Palm Sunday

As a Pastor, there are three days a year that I struggle with. The first is the week before Christmas, because it's so hard to teach something interestingly new using the most known story in the Bible. The other two are Palm Sunday and Easter. The reason for the struggle on those Sundays is narrowing it down to what to preach on. There is an incredible amount of detail given about Christ's life from Palm Sunday to Easter. I struggle to find just one topic to preach on.

This year, I preached on the raising of Lazarus the week prior, which happens within days or weeks of Palm Sunday. So that's where I decided to start.

In John 11, beginning in verse 45 (which is the very next verse after Lazarus' raising), it says,

"45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

The resurrection of Lazarus is the height of Jesus' Earthly ministry. The Bible tells us that many believed because of this miracle. In Chapter 12, we discover that many of the Jewish leaders actually became believers, but were afraid to admit it, for fear of the Pharisees. The Pharisees, were now looking to kill Jesus, according to John 11, and they had begun sending spies to tell them of his movements. Eventually, one of them bribes Judas to betray him, but that is still several days away.

Chapter 12 begins with Jesus anointing. Lazarus has been raised and Jesus is dining with the family. While there, Mary breaks open a bottle of fine perfume and washes Jesus' feet. The next day (Sunday), according to verse 12, Jesus comes to Jerusalem. He is set upon the foal of a donkey (generally reserved for kings) and is met by festival-goers who greet him with palm branches. The crowd is shouting, "Hosanna (loosely translated, "Save us or Savior)! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel." They are quoting Psalm 118: 25-26. The Bible tells us that the crowds were amazed, and onlookers were fascinated and wanting to know more about this "king" entering the city. Who is this king?

Then, John 12:20-24 has Jesus telling the crowds that He is about to die. John 12:16 reminds us that the disciples (followers, not the 12) did not understand this until later. This is important. They didn't understand because they were still waiting for an Earthly king who would conquer the Romans and free them from persecution. They didn't understand that Jesus was here to free their souls, not their country.

As I was studying this week, a question came to me. After the triumphal entry on Sunday, Jesus spends two days teaching the people. If the Pharisees, Saducees, and/or the Priests have been paying spies to report on the whereabouts of Jesus, and He's right there in Jerusalem, why did they wait 4 days to arrest Him?

This took some extra-Biblical study, where I looked into customs and early church beliefs.

The Jewish leaders, historically, would have spent the days prior to Passover in the Temple praying. They would have spent a large amount of their singing or chanting the Messianic Psalms, specifically Psalm 24:

1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,    the world, and all who live in it;2 for he founded it on the seas    and established it on the waters.

3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?    Who may stand in his holy place?4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,    who does not trust in an idol    or swear by a false god.[a]

5 They will receive blessing from the Lord    and vindication from God their Savior.6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,    who seek your face, God of Jacob.[b][c]

7 Lift up your heads, you gates;    be lifted up, you ancient doors,    that the King of glory may come in.8 Who is this King of glory?    The Lord strong and mighty,    the Lord mighty in battle.9 Lift up your heads, you gates;    lift them up, you ancient doors,    that the King of glory may come in.10 Who is he, this King of glory?    The Lord Almighty—    he is the King of glory.

The Psalm is a song of David and it believed to have been written immediately after David finally brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. And it absolutely reads this way! The excitement and praise simply oozes out of David.

As happens so often in Scripture, the symbol of bringing the resting place of God's Spirit into the city is also a picture of the Messiah coming into Jerusalem. So, while the disciples and the city are watching Jesus gently come in through the city gates and teach, the Religious Leaders are in the Temple, crying out to the very same city gates, "Lift up your heads, you gates. Be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle."

The disciples and the religious leaders were asking the exact same question, "who is this king?" The disciples were saying, "it's Jesus," and religious leaders were saying, "it's the Lord strong and mighty." As it turns out, both of them were correct!

I think that we can clearly see the differences between a religion and a relationship here. The religious were trying to "do" religion while those seeking Jesus were praising Him for coming. The religious were waiting for someone to fight their enemies while those seeking Jesus were learning to love their enemies. The religious were looking for king to conquer and kill. Those following Jesus were waiting for him to conquer death by being killed.

The same is true today. We have a choice to follow religion or to seek a relationship. So often, we look to religion so firmly that we miss that religion should be pointing us to a relationship. The religion is not the end...it's the roadmap.