Palm Sunday
First written for and given at the Lynnville (IL) UMC on April 4, 2004, with a very minor rewrite for This video…
The Scripture is from the 19th chapter of the Gospel of Luke, verses 28-40…
My love affair with Case tractors started when I was about four years old. You see, my very first ride-able vehicle was not a tricycle like most people… it was a Case pedal-tractor! In the years since then I have become more familiar with various model numbers and names, so I now know it was a Case 400. (Can you imagine what that would be worth today if I still had it?) At the time, though, all I knew was that it was my Case tractor, and I loved that thing!
We lived across from the Hartford Elementary school, so I had the whole paved area of the playground to ride it on, not to mention the streets around our house. Of course I had to be very careful, and was under strict instructions as to just how far I could go, but within those boundary lines I knew every foot of my neighborhood. True, older kids would tease me from time to time and challenge me to races against their bicycles… my feet would be a blur making those pedals go ‘round and ‘round, but my wheels where just too small to gain much speed. Outside of that, though, I thought I was invincible! I could hook onto somebody’s little red wagon and pull it and them all over the place… in fact, I figured if I could ever find a plow the right size I’d try it out on the school grounds… probably just as well I never did!
As I was growing up, the Village of Hartford was exactly one mile long and maybe a third of that across, laid out in a grid pattern. One summer, probably for the 4th of July, a parade had been organized to zigzag through and around the town. All of the kids had been invited to decorate their bikes and ride in it. Not wanting to be left out, I talked mom into helping me put some streamers and bells on my tractor and let me ride along as well. What an adventure I was looking forward to! Of course, I knew most of the streets in town… being that small of town it was hard not too. But this would be the first time I had gotten to ‘drive’ myself over most of them… and I was pumped!
Fortunately, most parades move pretty slow. They had all of us riders… I, of course, was the only tractor… grouped together towards the end of the short procession, and most of them were riding as slowly as they could, or even stopping or walking when needed. I, however, was pedaling furiously just trying to keep up. By the time we covered the two or three miles of the route, I was exhausted… but I remember to this day how proud I was to be a part of it, and how many of those standing along the route were calling me by name and cheering me on!
I’m sure that most of you have seen various presentations, or renderings, if-you-will, of another procession that took place some two-thousand+ years ago… Jesus sends for a donkey and rides triumphantly into Jerusalem as the crowds throng and cheer around him!! Some years back I had a video clip from the Youth Specialties series An Insider’s View Of Jesus that featured the comedy of ‘Ted and Lee’, who, according to the description on ‘Amazon’, …“humanize the disciples. (WE) Identify with the characters of Pete and Andy—and in turn learn to connect with the truth of the gospel stories with your own emotions and struggles.” In their tongue-in-cheek portrayal of Peter and Andrew, their intent was to try, in a humorous fashion, to help people realize that all of the characters we read about in these Bible stories are more than just characters… they were real living and breathing people! And as such, we must assume that they were subject to all of the same doubts, fears, joys and pride… in fact, ALL of the same emotions that each one of us have… that is assuming that each of you are real living, breathing people!
How many times have you heard or read this story over the years? And if you’re like me, you probably usually picture Jesus humbly sitting astride His baby donkey riding past a double line of people reverently taking off their cloaks or grabbing palm leaves to lay on the ground in front of Him as a sign of welcome. That’s because we have been ‘conditioned’ over the years to only think serious, somber thoughts about Jesus and all that the Bible has to tell us. But the Gospels tell the story of Jesus’ life… and that life was alive and vibrant… they are not meant to be dark and foreboding! Jesus was a real, living and breathing person too, while on this earth! Consider some of His comments from time to time. “Let he who has ears hear!” That’s pretty witty! “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers on men.” “Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?” Because of our forefathers wanting to focus just on the seriousness of the story… on saving our souls, if you will… we have learned each of these things as part of a serious story lesson, and so seldom if ever see or appreciate the reality of the humor and wit contained in them… it has been lost to us over the centuries.
The same thought holds true for today’s’ story. Consider with me, if you will, the reality of all of this… there were not a few spectators lined up… there were masses of humanity! Most likely most of Jerusalem came out to see the man who claimed to be the Messiah. On top of that, it was time for the Passover, and the city would have been filled with guests and visitors come to celebrate and Worship in the Temple… and all of them would have turned out as well! Imagine thousands of people crying out, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And when the officials tell Jesus to call the crowd to order, He tells them it would be useless. I’ve always liked the way Andrew Lloyd Weber put it in J. C. Superstar… “Why waste your breath moaning at the crowd… nothing can be done to stop the shouting! If every tongue were still the noise would still continue… the rocks and stones themselves would start to sing!”
It must have seemed like a wild, wild party… and Jesus and His disciples were at the heart of it! To the uninitiated, Jesus was at the pinnacle of His Ministry… from here, all He had to do was ride the crest of popularity into what most there considered real power… the power to drive the Romans out of Israel! And Jesus had to feel that… His disciples had to feel that… and yet…
Let me read a part of what The Life Application Commentary has to say about it… “Jesus approached Jerusalem fearlessly, knowing what awaited him there: death at the hands of people who should have recognized his true identity. This glorious celebration was temporary, and few understood its meaning. Most wanted to believe that liberation from Rome was at hand. Any who had heard Jesus’ parables should have understood that time would elapse between his first and second comings; the disciples should have remembered what he told them about going to Jerusalem to die. At this point, however, Jesus was clearly fulfilling prophecy and showing himself to be the Messiah.”
‘Blessed is the King!’ ‘Pinnacle of His career!’ ‘Peace in Heaven and Glory in the highest!’ ‘Crest of popularity!’ ‘The stones would cry out!’ All of this… and yet… on Friday He was nailed to a cross! And He knew that before He entered the city! But he entered it still. Why? Because He also knew that the only chance each of those people there had of salvation was in His death!
Yes… Jesus died on the cross to take away the sins of all of those who were cheering Him on that day… even though many of those same people were the ones crying for His crucifixion later in the week! That didn’t matter to Him… all that mattered was that through His death… His sacrifice on the cross… ALL people could be saved… including you and me!
scluebbert 