What sort of king are we getting? What will this mean for our lives? How will this king change us? Will we be better off? Or will there be no noticeable difference in our lives due to this king’s arrival? These may have been the questions asked by the people as Jesus came in procession on that Sunday before the Passover, before His death. At that time large numbers of people were coming into Jerusalem to celebrate that Passover feast. A city of 50,000 inhabitants suddenly swelled to larger than 250,000. It was such a large event in Jerusalem that Pontius Pilate had to leave his cozy quarters on the Mediterranean seashore and move his post into Jerusalem to maintain order.
Just before this procession of Jesus on the young donkey, He had stunned the people with a miracle. His friend Lazarus had died, having been in the tomb for four days. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Dead Four days! and this man walks out of the tomb at Jesus’ command. All were abuzz! The news was spreading. Could it be? Is He the promised king? And what sort king are we getting? Popular Jewish Messianic thought believed that an earthly king would come and set the people free from the oppressive leadership of Rome with the use of military force.
The crowds then gather. They all take hold of palm branches. They shout “Hosanna,” meaning, “Lord save, I beg!” The palm branches were praises, signifying victory. The people were ready to rally and win a military victory and have Israel be restored by God on earth. Knowing the misunderstanding of the crowd and to fulfill prophecy, Jesus sent the disciples to get Him a colt, the foal of a donkey to ride into Jerusalem. This sent a message. This king was no military and earthly ruler. Riding in on the young donkey sent the message of peace. This posture seems like a sort of protest by Jesus. Yet, it is not a protest so much as it is a rebuke of false earth based notions. It was a fulfilling of Scripture as to the nature of this Messianic King. This King would come bearing peace, and He would not shed others blood to obtain it; He would shed His own.
The Pharisees watch Jesus ride in and they say to one another: “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the whole world has gone after Him.” Their rejection grows more bitter, more venomous, and more desperate. Yet, the very next verse not in our reading for today tells us that some Greeks (Gentiles) who heard of Jesus come with a request: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” What irony. Jesus raises the dead (Lazarus), then the marveling crowd wants an earthly king. This king comes bringing peace and His own people reject this peace, while some no good Gentiles seek His face.
What sort of king should we expect for us today? Does this king bring anything to the table in the midst of your life that is full of the “hustle and bustle” of tasks and requirements? Can this king impact a pagan world that is obsessed with their own self-indulgences and is overrun with pressing schedules that demand constant movement? Does this king ride in to Jerusalem in order to shape, direct, and give meaning to you, or is it just an isolated event in history with no real purpose? Many see nothing in this king. As with the Pharisees, it has been a problem throughout history. What did those Greeks who came searching for Jesus think they were going to do or see if they saw Jesus?
This is the same question we must ask today. How does Jesus change your life? Where do we see Jesus? We are surprised at Jesus’ response to the Greeks who sought Him. Jesus did not go to see them. What a disappointment it must have been. Jesus’ answer to the Greeks’ request relayed by Andrew and Philip is the parable of the grain of wheat that falls and dies. “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”
Jesus’ words are simple. If the Greeks wish to see the face of Jesus in any meaningful way that will benefit them, then they must see Jesus as the grain of wheat that dies to give life to others. The only meaningful way to receive this king is to behold the King of the Jews who is raised up on the cross for all to see. This is the King of peace. The king who defies expectations. As His own blood is spilt onto the dusty and parched ground called Golgotha, the world is washed and the price of sin is paid.
It is the isolated obedience and death of Jesus that will bring forth the New Testament of forgiveness given in the Lord’s Supper and the Gospels. Here is where the Greeks’ request will be answered. If those Greeks who came to the Passover feast in Jerusalem want to the see the face of God they will have to find it in the fruitfulness of His death on the cross. “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” will be answered in their viewing the crucified Jesus as He hangs there. The request will be answered in the Eucharist that He would institute on Maundy Thursday. The face of Jesus will be seen on the day of the resurrection. The request would be fulfilled in their baptisms where they would be joined organically to His death, burial, and resurrection.
Those Greeks sound like us. There are many things swirling around us, especially thoughts and opinions on truth, life after death, heaven and hell. Straining in the midst of cell phones, technology, mixed messages, and harrowing schedules, we try to focus our eyes on the face of Jesus. What sort of King are we getting? Is this King different from the rest? Do the palm branches, the shouts of “hosanna”, and the young donkey give us a clue into something that cuts through everything else in our lives?
Yes. Something very significant is at work. Carefully set in your midst is your redemption. Your weaknesses, your life of sin, your continual cycle of struggle and sadness and all of your battles in this world are dealt with by the face of Jesus that you behold in the Holy Scriptures. Likewise, you behold Him here when you come and drink from the cup. There in the cup of Eucharist is Jesus, His blood given and shed for you. Carefully placed among us is not just a one time snapshot of Jesus’ face that we hope memory will remember. We have something better.
Jesus comes to His church continually. He didn’t ascend into heaven leaving behind an orphaned church. He continues to descend to us in the Bible and at the Lord’s table with His real sin and death conquering presence so that we may find His favor for us and for our lives—that we may see His face and receive His forgiveness and be changed. No matter what the next week of your life will require of you, you have your King who comes to you lowly and glorious, with a word of peace and forgiveness because He has dealt death and Satan a final and punishing blow. The palm branches of victory on Palm Sunday prefigure the victory won through Jesus bitter suffering and death so that you might be forgiven. Your life is defined by this victory. Your king won the battle for you and believers throughout the world and time. So we look forward to what is written in the Book of Revelation chapter 7: “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” This is the victory throng which Palm Sunday points to. The great triumphal procession at the last Day when Christ gathers all His Church in resurrection splendor to live in peace forever.
May we be kept and gathered in this body of believers by Christ’s continual visitation. Let us follow Christ into Jerusalem this Holy week, giving thanks that He does save us now, and promises to give us resurrection victory not only on Easter Sunday, but forevermore. Because of His work, we shall live eternally with our Savior King, Jesus Christ, who is always coming to us. Behold Him, Christ crucified for the forgiveness of your sins. Be comforted to know the loving forgiving face of Him who conquers sin, death and the power of the devil so that you may be His own. Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel! Amen.
Pr. Aaron Kangas