Palm Sunday, Palm Sunday Procession (2023)
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Matthew 21:1-9
Matthew 21:1-9
My Brothers and Sisters, we have come to Holy Week and now the crowd joyfully sings out for Christ has come to the City of David to accomplish the mission for which he was sent to earth. Jesus has come to redeem the world from the powers of sin, death, and the devil not with Gold or silver but with his holy precious blood, his innocent suffering and death.
The Triumphal Entry
Jesus enters the Holy City after 3 years of ministry.
This is not his first time coming to jerusalem, just last week we heard how he was in the temple and told them before Abraham was, I am, and before that when he was 12 he had come to the temple. But this time Jesus has come now to finish the work that He was sent to do.
Throughout His ministry, He was working to cast down satan.
It was after His baptism that he was taken into the wilderness and there faced Satan’s temptations, he defeated Satan there by the power of the word, and throughout his ministry he was casting out demons, healing the sick, raising the dead, all of these things had come into the world because Satan had overcome mankind in the garden long ago and corrupted all of us.
Jesus enters to songs of Hosanna, which means help/save, I pray.
So he has come now to the holy city Jerusalem, the son of David has entered the city of David, and they are crying out for Jesus to save them.
To save them from what?
People at the time were thinking of Rome.
Even Jesus disciples were fixated on an earthly kingdom not understand what Christ’s ministry was truly about. They had been oppressed by the government for years and envisioned the Kingdom of God being a place here on earth with Jerusalem being its center.
Jesus came to defeat a greater enemy.
So they were not exactly prepared for what was going to happen. They had envisioned a military victory, overthrowing these earthly foes that they might have an earthly kingdom. But he has come to rescue them from the true enemy of Mankind.
The Son of David has entered the city of God to answer their prayers.
But not in the way that they expect, they looked at the earthly blessings that Christ had given thinking of the body and not at all regarding their spiritual state. They thought of the flesh, for consider what person wouldn’t want a ruler that could take away your illnesses, your pain, your hunger, and raise your dead? Well there were some.
Not All Are Happy to See Jesus
We read last week that people tried to kill Jesus.
These people are still in Jerusalem, and the disciples knew this, in fact, when Jesus spoke of going back south to raise Lazarus, they warned him against it. They knew that the city of Jerusalem was a dangerous place for Jesus.
Jesus has already told His disciples that He will be crucified.
He had told them this plainly at least 3 separate times. He had taught them the Scriptures and they refused to believe His words though the Scriptures clearly show that this is what the Christ must go through.
His disciples refused to believe.
They said it could never happen to him, in fact Peter took him aside to correct Jesus and tell him he was wrong, but Jesus rebuked him and said get behind me satan. For Jesus did not come to establish an earthly kingdom by shedding his blood.
Hosanna in the Highest!
We sing these words in the service of the Sacrament.
We sing them with such regularity that we do not always appreciate why we are singing. For why do we sing the words of the Crowd on Palm Sunday not just today, but every time we have the Lord’s Supper? It has to do with what happens in the Lord’s Supper.
Jesus gives to us His Body and His Blood.
Now we know that will come on Thursday, for it is not just bread and wine that we receive but Jesus says this is my body, this is my blood. Now we don’t understand the how, but we know that is what Christ gives us. Which means that
Jesus is coming into our midst to save us.
This is why Church is so important, it isn’t just the gathering of us together here, it is that Christ comes to His people. That is why the bell is rung, we come singing Hosanna in the Highest, for the Son of God descends into our midst to forgive your sins.
To Save Us From What?
Some focus on government problems.
There are still folks today that thought like the disciples and followers that Jesus came to establish an earthly kingdom. They think the business of the Church is to create a Christian Government here on earth, but that was not what Christ came to do nor called his people to do. For Jesus tells Pilate his kingdom is not of this world. So if we think Christianity is just about making a good society, that’s not what the Church is about. Christians are found under many different governments, and strive to be good citizens so long as the government does not force us to violate the Word. As well as uphold the moral law, that’s why we take the stance we do being pro-life. But being pro-life doesn’t make a person a Christian, the same applies to a nation.
Many focus on emotional problems.
We have seen others in the last century believe that Christianity is primarily about feeling good, being positive, solving worries and troubles, and have placed it in the realm of psychology, but that isn’t its purpose. You will find that Christians tend to be more resilient, because our hope is tied to that which is eternal, but you can’t have the secondary benefits apart from the primary teaching which is
Jesus has come to save us from our sins.
That’s why Jesus is in the city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, He has come to save us from sin, death, and the power of the devil. That He has forgiven our sins, that He has paid the debt we owe to God, and assure us so that whenever our hearts doubt, He washed us in Baptism, and He gives us His Body and Blood promising us that we are forgiven.
We Rejoice in the Presence of Christ
Jesus was Crucified for our salvation.
We sing loud Hosannas for this week He lays down His life for our sake. We have the blessing of standing on the other side of Easter Sunday, and know that even though the powers of darkness threaten to forever put out the light of Christ, death cannot stop him.
He has answered our prayers of Hosanna.
Lord Save us, Lord Help us rescue us from the powers of death, free us from our sins, and take us out of the kingdom of Satan to dwell with you in paradise. This is what Jesus has done for our sake, and what we rejoice in this morning and this week.
So let us celebrate His real presence.
As Christ fulfills his promise to be with us always, and he comes to us in with and under the bread and the wine to give us His Body and Blood that was sacrificed to atone for our sins, as He gives to us forgiveness, life and salvation.
So my brothers and sister the week begins today, there are many services coming up and all of them will pause and reflect on everything that Jesus is doing for you to save you from your sins. Be there for them and learn of everything that Jesus does to answer your prayer, Hosanna in the highest. In Jesus name. Amen.