Sermon Archives

March 28, 2010
Pastor Dan Selbo

"Why Palm Sunday?"
Luke 19:28-40

            Dear Friends, greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus.

            It’s an old story. Perhaps you’ve heard it. And if it weren’t so sad, it might even be funny. It’s a story of a young man, during World War II, who (while he was fighting) managed to jump into a foxhole just ahead of a spray of bullets. Immediately, to deepen the hole and enlarge the area for his protection, he began scrapping at the ground (with his hands), when he suddenly discovered a crucifix, which apparently had been buried for some time.

            A moment later, another leaping figure landed beside him. And to his surprise, the soldier realized that his new companion (in this foxhole) was a chaplain. “Am I glad to see you!” he said. “And so tell me,” he said, (as he lifted up the crucifix) “and hurry…But how do you make this thing work?” (How do you make this thing work?)

            Now, I could be wrong. But I have to believe that many people have asked that same question when they’ve come face-to-face with the cross. “How do you make this thing work?” What’s the cross all about? And why does the cross even matter?

            Years ago, Flannery O’Connor (when she was still alive) would tell of the days when she was a young girl and of how her family (during those years she was growing up) would oftentimes visit one of the nearby convents. She said that every time they visited, one of the nuns (before they left) would give her a big hug. And she said that (when she did), the cross that nun was wearing, (hanging down from her neck), would press against her cheek and leave its imprint. And she said the cross (ever since) had left an impression on her life.

            How do you make this thing work? (This thing we call the cross?) And why does it matter? And what’s it all about? And why are we remembering it (this week) as we are?

            Today we come to the day known as Palm Sunday. It was the first day of the final week of Jesus’ life. And it began the most important week in the history of the world. No other week (in all of history) comes close. No other series of events even begins to compare with the impact (the events of this week) have had on people’s lives.

            At the beginning, there was a celebration and a parade, a hopeful and a hope-filled crowd. When it was all over, there was an empty tomb, a confused (and frightened) group of disciples, and the promise and certainty of life. In between, there was the betrayal and denial of closest friends, a life given for the sake (and for the sins) of the world, and a cross.

            And so “Why Palm Sunday?” (“Why Palm Sunday?”) Every year we remember the same series of events. (We walk the same path.) Why did this week start as it did? And what is it about this day (on the front end of this week) that makes it so important?

            Today I want to answer that question. “Why Palm Sunday?” And I want to do so by touching on three basic truths we find in the story that continue to be true for us today. (And let me give them to you up front.)

            “Why Palm Sunday?” Because it answers the question of control. It clarifies the Christian life. And it announces the Lordship of Christ.

            Let’s take them one at a time. It answers the question of control. Who was in control that day (when Jesus rode into Jerusalem)? It was a week like no other. It was filled with events that had never happened (nor have ever happened) before or since. Who was in control of the events taking place?

            Control is a tough thing in this life to nail down. Things happen all around us (every day) and it’s hard to know (or understand) why. We talk about chance. We talk about fate. We say things about free will and the ability to make choices in life. But is there anything that’s really in control (in this life)? Is there any one who really has control (over this life)?

            Just think (for a few moments) about the people who thought they were in control. There were a number of different players in the game (on that first Palm Sunday). And every one of them had some sense of (their) being in control.

            Let’s start with the disciples. Now, they were Jesus’ followers. They were his closest friends. They were the ones he had hand-picked to be with him along the way. And they had their own ideas about Jesus and about what his kingdom should become. And they would have loved to have been in control? But were they? Were they the ones (that day) calling the shots?

            Not if you read the story, (they weren’t). They were doing what they were told. In fact, if it had been up to them, Jesus never would have entered Jerusalem. The disciples had warned him (to stay away). But he didn’t. And so they did what they were told.

            And what about the crowd? The crowd (apparently) controlled some of the things that happened that day. (At least they thought they did.) Luke says they “spread their cloaks on the road” and they “shouted in loud voices, praises to God.” And there’s no question they had hopes and desires and dreams for this one they called the Christ. But control? Did they ever really have it? Did they ever really want it?

            And what about the Pharisees? Luke says the Pharisees were there that day. And they had control of the way (much of the week) played out. They controlled the religious practices. They controlled the people (and the way the people thought). But when all was said and done, the Pharisees weren’t in control, either.

            Palm Sunday answers the question of control. It makes clear that control in this world (ultimately) belongs to God. Remember back to the predictions Jesus made about this week? Three times he had told his disciples what was to happen. And three times they had trouble making sense of what he said. But it was planned (he said) and it happened and it was controlled (by God) from the very start.

            “From the beginning of time” (the Bible says), “God had planned to save the world through Jesus.” Before the world was even formed, God had a plan to save your life in Christ.

            You know, it’s easy to miss what Jesus said (about that week) and to think that what happened (that week) was by chance. But nothing was by chance during that final week of Jesus’ life. Nothing is by chance (in your life) when it comes to the saving work of God.

            Even the rejection of Jesus. That’s what was happening on that Palm Sunday. The rejection of Jesus was playing itself out, (being set up). Just think about it. Later in the week, what happened? One of his disciples betrayed him. Another one denied him. The rest (apart from John) ran away and hid.

            And the crowd? The crowd rejected Jesus, too. There was no (lasting) allegiance in the crowd. Their cries of “Hosanna” soon became cries for his life. And it led to a cross. And it ended in his death.

            And the Pharisees? The Pharisees had rejected Jesus from early on. Chapters before, they’d began plotting and scheming and figuring out a way to do away with Jesus. And they got their way. (At least they thought they got their way.) Jesus ended up on a cross, just as they had planned.

            And so it all went according to plan. But not the disciple’s plan, or the crowd’s plan, or the plan of the religious leaders…but the plan of God, played out and carried out and (designed from the very start) in Christ.

            Palm Sunday answers the question of control. And not only in Jesus’ day, but in ours. Because who’s in control in this world (ultimately and finally)? Who’s in control in your life? Is it your family? Is it your friends? Is it the government? Is it your boss, or your co-workers, or your church? The answer is that it’s Jesus. The answer is that it’s Christ.

            He’s the Alpha and the Omega (the Bible says). He’s the beginning and the end. He’s the one in whom all things were created, all things hold together, and in whom all things will one day come to a close. And the sooner we understand how true that is, the sooner we’ll come to understand not only what was happening during that final week of Jesus’ life, but also to begin to trust that God knows what he is doing, even in ours.

            Palm Sunday answers the question of control. Palm Sunday also clarifies the Christian life. (Remember the story?) Jesus sent two of his disciples (into the city) and told them that they would find a colt, “upon which no one had ridden.” And they were to untie it and bring it to Jesus. And they did.

            Now, Luke says it was “a colt.” A colt could be either a horse or a donkey. Matthew and John make clear that it was a donkey. And how come? Because a donkey was a humble ride, and the “colt of a donkey,” was even more so.

            Just think about it. Kings (in those days) would ride on horses. And the size and beauty of the king’s horse would testify to the king’s importance and power and ability to fight.

            But not so with Jesus. Jesus was a king. But he was a different kind of king. He was a king who rode a donkey (and not a horse), who came in peace (and not to fight), and who came to serve, and who (ultimately) came to die.

            A donkey was a humble ride. It made a statement about the kind of king Jesus was, as well as about how he called his followers to live.

            Remember what he said? He said, “If you’re looking for horses to ride, then you’ve come to the wrong place.” (Now, he didn’t say it that way.) He said it a bit differently. He said, “To be great, you need to be ready to serve.” He said, “If you want to be first, then step to the back of the line.” And he said “turn the other cheek, and go the extra mile, and do it (he said) not to gain recognition for something you’ll receive, but as a response for something (in him) you already have.

            Years ago, Corrie ten Boom, (during a time when she was receiving wide acclaim for some of the things she had written) was asked if it was hard to remain humble in light of receiving so much praise. (Do you know what she said?) She said, “When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, do you think it ever entered the mind of that donkey that the cheering (from the crowds) was for him?”

            Palm Sunday clarifies the Christian life. (It clarifies your life and mine.) I read this past week about a missionary in China who calls herself “The Lord’s Donkey.” (It said), She sees her purpose in life as carrying her Lord (and her Lord’s name) everywhere she goes, and training others to do the same. (And so the name fits.)

            My friends, nothing’s changed in the Christian life. The Lord still has need of people (in this world) who will carry him into their own Jerusalems and make him known to those they know. (And so, you tell me.) Are you willing to be the Lord’s donkey? (On this Palm Sunday), are you ready to hand off any accolades you might receive (in this life) to him?

            One of the men I knew (in the first congregation I served) was named Robert. He was a gifted man with many of this world’s talents. But he was also a humble believer with a servant’s heart.

            Every Thursday night, without fail, he’d go straight from his work in Sacramento to the downtown shelter. And there he’d do whatever needed to be done. He’d wash clothes. He’d make beds. He’d serve food, do dishes, whatever he could to help out and to care.

            I remember asking him why he did it. And I still remember what he said. He said, “Because Jesus came to serve, and he’s called me to do the same. And I figure (he said) that I have a much better chance of running into Jesus (in this shelter) than I do in most places out in the world.” And then he walked away. And I still remember.

            Palm Sunday answers the question of control. Palm Sunday clarifies the Christian life. And Palm Sunday announces the Lordship of Christ.

            If there’s anything in this story that stands out, it’s the fact that Jesus rode into Jerusalem as king. Branches from trees waved in his honor, garments from their backs laid upon the road, and shouts of “Hosanna” and “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord” bore witness to this one who was the Christ. “Even the stones,” Jesus said, “if everything else became silent, would cry out in praise and honor to God.”

            Paul says something similar (in the words we read earlier today), when he says that the day will come when “every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

            My friends, I hope you know that day is coming? I trust you know that day is coming? That day will come and there will be no doubt (no one who will doubt) the reign and the glory of the king. The question is not whether or not it will happen? The question is whether or not (between now and then) we’ll give him his rightful place?

            I don’t how many of you were aware of it, but earlier this month, there was a celebration of what has come to be known as “National Procrastination Week.” “National Procrastination Week.” It came across my desk as an email. As I understand it, it was originally scheduled for January, but they put it off until March (which seemed fitting). And so earlier this month it was celebrated by a club made up of all those who are good at putting off (in life) what needs to be done.

            As I read the email and thought about what it meant, I couldn’t help but think of how easily it can happen in the Christian life. Good intentions, the highest of ideals, priorities all in the right places. But then something happens along the way, (a more immediate opportunity, a more promising worldly path, a dwindling crowd of support, and the hint, if not the shadow, of a cross) and the club (down through the ages) continues to grow.

            Thankfully (for us) there was one who was not swayed (who never put it off). And his name was Jesus. And he rode into that town (and willingly gave his life) for you.

            How do you make this thing work? (This thing we call the cross?) And “Why Palm Sunday?” And why does it matter? Because it answers the question of control. It clarifies the Christian life. And it announces the Lordship of Christ.

            My friends, don’t put off in your life (any longer) giving Jesus his rightful place. Amen.