Palm Sunday
Jesse Jacobsen
Printed
Time-stamp: "Sat Mar 19 16:24:14 2005"
Zechariah 9:9--10
``Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.
``I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
And the horse from Jerusalem;
The battle bow shall be cut off.
He shall speak peace to the nations;
His dominion shall be 'from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.' ''
Recognize Your King When He Approaches
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
That's the first half of a little verse about a man in a story. He was
not much to look at. Travel-worn, care-worn, he did not glitter. The
man was called Strider, because he was always traveling, seemingly
without a home of his own. Even the people he
helped protect didn't respect him. In the story, this man passed
through many trials, but his deep roots proved to be strong. It turned
out he was the rightful king of all the land. You might say that
``The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief
cornerstone.'' What a surprise for those who rejected him!
Maybe you know someone who went from ashes to glory, a Cinderella story.
What if the person you knew as a servant turned out to be your master in
the end? Joseph, sold as a slave into Egypt by his brothers, became
their master when he ruled all Egypt. It seems that James, the brother
of Jesus, did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God until after He
rose from the dead. Now, that would be an adjustment, wouldn't it? His
own brother turns out to be His God.
Today God is teaching us one of the most important lessons of our lives.
He's teaching us to recognize Jesus as our true king. On Palm Sunday,
Jesus was ushered into Jerusalem as the Son of David --- the true Heir
and King. Yet in four days, his shine was gone. The gold did not
glitter as He stood before the High Priests and before Pilate. His
accusers said, ``We have no king but Caesar.'' But the reason for His
crucifixion, posted above His bloody head, read ``Jesus of Nazareth,
King of the Jews.'' Pilate may have written this to mock the Jews, but
it was nevertheless true.
Do you always recognize your King? Do you always know Him when He comes
to you? Our theme today is this: recognize your King when He
approaches: because He comes unexpectedly, and because He comes to
bless you.
Because He comes unexpectedly
Our text is addressed to Jerusalem, and to the Daughter of Zion. As I
mentioned last week, the prophets often write about the Church, but
using different names, like ``Jerusalem'' and ``Daughter of Zion.'' When
Zechariah wrote these words, the Church was the nation of the Jews.
This may have been written at the time that Mordecai and Esther lived in
the capital city of Persia.
Zechariah wrote to Jerusalem, and to the daughter of Zion. She didn't
look like much. The Temple had been rebuilt, and the little nation had
been reestablished after the long Babylonian Captivity in the east.
But these were not the glory days of Israel. So the words of the
prophet were good news, and brought joy to God's Church in that day.
``Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of
Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you.'' This was a promise
of better days ahead. These words were fulfilled some 500 years later,
when the King of the Jews entered Jerusalem to the shouts of Hosanna.
Palm Sunday was His day, and it was the Day of the Daughter of Zion.
The Church was recognizing her King, and He was fulfilling this
prophecy.
The King's appearance was surprising. He turned out to be a traveling
prophet from Galilee, raised in a tiny village called Nazareth. He was
very popular among certain people, and very unpopular among others. His
teaching threatened to change things in the Church, and He was
trying to get everyone to examine his own heart, to repent, and to
continue learning the mercies of God. This was a controversial
king.
Our text describes Him this way: ``He is just and having
salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a
donkey.'' Consider what a strange combination of characteristics this
is: On one hand, He has salvation; on the other hand, He is lowly.
How can someone who has salvation be so humble and lowly?
The same question occurred on Palm Sunday to those who didn't like
Jesus. How could this humble man on a donkey be the long-expected Son
of David? How could a galilean prophet bring salvation to Jerusalem?
Yet there He was, fulfilling prophecy, as the crowds welcomed Him with
loud Hosannas --- a special prayer for salvation that can be spoken only
to the Messiah from God.
Jesus was rejected by some people in two different ways. First, He
comes as true King. That means you and I are not the King. There's a
saying that a man's home is his castle, implying that there's at least
one place where we reign supreme. But if that's true in your life, then
you are no Christian. We all would like to be our own kings and queens
--- I know that personally. But there is a King who always reigns over
us, especially in Jerusalem, His Church. Some people rejected Jesus
because they would not accept His kingship --- no matter what He looks
like. May God preserve us from such an unchristian attitude, and
forgive us for it.
The other way Jesus is rejected as King has to do with our expectations.
His appearance is surprising. If He appeared as we would expect to see
Him, maybe it would be easier to accept Him. But He doesn't. Jesus
came into this world in a stable, and was laid in a manger. His boyhood
was in a backwater region of a troublesome part of the Roman empire.
His followers were often disreputable, and usually uneducated by worldly
standards. He didn't keep the standards of living that were considered
godly at the time. He rubbed the intelligentsia the wrong way, and
insulted prominent members of the aristocracy. He had no chariot, no
warhorse, no armor nor weapons. Jesus appeared so different than what
many expected, that it seemed scandalous to think that He was the
Christ, a king.
Now, you may have known all this for a long time, but I will still ask
you the question: will you also reject your king? Do you want Him as
your king, or do you want that honor reserved for yourself? Does Jesus
appear to you as you expected? Or will you not recognize Him? There is
no answer you will ever give more important than this, about the King
Jesus Christ. There is no other name under heaven given among men by
which we must be saved.
Up to now, we have been considering the approach of Jesus to Jerusalem.
That's what Zechariah was writing about. That's what happened on Palm
Sunday. But when we are asked to recognize our King, it's not
simply a matter of hearing the Bible lesson about Jesus and saying,
``Yeah, that's my King. I recognize Him.'' The Bible readings are only
one way that our King approaches us.
How else does He approach us? In great glory, He will return for
judgment on the Last Day. Jesus says, ``When the Son of Man
comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit
on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him,
and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his
sheep from the goats.'' That day is coming soon, but exactly when we
don't know. He may not come in our lifetime, but we don't know how long
that will last either. The state in which we die is the state in which
we will stand before Him in the end. That can happen any time. Are you
ready to bow before Him as your King?
How else does He approach? Jesus will say to the righteous on the Last
Day, ``Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of
the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'' And to the
unrighteous, ``Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not
do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'' That
means our King is here, among us now. When we serve and love one
another, we serve and love Him. The apostle Paul called the Church
``His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.'' Do you
recognize the spiritual body of your King when you meet a fellow
Christian or come to church?
How else does He approach us? Jesus said, ``For where two or
three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of
them.'' He's talking about worship. It happens in our homes, as we
travel, in Bible Studies during the week, or maybe even at work. But
most clearly, it happens here, when we assemble for the Divine Service.
Jesus is here with us, in our midst, because we have assembled in
His name, gathering for exactly one reason: to receive His spiritual
gifts of grace. We have His Word of forgiveness, and we have the
Sacrament of the Altar. Therefore, we have Him. Our King approaches to
provide us His merciful forgiveness. Do you recognize Him?
As Jesus comes to us this Palm Sunday, we should think about all the
other times and ways that He comes to us. Do you recognize Him? Will
you? And will you acknowledge Him? Recognize your King when He
approaches, because He comes unexpectedly.
Because He comes to bless you
But recognize your King also because He comes to bless you. This is
often forgotten by those who have been confirmed in the Christian
Church. Every one of us is in danger of forgetting that He comes to
bless us, and sometimes we do forget it. This may not seem to be such a
problem, because God is so faithful that He leads us back and teaches us
the truth. But the day is coming when our time of grace will end.
Those of us who feel the mortality in our bodies are reminded contantly
that the day is coming. Others may need other reminders. But the facts
are the same for all of us, whether we know it or not: this may be our
last day on earth. Old classmates of mine have died --- age makes no
difference. Health makes no difference. Fame and fortune make no
difference. We must be ready to know our King when that day arrives,
and we must hold to His gift of forgiveness and eternal life.
This sounds so easy, but in reality it's not. Entering into this
communion membership may seem like a graduation from intense, hard
learning. But it's really the beginning of life-long spiritual warfare.
Just consider how God has equipped those who are confirmed. Our
confirmands have been Baptized into the holy Church. They have been
trained in the knowledge and arts of Christian life. They are welcomed
into the communion fellowship of our Lord's Church, to receive with us
His own body and blood to eat and drink. They participate in the Church
fully, in all the outward rites that our King has provided to make
us His own forever. God provides these gifts because He knows we
will need them.
Our King says this in our text ``I will cut off the chariot from
Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; The battle bow shall be cut off.
He shall speak peace to the nations.'' It's the end of warfare. But
not earthly warfare! He speaks of spiritual warfare, and these words
are still being fulfilled in our time: the fulfillment is not complete.
Yes, He does speak peace to the nations --- we have heard His voice
ourselves, and rejoice in His forgiveness. But the spiritual warfare
continues. It's not done yet.
So as we all go forward in our lives on earth, realize that we're not
out of the woods yet. It would be nice to think that we have already
put in our time, and God doesn't expect any more from us, but that's
just not true. We rest when the King says rest. Our glory comes when
the King glorifies us. It doesn't matter if you're thirteen years old
or one hundred-thirty. You and I will have more to do for our King than
we can possibly accomplish, for as long as we live.
But always remember that when He approaches, it is to bless you. If it
were not for holy Baptism, we would think that He comes to destroy us.
If it were not for holy Absolution, we would think that He comes to
punish us. If it were not for the holy Supper, we would think that He
comes to accuse us. But the Divine Service and all proper Christian
worship shows us otherwise. Yes, the Law accuses the impenitent, and
the wicked shall be judged in the End. But our King is not here to
judge today. He is here to forgive the penitent and to feed us with the
same body and refresh us with the same blood that bore our sins to the
grave.
So let Him approach often. Invite your King into your life, your home,
your heart, because He is just and having salvation. Don't be put off
by His apparent weakness or lowliness. Don't be discouraged that He
demands repentance for our sins, because He is quick to forgive the
penitent.
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost,
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
So Jesus entered Jerusalem as King, and so we welcome Him among us too,
for this is Jerusalem. We don't find Him on a donkey, but rather
in Word and Sacrament. Yet despite the humble appearance, He is still
our King, just, and having salvation. So recognize your King when He
approaches. Because He comes unexpectedly, and because He comes to
bless you. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!
This document was translated from LATEX by
HEVEA.