"palm sunday" by fusion-of-horizons is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
I have been quite remiss in getting this written. Sunday is tomorrow, Easter Sunday. Last Sunday was Palm Sunday. If I do this right, I'll have another one of these out in just a few days. My hope is that going forward, MMWJ will come out on Monday morning. I have learned quite a lot about my writing habits during these forty days of Lent. It is a good thing. I've also learned a lot about publishing these via Substack. God is good all the time.
For Palm Sunday, the scripture for the message came from Matthew 21:1-11. Reverend Kristin Lee gave the message. I will say I like how she draws longer passages of scripture so we get context. I do not like it and try to avoid cherry-picking a single verse and saying it implies some deep meaning all on its own. Does that happen? Yes, but not often, and it should not happen often. I type that as I struggle with where to draw scripture from after Lent to continue publishing something daily. I am not going to continue to do a chapter a day commentary as we have been, but I do want to try and put something up every day. We'll see if I can meet that goal, not knowing where the inspirational scripture will come from. Here's the Matthew passage from Palm Sunday.
1When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
2saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me.
3 "If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."
4This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5 "Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.' "
6The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them,
7and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats.
8Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road.
9The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!"
10When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?"
11And the crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee."
Matthew 21:1–11 (NASB95)
In verse eleven, the crowds believed Jesus to be a prophet; inspired by God. Jesus didn't teach that, but it is an understandable mistake. The people recognized His divine nature in that what He said came from God. That was the only contact the people of this day had with God was the words of a prophet He sent. I doubt the day-to-day Jew was searching for a Messiah. I think the people just going about their daily lives were concerned with the things of their lives, only concerning themselves with religious matters when the Pharisees or other religious leaders interjected themselves into their lives. Jesus changed all that.
For our service, palm fronds were added to the altar, along with all the other items from the previous sermons. To open this message, Pastor Lee asked the congregation to answer this question by shouting out words; "What is Jesus to you?"
Words like everything, friend, guide, Savior, and Lord came up. Jesus was and is a king, The King. The king of all creation. The scripture was read at this point, followed by another. The scripture prophecy from Zechariah about how the Messiah would enter the city.
9Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.
Zechariah 9:9–10 (NASB95)
It is also from Isaiah 62:11, but it is not as specific about the riding on an ass, donkey, colt statement of Zechariah. Isaiah simply says the Lord comes and brings salvation with Him. The Zechariah passage is far more specific and was one hundred percent fulfilled in Jesus.
Note the second verse, verse ten, from the Zechariah passage. This second part is why so many Jews of that day and today got and get it wrong concerning Christ. They expected someone who would establish an earthly kingdom, stop earthly wars, and hold dominion over earthly rulers over the entire world. Jesus does that, but the Kingdom of God is not of the flesh. It is of the spirit. It is in this spiritual kingdom of God where peace reigns supreme, where war holds no sway, and where every knee shall bend over all creation, not just the oceans and lands of this world. Christ said as much to Pilate as He was interrogated.
35Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?"
36Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm."
37Therefore Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."
John 18:35–37 (NASB95)
As the message was going on, it occurred to me that the people shouting "Hosanna Hosanna in the highest" would change those shouts to "CRUCIFY HIM!" The Greek word behind Hosanna has a two-part Hebrew origin of avenging or delivering salvation right now. It is an exclamation of adoration because the one who causes this exclamation is a savior. The people who shift their cries from hosanna to crucify expected earthly salvation, not spiritual salvation. For three years, Jesus tried to impress upon the people that His salvation was not of this world, but they either would not listen or could not comprehend that message. Will we today?
This is perhaps a good lesson for me because my notes show Pastor Lee got choked up mentioning the recent Nashville Christian school shooting, but I’m not exactly sure why. I suspect it has to do with the idea that the people of that time and people of our time misunderstand Jesus expecting His salvation to be all about our lives on earth. Certainly, the transgender shooter was not concerned about her spiritual existence, just as the people of Jesus' day who shifted from Hosanna to crucify weren't either.
The message turned to point at us as individuals. We should be shouting hosanna, but because the storms of our lives do not shift or lessen, sometimes we shift to crucify. What we might rather need to be asking is for God to save us from ourselves.
That's why I like the Lord's Prayer as a sort of what I call "catchall prayer." Yes, it is imparticular and unimaginative, but sometimes I just don't know what to pray to God. In those times when I am unsure what is right and proper in God's eyes to ask for, I know He knows what is right, good, true, and proper in any situation. Thus, when I am confused and worried, I am being selfish in what I want to ask for or maybe asking for the wrong thing; I drop into the Lord's Prayer, knowing He already knows what is needed. The only thing I need to do in that situation is to be okay with any answer God sends me, knowing He knows what the "right answer" is in that situation.
Pastor Lee finished with the statement that "nothing can separate us from the love of our Lord and King."
38For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38–39 (NASB95)
If Paul's words aren't enough, how about Red Letter words straight from Jesus, and we'll end on that this day Christ's body rests in a tomb for one more day.
27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
28and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
John 10:27–29 (NASB95)