St. Matthew 21:1–9
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “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 took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and He sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before Him and that followed Him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (ESV)
Prayer: Lord Jesus, seated at the right hand of the Your Father, a Lord over heaven and earth, restrain the enemies of Your Church, and uphold Your faithful followers. Let not the scorn of the world and the mockery of the proud cause us to fall away from You, but grant us courage to confess Your name unto our end, and cause the wicked to see Your power and the upright to see Your truth. Amen.
Behold, Your King… the Lamb!
In Christ Jesus, the King of kings, the Lamb of God, dear fellow redeemed!
The Word of God is awesome. There are so many beautiful connections between the Old and New Testament. One of the amazing aspects of Scripture is how God foreshadowed and prophesied the coming Savior, Jesus. This morning, I want to draw your attention to the Passover and how it connects to today, Palm Sunday.
The Passover was one of the most significant events in the history of the people of Israel. This was the event that finally led Pharoah to let the people of Israel go. As you might recall, the Lord had sent Moses and his brother Aaron to go before Pharoah, the most powerful ruler in the then-know world, to say, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘let my people go’” (Exodus 5:1). Pharoah was not pleased with this demand. He snarled, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2). Pharoah’s refusal to let God’s people go began the battle between the proud Pharoah and the mighty God. God made himself known to Pharoah through ten devastating signs which have become known as the ten plagues.
The Lord sent plague after plague—like turning the Nile River into blood, sending frogs from the Nile River, and flies. With these plagues, the Lord showed himself to be the true God over all creation. At times Pharoah got so frustrated from these plagues that he said he would let Israel go, but only on certain conditions. But after the Lord removed the plague, Pharaoh would change his mind. Each time Pharoah refused to let God’s people go, the Lord sent a more severe plague—like sickness, boils, hailstorms, locusts, and darkness. Yet, what made Pharoah even more enraged was that these plagues only affected the Egyptians—God didn’t let them harm the Israelites. Still, Pharoah would not let Israel go.
This brings us to the Passover. The date was April, 1446 B.C. Even though the Lord had shown his power with nine terrible plagues, Pharoah still refused to free Israel. So, the Lord was about to send his tenth plague, more terrible than anything before. It would change Pharoah’s mind. God would send the death angel to kill the first-born of all men and animals in the land of Egypt. In order to save the Israelites, the Lord instituted the Passover. Each family was to find a year-old lamb without blemish or spot. It was to be separated from the other sheep, and on the appointed day killed at the eve of the day. The head of the household would paint the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their home. That night, the death angel visited each household in Egypt killing the first-born. However, when the death angel came to the homes of the Israelites and saw the blood of the lamb on the doorposts, the angel passed over, sparing all those inside. That is why it is called the Passover.
To remember how the Lord saved them from slavery in Egypt, the Israelites celebrated the Passover annually, sort of like how we remember Christmas and Easter. Every year on the 10th of Nisan, the Israelites would pick a lamb without blemish, a male a year old. They would keep this lamb separated for four days until the Passover, the 14th of Nisan.
The Passover reminded the Israelites of God’s deliverance in Egypt, but it also pointed forward to the greater deliverance God would accomplish for all people through another Lamb. The Passover lamb pointed to Jesus who came to save us from our slavery of sin and death. As Paul writes, “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us” (I Corinthians 5:7).
On Palm Sunday, the crowds shouted, “Hosanna!” as Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem. The long-awaited King had now come. Now here is the really cool connection between the Passover and Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday was the same day that the Israelites were to pick the Passover lamb. By Jesus riding in on this date in the Jewish calendar, he showed that he was the Lamb who had come to deliver his people. He had come to shed his blood on the cross so that God’s judgement would pass over us.
Now, while I find this connection about the lamb being chosen on Palm Sunday significant, I also think there are helpful overlaps between our Gospel lesson and the Passover.
The first is that this lesson and the Passover teach us about obedience. When Jesus told the two disciples two go into the city and find a donkey and her colt, it could have been confusing to the disciples, who had seen Jesus walk into Jerusalem so many times. What’s more, it also seems that this was an unusual request for someone to take someone’s donkey and colt—especially, when it was someone the disciples didn’t know. Finally, if Jesus is the Messiah and coming King, wouldn’t they want a more impressive entrance than riding on a donkey? But the disciples don’t question Jesus. Our lesson states, “The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.” It didn’t matter what they thought. Their questions or concerns didn’t stop them from listening to Jesus. The disciples obedience to Christ is to be admired.
But also consider a parallel to the Israelites. God told them to pick out a lamb without blemish, sacrifice it, and paint their doorposts with its blood. Doesn’t that strike you as odd? I bet the Israelites certainly felt that way too. What’s more, think about everything that had happened in the weeks leading up to it! Plague after plague. Now God wants us to do this? But they did. They listened. They weren’t worried about what their Egyptian neighbors thought. They were concerned about what God said. They listened to his word, and they were delivered from death and slavery in Egypt.
The disciples and Israelites demonstrated great faith by obeying the Lord’s word. It’s helpful for us to have these examples, because we need all the encouragement we can get to listen to the Lord. Our sinful pride has a hard time listening to God. “Do we have to? Why should I do that? Wouldn’t it be better or easier if I did it my way? Wouldn’t the church be more successful if we adjusted your teachings just a little? Is it really that big of a deal if I ignore your law when I am trying to relax, feel like complaining, or go on vacation? What I did certainly isn’t as bad as you think it is!”
It is our failure and inability to obey, which made it necessary that our King be a Lamb. If Jesus simply came to establish an earthly kingdom like so many wrongly hoped, it would have been a failure. Because the problem was still there. You and me and all our sins. There can be no utopia in a world of sin. There will be no lasting peace until our sin, our death, and the hell we deserved are destroyed.
And so, Jesus rode on not to conquer Herod and Rome, but to suffer and die for the sins of all. He came to spare us from the judgement that we deserved by offering up his innocent and holy life in our place so that those who trust in the power of his blood could be saved. As John proclaimed, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
By Jesus entering into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the day the lamb was chosen, it also reminds us what type of King we need… the Lamb. There are so many things that we can get caught up with in this world. So many things that we can think are so important… so many things that can make us go crazy and feel worried… but Jesus shows us what truly matters. Forgiveness. Mercy. Deliverance from sin and death. Reconciliation with God.
The Israelites probably looked quite foolish to their Egyptian neighbors when they killed lambs and painted their doorposts with its blood. The disciples might have felt foolish as they carried out Jesus’ directions. You and I might feel foolish at times in a world that is so consumed with political, physical, social, and economical concerns—to be concerned about the One Thing Needful… God’s Word, which points us to Jesus, the Lamb of God. The Word that tells us to trust in him, knowing that he will be with us and for us. To use our time, talents, and resources to support the preaching of the Gospel. To pour water on babies’ heads, drink and eat the body and blood of Christ under the bread and wine, which we believe has the power to save us. To come to church, hear the word, and sing praises. Yet, we have Jesus’ promise: “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven” (Mathew 10:32).
The Israelites did not regret painting their doorposts according to God’s command. The disciples did not regret listening to Jesus. And you and I will not be ashamed of trusting in Jesus, our King, the Lamb. Because he came to save us. The crowds shouted, “Hosanna, to the Son of David!” Hosanna means “to save.” They were calling Jesus to save them. And that is exactly what he declared when he shouted from the cross, “It is finished!” While there were some who would change their shouts from praise to condemnation during Holy Week, there were some who continued to believe in Jesus, even as he went through the dark hours on Golgotha. By God’s grace, may we continue to praise Christ and trust his word, even when the days are dark and road appears lonely. Our future is hopeful no matter how it seems, because three days later, the tomb was empty. Jesus said, “Because I live, you will live also.” And so, we pray, “Thy kingdom come.” Amen.