Palmarum
Rev. Thomas Van Hemert
Palmarum
St. Matthew 21:1-9
March 28, 2021
In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.
As it was at the beginning of Advent, so it is now at the end of Lent. David’s greater Son comes into Jerusalem, into the City of David, to redeem His people. Our Lenten journey is nearing its end. So also, is the life of David’s Greater Son nearing its end. Jesus goes to His impending slaughter joyfully, knowing full well the terrors and horrors that await Him. He knows the pain He will soon endure, but He marches on to do battle with the devil nonetheless. The Lamb who takes away the sin of the world goes uncomplaining forth.
We know Jesus has entered Jerusalem many times throughout His life, but never with such pomp and circumstance. He came to Jerusalem, for example, when He was brought by His parents so that He might be circumcised and so His parents might offer sacrifice on His behalf, in keeping with the Law of Moses. From His birth, Jesus was fulfilling the Law for us.
We also have record in Holy Scripture of the account of the boy Jesus in the temple. He was most likely 12 years old when He accompanied His parents to the Temple at Jerusalem during the Feast of the Passover. What we are also told is that Mary and Joseph accidentally left Jesus behind and found Him after three days teaching the Rabbis and scribes about the Law. They were amazed at His answers.
On many other occasions, Jesus went to Jerusalem throughout His life, but most of these other occurrences aren’t recorded in Holy Scripture. During these other occasion when He had gone to Jerusalem, Jesus was not yet well known. He had not yet revealed Himself to be the Son of God, God in the flesh, though Mary knew. Nor had His hour come in which He was to suffer. Because of this, He was able to mingle freely with others who were present at the Temple and in Jerusalem. Because He had not yet performed any miracles or spoken any great teachings, His enemies were not roused to great anger and malice against Him.
But now, finally, after all of this, His hour has come. He has since given sufficient proof of His power, and His cross is at the very doors. He has revealed Himself as the Son of God—He spoke plainly that His name is I AM. He is God in the flesh. He is YHWH in the flesh. He is David’s Son and David’s Lord. He also gave proof of His divine authority. Great crowds of people had been fed with bread and fish. Water had been turned into wine. Physical disabilities had been healed. The dead had been raised. Prophecies had been fulfilled. Now is the hour of His exultation.
And so Jesus spoke one more prophecy to the disciples before He entered Jerusalem for the last time, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Zechariah, which is not so coincidentally the Old Testament reading for Palm Sunday, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.”
Some 2000 years later after Jesus rode into Jerusalem, even we have great reason for rejoicing with the daughter of Zion. Our king is coming and has come. He goes forth to shed His blood for us. This blood will cover us and all our sins. His blood be upon us and our children! Though our sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. The sacrifice that Jesus makes is for all time. It is the one final eternal sacrifice—a sacrifice greater than that of bulls and goats. He offers a priestly sacrifice, a kingly, royal sacrifice.
Jesus is a king, after all. He is David’s greater Son. When King David’s life on earth was coming to an end, his son Solomon was anointed as king and was placed, not on a warhorse to go claim a kingdom, but on a mule. This was a sign of humility but also a sign of royalty. The crowds in the Gospel reading today understand this. Jesus rides in to Jerusalem on a donkey with a colt and the crowds bestow on Him the royal title, “Son of David.” He is not Solomon but He is David’s Greater Son. He rides on in majesty to make peace with God and man. That’s why He had to become a man in the first place.
He is a king. Though He rides triumphantly into Jerusalem on a donkey, He rides on in majesty not to claim and earthly kingdom. He doesn’t ride into Jerusalem to overthrow Herod or to bring destruction upon the oppressive Roman Empire. Jesus is not the Savior of one country or one race of people. He is not the Savior only of our own United States, or the government—though all authority in heaven and on earth is His. Jesus rides triumphantly into Jerusalem to bring salvation for all men. He rides on in majesty on a donkey with a colt with Him.
Now there is this idea throughout the history of Christianity and especially in the writings of the Church Fathers that the two animals in the Gospel reading were symbols of two different groups of people. The donkey is a figure of the Jews and the colt was the figure of the Gentiles. Both of them go with Him into Jerusalem. Both Jews and Gentiles are whom Jesus rides for. He goes to Jerusalem to be cast out of the Temple. God no longer will dwell in a stone structure built with hands but in the temple of our own bodies. This includes both Jews and Gentiles, us included.
Jesus carries with Him both the sins of the Jews and all the sin of the Gentiles into Jerusalem and then He carries them out of the Holy City to the cross. There, He is put to death. Our sin is no more. He rides on in majesty, not on a warhorse, but in humility. Though He rides on with no warhorse, He rides on to make war. David’s Greater Son—the one who is called Messiah, Christ, God’s anointed, rides on to do battle. He will suffer. His helmet will be a crown of thorns. His heel will be struck—His hands, feet and side will be pierced with nails and with a spear. He will suffer the consequences of our sin. It is a bloody battle and He will die. But He will set the prisoners free and in so doing, He will crush the serpent’s head.
We all have cried out to God all our days because of all the injustice and corruption in our world. The devil is at work attempting to destroy the Church, to cause us to stumble and sin, and to drive a wedge in between us and our brothers and sisters in Christ. And so, we’ve cried out for justice, or worse, we’ve cried out for revenge! We’ve had our days of lament and complaint. But Jesus rides on. It doesn’t look spectacular but it is majestic. It’s His majesty. The cross is His glory. That is the hour of His glorification—when He is lifted up for all the world to see. We are now those standing on the roadside watching Him pass by. Now, more than ever, our cries are the same as those standing next to us. “Hosanna to the Son of David. Hosanna in the highest!” “Save us now!” we cry. We cannot save ourselves. But this word, “Hosanna,” may be the most appropriate one word prayer that we could ever pray. “Save us from our sins. Save us, O Lord, from the devil. Save us from false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice!” Hosanna to the Son of David. He rides on to win the victory. He will not dwell in a temple made with hands. He rides on to dwell in the temple of our own bodies. He wins the victory. So also, we will overcome. And finally, we will win the victory.
In +Jesus’ name.
