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Palm Sunday – the day we proclaim the triumph of the Lord. The day that the crowds celebrate a coming Messiah, who isn’t quite what they expect. The day that we can’t quite decide if we are celebrating a triumph, or nodding smugly, knowing that this One is come to die.
Well, it’s actually both. Jesus’ triumphal entry is a proclamation of His Lordship as Prince of Peace. He didn’t come to be a political leader, to draw Israel into war with Rome or create a new, strong nation. He didn’t stand up for His rights, or talk about being a citizen of a country with pride. As an earthly king, He failed – but as the Lord of creation, He redeems it to Himself.
As someone recently pointed out to me, all of the events of Holy Week are carefully orchestrated to make sure the crucifixion happens. Jesus isn’t an accidental victim, but an intentional one. He’s out to get killed, because it’s that death and resurrection that redeems.
But this is Palm Sunday – it isn’t time for the Passion, it isn’t time to talk about death. Not yet. Right now, we see celebration. An acknowledgement of the Lordship. Not the political Lordship, because this One comes to die – but rather the cosmic Lordship, the Lord of creation. It is for this reason that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The celebration of the triumphal entry is something we can take part in because we know it is a proclamation of who Jesus really is. He is the One who comes in the Name of the Lord, and He is the Lord of creation. It’s true, He is come to die, and it’s also true that it is the Lord of creation who comes to die.
Sing hosanna, then, to the Lord of Hosts, who gave Himself for us. The Gift is the Giver Himself. Let us proclaim His majesty!
Palm Sunday was more of a celebration by the crowd that accompanied Jesus as he approached Jerusalem. They thought this new king would take over Jerusalem. But when they actually entered the city, the celebration stopped immediately. Mt. 21:10-11 says when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was "stirred" ("shaken," as in an earthquake, the same word used in Mt. 2:3 for the reaction of King Herod and all Jerusalem when they heard the news of the wise men that a new king had been born). The upset city confronted the crowd by asking, "Who is this?" And the intimidated crowd responded: "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee."
ReplyDeleteAs for Jesus himself, he has tried to show the crowd that, by riding on a colt of a donkey, he is a different kind of king. Unlike the high and mighty kings of earth, he is a humble, lowly king, who is gentle and kind.