John 12:12-16
12The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel!” 14Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written: 15 “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” 16His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him.
Today is Palm Sunday, which commemorates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on a young donkey, where He was greeted with excitement as the coming king. It is also the beginning of the Holy Week and will culminate next Sunday when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The crowd’s shout mirrors Zechariah 9:9 and points to the future messiah and king who will come riding not on a war steed, but a young donkey. This should have given a hint as to the peaceful nature of the coming king. Not a warrior king that is coming to defeat the Romans, but a king of peace, who will reconcile humanity to God.
The Romans conquered Judea in 64 BCE, which means the Jews had been under Roman rule for close to a hundred years by the time Jesus entered Jerusalem on that Palm Sunday. The people were hoping/believing in a messiah that would defeat the Romans and kick them out of Judea. They still believed that would happen on that Sunday, so Jesus was welcomed in as a conquering king. But as events moved forward and it was clear that Jesus was not going to lead a rebellion and defeat the Romans, most of the population regard Him as an imposter who had raised false hopes and is ready to see Him crucified.
Let us look at some of the events and teachings of Christ leading up to His resurrection in the Gospel of John.
After the entry, Jesus talks about His impending death. He also teaches that whoever serves Him must follow Him and that whoever serves Him, the Father will honor.
The crowd questioned Jesus about what He said about dying. They believed that the Messiah would rule forever, so how could Jesus be the Messiah, if He is going to die? Jesus explained that He has come not to judge the world but to save the world. No one was going to understand this until after the resurrection.
At the last supper Jesus leaves an example to His disciples by washing their feet – They too are to humble themselves and serve others.
Jesus then foretells of His betrayal by one of the Twelve, and then gives them a new commandment to love one another. And this love for each other should be so obvious that everyone would know that they are followers of Christ through this love.
Jesus then foretells Peter’s denial – That Peter would deny that he knows Jesus three times before the cock crows the next morning.
Jesus then promises that after He departs this world, the Holy Spirit will be given to them, who will abide with each believer. Even though they will weep and mourn at His death, their pain will turn to joy. He also prays for peace for the disciples, since He knows that their lives are going to be turned upside down.
Then Jesus goes to a garden to pray and to prepare Himself for what was to come. There, He is betrayed by Judas and is arrested. As foretold, Peter denies Jesus. Then Jesus is put on trial. Pilate finds Jesus not guilty, but the Jews insist that He be executed. Pilate tries to save Jesus by having the crowd choose to free either Jesus or Barabbas, but the crowd chooses Barabbas to be freed.
Pilate has Jesus flogged and tortured, hoping that this would appease the crowd. But the crowd is not appeased and threaten Pilate that he would be considered a traitor against the emperor, since they insist that Jesus claimed to be a king, and a king would be against the emperor. Pilate feels trapped and sentences Jesus to death.
On the day of Preparation for the Passover Jesus is crucified. He dies as the Passover lambs are being sacrificed. Truly the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” as John the Baptist declared in the first chapter of John’s gospel.
Resurrection day, or more commonly referred to as Easter, is the most celebration-worthy day in the Christian church calendar. Christmas has become the greater celebration world-wide, due to its popularity even amongst non-Christians. But Christ’s resurrection is the more meaningful event. If Jesus had not gone through with the crucifixion, or if He had not rose from the dead, He wouldn’t be remembered today, nor would we be celebrating His birth. As 1 Corinthians 15:17 says, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins.”
Historically, Christmas was included in the church calendar two to three hundred years later than Easter.
Next Sunday is Easter, and a day of great celebration. Palm Sunday, in contrast is to contemplate on what Christ went through so that our sins can be forgiven. Yes, there was a crowd celebrating and cheering for Jesus when he entered Jerusalem, but that was based on a mistaken assumption. They were not really celebrating Jesus, but the great Messiah that they were hoping who would drive the Romans from the land.
So, what should we be doing to prepare our hearts for next Sunday’s celebration?
We should realize that being God, Jesus had the power and the free will to not go through with the cross. Or He could have numbed Himself to the pain of being flogged, having nails driven into his wrist and ankles, and the excruciating pain of being crucified. He also had the power to just come down from the cross. But He did none of these things. For the punishment that humanity deserved for their sins, Jesus had to endure the pain and die. So, even though Jesus understood the pain and sufferings that awaited Him, He freely chose to go through with it until death.
We should also remember why Jesus had to die on the cross. It was for our sins. We may not consider our sins as being too bad, but it was bad enough that a sacrifice of an animal would not do – The Son of God had to die for our sins to be forgiven.
Because of what He went through on our behalf, all we must do is to confess our sinfulness and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. If we do that, then our sins are forgiven, we become sons and daughters of God, and are assured eternal life with our Lord.
We should also remember what Jesus taught during the Holy Week. For us to humble ourselves and to love one another in a way that stands as a witness to the world of God’s love. We should be grateful of the gift of the Holy Spirit, who will guide and teach our lives, as well as give us the love and strength sufficient to love God and love others.
We should also realize that we too deny Christ through what we say, what we think and what we do or do not do. When we are reminded that we have denied Christ, we should ask for forgiveness and then go on serving Him.
Romans 14:9 reminds us that, “For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.” So, we should also contemplate how best to serve our Lord, who was willing to suffer and die for us.
Let us do these things to prepare ourselves for the great celebration next Sunday.
(the above is a summary of the message shared by Shun Takano during our worship on Palm Sunday, March 24th)
Japanese Congregational Church 