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Palm Sunday reflection: The Triumphal Entry Luke 19:28ff.

by Clancy Nixon

April 1, 2007

Church of the Holy Spirit

Ashburn, Virginia

www.holyspiritanglican.org

Our Palm Sunday drama is a powerful reminder that we participate in the triumph

and suffering of our Lord. It's not only a history lesson, though it is that; we remember

those events, but the drama enables us to enter the events on a more visceral level. We

didn't just tell a story this morning; we enacted the most important events in history so

that we see ourselves from within the divine drama, as part of what happened 2,000 years

ago. We experienced the emotions of this drama as participants, not as some detached

observers. Were our hearts not full of joy when we sang "hosanna!" to welcome our

king? We felt the shock of recognition when we shouted to crucify Jesus you and I are

responsible for putting Christ there, too, by our sins. We know how the story goes, but

enacting it adds a new dimension to the story, doesn't it?

Like all great prophets, Jesus knew this. Many times, when a prophet in the Bible

needed to make a point with great power and clarity, when he knew that words were not

enough, he would do a symbolic action so that everyone would get the meaning. Elijah

poured water over the sacrifice on Mt. Carmel before he called fire down from heaven on

it, to demonstrate that the power of our God was so much greater than the power of the

Ba'als or Ashtoreth. The prophet Hosea married the prostitute Gomer as a living

demonstration of the unfaithfulness of the nation Israel to Yahweh God, so that every

time Gomer slept with another man, it was a sign of the idolatry of Israel. Jesus' cousin

John baptized people to symbolize their death to sin through repentance and rising to new

life again. Prophetic actions are more memorable than prophetic words.

People do the same thing to get headlines today. Muslim homicide bombers are

killing innocents as well as themselves in order to advance their jihad against the non-

Muslim world. The word Muslims use to describe those nations that are not majority

Muslim is "House of War." That is how Muslims see you and me, as part of the house of

war - until we become a Muslim majority nation then we would become part of the

house of Islam, the house of peace. The bombs make that point. When I worked on

Capitol Hill, I remember how a congressman smashed a huge porcelain piggy bank with

a sledge hammer to make a point about fiscal irresponsibility.

Jesus'

Triumphal

Entry into Jerusalem is also an enacted declaration. The declaration is this: Jesus is the

Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one of Israel. Everything Jesus does in coming to

Jerusalem is designed to broadcast this same point, that he, Jesus of Nazareth, is the

Christ. And he compels a response from all who hear his message: Is Jesus YOUR King?

Until this time, Jesus had not trumpeted his identity as Messiah to the crowds. He

did do many spectacular miracles, but he did not reveal his identity even to his disciples

for two years until Peter figured it out at Caesarea Philippi. He had told many people

whom he healed that they were not to tell others about it. In theological circles, this is

known as the "Messianic Secret." Jesus kept them mum because he wanted his mission

to end in Jerusalem, at the time of his own choosing. Now that Jesus is ready to reveal his

identity to the world, he does so in ways that make it unmistakably clear just whom he is

claiming to be. Jesus is the king. The question is, is Jesus YOUR King? Is he the King

of every part of your life?

Look at Luke 19:28, found on page 1040 of your blue pew Bibles. That number

1040 should ring a bell for you in April! That's no April Fool! Like it or not, you must

deal with your taxes, sooner or later. The same is true with Jesus and the claims he

makes of his Kingship. Jesus is traveling from Jericho where he had met Zacchaeus, up

to Jerusalem, and on the way, when he is almost there, he came to the Mount of Olives.

This story takes place just before Jesus enters Jerusalem, in sight of the city. Zechariah

14:4 had prophesied that the Messiah would appear on the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus

asks for the colt of a donkey on which to enter. You may wonder about the use of a

donkey rather than a horse. When an ancient king of the Middle East came in wartime,

he came on his horse. But when a king came in peace, he come riding on a donkey. The

donkey was not considered a lowly animal at that time, but an animal that symbolized

peace. Zechariah 9:9 had prophesied that the messiah would come to Jerusalem riding on

a donkey, and that the daughters of Jerusalem would shout to welcome him. As Jesus

enters the city, the disciples throw their cloaks in front of his donkey, which is a reference

to the entrance of Jehu as King of Israel in 2 Kings 9. Throwing their cloaks to be

stepped on is like rolling out the red carpet for us today.

The crowds understood Jesus' prophetic actions, for they waved palms, and

shouted "Hosanna!" which means, "Save us!" In those days, it was appropriate to ask for

rescue, for salvation, from a King. They declared "glory in the highest" and "peace in

heaven" at the sight of Jesus. This was no ordinary king, but one renowned for his

miracles and for his wisdom. They understood Jesus to be the Christ, the messiah. Now

some Pharisees, verse 39, tell Jesus to rebuke his disciples, thinking that they have

claimed too much, and gone too far. Jesus appeals to his authority over creation in verse

40, saying, "If they keep quiet, the rocks and stones will cry out." No doubt about it, the

King has come. Hosanna to the King! We rejoice with the crowd on Palm Sunday, but

we know that they were fickle and turned against him by Good Friday.

Like the crowds, we here today are left with a choice. By this demonstration of

his identity, Jesus compels a response. He is claiming to be not only the King of the

Universe, but also YOUR king. Is Jesus your king? Jesus wept over Jerusalem, verse 41,

because she did not recognize the time of God's visitation, verse 44, so judgment and

destruction would be her lot. Jerusalem was in fact destroyed by the Romans 37 years

later. In the same way, I believe that Jesus weeps today over all who do not acknowledge

him as their true King. Jesus knows the destruction that awaits those who deny him.

Jesus does not send the destruction; he simply knows that that is the natural consequence

of missing his kingship. Jesus went to the cross to suffer destruction on our behalf, so that

we don't have to. God the Son died for your sins and mine; on the third day, he rose

from the dead, and now sits at the right hand of God the Father, and he will come again to

judge the living and the dead. You may not know the deadline, like April 15, but you

must deal with Jesus sooner or later.

How do you respond to God your king? The first thing you do is bow your knee

in worship and surrender to him. If you have not yet made Christ the Lord of your life,

there is nothing more important. He's calling you today today is the day of salvation. If

you are feeling called to pray for salvation today, please come forward to let me know

today, and someone will pray with you.

I want to suggest that another thing we can do is to make an enacted declaration

this Holy Week. I'd like to ask you to sit in silence for two minutes and pray and think

about how you can do something of symbolic meaning this Holy Week that will

demonstrate the Kingship of Jesus. It might be to invite your neighbor to a Seder at your

home, or a co-worker to lunch to ask about their spiritual journey. Ask God, and he'll

show you. Go ahead and do that...

Now I'd like to ask you to take one minute to share with one other person

anything the Lord has given you about enacting his Kingship in your life...

Now I'd like to ask if any of you would share with the congregation something

that the Lord is calling you to do, so that we can be encouraged and perhaps receive

inspiration for our own lives from what the Lord has spoken to you...