Wave Your Palm Branches
As the gospel account from Matthew 21:1-11 rivets our attention on that first Palm Sunday, we wave not palms, but palm branches. We can wave spiritual palm branches, branches labeled confidence and joy and faith. So, I urge you to do just that, "Wave Your Palm Branches." April 17, 2011.
Since this is Palm Sunday, I considered for just a few seconds asking you to wave your palms. But that would be not only a bad pun but also scooting on the edge of appropriateness. I admit that we’re silly enough to give kids a high-five and on Palm Sunday to surprise a few adults with that greeting. But that’s in the entryway. Warm, welcoming greetings take place there and hopefully leave a positive impact for a few minutes. This is the pulpit. Warm and welcoming messages take place here but with a serious side because the impact is for eternity. Today, as the gospel account from Matthew chapter twenty-one rivets our attention on that first Palm Sunday, we wave not palms, but palm branches. True enough, there aren’t many palm branches in Milwaukee except maybe in the Domes, and we aren’t holding physical palm branches. But we can wave spiritual palm branches, branches labeled confidence and joy and faith. So, I urge you to do just that, Wave Your Palm Branches.
Because of your King’s Knowing
He knew what he was doing. He knew what was coming, and he knew he needed a beast of burden. As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage [a village nearby] on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them.” Was he so weak, so tired from the eighty-mile, several-day journey to Jerusalem? Of course not! But he knew he needed this animal … for three reasons. Number one: What would you expect royalty to ride in or on in a parade? If the Queen of England arrived in Milwaukee, we would expect to see her riding in a bullet proof limo not a “seventy-seven” Dodge Duster. A king arriving in Jerusalem would typically be riding in a gilded chariot or riding on a stately stallion not on a dirty donkey because a king riding such an animal would be showing lowliness and humility. Do you want a king like that? Wouldn’t you rather have a king with grandeur to assure you that he has power both to guard and rule you? I would. But wait! What kind of king do we need? How about one who is willing to humble himself, not flaunting his power but keeping it under wraps in order to take the wrap for all of us, one who is willing to humble himself even to the point of death on a cross (Philippians 2:6-8). That’s the king we need. Jesus was on this donkey, knowing he needed to be humble for us.
The second reason he needed this animal: What did a humble donkey typically do? It bore burdens. This donkey was bearing the burden of a rider. But think of it! The rider himself was bearing a burden – the burden of my cover-up, my selfishness, my cheating, my skeletons, my unwarranted fears, my lack of trust and yours and his and hers and all theirs out there. The weight of all our sins was piled up on Jesus, towering higher than the Tower of Babel. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4). He was on this donkey, knowing he needed to bear the burden and baggage of our sins.
The third reason he knew he needed this animal: This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: Say to the Daughter of Zion, “See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Thus, a key truth of Christianity springs to life. When we talk with someone about religion or, better yet, about who the true God is and what he expects of us and what he has done for us, it is not unusual to hear the comment, “Who says?” We rightly answer, “God says!” Then comes the challenge, “How do you know?” The answer is right here. Promises and predictions made by God in Scripture are actually fulfilled. Jesus not only made a prediction that his followers would find a donkey, its colt, and its owner who would gladly let the Savior use them – and sure enough! Thedisciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them– but also this entire scene was predicted by God through Zechariah five hundred fifty years before it happened. Jesus was on this donkey, knowing that we would have conversations in which we need to substantiate our claim that God actually speaks to us through Scripture, that the Bible is completely true and reliable, and one of the chief reasons why we know that is because it includes hundreds of prophecies and predictions, recorded over a span of a thousand years, all of which find their fulfillment in Jesus … what are the chances? So, put your coat on the ground for him, pave the way, and wave your palm branches labeled confidence, confidence in his knowing. Here he comes to you, for you – in your place and for your benefit!
Because of your King’s Being
“Hey, my friend! Look out this window of my Jerusalem apartment. Look at the crowd weaving its way down the ridge west of town. I heard that Jesus of Nazareth is one of the lambs in that flock, in fact he’s the reason the crowd is so large. Look at the people pouring out of their houses here in Jerusalem, running out to catch a glimpse. Look how the two crowds have merged and are surging forward through the city gates like longhorns on the end of a cattle drive. Look at him on that donkey with people waving palm branches and fanning him like he’s royalty. Why is everyone making such a big deal about him?” When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” Unnerved, people were asking, “Who could this be? Sure we know his name. We know he’s from a village up north, but what’s behind all this? What’s his ‘being’? Is he really that important?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” A prophet! A prophet?
Don’t you wish you could go back in time, run into those streets, grab those people by the shoulders, and shout, “He is a prophet, a preacher, all right, but so much more!” Don’t you wish you could holler, “He’s not just a prophet. He’s God. He’s my Savior, your Savior. He came for me. He came for you! Look at his knowing. He not only made predictions that were fulfilled, but he himself is the fulfillment of Bible predictions. All this knowing points to his being, proving who he is – not a mere man, not a mere mortal, not just a humble preacher, but God hiding in human flesh, the King of kings and Lord of all, humbling himself, keeping his divine power hidden just for a time, for us, for all.
We can’t run to Jerusalem and grab those folks, but we can email our cousin, call our neighbor, text our classmate, facebook our friend, and invite, invite, invite, “Come and see”(John 1:46). When we do that, we are waving our palm branches labeled joy, joy in his “being.” Here he comes to you, for you – in your place and for your benefit!
Because of your King’s Saving
An Israelite living in those days might have said, “I was in that crowd. We wound our way down the long ridge, shuffled past the olive grove, and stepped over the Kidron stream! We lined the road ten deep. Elbows bumping, pushing, shoving, sweaty. I could smell the guy behind me. He must have had garlic toast for lunch, and a lot of it. The people in front of me are craning their necks, peeking to the right and left past the people in front of them. Someone started it. I don’t know who it was. But the shout went up, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! … Hosanna in the highest!’ – two, then four, then sixteen, then one hundred fifty-six, shouts multiplying in numbers and in volume exponentially, a tsunami of praise. But ‘Hosanna’ isn’t so much praise as it is a plea. Contrary to what little kids think when confronted with this Hebrew word, ‘Hosanna’ is not Anna’s answer to her question, ‘What should I wear to keep my feet warm?’ ‘Hose-Anna!’ No! Hosanna means ‘save us now’!”
The big question is, “Save us from what?” Lightning and thunder or our business going under? Bacterial bugs or union thugs? Demanding bosses or economic losses? Marriage interruptions or family dysfunctions? Save us from what? The Palm Sunday crowd had in mind, “Jesus of Nazareth, save us from political oppression. You don’t look like a mighty warrior, but we heard that one of the guys walking beside your donkey is named Lazarus who had been a corpse a few days ago and is now alive because you called him out of his tomb. So, you must have some power. Hosanna! Use it! Hosanna! Prove it!” What a disappointment when he didn’t do what they wanted!
Do you know someone who is disappointed in Jesus? Are you that someone because he didn’t use his power to make your day brighter or to prevent something bad from happening, because he didn’t keep your checking account above the minimum and didn’t make your school debt go away, because he didn’t use his power to fix the stale relationships within your walls and calm the unrest out in the streets? Don’t be disappointed by expecting Jesus to do something he never promised to do. Instead shout, “Hosanna! Save us now, Lord Jesus!” for the right reason. “Save us now from ourselves, from our hell! Use your power to free us from the burden of having to do things to make God happy with us so that we can have the thrill of wanting to do because God already is happy with us.” Jesus answers, “That’s exactly why I road into Jerusalem on a donkey. I lowered myself so that I could be lifted up on a hill and there pushed down to hell and then raised on high to eternal glory. I rode that donkey in order to take you along for the ride. I know you need it, and I’m the only one who can do it. Your hell is done. Your heaven is won!” His knowing proves his being, and his being is necessary to do his saving, the saving we needed. So, wave your palm branches labeled faith, faith in his saving. Here he comes to you and for you – in your place and for your benefit!
Don’t be fooled by silly greetings or high-fives in the entryway. Whether in the entryway or in the pulpit we’re serious about Jesus’ love for you and happy to share it. I know you want to do that, too! Amen.
Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (www.gracedowntown.org) on April 17, 2011
Related Sermons
The Passion in the Psalms
Psalm twenty-two is chock-full of predictions that find fulfillment on Good Friday. Listen to one particular verse from this psalm—They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing—in which we see once again, "The Passion in the Psalms." April 6, 2012. Read on
And the Lion Became a Lamb
When God laid down his plan to save the world, he saw that his one and only Son would someday become stronger and wiser than any ruler Israel ever had and stronger and wiser than any ruler period. From Mark 1:1-11, let's listen to what Mark the lion wants to tell about the lion of the tribe of Judah. "And the Lion Became a Lamb." April 1, 2012. Read on
The Truth about Getting "In" with God!
How can we possibly get "in" with God? Only through Jesus—and his climb to Calvary to pay for what we can't and didn't do. Exodus 20:1-17 reveals "The Truth about Getting ‘In' with God." March 11, 2012. Read on