Palm Sunday 2023
Glorious Day (chorus)
Call to worship:
pastor michael champoux
Zech 9.9
Song:
Crown him w/ many crowns
Historical:
pastor andrew loginow
Apostles' Creed
song:
Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery
Confession & Pardon:
pastor Brett eckel
song:
Doxology
song:
Jesus is better
Sermon:
dr. alex loginow
Palm Sunday 2023
Matt 21.1-11
Introduction
What would you say if some random person approached you on the street and asked you the question, “Who is Jesus?” A Roman Catholic organization called Christlife sought to find out when they went to Washington Square Park in New York City with a camera and simply asked people, “Who is Jesus?” These are the kinds of responses they got: “Jesus was an historical figure;” “Jesus was a man;” “Jesus was the son of God because we’re all God’s children;” “Jesus was the greatest salesman in history because he got all of these people to follow him;” “Jesus was a man who tried to spread wisdom;” “Jesus is my Lord and savior;” “Jesus is my best friend.” This is the same question posed in our pericope here on Palm Sunday 2023. Verse 10 tells us that the whole city of Jerusalem was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”
And so as we begin Holy Week in the year of our Lord 2023 together, Matthew’s account of the triumphal entry forces this question on us – who is Jesus? For two millennia the Christian church has observed Holy Week in celebration and remembrance of the last week of Jesus’ ministry and mission. On Palm Sunday Jesus rode into Jerusalem; on Holy Monday Jesus cleansed the temple; on Holy Tuesday Jesus taught the Olivet Discourse; on Holy Wednesday, or Spy Wednesday, Judas betrayed Jesus; on Maundy Thursday Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, transformed the Passover meal into the Eucharist, and was handed over; on Good Friday Jesus was falsely convicted and crucified on a Roman Cross and buried; on Holy Saturday Jesus laid dead in the tomb; and on Easter Sunday Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead. Today is Palm Sunday and we are faced with the question, who is Jesus? We will see Matthew’s answer together and then we must consider our own.
Jesus is our Prophet
The first thing that Matthew tells us explicitly is that Jesus is our prophet. Verse 11 tells us the crowds respond to the question, “Who is this?” with the answer, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” Matthew doesn’t blindside us with this proposition, no, he has been building his case throughout his entire Gospel. Matthew has shown us that Jesus is the true and better Moses as Jesus, in his birth and infancy, recapitulates the experience of Moses. Just as Pharaoh tried to abort Moses when he was born, so Herod tried to abort Jesus when he was born. Just as Moses led Israel out of Egypt, Jesus fulfills Hosea’s prophecy when he returns from Egypt after Herod died. Moses probably stands as the most noteworthy prophet in the Old Testament and the Gospel of Matthew preaches to us that Jesus is the new and better Moses.
Not only does Matthew reveal to us that Jesus is our prophet through Jesus’ life, but also through his teaching. All 4 Gospels contain the teaching of Jesus Christ but Matthew gives us the longest summary of the greatest sermon ever preached – the Sermon on the Mount. And once again Jesus is revealed to be the true and better Moses. Just as Moses went up Mount Sinai to reveal God’s Law to his people, so Jesus goes up the mount to preach the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus speaks the Word of God to his people.
Matthew also hints that Jesus is God’s final prophet by revealing to us that Jesus is fulfilling the Old Testament prophets. In verse 5 Matthew quotes the prophet Zechariah, which we read in our call to worship. On Palm Sunday Jesus fulfilled this prophecy but the point is even broader. Jesus is the fulfillment of all of the Old Testament promises of God all the way back to the very first gospel promise of Genesis 3.15. 2nd Corinthians 1.20 tells us that all of the promises of God find their ‘yes’ in Jesus Christ. That means every single Old Testament promise is fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. There are zero Old Testament promises left to be fulfilled because they all find their ‘yes’ in Jesus.
But it is not only in Matthew’s Gospel that we see that Jesus is our prophet, John tells us that Jesus not only speaks the Word of God, but that Jesus is the Word of God (John 1). Jesus is the ontological speech act of God. Jesus is the final Word of God. Hebrews 1.1-2 says, Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.
Because Jesus is the true and final prophet of God who speaks the final Word of God we can know for certain that on this side of Christ’s return, God has nothing else to say to us. Everything God has to say to his people is found in the Scripture. The Old Testament leads us to Christ and the New Testament reveals Christ. In the Gospels we have the revelation of Jesus Christ and in the Epistles we have the explanation of the revelation of Jesus Christ by the Apostles who saw Jesus and were commissioned by Jesus.
The only place that you will find the Word of God is in the Bible. Scripture is the exclusive way God speaks. And so because that’s true, the most important thing you can do every week is come to church and submit yourself to the preaching of the Word. Unquestionably, it is beneficial to read your Bible, to participate in individual and small group Bible studies, Bible classes, Bible colleges, and seminaries are immensely helpful, educating yourself through reading or teaching videos are great. All of those avenues of Christian education and discipleship can certainly be helpful, but gathering with the church under the Word is nonnegotiable.
As the 2nd Helvetic Confession reminds us, there is a sense in which the preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God. Jesus uniquely prophetically speaks to his people when the church is gathered around the Word and the sacrament every Sunday. Do you want to hear God speak? Come to church every Sunday and submit yourself to the preaching of the Word.
This is an important exhortation not only for those of you who view attending church as optional, but also for those of you who faithfully serve here at Christ Community Church. We cannot have any ministry set up where anyone is missing the worship service too much. Whether it is children’s ministry or those patrolling the foyer and hallway for security, nothing we do here is more important than the Word and sacrament. If you are serving in kids ministry or security every week and missing church it is not good for your soul. It would be better for us to have the kids in church every week than to have people missing too much church to teach kids. If you’re sitting in the foyer or the hallway every week and never sitting under the Word, you are killing your soul. Jesus is our prophet and he speaks through the preaching of the Word.
Jesus is our Priest
Not only does Matthew tell us that Jesus is our prophet, but he also reveals to us that Jesus is our priest. The Apostle hints at the priestly identity of Christ with several clues in the narrative. Our first clue comes in the setting of this story, the holy city of Jerusalem. In fact, the pericope is sandwiched with acknowledgments that Jesus is in Jerusalem. In verse 1 we see that Jesus drew near to Jerusalem and in verse 10 we see that Jesus entered Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is the Hebrew word יְרוּשָׁלַ֫יִם, which stems from the words יָרָה, which means, “to set or cast a foundation,” and שׁלם, which means peace. Jerusalem literally means, “a foundation of peace.” Jerusalem was the city of peace because it was the place where the temple was, which means it was the place where the priests made sacrifices on behalf of the people of God. It was via these sacrifices that the old covenant people maintained peace with God. And on Palm Sunday Jesus is coming into the city of peace to fully and finally make peace between God and his people.
But not only do we see that Jesus is our priest by the setting but also by his supporting cast, namely the donkey he rides into Jerusalem. In the 1st century when a king would ride into a city on a warhorse it was a battle cry, but when a king would ride into a city on a donkey, it was a declaration of peace. Jesus is riding into the city of peace, on an animal of peace. Jesus gives us this visual display of peace because he wants us to know that he has come to make peace between God and his people.
Peace is needed between God and his people because God is holy. God created us in his image and gave us his law but in our father Adam we all fell in sin. As we confessed earlier, we have all sinned in thought, word, and deed; we have all sinned by what we have done and by what we have left undone. Because of our sin we justly deserve eternal conscious punishment in hell.
But as the Nicene Creed tells us, Jesus came, “for us and for our salvation.” In his grace the Father sent his son, the eternal 2nd person of the Holy Trinity, to be conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus lived without sin making him the only human who has ever lived who never broke God’s law. That’s how 5 days from now, on Good Friday, Jesus could die on the cross and atone for the sins of God’s elect.
On the cross Jesus was not only our true Great High Priest who offered the final sacrifice for sin to God, but Jesus was himself the sacrifice – behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! And as Jesus died on the cross bearing the wrath of God for our sins, the great exchange happened. Jesus took the sins of his people and in turn he offered his righteousness to God on our behalf. He paid our debt with his righteousness.
Jesus died. Jesus was buried. And on the 3rd day Jesus rose again from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus Christ proves that everything he ever said and everything he ever did was true.
He is truly God and truly man. He is the fulfillment of all of the Old Testament promises. God did accept his sacrifice. The stories are true!
And now everyone who will repent of their sin and place their faith in Jesus will receive the forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life. To repent means to acknowledge that you are a sinner and to turn from your sin and toward Jesus Christ. To place your faith in Jesus entails 3 facets – knowledge assent, and trust. If you have been listening to this sermon you have all of the knowledge you need to be saved.
But knowledge alone is not enough to save you. You must also assent to the facts about who Jesus is and what Jesus did. You can’t merely know what Christians believe about Jesus, you also must believe these things to be true. But even knowledge and assent alone will not save you. You must finally transfer your trust to Jesus Christ alone.
To trust in Jesus means to place the full weight of your righteousness on Jesus alone. It means to trust that on the last day God will forgive your sins and God will give you eternal life based on nothing that you have ever said or done but based on Jesus life, death, and resurrection alone. The Reformers were right when they declared that Scripture teaches that we are justified by faith alone. It is faith alone in the priestly work of Jesus Christ that makes us right with God.
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all (1 Tim 2.5-6). Listen to this beautiful passage from Hebrews 4.14-5.10:
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
Jesus is our priest.
Jesus is our King
This Palm Sunday pericope reveals to us that Jesus is our prophet and our priest and finally this text shows us that Jesus is our king. Jesus acts like the king in this passage, doesn’t he? I mean Jesus just has his disciples take the donkey and the colt from whoever had them in Jerusalem. You know why? Because whoever had these animals was but stewards of these animals. Jesus owns these animals because he created them.
We already mentioned how Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, as king would do when he was announcing peace. But we also see in verse 5 that Zechariah’s prophecy calls Jesus our king. The crowd also accurately assesses Jesus’ identity when they were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Matthew already revealed to us in the genealogy of chapter 1 that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the son of David. Jesus is the eternal king promised in the Davidic covenant of 2nd Samuel 7.
By virtue of his resurrection Jesus of Nazareth is the king of the world and more importantly, Jesus is the king of the church. So while we must never ever waiver from the truth that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone, we must also recognize that our obedience to Christ is proof that we have been saved by grace alone through faith alone. Scripture demands that all creatures must submit unwavering allegiance to King Jesus. Obedience to Jesus is not an option.
Jesus is king and so his authority extends beyond our parents, our bosses, the United States government, or any other earthly authority. Every authority only has authority because King Jesus has given it. So as we consider how we are to obey the different authorities in our lives, we do so understanding that we submit to any and every authority so long as it does not forbid what God commands or command what God forbids. Scripture always commands that we obey King Jesus and we know what King Jesus commands as we look to the Scripture.
Our allegiance is not first and foremost to our family, or to a corporation, or to our country, or to a specific politician or political party. Our allegiance is not to our money or our brand or our friends or a social club or the military or anything else. Our allegiance is to a King and a kingdom. That means we must live our lives like Jesus is the King who is ruling and reigning right now. We must live our lives like Jesus is returning to raise the dead, judge the world, and make all things new.
Because Jesus is the King we cannot waiver on the gospel. Because Jesus is the King we cannot let go of orthodox Christianity as revealed in the creeds. Because Jesus is the King we cannot capitulate on doctrines like the Trinity, the virgin birth, the hypostatic union of Christ, the bodily resurrection of Christ, the imminent bodily return of Christ, and any other doctrine that separates Christianity from heresy. Because Jesus is the King we cannot submit to the world’s ethics on gender, sexuality, and marriage.
Because Jesus is the King we will not stop fighting for the right to life for everyone made in the image of God from the moment of conception to the grave. Because Jesus is the King we cannot neglect to meet together as a church. Because Jesus is the King we do not have to worry. Because Jesus is the King we can know our sins are forgiven. Because Jesus is the King.
Conclusion
On this Palm Sunday 2023 we have seen from Matthew’s Gospel that Jesus Christ is the prophet, priest, and king of all who place their faith in Christ alone. Now as we come to the Holy Eucharist I ask you once again to answer in your heart and in your mind, what’s your answer? Who is Jesus? Let’s pray.