Before I start this morning’s passage, I want to share a story with you. This story comes from the book of Maccabees, a sacred writing known as The Apocrypha that tells us about the 400 years between the end of the Old Testament and the arrival of Christ. About 150 years earlier Simon Maccabee, along with his brothers, sought to save the Jewish people from conquest. But things were looking dark. Trypho, an evil and ruthless conqueror, whose only mission was to pillage, invaded Judah and threatened Jerusalem. He had also kidnapped Jonathan, Simon’s brother, and held him for ransom. Simon had already lost his three brothers in this effort to defend the Jews, so now he was seeking a new ally. He sends a golden crown and a palm branch to King Demetrius hoping he would stand with Simon and his army against the wicked Trypho. The king accepts Simon’s offer and there is a new day for the Jews in relation to the Gentiles. And when peace is restored, people are coming into Jerusalem and “the Jews enter the gates with praise and palm branches and with harps and symbols” (1 Maccabees 13:51) to celebrate the new peace they enjoyed. Now let us hear the word of our Lord as it comes to us from Matthew’s gospel.
When I lived in West Hampton Beach, they had a Saint Patrick’s Day parade. Everyone in town came out. The boys and I walked in the parade as Cub Scouts and I as the den mother. The town painted the stripe down the middle of Main Street shamrock green. It was just a party from beginning to end. Thinking about that parade, I want you to think of a time when you were in the throes of a crowd, like at a parade. We think of Palm Sunday as a big parade, and one community I served had a Palm Sunday parade waving palm branches through town before worshiping. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, he was greeted by many people, a crowd. But some of them asked, “Who is this?” and you wonder why they are there. Why would anyone be at a parade and not know who Jesus is? We need to remember that this is Passover, the holiest festival for the Jews. It was expected that everyone within a 20-mile radius of Jerusalem would make a pilgrimage to the city to celebrate Passover. And people from far beyond would make the pilgrimage if they were able. So, the fact that it is Passover creates the difference between just walking into town on a typical spring day and walking into town when the Saint Patrick’s Day parade is in full swing. The people are there because it is Passover and Jesus chooses this time to enter the city of Jerusalem.
Of course, many of the crowd knew Jesus, his works and his life. They might have just seen him heal to blind men, or cast out demons from a Canaanite daughter, or heard him teach the Sermon on the Mount saying, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.” They knew him, believed in him, hoped in him, so they shouted, “Hosanna and to the son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” “Hosanna” means “to save.” They are seeking help from Jesus. We as Christians hear this and think of our salvation. But the people were seeking help in a more worldly sense. You see, people would say hosanna to a king, or anyone else in power, because they had the ability to improve their lives. In other words, they were saying, “Save us Jesus!! Help us Jesus!! Show us compassion.” Hosanna!
“When we wave our palms and boldly cry out, “Hosanna,” do we dare imagine what we really want God to save us from? Save me from anger. Save me from cancer. Save me from depression. Save me from debt. Save me from the strife in my family. Save me from boredom. Save me from high gas prices. Save me from the endless cycle of violence. Save me from staring at the ceiling at three a.m. wondering what happened to our democracy. Save me from bitterness. Save me from arrogance. Save me from loneliness. Save me, God, save me from my fears.
In viewing Palm Sunday from that angle, we can begin to see the potential for some real depth in this celebration, for embedded in our quaint pageantry is an appeal to God that originates in the most
vulnerable places inside of us; and it bubbles, almost beyond our control, to the surface. “Hosanna.” “Save us.” Please God take the broken places that will tear us apart and make them whole. “Save us.” “Hosanna” (Sermons.com, Scott Black Johnston). Save us, bring peace!
When we do, we are like the crowd who acknowledged Jesus is as the Son of David, elevating him to a place of honor and giving him that position in our lives. When we do, we are praising Jesus for the courage he showed, entering the gates of Jerusalem knowing that the cross was awaiting him. When we do, we deeply understand that our salvation is found in Jesus and our hearts shout Hosanna. Hosanna in the highest heaven!
We have covered shouting hosanna, but what about the humble ways of Jesus?
Hosanna conveys save us as well as praise to you because hosanna also gives rise to praise. Many believed Jesus was the King, the Messiah, the One to save Israel. All four gospels refer to or quote Isaiah saying, “Lo your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” But when Matthew tells the story, he is very literal on the one hand and selective on the other. What do I mean? The disciples bring both a donkey and a colt for Jesus to ride, even though Jesus probably only rode one. But Matthew includes both because both are in the prophecy. But then, Matthew leaves out something very significant. We have all heard Palm Sunday sermons on the triumphal entry, the victorious arrival. But if you look, Matthew has none of that. Rather what is important for Matthew, and for us today, is that Jesus is a humble king. He is the king who will save, but not through victorious wars or asserting his power in triumph. Jesus is a humble king of peace; a king worthy of palm branches; a king that will not only save the Jews, but all the people of the world.
Jesus is the one entering the gates of Jerusalem who will bring forth righteousness, who gives life through God’s love and who will ultimately save us on the cross. There is no humbler act, than to lay down one’s life for the salvation of the world!
What does it mean for us to have a humble king, a humble Savior? First, it means that Jesus is approachable. He is not a king far removed, surrounded by Secret Service or only accessible through his emissary. Rather Jesus enters our life, my life and yours, with a heart of compassion and love. Jesus wants us to come to him in prayer, to share our life with him because he is humble and approachable. He wants us to open our hearts wide, like the gates of Jerusalem, and let him in, while shouting hosanna in the highest!
Secondly, Jesus being a humble king, gets his power from God. Jesus has immense power to heal, to restore, and to reconcile the world. But the humble king Jesus draws that power from God. This is the power that gave him the courage to enter the city knowing he was walking to his crucifixion. It is the compassionate power that asks, “Father to forgive them for what they do not for they know not what they do.” So often when people achieve great power, they become arrogant and self-absorbed. I think we have seen that with a president who has led us into a war of choice, driving up gas prices and inflation. But to have a savior who is humble and approachable, who knows God is the source of all power, and the one whose mission he will carry out, is to demonstrate a divine power, a Godly power, a power worthy of a humble king.
Finally, a humble king is a servant king. The last thing Jesus teaches his disciples before entering Jerusalem is to be like a servant. He does so to settle a dispute about which disciple is the greatest. Jesus says, “Whoever wishes to be great among you must be a servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be a slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mt. 20:26-28). Jesus our humble king, gave his life so that you and I no longer are slave to sin. Jesus served the world reconciliation, hope and love. On this joyful Palm Sunday, we wave our palms recalling our humble king riding on a donkey. We wave our palms earnestly seeking Jesus to save us from what is broken in our lives and world. We wave our palms hoping to usher in peace. We wave our palms shouting hosanna in the highest! Amen.
