Luke 19:28-40
Today we begin what’s called Holy Week, a time for the children of God to faithfully and courageously enter into the Passion of our Saviour Jesus. Today is also a day that goes by two names. The one that we’re most familiar with is “Palm Sunday.”
What we are seeking to do today is understand more fully what this Passion is, in order to enter it and experience it more fully in this coming week. Holy Week and Easter are to be experienced, to be gone through, in order to come out again, filled with new life.
So in that sense, Palm Sunday is I think, the perfect day to do this, as we are in a position to survey what is happening and about to happen.
From where are we conducting this survey? From the top of the Mount of Olives, high up and looking over the Kidron Valley to Jerusalem, the city of David.
As our gospel reading records, it is this today that Jesus makes his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, greeted by the cheering crowds, and the people used palm branches to welcome him, (although in today’s account from Luke, people throw their cloaks on the ground before him.)
Palms to indicate victory and triumph. Palms to symbolize success and long life. On this walk into Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives Jesus is hailed as the messianic King of Israel, coming to Jerusalem to establish his reign.
It is the country people who have followed Jesus and listened to his teachings who are cheering, not so much the people of Jerusalem. They along with Jesus and the disciples have come to Jerusalem for the Passover.
Today’s gospel dispels any thoughts that there were just twelve disciples (now called Apostles by Jesus), there is now a multitude. Luke describes it like this; as Jesus was approaching the path that leads down from the Mount of Olives,
“the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” (Luke 19:37b-38)
The disciples were absolutely correct. Jesus does come to Jerusalem that day to bring in the messianic kingdom. But the question remained; how would he do it? How would this Messiah establish his kingdom? How would he win his victory?
And the answer is, by suffering, by dying, by being crucified. This king’s conquest would come with peculiar and mocking signs like being dressed with splendid regal clothing, and having an inscription placed over him on the cross, ‘This is the King of the Jews.’
From a procession of palms to a criminal’s crucifixion, this is how Jesus would triumph and bring in the kingdom of God.
Now the suffering that Jesus enters Jerusalem to undertake brings us to the other name for this day, ‘The Sunday of the Passion.’
Passion. What does that word mean? The root idea literally has to do with someone being acted upon, as in our word, “passive.” So “passion,” as we usually use it, has the idea that someone has been acted upon, has been overtaken, by a strong feeling.
For example, we would say things like “They had a passionate love affair” or “He went about his work with a passion.” Those people have had something happen to them.
So too the word “Passion,” when it is used in connection with our Lord Jesus Christ, has the idea of him “being acted upon.” It refers to Christ’s suffering and his death, so we speak of “The Passion of our Lord.”
The reason this day has two names is on this day, the King of Kings enters his capital city in order to enter into his Passion, his holy suffering.
This is the great and terrible week, the “Holy Week,” when our Lord suffered and died for our sins.
This week we go from palms to passion. This is the victory path that our Lord takes. He allows himself to be totally acted upon, and he remains as passive as a lamb to the slaughter. He willingly lets that suffering happen and he knows what is in store.
He tells the twelve later this week things like: “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer”; “the new covenant in my blood”; and “this [OT] Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’”
It is clear that Jesus knows that suffering is coming for him, and he passionately allows it to happen.
And suffer Jesus did. Betrayed, deserted, and denied by his disciples. Rejected by the religious leaders of his people. Railroaded by unjust trials and testimonies. Beaten by soldiers, mocked by onlookers. Nailed like a common criminal to a cross.
But this was not any suffering that Jesus deserved. He had committed no crime. He had committed no sin of any kind. As Pilate declared, three times, “I find no guilt in this man.” As the one criminal next to Jesus said, “This man has done nothing wrong.”
As the centurion said at his death, “Certainly this man was innocent!” But on that cross, the Son of God was taking our place, taking the judgment we deserved, so that God’s righteous condemnation would not come against us.
And so the Passion shows what is called Christ’s “passive obedience.” He let fall on him the punishment that we deserve. Even though he did no wrong, Jesus suffered the penalty that God’s law requires for all who break it.
That punishment is death under God’s judgment. This is what Christ suffered. “He humbled himself and became obedient to death–even death on a cross” (Phil 2:8).
By that death–the death of the righteous Son of God, standing in the place of sinners like you and me–we are now forgiven. All our sins have been atoned for. Christ’s righteousness is credited to our account.
Now God accepts us and cares for us as his own dear children, because we have been joined - by baptism and by faith – to his own dear Son.
We said earlier that the word “passion” usually is used in the sense of a “strong feeling,” but that, when referring to Christ, “passion” means “suffering.” At the same time, though, I think we can say that, also in the case of Christ, “passion” can mean a “strong feeling.”
For Christ’s willingness to suffer in our place does show his strong feeling, his intense desire.
The Passion shows Christ’s desire to do the will of his Father: “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
Humanly speaking – and Jesus is true man, as well as true God – humanly speaking, Jesus dreaded the agony that awaited him. And yet he went through with it. So we see here Jesus’ passionate desire to do his Father’s will.
The Passion also shows Christ’s passionate desire toward us, that he has an intense passion to win our salvation. Jesus poured out his blood for me and you. Jesus cares very deeply about you. He wants your soul! He wants to live with you forever. That’s his greatest desire.
That is why he came. That is why he died. That’s why, having risen from the dead, he now urges us to break open God’s Word and to break bread and drink the cup together in Holy Communion, with God and each other.
So that we would trust him as he trusted the Father, so we would grow strong in the faith. Jesus has a passionate desire for you. He really wants you to have life in his name.
And so Jesus’ Passion, his suffering, also shows his passion – his strong, intense desire – both to do his Father’s will and to rescue us in our utter human frailty.
This week, this Holy Week, Christ brings in the Kingdom of God by way of the cross.
This is the story of today, Palm Sunday, the Sunday of the Passion. The Passion of our Lord is where Jesus’ suffering for our sins and his urgent and powerful desire for our salvation come together.
And that is why we come together on this day and praise him with our palms. Let me pray.