Palm Sunday 2024
Messenger Dox
Call to worship:
pastor bobby owens
Matthew 21.1-11
song:
O worship the king
Historical reading:
pastor brett eckel
Apostles' Creed
song:
Lord have mercy
Confession & Pardon:
pastor Andrew loginow
song:
Let your kingdom come
Sermon:
dr. alex logionw
Palm Sunday 2024
Introduction
I was nervous. The date was March 30th, 2007. I drove home to Michigan from Louisville, KY where I was in my 2nd semester of my freshman year of Bible College. I was nervous because I was going to ask Bethany Vadnais to be my girlfriend. How could I not be nervous? She’s so pretty, and cool, and smart, and she’s a punk rock princess playing her bass guitar at church, and she loves Jesus. I even called her dad and asked him if I could ask her out; I know that’s lame, but I needed every advantage because it was Bethany.
So I drove over to her house, her family used to live right across the street from De La Salle High School, and I took a walk to remember with my Mandy Moore doppelganger. This Saturday marks 17 years since she became my girl; she was 17 years old then. We’ve been together for ½ her life. That’s why it felt weird just now calling her as Bethany Vadnais – in 2 years she will be a Loginow longer than she was a Vadnais.
March 30th is a date Bethany and I celebrate every year. You have dates like that too that you celebrate in your home, with your family, don’t you? Anniversaries, birthdays, holidays – for all of history people have marked and celebrated special occasions. Today is one of those days. Palm Sunday is a holy day on the church calendar and one that we set apart to celebrate every year at Christ Community Church.
Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week – it is the opening ceremony of Holy Week. Holy Week is the most important religious week of the year and so it is important that we properly remember and celebrate the events of Holy Week: on Palm Sunday the Lord Jesus Christ made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem; on Holy Monday Christ cleansed the temple; on Holy Tuesday Jesus cursed the fig tree and preached the Olivet Discourse; on Spy Wednesday Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver; on Maundy Thursday Jesus transformed the Passover meal into the Holy Eucharist and he was betrayed; on Good Friday Jesus Christ was crucified on a Roman cross; on Holy Saturday Jesus lay dead and buried in the tomb; and on Easter Sunday or Resurrection Sunday the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
Palm Sunday is so important that all 4 Gospels include Christ’s Triumphal Entry (Matt 21.1-11; Mark 11.1-10; Luke 19.28-44; John 12.12-18). There aren’t many narratives from the life and ministry of Jesus Christ that are included in all 4 Gospels, but Palm Sunday is. And both St. Matthew and St. John clue us in that the Triumphal Entry of the King of kings was predestined long before Jesus instructed some disciples to commit grand theft donkey. Pastor Bobby led us in our call to worship from Matthew 21.1-11 and in verse 5 Matthew reveals to us that Palm Sunday took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Zechariah. We read what was spoken by the prophet moments ago; let us now consider how his words are fulfilled in Jesus and how they are applied to us.
Anticipating the King
Before we can truly understand the meaning of Palm Sunday we must note the angst behind Zechariah’s words. Before we can grasp the fulfillment of this passage in Jesus Christ we must empathize with the anticipation felt by God’s old covenant people. Zechariah wrote during the time of restoration. Israel returned to Jerusalem from exile under the rule of the Persian king Darius to begin the work of rebuilding the temple and the city. There hadn’t been a Jewish king on the throne in Jerusalem since Jehoiachin was conquered and imprisoned in Babylonian captivity (2nd Kgs 24; 2nd Chr 36; Matt 1.11).
Israel’s desire for a king cannot be overstated. The book of Zechariah mockingly begins: In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah (Zech 1.1). Earlier Old Testament prophets began their prophecies based on the year of the Jewish king. For example – Isaiah 1.1: The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Zechariah does not announce his prophecy in the year of a Jewish king because there was no Jewish king. Zechariah prophesied in the year of Darius the Persian king.
Israel yearned for a king because yhwh promised David that 1 of his sons would sit on his throne forever (2nd Sam 7). The king stood between the Lord and the people to administer justice, to enforce God’s Law, and to benevolently rule God’s people. But God’s people did not have a king of their own to administer God’s Law justly and benevolently and so it is to this kingless people Zechariah wrote. The first 8 chapters of Zechariah are a series of apocalyptic visions. Then in verses 1-8 of chapter 9 Zechariah declares that yhwh will judge the nations. In verse 14-17 the prophet paints a picture of God’s final salvation. And in the middle of this chapter we see where judgment and salvation collide in the coming of the final king of Zion.
There is no promise Israel longed to hear more than the return of the king. Thousands of years later we can identify, can’t we? Ever since our 1st priest-king Adam fell in the garden humanity has lacked and longed for a mediator between God and man. We see it even now in politics. I remember being in college in 2008 when Barack Obama 1st ran for president. There was a messianic effect he had on his supporters. People idolized Donald Trump in a similar way, speaking of him as “God’s man.” Political idolatry exists because we have an intrinsic desire for a leader who will rule us in a godly and benevolent way. But we will never have a savior on Capitol Hill. Our savior walked a different hill.
Arrival of the King
And that’s what Zechariah foreshadows here. He commands the people to rejoice and shout aloud. The verb is imperativr. This will be an occasion for celebration, an occasion for shedding tears of joy, and for shouting loud. And this is the occasion: Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey (vs.9).
Zechariah tells us four things about this king: (1) he is righteous; (2) he is having salvation; (3) he is humble; and (4) he’s riding a donkey. First, this king is righteous. The Hebrew word is צַדִּ֥יק. In the Old Testament it is used to speak of the justice or righteousness of the government, of judges, of the law, and of God. It speaks of just character vindicated by God and his word. This coming king is righteous and just.
As Christians we know that Zechariah was speaking of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only truly righteous man who ever lived. Jesus is without sin (Heb 4.15). He faithfully kept covenant with God securing righteousness on our behalf. This is why it is imperative as orthodox Protestant Reformed Christians that we confess that Jesus Christ was “conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary and suffered under Pontius Pilate.” This is why Christ could not show up and die on the cross the same day. He had to live covenant faithfulness. He had to fulfill all righteousness. He had to live without sin so that he could be the unblemished sacrifice.
Not only is this king righteous but he is having salvation. The ESV translates the Hebrew verb as active but it is a Nif’al participle, which is passive. Grammatically Zechariah is saying that this king will be victorious because he has been vindicated. He will save his people through his own deliverance and vindication. Jesus was saved from eternal death because of his righteousness and now his salvation is imputed to us.
This is exactly what Jesus Christ did through his death and resurrection. Jesus died on the cross bearing God’s wrath for sin. He was buried and 3 days later he rose again from the dead. The resurrection of Christ is proof that God has vindicated him. If Jesus of Nazareth had been a false prophet or merely a good teacher he would still be in the grave. But Jesus rose from the dead thus proving God’s vindication of the man and the message. Jesus brings salvation through his deliverance and vindication by God.
Third, this king is humble. He is a contrast to the Roman rulers who arrogantly and wrongfully claimed divinity for themselves. Listen to what St. Paul wrote of Jesus in Philippians:
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil 2.5-8).
Jesus is the eternal Son of God, the 2nd person of the Holy Trinity. He emptied himself in the incarnation by taking on the burden of his creature. Jesus took on our weakness; he ate and slept. He took on our temptations. During the season of Lent how apropos is it to remember the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. Jesus took on the burden of friendship. He experienced grief at the death of Lazarus. He experienced loneliness when his disciples abandoned him. There is nothing inherent in and of the Son of God that would require him to do these things. But out of love for his Father and out of love for his church he humbled himself.
Fourth, this king is riding a donkey. When 1st century kings conquered cities they would ride in on a warhorse. When kings entered their own city in peace they did so on a donkey. The name Jerusalem means, “city of peace.”
יְרוּשָׁלַ֫יִם 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.” Like Detroit is nicknamed The Motor City, Jerusalem is called, “the foundation of peace.” It’s ironic because the city of Jerusalem has never really known peace, in fact, you could argue that this has been the most restless city in the history of the world. But Jesus is headed there to accomplish genuine, eternal peace. Jesus Christ is the prince of peace (Isa 9.6) riding into the city of peace on the animal of peace.
The mission of Jesus is most ultimately about peace. When our father Adam fell in the garden we lost peace (shalom) with God. Jesus came to live, die, and resurrect so that sinful humanity might have peace with our holy 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). Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 5.1).
Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on a donkey as the great eschatological declaration of peace. Through his death and resurrection Jesus reveals the announcement of the reversal of the curse. Jesus is making a way for mankind to be with God again. He is restoring shalom.
Announcing the King
Because the anticipated king has arrived we must announce that the king has come. Through his life, death, and resurrection Jesus Christ has secured the forgiveness of sins and the hope of resurrection for all who repent and believe. If you are not a Christian I believe with all my heart that God in his providence has brought you today to hear this message. In your unbelief you are at war with God. You must turn from your sin and trust in the person and work of Christ alone. If you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Rom 10.9,13).
Do you have faith in Christ alone? Do you know that God is holy and that you are a sinner and that Jesus lived, died, was buried, and resurrected for sinners? Do you acknowledge these things to be true? Do you assent to the validity of these truth claims? Have you transferred your trust to Jesus alone?
Have you collapsed into the reality that you have nothing to offer him but without him you are hopeless? Are you resting in who he is and what he did for the forgiveness of your sin and the hope of eternal life? There is hope in no one else. There is peace in nothing else.
If you have faith in Christ you will repent of your sin. Repentance means confessing your sin and turning from your sin. Repentance cannot and does not save you, but if you have been saved, you will repent. If you’re holding on to your sin, if you can’t let go of that idolatry, or greed, or lust, or adultery, or lying, or stealing, or whatever sin you’re clinging to, if you refuse to confess it and turn from it, you have to ask yourself if you’re really trusting in Jesus. If you don’t trust Jesus enough to abandon your sin, you may not trust Jesus at all. Repent and believe the gospel.
For those of us who trust in Jesus Christ the Father gives us his Spirit and we have the privilege of announcing the good news of Jesus. We do this through evangelism, which means telling unbelievers the good news of Jesus. We also do it through discipleship, which means teaching believers the good news of Jesus. We do this through catechizing our children. We do this as we have relationships with people and they see that our lives are distinct.
It is imperative that we remember that the Bible teaches a Reformed soteriology. That means that we cannot save people, only God can. We are not able to change people’s hearts. We are not called to make people say a prayer, walk an aisle, or clean up their lives first We are simply called to announce the good news of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We are called to tell people that God is holy, they are sinners, that Christ died for sin and if they will repent and believe in Christ alone God will save them. If you feel guilt or pressure to make someone make a decision, repent of that and rest in the work of the Holy Spirit. He is sovereign. You are not.
Awaiting the King
As we are announcing the good news that our anticipated king has arrived, we are also awaiting his return. Jesus’ triumphal entry on Palm Sunday not only fulfills this prophecy in Zechariah 9, but it also foreshadows His 2nd advent when he will raise the dead, judge the world, and make all things new. For 2 millennia Christians have confessed that Jesus Christ will return to judge the living and the dead. We believe in the resurrection of the body and life eternal.
And so while there’s an element of Palm Sunday that causes us to rightly look back at Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we must also look forward. His return is a warning and an encouragement. It is a warning to all who reject him. Because when Jesus returns he will do so to judge unrepentant sin. And it is an encouragement to his people who long for the new creation. When Jesus returns he will make everything sad untrue. Finally and fully he will be our God and we will be his people.
When Jesus returns he will abolish sin and death. He will do away with pandemics and the politicization of all things. Adultery and divorce will be no more. Spousal abuse and child abuse will be history. Manipulation, greed, and theft will be done. Gossip, ulterior motives, gas lighting, and sub tweeting will be a thing of the past. Racism, sexism, hatred and anger will not inhabit the new world. Murder and war will not be tolerated in the kingdom of Christ. Every relationship will be without suspicion. Every conversation will be pure and honest. Sin and death will be swallowed up in victory. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God (Rom 6.9-10).
Conclusion
Palm Sunday is 1 of the great holidays, 1 of the great anniversaries, or celebrations of the church year. And what is a holiday or anniversary party without a meal. That’s why every week we take this holy meal together – the Eucharist. Palm Sunday is an intersection of the past, present, and future – on Palm Sunday we remember the past: we remember the anticipation of Israel, their longing for a king and we remember King Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Palm Sunday points us to the future when Christ will make his final triumphal entry to make all things new. And the past and future intersect here in the present – on Palm Sunday 2024 with wherever you find yourself in life on this day, with whatever is going on in your marriage, your family, your work, your education, your home, your head, your heart. It is on this Palm Sunday with all of our victories and all of our defeats that King Jesus makes his triumphal entry once again. And he does so to dine with us and remind us that regardless of whether you find yourself on a mountaintop, or in a valley, or anywhere in between, he is here with you, and he has won the final victory because Christ has died and Christ is risen and Christ will come again. Happy Palm Sunday!