Sermon Tone Analysis

THE PATHWAY OF PALM SUNDAY

Matthew 21:1-11 (KJV) 

 

And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 2Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.

3And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.

4All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

6And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.

8And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.

9And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

10And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?

11And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

THE PATHWAY OF PALM SUNDAY

 

 

Once again, we have gathered together and have been granted the privilege to travel down the road of our Savior’s life.

We traverse a specific street today because we’re in a special weekend in the annual celebration cycle of the Christian church.

We can call today’s street THE PATHWAY OF PALM SUNDAY.

As we walk with our Savior we can see that this is 1) A Familiar Road; it’s one we’ve walked before.

Yet, our traveling companion is Jesus, which means this is always 2) A Unique Journey.

 

1) A Familiar Road

 

It was a familiar road the disciples found themselves on that first Palm Sunday.

It was the road to Jerusalem and they had walked it many times before.

They knew, as they reached the town of Bethany, they would soon turn round the Mount of Olives, and see the city of Jerusalem suddenly sprawl out before them.

They had traveled this way with Jesus before.

They would again come to the city, which, at this time, would be swelling with millions ready to celebrate the Passover.

Jesus knew the road as well.

He’d traveled it before, from very young to now.

Mary and Joseph brought him to Jerusalem for the feast every year.

It was a magnificent road, a wonderful road to the pilgrims who traveled it.

It was especially breathtaking, when, after not seeing the city for the whole journey, you came around that mountain, and there it was!

You would see the temple glistening in the afternoon sunlight, and you’d see the magnificent, towering gates; you’d remember the great history of it all: how King David first took that parcel of land as God’s city, and how Solomon first built a glorious temple there.

Then you’d recall years of sorrow, when it lay in ruin during seventy years of captivity, until Nehemiah rebuilt its walls.

The road itself was known and loved.

But the journey of that Palm Sunday was completely different.

The road would not change, but the things along the way, and the end result, would be different than any other trip ever made to Jerusalem.

Today, a donkey’s colt would be found tied up outside, and used as a mount for Jesus to enter Jerusalem.

Today, throngs of people would go ahead and behind Jesus saying, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

The road was familiar.

The road did not change; but the journey was unique.

The disciples knew the road; Jesus knew the journey.

He knew what lay along the road, telling them, “You will find a colt, untie it.”

He knew what answer they needed to give: “the lord has need of it.”

Have you ever ridden a donkey?

Most of us haven’t.

Let’s think about what he rode that day.

It was a young donkey colt, which had never been ridden before.

This was a beast of burden, not a riding beast.

This animal offered a good ride for baggage, not for people.

The disciples went and found things exactly as Jesus said.

They answered the owner just how he said to answer, and came back with the donkey.

Then they put their cloaks on it, and Jesus rode it.

Now this sounds like a recipe for disaster, especially if you’ve ever tried riding an unbroken horse.

Most of us haven’t, I’m sure, but we’ve seen movies often enough to know what happens, at first.

Donkeys are more stubborn than horses.

Here Jesus had an unbroken colt, with a crowd of onlookers shouting “hosanna!”

And now, Jesus was going to ride this thing through that crowd?

THIS APPEARED TO BE A RECIPE FOR DISASTER, INDEED!

But there’s not even a hint of trouble as Jesus rides this humble animal into Jerusalem.

He enters the city as the Lord and King and sacrifice.

This small animal must have known: “this is my creator, the Savior of the World, the Son of God, upon my back…I’ll let him have an easy ride!”

As He rode, Jesus knew where the journey would end: today, crowds shouting Hosanna!

By the end of the week, crowds would be yelling, “crucify.”

Today, we see crowds laying palm branches before him.

By Friday, women follow behind him with tears, his blood and sweat dripping as he toils under the cross.

Jesus knew the journey.

Still, he went forward.

The crowds also went before and they followed behind him.

They called him the One who comes in the Name of the Lord.

They knew Jesus brought God’s Kingdom, the eternal Kingdom promised to King David.

They believed he came as the promised Messiah, or deliverer.

They cried out “Hosanna,” which means, “Lord, save us!”

And they knew that he would.

So what does this have to do with us today?

First and foremost, we have another opportunity to see our Savior and King in action.

He did all this for us.

He walked this road and endured the journey for our salvation.

We see Scripture fulfilled- the King comes gently, and riding on a donkey, just as Zechariah foretold (Zech.9.9).

We see Jesus’ gentle nature as a king.

We see his humility: He’s the Lord!

The earth and everything in it is his by divine right, and yet he rides in humility on a tiny, lowly beast of burden.

2) A Unique Journey

 

We learn more as we travel this pathway this morning.

As we walk the pathway of Palm Sunday we realize that all of us walk down a road in this life.

Each path may be a bit different, and although we know the roads of our lives, Jesus knows the journey- we don’t.

Let me repeat that: We may know the roads, but Jesus knows the journey.

And it’s really HIS journey; it’s his journey into our hearts, and into the hearts and lives of others.

It’s a matter of his Kingdom coming, not ours.

There are too many people in this world who think that their life is all about themselves.

“It’s my life,” the teenager screams at her parents, “I don’t care what you say.

I’m going to do what I want!”

A patient diagnosed with cancer cries, “Why is this happening to ME?” We often forget that our lives are not just about ourselves.

Our lives have something to do with our friends, our family, our wives, our husbands, our children, our parents, our neighbors, our coworkers, our acquaintances, and yes, even our enemies.

No one’s life is all about me, or you, or him, or her.

Self-centered and selfish- it’s part of the sinful human nature.

And it can easily turn us in on ourselves, and turn us from each other and from the truth of the matter.

The truth is that my life is not about me, but it’s about Jesus Christ.

Your life is not about you.

It’s about the one who died for you.

It’s about what he will do in your life, for your life, and through life.

Now, we’re often the main characters in the life God has given us, but let’s face it, what is your life or my life?

As sinners who were condemned to hell, we had thrown true life away.

But Christ redeemed us- each one of us.

He bought us back.