St. John 12:12-13, 19b (12-19)
[Zechariah 9:9-12; Philippians 2:5-11]
Palm Sunday (Sunday of the Passion)
6th Sunday in Lent
Weekend of Sunday, April 5, 2009
In the name of the Triune God-Father, X Son, and Holy Spirit. [Amen.]
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. [Amen.]
Sermon .......................................... St. John 12:12-13, 19b
"All Glory, Laud, and Honor Go to Jesus Alone"
Holy Gospel Reading St. John 12:12-19 (esp. 12-13, 19b)
12The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was
coming to Jerusalem. 13So they took branches of palm trees and went out to
meet him, crying out, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the
Lord, even the King of Israel!" 19b"Look, the world has gone after him."
Theological scholars trace the "Church's liturgy" (sometimes referred to as the
"historic liturgy") back to the worship God instituted in the Old Testament
times and we find remnants of it in the Divine Services contained in our
still-new LSB hymnals. One of its many significantly distinguishing qualities
is that it is not biased to any particular culture or society. Instead, it
includes features from many different cultures and societies spanning the past
4,000 years as well as today. That orthodox liturgical worship stands in stark
contrast to so-called "contemporary worship" which is biased to our American
culture and society and, in reality, is a heterodox Reformed-evangelical and
even Pentecostal style of worship that's largely driven by emotions and
influenced by a desire to be entertained.
The Church's culturally unbiased historic liturgy is a stage on which the drama
of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is played out in the
divine service. One of its longstanding and very expressive items that focuses
our attention solely on Jesus is the Palm Sunday declaration contained in the .
Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) in the Service of the Sacrament in the Divine
Service, Settings 1, 2, 3, and 4 [LSB pp. 161, 178, 195, 208] where we sing:
"Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest." or some variation thereof. [By the way, a footnote
informs us that "Hosanna is a Hebrew word of praise meaning 'save us now.'"]
Gary P. Baumler in the People's Bible Commentary: John (Copyright © 1997
Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis; p. 175) explained that "On . (Palm
Sunday), the ever-growing crowd that had arrived in Jerusalem for the
[Passover] festival learned that Jesus was on his way there. They cut palm
branches and went out to meet him. They received him as a king, as the Jewish
leaders feared they might. They hailed him with words from Psalm 118:25,26.
"'Hosanna!' ('Save, I pray!') 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the
Lord!' This psalm was from the Hallel (Psalms 113-118), sung as part of the
Passover feast. Jews sang it when the Passover lambs were sacrificed, and now
they sang it for the Lamb of God on his way to be their sacrifice. But they
weren't thinking of sacrifice. They received Jesus as heavenly royalty,
Israel's King."
In our local worship services when we use Divine Service, Setting 1, the
presiding pastor speaks and the attending worshippers hear in the Service of
the Sacrament Prayer of Thanksgiving [LSB p. 161]: "Blessed are You, Lord of
heaven and earth, for You have had mercy on those whom You created and sent
Your only-begotten Son into our flesh to bear our sins and be our Savior."
That's what Lent is all about . repentantly realizing our sins and, therefore,
our need for forgiveness; and gratefully focusing on our Savior, who
accomplished forgiveness for us.
Today is Palm Sunday . another "pivotal point" (sort of like Transfiguration
Sunday was) from which we look back over the past 5½ weeks of Lenten
penitential preparation for and forward to the annual grateful celebration next
weekend of our Savior's death and resurrection. It's all part and parcel of
our ongoing rehearsal of what God wants us to be doing throughout the year,
namely, confession and absolution . honestly admitting that we are sinful and
unclean because of which we need to be rescued; and reveling in the reality of
the atoning death and victorious resurrection of Jesus for our forgiveness,
salvation, and eternal life.
As we do so, we are once again faced with the probing question, "Just who is
that Jesus, whom the people hailed as their king on that first Palm Sunday only
to be scorned and crucified five short days later?" Well, the answer is in
today's Holy Gospel Reading .
I. He Is Our All-Powerful Humble King. (14-15)
14And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
15"Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a
donkey's colt!"
II. He Is the Faithful Fulfiller of God's Promises. (16-19a)
16His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was
glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him
and had been done to him. 17The crowd that had been with him when he called
Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness.
18The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done
this sign. 19So the Pharisees said to one another, "You see that you are
gaining nothing.
Old Testament Reading...................... Zechariah 9:9-12
9Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and he shall speak peace to the nations;
his rule shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
11As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
today I declare that I will restore to you double.
Epistle Reading.................................. Philippians 2:5-11
5Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6who, though
he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be
grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in
the likeness of men. 8And being found in human form, he humbled himself by
becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9Therefore God
has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
10so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth
and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father.
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our holy Savior.
[Amen.]
In the name of the Triune God-Father, X Son, and Holy Spirit. [Amen.]
