesus killed.

I would like to point out a couple of things that are going on here as we begin to look at the Scripture reading.  First of all, this wasn’t Palm Sunday to the Jews.  It was the Sunday that was the beginning of the Passover week and the specific day that they picked their unblemished sacrificial lamb for the Passover.  And here comes Jesus to offer himself as an unblemished sacrifice.  This is a pretty important point.  Jesus had to come and present himself on this day so that He could be the sacrificial lamb.  Passover was the largest holiday of the Jewish season.  This was the time when all Jews came to Jerusalem.  The estimates range from 1 to 3 million people would have been there.  No matter how we look at it, there were a lot of people in the city.

I would also like to say that this crowd was not necessarily a peaceful bunch.  These people were oppressed by the Romans and they didn’t like it.  And of course the Romans didn’t like them either.  As a matter of fact, the Roman leaders didn’t come to Jerusalem unless it was a holiday.  And then they only came to keep the peace so that there wasn’t a riot.  Otherwise, they lived in Caesarea on the coast.  So there are lots of things happening in the area.  Passover was a time that violence could erupt at any time so the Romans were there to keep the peace.

Up to this point, Jesus had been very careful not to advertise what He was doing.  Many times we read where He told people not to tell others what He had done.  This was because, according to John, it was not yet His time.  Jesus says this several times before this including the wedding at Cana.  Now His time had come.  As I mentioned right before this Jesus had looked at the city and wept.  He knew what was coming.  It was time to announce His arrival.

So he sends a couple of disciples on ahead to get a donkey and her colt.  This is done to fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah.  I think that sometimes we get to reading things like this and they become so ingrained in us that we fail to see the little miracles.  The obvious one here is that Jesus told the two disciples exactly where the donkey would be found.  He didn’t call ahead on his cell phone to make sure it was there.  He just knew because He is God.

The second miracle is in the fact that Jesus rode this colt that had never been ridden before.  I have ridden a horse that wasn’t broke and it is not an easy task.  And I don’t think things were much different in those days.  I have heard all kinds of accounts as to how this happened but I have come to my own conclusion and I think the answer is obvious.  Jesus Christ is God and ruler of all living things including this young donkey.  The donkey knows who is on his back and he is ok with that.  He had the peace that all was ok because he sensed that Jesus was God and in control.  It’s no different than the wonderful peace we get when we come to Jesus.

I also think that we have an especially tough time seeing miracles.  They happen around us all the time and every day.  But we want to attach some sort of scientific explanation to these events.  Even so called Biblical scholars want to tell us that the donkey’s mother was right beside the foal and had a calming effect.  Well, that may be correct but I still think that Jesus Christ had a much more calming effect on that youngster than anything else.

This is the type of thinking we are to be doing on this Palm Sunday when Jesus came riding into our midst.  He is the King of kings.  He is the Lord of lords.  Let’s quit giving science the credit for everything and start to thank Jesus for our successes.  Jesus Christ is in charge of everything and it is about time we acknowledge Him for it.  After all who gave us science?  Of course it was Jesus.  He gave us science to help us discover Him!

This reminds me of the story of the scientist who challenged God.  The scientist said that he could make life just like God could make life.  God said ok, you’re on.  So God gathered up His dust from the ground.  He was ready to make a man.  The scientist started to do the same thing and God stopped him and said, “Get your own dirt.”  Jesus is in charge of everything.

The second thing we have going on here is that the people know that Jesus is a King.  They know that He has come to relieve them of the oppression from the Romans.  They know that He will drive the Romans out and they will be free.

Or they think they know because Jesus has another plan.  He doesn’t come riding into Jerusalem on a white horse in the fashion of a king.  That is how a king would enter the city.  Instead He rides in on a donkey.  And if the people watching all of this had thought for a moment, they would realize that the donkey was a symbol of peace.   Jesus came here for another reason.

This scene really shows us how much we have not changed over the years.  Today we are still trying to make Jesus into a God of our own making, of our own definition.  We love Jesus if we can define Him.  We want Jesus to be our servant and not the other way around.  How many times do you say in your prayers, Lord help me with my marriage or finances or my job.  You say give me this or give me that.  You ask these things like you expect that God will run out and get you a raise!  God is not your servant.  Instead you should be asking that He grant you use of one of His fruits, like patience, kindness or goodness.  By asking for these you can find yourselves working toward a better life through Jesus Christ.  But if you ask the other way, you are just treating our King like He is at your command.  And this is no different than what these early Jews were doing.  (Pause)

If we didn’t know what happens in the story, we might say that Jesus was at the top of His ministry.  After all, He had thousands and thousands of people cheering for Him.  They throw down their cloaks so that He may walk on them.  This had to be kind of like the red carpet treatment that the so-called Hollywood stars get as they enter the Academy Awards or the Country Music Awards that were on last Sunday.  Also they were shouting out, “He is the Son of David,” and “Hosanna in the highest.”  And the people who didn’t know who He was were being told that He is the prophet, Jesus, of Nazareth in Galilee.  One would think that Jesus was at the richest part of His ministry.

So what happens?  Well, for one thing, Jesus keeps on happening.  He goes into the Temple and clears out the money changers who are cheating the people in God’s house.  He also keeps on teaching and preaching in the Temple in plain sight of His enemies.  He is definitely not shirking from His duties.  Often times we think of these days before His betrayal by Judas as a couple of down days.  Well, they were anything but down.  Jesus knew what was coming and He was trying to get as much done as possible before it happened.

There is a huge lesson for us to learn here.  Many times in life you will have down times.  You will have times where you know that you will be defeated.  Jesus is telling you here not to quit.  He is saying that if you are working for me, then keep on working even though things might not be going to good at the moment.  Keep working!

That is what Jesus did and his enemies finally couldn’t take it anymore.  Even though they had been plotting to kill Jesus for some time, they had to be exceedingly angered by Jesus working right under their noses.  They were saying, “How dare He come into our own Temple and do this!  Doesn’t He know who we are?”

How many times have thoughts like this raced through your own mind?  How often do you consider yourself superior to others like the Lutherans or the Catholics or the Muslims?  I am sure that everyone here has looked down on someone before.  But Jesus isn’t looking down on anyone.  He has a job to do and time is running out.  You have a job to do and time is running out.

This is what I would like all of us to do.  Easter is one of the two holidays of the year when people come to church.  I don’t know why this is.  Many people call themselves Christians and only come to church on Christmas and Easter.  They are Christian pretty much in name only.  So I would like each one of you to invite someone to watch next Sunday’s service or take them to a church near you.  Let’s go out and do our job like Jesus is demonstrating because if we miss next Sunday, then we will have to wait until Christmas again.  So let’s try to do this for Jesus.

Finally, we have Jesus being arrested early on Friday morning, brought back into Jerusalem, tried three times, beaten nearly to death, carrying a cross through the city, and hung on that cross by 9 AM.  The Jewish leaders took a chance that they could get all of this done before the people were up for the day.  Otherwise, they could have had a riot on their hands.  A lot of evil happened in just a short time.

Satan is very good at doing these kinds of things even in your lives.  He is constantly trying to bring havoc and calamity into your life.  He tries especially hard when you are a Christian.  The important part to remember about all of this is that just because Jesus died, doesn’t mean that He was defeated.  He had to die to be the sacrifice that would cleanse us of our sins.

But then He rose again.  He rose again and defeated death.  He rose again so that you may live through Him.  All you have to do is accept Jesus as God and ask Him to be the guiding force in your life.  Look at all that He did for you!  He came to this world to teach you about Himself and the truth.  He suffered miserably at the hands of the Romans for you!  They hung Him up on a cross so He could die a slow and agonizing death for you!  And because death couldn’t contain Him, He rose on the third day so that you could have eternal life. That is how much He loves you!

Think about these things during this Holy Week.  Think about where you fit into this story.  And then get on your knees and be thankful that you have a God that loves you so much that He would do all of these things for you.  Being a Christian is the best life that there is and I praise the Lord for being amongst so many good Christians.  And thank you Jesus for first loving us.  Let’s pray.