“Welcome, Jesus, David’s Son and God’s Sacrificial Lamb!”
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Dear fellow Palm Sunday greeters-of-Jesus, grace, mercy, and peace
from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. [Amen.]
“All glory, laud, and honor
To You, Redeemer, King,
To whom the lips of children
Made sweet hosannas ring.
You are the King of Israel
And David’s royal Son,
Now in the Lord’s name coming,
Our King and Blessed One.”
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
442:Refrain & 1)
Gospel
Reading........................................................................................
St. Matthew 21:9
And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting,
“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the
Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
Prologue: Some of you are old enough as I am to remember the
television game show “To Tell the Truth.” According to Wikipedia, “The show
feature[d] a panel of four celebrities whose object [wa]s the correct
identification of a described contestant (or pair of contestants) who ha[d]
an unusual occupation or ha[d] undergone an unusual experience. This
‘central character’ [wa]s accompanied by two impostors who pretend[ed] to be
the central character (or characters); together, the three persons (or
pairs) [we]re said to belong to a ‘team of challengers.’ The celebrity
panelists question[ed] the three contestants (or pairs); the impostors
[we]re allowed to lie, but the central character [wa]s sworn ‘to tell the
truth.’ After questioning, the panel attempt[ed] to identify which of the
three challengers [wa]s telling the truth and [wa]s thus the central
character.”
Well, [tomorrow / today] is “Palm Sunday” or as it has become
known in our Lutheran circles in more recent years “Sunday of the Passion.”
It’s the first day of what’s known as “Holy Week”—the seven days preceding
Easter during which Jesus experienced great and intense, even passionate,
suffering that concluded with His cruel and inhumane crucifixion death on
Calvary’s cross as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of all people of all
time including your sins … and my sins. On this occasion (as we heard
prophesied in today’s Old Testament Reading and fulfilled in today’s Gospel
Reading) Jesus entered Jerusalem on the final leg of His journey to being
sacrificed on the old rugged cross as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the
sin of the world” (St John 1:29 ESV), as His cousin John the Baptizer
identified Him. Today’s Gospel Reading also revealed that His entrance into
Jerusalem was with much pomp, praise, and pageantry in stark contrast to
five days later on what is now known as “Good Friday” when voices shouted:
“Crucify! Crucify Him!” (St Luke 23:21 ESV)
But what’s especially striking about this gospel narrative is the
identity factor. For you see, even as the crowds identified Him when they
welcomed Him then so we also identify Him today when we …
“Welcome, Jesus, David’s Son and God’s Sacrificial Lamb!”
As I’ve stated in recent sermons, there’s much oxymoron, paradox,
and irony surrounding Jesus and even contained in His teachings. It’s
intensely ironic that Palm Sunday finds Jesus identified as both “David’s
Son” (King) and “Sacrificial Lamb” (Savior). In fact, that corresponds with
the difficult truth that He is at the same time 100% God and 100% man,
simultaneously fully divine and fully human. After all, “Christ had to be
true man in order to A. act in our place under the Law and fulfill it for us
(active obedience); [and] B. be able to suffer and die for our guilt because
we failed to keep the Law (passive obedience).” At the same time, “Christ
had to be true God in order that A. His fulfilling of the Law, His life,
suffering, and death, might be a sufficient ransom for all people; [and] B.
He might be able to overcome death and the devil for us.” (Luther’s Small
Catechism with Explanation. Copyright © 1986, 1991 Concordia Publishing
House, St. Louis, MO. Pages 125ff.)
In fact, Saint Paul wrote about that humiliation and exaltation of
Jesus in today’s Epistle Reading: “Christ Jesus … was in the form of God,
[but] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made
himself nothing, 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. Therefore God has highly
exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under
the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:5b, 6b-11 ESV)
So, I invite your attention as we spend the next few minutes
examining and learning (perhaps reviewing) how His dual identity as King and
Savior were revealed. We do so first by observing that …
I. Jesus Instructed His Disciples to Prepare for His Passion Entry.
(1-5)
1Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of
Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, “Go into the village
in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt
with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to
you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”
4This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5“Say to
the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and
mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
In his devotion entitled “Donkey: The Poor Man’s Friend” Reverend
Rudolf F. Norden wrote: “A donkey was once Jesus’ conveyance when he entered
Jerusalem for the last time. He was the one who once said that He had less
than the birds with their nests and the foxes with their holes, for He was
homeless. It was most fitting that He should ride into the city on a
donkey, the poor man’s friend.
“Our Lord had come to begin His suffering during this last week of His
life—Holy Week. On Good Friday of that week He was crucified. Abraham’s
son, Isaac, was spared the last moment [as last Sunday’s Old Testament
Reading informed us], but God’s Son, Jesus Christ, was not. God delivered
Him up for us all, that he might be sacrificed for the sin of the whole
world.
“Like Isaac, Jesus rode on a donkey. For Jesus it was a mark of
humility to be so conveyed, as had been foretold [in today’s Old Testament
Reading]: ‘Your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle
and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9:9).’
“A donkey was thus a true ‘Christopher,’ that is, a Christ-bearer. The
two went well together: a humble animal and a humble Savior.” (Rudolf F.
Norden in Each Day with Jesus: Daily Devotions through the Year. Copyright
© 1994 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 155.)
So it was, then, that …
II. Jesus’ Passion Entry Was on A Humble Beast of Burden. (6-8)
6The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7They brought the
donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8Most
of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from
the trees and spread them on the road.
Oh, the paradox of it all! The one who Himself participated in
the creation of all things including donkeys now rode one into Jerusalem
being hailed King and Savior. Why? Again from the pen of Rev. Norden in a
devotion entitled “Why Jesus Rode a Donkey”: “In 1973 a Canadian artist
provoked the British monarchists when he depicted Queen Elizabeth II dressed
in a regimental uniform and riding a moose.
“A far greater incongruity [paradox] seemed to have occurred when Jesus
Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, entered Jerusalem riding a
donkey. You would think, if ride He must, that a steed such a conquering
general would ride in a victory parade would have been more appropriate, or,
if He entered New York City or Washington, D.C., today, that He would ride
in a long, shiny limousine. But a donkey—it seems so unbecoming.
“The truth of the matter is that it was not unbecoming at all, for our
Lord had come into this world—and on that occasion had come into
Jerusalem—for the express purpose of being the Servant who humbled Himself
and was obedient to death, even death on a cross, to save us from sin and
the fear of death. In His state of humiliation, Jesus, the Son of God, had
laid aside His divine majesty, power, and glory so that, as a true man, He
might take the place of all sinners from the time of Adam and atone for
their sins. So He chose a donkey to ride on, an animal used in the humble,
everyday tasks of life.” (Rudolf F. Norden. Page 345.)
You see, we who “have sinned in thought, word, and deed, and …
cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition … take refuge in the
infinite mercy of God, our heavenly Father, seeking His grace for the sake
of Christ , and saying: God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” We do so
desperately pleading: “Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our
sins, and lead us to everlasting life.” (Lutheran Service Book. Page 203.)
And, thankfully He does! And He assures of such in His Holy Word, Holy
Baptism, Holy Absolution, and Holy Communion. For the same Jesus, who
entered Jerusalem on a donkey on that first Palm Sunday now does what we
spoke in today’s Gradual: “You hold my right hand. You guide me with your
counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Truly God is good to
Israel, to those who are pure in heart.” (Ps 73:23b-24, 1 ESV)
We can be absolutely certain of that most wonderful truth because
of what today’s Introit contained about Jesus and He Himself spoke while
agonizing unto death on Calvary’s cross for our salvation: “My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words
of my groaning? All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag
their heads; ‘He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue
him, for he delights in him!’ Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and
there is none to help.” (Ps 22:1, 7-8, 11 ESV)
Let us then bask in the glow of Him who is our King and Savior.
Let us do so as we by the power of the Holy Spirit …
“Welcome, Jesus, David’s Son and God’s Sacrificial Lamb!”
And as we welcome Him daily through faithfully reading and
meditating on God’s Holy Word about the living Word, let’s also pray what we
prayed in today’s Collect: “Mercifully grant that we may follow the example
of His great humility and patience and be made partakers of His
resurrection.” Let’s do so ever remembering with thanksgiving that …
I. Jesus Instructed His Disciples to Prepare for His Passion Entry.
(1-5) and …
II. His Passion Entry Was on A Humble Beast of Burden. (6-8)
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
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