Palm Sunday, 2008
Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier
John 12:12-19
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
It has been the tradition in the church to hand out palms on this Sunday to help us learn the significance of this event. We do this especially for the children. Now of course, if you just saw the palms, you would have no idea why we have palms here at church. You might think that we are trying to look tropical or Hawaiian.
Now the palm branches were used in those days to mark a celebration and victory. Palm branches were used in symbolic celebrations of kings and their authority. Yet, the strange thing that takes place in our Gospel text is that Jesus enters into Jerusalem on a donkey. He comes in a very different way than would be expected for a military commander or political king in those days.
It would be as if news were being spread that President George W. Bush was coming to Albuquerque. We would expect all of the pomp and circumstance. We would expect him to come in a specially marked limousine with the presidential seal and flags flapping in the wind. This is the way that earthly rulers come. But Jesus is not an earthly ruler. No, He is a heavenly ruler. The expectation of the people in those days was that the Messiah would be an earthly ruler bringing liberty from the oppressive Romans.
In fact our Gospel text today notes that even the disciples didn’t understand these things at first. They experienced the triumphal entrance into Jerusalem and they knew about the significance of the palm branches. Still, they just didn’t get it. Even though Jesus told them that He was going to Jerusalem in order to die, they still didn’t fully get it. He told them that it is necessary for Him to suffer, be crucified, die, and rise again on the third day. But they just couldn’t and wouldn’t believe it.
Jesus didn’t come to Jerusalem in order to set up an earthly healing center for the body. He came to heal the soul. He didn’t come to take away all pain and suffering He came to take away sin. He came to bring His kingdom through His death. In the earthly realm, the death of a political ruler would mark the end and not the beginning. Yet, with Jesus He comes to take His place on the cross. When Jesus hung from the cross, it is the repentant thief who gets it. From the cross he cries out to Jesus saying, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Throughout our lives we are constantly learning to make a distinction between Christ’s kingdom and earthly kingdoms. We constantly get confused and seek earthly treasures and even expect them from the Lord. Theology is the art of making the proper distinctions. We want to distinguish what is heavenly from what is earthly.
Have you ever cooked pinto beans? Now, I don’t mean heating up a can of pinto beans. I actually mean cooking uncooked pinto beans. You see, before you put the beans into the pot for boiling, you have to make a distinction between the actual beans and not small pebbles or rocks. You would think that a package of uncooked pinto beans would be ready for preparation. But, that is not the case. Either, someone needs to explain this to you or you’ll find out on your own after you have bitten down on a rock or two. In order to cook the beans, you need to make a distinction. You need to separate the beans from the pebbles. You need to take out that which is not good to eat and throw it away.
In like manner, we need to constantly make a distinction between what is truly Christ’s Kingdom and what belongs to earthly kingdoms. This distinction comes with God’s Word. Before Jesus was born, the words of the prophet Zechariah were already written down so that we would not miss the coming kingdom. He told the people of old that the King would come to the Holy City to bring His reign in the Heavenly Kingdom. He would enter on a donkey in a very lowly way. With out the Word of God, this event would have been totally missed.
It wasn’t until after the crucifixion, resurrection and the receiving of the Holy Spirit that they understood. Verse sixteen of our Gospel text states, 16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. John 12:16 (ESV) The Holy Spirit brought to memory all these things that Jesus said and did. It was the Holy Spirit who enabled them to understand what was written by the prophet Zachariah. It was the Holy Spirit who inspired John to make the connection when he wrote his Gospel account for us.
John is the only Gospel that makes the connection between the raising of Lazarus and the triumphal entry. Jesus came to die and then to rise from the dead. Jesus came to give us eternal life not the abundance of riches on earth. With God’s Holy Word, we can make the right distinctions between truth and error. We continue to learn to make the proper distinction between earthly kingdoms and Christ’s kingdom.
We gather to gladly hear and learn God’s Word. In the earthly realm, we may seem to be good and decent people who deserve all types of rewards and recognitions. We like advancements and promotions based upon merit. We like to feel good and have things go our way. Earthly kingdoms are for the well being of the body. But, God’s Word reveals to us that we sin much and deserve nothing but punishment for our transgressions. It reveals that at our core we have a wicked heart that is turned inward to satisfy the self. This is the reason for the spiritual kingdom. This kingdom is for the soul.
Thus in the liturgy of the church, we speak the word of God in order to set our minds on heavenly things. Right before the words of institution we speak these very words saying, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.” We do this so that we continue to learn to listen to the word of God who comes humbly to us. In those days, He came humbly on a donkey.
Today, He continues to come humbly to us in a unique way in the humbly elements of bread and wine. Through these means He gives to us His body which is given for the life of the world and His blood which is poured out for the forgiveness of our sins. As He came to the people of God in the city of Jerusalem in those days, He continues to come to the people of God in the true Jerusalem in our days. Amen.
