Palm Sunday 2020

Mark 11:1-10

3.5.2020

Today begins “Holy Week,” with a day we call, “Palm Sunday.” This marks the time when we begin our walk through the last week of Jesus’ life.

Have you ever had a week that didn’t turn out quite the way you expected it to?

<PICS: https://apple.news/A2fHhIKTsSXex7F-9rtj9WA> There are a lot of parents who understand this all to well. It feels like your plan/schedule is just going downhill. Holy Week, when it starts out, looks like the BEST week of Jesus’ life!

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.’” Mark 11:1-3 Mark 11 begins with Jesus planning a party … for Himself! One important part of the planning is the transportation! He asks His disciples to go get a colt.

<PICS: ConcordiaFest Pony Rides> But there’s something looming the background of this party. This isn’t just for fun. This party is to make a profound statement! There is a really powerful prophecy in the Book of Zechariah from around 520 BC…

⁹ Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9 It predicts that someone who is “victorious” will come riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. But victorious over what?

³ Tyre has built herself a rampart and heaped up silver like dust, and fine gold like the mud of the streets. ⁴ But behold, the LORD will strip her of her possessions and strike down her power on the sea, and she shall be devoured by fire. ⁵ Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid; Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish; Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded. The king shall perish from Gaza; Ashkelon shall be uninhabited; ⁶ a mixed people shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of Philistia. ⁸ Then I will encamp at my house as a guard, so that none shall march to and fro; no oppressor shall again march over them, for now I see with my own eyes. Zechariah 9:3-6, 8 After defeating all these enemies of God’s people, this king comes riding into Jerusalem in Zechariah 9:9. Understand: all the enemies of God’s people, Israel, are going to be destroyed. Their possessions will be plundered. Fire will devour cities. They will be wiped out. And … Jesus has called Uber and ordered a donkey.

⁴ The disciples 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! 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!” Mark 11:4-10 Now everyone is ready for this This is a HUGE moment, but what amazes me is that EVERYONE is ready!  All the people are waiting! 

• The people who have the colt are ready to go. All the disciples need to say is, “The Lord needs it,” and they’re ready to see Zechariah 9:9 fulfilled.
• When the people in the streets see Jesus riding on the colt, they’re ready to go, too. They do two things…
  • ⁸ Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Mark 9:8 This looks like a time when a guy named Judas Maccabeus overcame the Greeks.  <PIC: Jewish Coin with Palm Branches> Ancient Jewish coins had palm branches on them to commemorate this moment. They expect Jesus to be another Judas Maccabeus.
  • ⁹ Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Mark 11:9 “Hosanna” – “Save us, now!” They were totally ready.

I am guessing, by Friday of this amazing week, there we many Jews who looked back and thought, “Wow! I never thought it would turn out this way!”

Even if the crowds didn’t see it coming, Jesus knew exactly what this party was leading up to. This party was to reveal to everyone who He really is! And just like the Jews on that first Palm Sunday, we need to know! Especially in the world we’re living in right now, we need to be saved! We need to be saved from…

• Economic disaster
• A deadly pandemic
• Isolation and loneliness
• Others enemies and struggles NB: Sometimes hard times bring out the best in people, other times they bring out the worst. <ILL: Hoarding, burglary, familiarity>

Who Jesus Really Is … Let’s spend these last minutes and focus on who Jesus really is.

Jesus is majestic. Jesus is a king! He talks a lot His kingdom. Even as He begins his public ministry, Jesus says …

¹⁵ “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark 1:15 Notice how we are supposed to respond to this king Jesus …

• Repent: We don’t just do our own thing! That can be hard. <ILL: Shelter-in-Place orders are not obeyed!> We like it when God comforts us and points out problems in other people’s lives. But, when He points out problems in our lives … <ILL: Confession: Time of Silence…How long could that silence last for you?>
• Believe: Believe not only that He has come to save us, but that He knows and always wants what’s best for us. <PIC: meme – Purity laws in Leviticus> Jesus is a King who cares deeply for His people.

Jesus is meek. What is Jesus riding in on? A donkey. This was always the plan! This great conqueror was never going to come riding in on a stallion. He was always going to ride a beast of burden. Because the great victory that King Jesus wins is tender victory.

When Matthew records this same story, he paraphrases the passage from Zechariah 9:9

⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: ⁵ “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.’” Matthew 21:4-5 There are two words I want you to notice …

“Gentle” – praus This is the word that Jesus uses in the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 …

⁵ Blessed are the meek (praus), for they will inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5

“Daughter” of Zion <ILL: Dads and daughters> That’s the way He will treat Israel and all of His people … with tenderness and gentleness!

But the people had a problem: they were more focused on who Jesus was going to conquer and how He would treat those people, they forgot about how Jesus had treated them.

• He healed them
• He fed them
• He taught them
• He loved them They lost track of all that. In Luke’s version of this same story, right after Jesus is done with His donkey ride… (Jesus wept over the people.)

⁴¹ As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it ⁴² and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.” Luke 19:41-42 They’re so busy trying to make war on others they miss the peace they desperately need for themselves. We must avoid getting so caught up in what we want God to do to other people that we forget all that He has done for us! We can rejoice that God is gentle with us rather than hoping He will be harsh with others.

Jesus is Messiah. Zechariah 9:9 is a Messianic prophecy. <explain> Jesus is coming to save His people. But not in the way they expect. This Hebrew prophecy is fascinating when you look carefully at the words.

⁹ Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9

“Victorious” – means “Salvation” And the word is passive! This king will be righteous and will be “saved.” Why would He need to be saved? After all, isn’t He the Savior!

But fast forward from the “victory party” on Palm Sunday to Golgotha on Good Friday. All of a sudden, the “savior” needs to be saved from a horrible death on a cross. But no one is there to save Him. They only condemn Him. But because He was NOT saved, we can be! His week begins with a donkey and a party. It ends with a cross and a funeral.

This is the paradox of our faith: our salvation comes from someone who was condemned and wasn’t saved.  During this pandemic and all the things that go along with it, it can feel like are condemned.  But salvation is found in the places where it seems like there’s no salvation … like in the middle of a pandemic! Rejoice dear people, beloved daughters and sons of Zion, your King Jesus has come to save you! Rejoice!