As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage 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, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
“Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.
“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?” (Matthew 21:1-11, 14-16 NIV)
How many of you have heard the story of Palm Sunday before? Palms. Donkey. Hosanna! You know it all, right? Let’s see: Where was Jesus going? Jerusalem. Good! Where was he coming from? That’s harder: Jericho. How far was that? 17 miles on a dangerous road. That road is the setting for the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Remember that one? The man he helped was robbed on that road from Jericho. In those 17 miles, the elevation goes up 3,500 feet to the Mt. of Olives. A steep, curvy road until you get to the top and see Jerusalem. When Jesus got to the top, why did he ask for a donkey? Maybe he was tired. Ready to ride the rest of the way… No way! The rest was downhill. If he could walk 17 miles uphill, he could go two more miles downhill.
So why a donkey? Jesus was finally ready to be crowned King. That’s what Palm Sunday was really all about. Jesus was finally ready to be crowned King. So he sent two disciples ahead to get a donkey and her colt. When someone asked them what they were doing, what were they to say? “The Lord needs them.” Did you know that that’s the first time in the New Testament that Jesus called himself “the Lord”? Jesus was finally ready for it all to be public. He was ready for everybody to know. Palm Sunday was the day Jesus was ready to be crowned King.
But, wait a minute… He sent his disciples for a donkey. What are kings supposed to ride on? Airplanes! Where was Air Force One when Jesus needed it? Or at least a white horse. A donkey? That sounds silly. Donkeys are what firefighters ride in charity basketball games for a joke. But a king? What’s the deal with the donkeys? They’re actually a big deal. King David once had to flee for his life. He went on the same rode Jesus did, only backwards. He left Jerusalem, went up the Mount of Olives, and a man met him there. And do you know what that man gave David? Donkeys to ride on (2 Samuel 16). Why? In Israel, that’s what kings rode! Donkeys.
Sound strange? Later, when David was an old man, it was time for his son Solomon to be crowned king. David had Solomon taken out of the city. They anointed him as king. Then Solomon paraded down the same road Jesus did from the Mt. of Olives into Jerusalem. Do you know what Solomon rode on his great coronation day? A mule. A royal mule. The people shouted so loudly that the ground shook. We hear “donkey,” and we think Jesus was humbling himself. No! Jesus was recreating David… Jesus was recreating Solomon… The King had come!
In fact, this is exactly what the Old Testament told people to expect. The prophet Zechariah had written, “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). In Zechariah’s day, God’s people didn’t have a king. They didn’t have much of anything. But God wasn’t done with them. One day, God would send them a King again. A righteous King who would bring salvation. A gentle King who would ride on a… donkey. Do you see it all coming together? On Palm Sunday, Jesus was finally declared as King.
And the people understood. That doesn’t usually happen. We people are very slow to understand God and his ways. But on Palm Sunday, the people understood. They recognized what was happening. They put their cloaks on the road. They put palm branches on the road. Crowds went ahead of him and behind him. The whole mass of people walked together, shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
Why? Why those words? It’s all connected. Let’s start with the “Son of David.” God had promised King David that one of his descendants would rule as king forever. It sure didn’t seem like God had kept that promise. Not only had no son of David ruled forever, but, for 600 years, no son of David had ruled at all. Do you ever get tired of waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled? Do you ever think God is taking longer than he should? 600 years is a long time! But God keeps his promises. When God’s time had fully come, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”
That word “Hosanna” takes us deeper into the Old Testament. “Hosanna” means “save, please.” It’s found in Psalm 118:25. Let me say some of the verses of that psalm for you: “22 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 23 the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. 25 Lord, save us! 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.” (Psalm 118:22-27)
Whom does that make you think of? Jesus! That song from the Old Testament is talking about Jesus. “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” That’s Jesus! Here’s something I learned as I studied the Palm Sunday story this year: According to the rabbis in Jerusalem, when the Messiah finally came, the people were supposed to praise him with a song. Can you guess which song? Psalm 118. These words were for the Messiah. This wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment, “let’s shout some nice words to the guy on a donkey…” People recognized their true King. I know you’ve heard this story often. Don’t miss what it teaches! For one day, the people got it. On Palm Sunday, they praised Jesus for who he is: Our King and our Messiah.
That makes me think of something that one of you said to me a while ago. A member of our church said, “I don’t think we spend enough time praising God.” He wasn’t talking about our church services. He was talking about our lives as Christians. “I don’t think we spend enough time in our lives praising God.” I’ve been thinking about that a lot. I pay attention to what you say to me! “I don’t think we spend enough time praising God.” Would you agree? I would.
Why don’t we spend our lives praising God? I can speak for me. I think I need God to give me a reason to praise him first. I think, “I’ll praise God when he actually does something worth praising. If something hurts, and God makes it better, I’ll praise him. If I have a need, and God fills it, I’ll try to remember to praise him. If I’m sick, and I get better, I’ll praise God. I just need God to give me a reason to praise him first…” Are you like me? I hope not. But I bet you are. “God, I’d praise you, but what have you done for me lately? “Like, today? Like, in this hour?”
There’s always some little thing that gets in the way. The car’s in the shop. I hate that. “Not this week, God. I’ll praise you, but I have to get through this first.” Then you feel sick. “Not this week, God. I’ll get around to praising you. But I have to get through this first.” But then you’re swamped at work. “Not this week, God. Just wait a little longer. I have to get through this first.” Then… Maybe here’s the root problem in our hearts: We praise God for what he does, not for who he is. Can you tell the difference? We praise God for what he does, but not for who he is.
We often say the Apostles Creed together. It’s a great way to remember who God is. Who is God the Father? The Maker—the Creator—of the heavens and the earth. God made you. That means you always have a reason to praise God. But what do people say today? “Hold on. God didn’t really create the world. We’ve got it figured out. There’s actually no creator. It just happened. All on its own. Over billions of years. Isn’t that brilliant?” Do you see what we do? We don’t recognize who our Creator is. So we don’t see a reason to always praise the Lord for his creation.
Whom does the second part of the Apostles Creed talk about? Jesus. God the Son. Jesus saved us. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose from the dead…” There is much grace in those few, short words! Who is Jesus? Our Savior! When you realize that, you always have a reason to praise the Lord! But what do we say? “You know, we’re pretty good people. We don’t really need a Savior. I suppose some of you really bad people do, but for most of us, we’re doing fine on our own, right?” Do you see what we do? We don’t recognize who Jesus is. So we don’t see a reason to always praise the Lord for salvation.
The last part of the Apostles Creed talks about the Holy Spirit. Who’s he? The Holy Spirit works faith in Jesus in our hearts through God’s Word. The Holy Spirit is our sanctifier. He brings us to Jesus. When you realize that, you always have a reason to praise the Lord! But what do we say? “Hold on. I made my own decision for Christ. I accepted Jesus. I committed myself to him. I did! Move over, Holy spirit, I got this!” Do you see what we do? We don’t recognize the Holy Spirit in the Word and Sacraments. So we don’t see a reason to always praise the Lord for choosing us. “I don’t think we spend enough time praising God.” Why? We don’t praise God for who he is.
That’s why we need to hear this story we think we know so well. Palm Sunday. As Jesus headed down that Mount of Olives, do you know what Jesus could see? The Garden of Gethsemane, where he would sweat drops of blood in prayer to his Father before he was arrested. If he looked toward the city, he could see the palace of the high priest, Caiaphas, where he was put on trial. If he gazed this way, he could see Pontius Pilate’s fortress where he was sentenced to death. If he looked past the city, he could probably see a place that looked like a skull with a tomb nearby. There is something so different about this King. He didn’t come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. He took our thankless hearts to the cross, with all our sins, when he died to forgive us. Do you know what that gives us? A reason to always praise the Lord.
“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” I bet some of those people praising Jesus were poor. I bet some of them were sick. I bet some of them were divorced. I bet some were depressed. Some were addicted. Some were lonely. If they had waited until every aspect of their lives was perfect before they praised the Lord, they would have been sitting home that day. So why were they praising Jesus? For who he is. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Always our King. Always our Savior.
So do you get Palm Sunday? “See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey.” What do you do for a king? You praise him! Jesus the Messiah. The Son of David. Christ the King. What can change that? Nothing. Every day, you have a God who created you. Every day, you have a God who saved you. Every day, you have a God who chose you. You! Know what that means? You always have a reason to praise the Lord!
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