Palm Sunday, March 28, 2010.
The traditional account for Palm Sunday is Christ riding into Jerusalem.
It shows Him humbled and seated on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9), and exalted
(Leviticus 23:40, Ps 118:25-26) by the pilgrims on their way to the feast where
they would sacrifice a lamb (Exodus 12) to celebrate the Exodus. It is a
mirror image of Good Friday, when the crowds humiliate Him on the cross, even
as the Father exalts Him as Savior.
Paul may have had Palm Sunday in mind as he wrote Philippians 2. He
wanted fellow Christians to be of one mind (v.2). To be like this means we
should not act out of selfishness or self-importance. To be of one mind means
to be humble. It is to look after your own good, but to also look more to the
interests of others.
But Paul does not only use Christ as the ideal example. Christ is the way
or power to that goal. When we share in Christ's humility, God will exalt us
in His time (1 Peter 5:6).
Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, urges us to consider Christ as our
model for humility. Jesus is true God (Isaiah 45:21). He does not need any
praise or honor from any created thing. He had no need to create us; but He
did.
He had no need to save us, either, when we fell into sin. But He did.
Tho He is a spirit (John 4:24), He became fully human. He took on our form of
atoms and DNA to be like us, but without sin (Hebrews 4:15).
He did not take advantage of His still being fully God in the flesh
(Isaiah 7:14). He did not serve Himself by turning stones into bread, or any
self-serving thing in life. Quite the opposite: He emptied Himself of the
glory due to Him rather than grasping it and using it for Himself. And more.
He became a servant, or slave (Mark 10:45). He became the Passover Lamb
(John 1:36) to be offered as the one time sacrifice for all sins (Hebrew 10:10,
12).
His humiliation did not end with taking on flesh and living among us. It
got worse. He came to His own and was rejected by them (John 1:11). He was
hung on the tree of the cross as an outcast and a curse (Deuteronomy 21:23)
between criminals.
We sometimes hear of a person making "the ultimate sacrifice". Maybe they
died to save a friend, a stranger, or for a country. Such deaths are called
'noble'. Not with Jesus.
Everything about crucifixion is humiliating. A person is rejected by
society, tortured by foreigners, and mocked by the world. Christ felt all
that. But He was also rejected by God His Father. He took the full penalty
for every wrong every person has done. He paid for every injustice, every
failure to do good, and even every unknown wrong. He owed nothing. He paid it
all.
Because He did this, the Lamb Who was slain, Jesus, is praised and honored
above all Names (Revelation 5:12).
Our Heavenly Father gave Jesus Christ, true man as well as true God, the
position above all others. As Paul records, that Name should be honored by all
creation in heaven and on earth. Because He died the first death in our place,
all who confess "Jesus is LORD" do not have to face the second death, or hell
(Romans 6:8).
To "have this mind among ourselves" is only possible thru the work of the
Holy Spirit; (Philippians 2:13) calling us and keeping us in faith (I
Corinthians 12:3). It is only possible when the Father draws us (John 6:44).
It is only possible when we are in Christ Jesus.
No Christian can humble themselves for the purpose of being exalted. But
that is the result when we are humbly confessing our sins to God and trusting
in His mercy and rule. He exalts us to the title of "child of God" (1 John
3:1) an "heir of eternal life" (Titus 3:7), and His chosen people (First Peter
2:9).
In humbling ourselves, admitting we can not save our selves, God exalts us
with Christ Jesus (Colossians 3:1-4), Who is our Savior. That attitude works
into us and in our lives. Just as Jesus did not use what He had for Himself,
but for others, so also God works that same attitude in us: so that we will
not just look out for our own interests, but especially look out for the
interests of other people. (Philippians 2:1-4)The mercy God has toward us
shines brightly from us when we help others in Christian faith.
There will also be times when we will be humiliated for following Christ:
by not speaking up for ourselves, by not taking revenge, by not gossiping, or
on more positive notes for standing up for what is right, for sharing goods
with those others judge as unworthy or worthless, for suffering so others may
have a better life, and above all for sharing the hope we have in Christ's
salvation for all creation.
But when we speak and act for the sake of Christ and His kingdom of grace
on earth, (Luke 12:8) we can be sure He will speak on our behalf in the kingdom
of glory (2 Timothy 1&2&3:12). Not because of what we have done for Christ,
but because of all that He has done and He continues to do for us.
As we recall Christ's work for us this Passion Week, may God continue to
work faith, hope, joy, and love in each of us. Amen.
Pastor Michael Harman,
St. Peter LCMS - Newell, IA
vacancies at ...
Immanuel, Pomeroy
First Evangelical, Fonda
