Palm Sunday

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[John 12:13] So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”

[Luke 23:20-23] Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” … But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed.

The Palms and Passion of Our Lord

First waving palms, praising Him as their King. Then demanding nails, to crucify Him among thieves. First crying, “Hosanna!”, “Save Us!”, trusting their Savior with joy. Then accepting a murderer in His place; and yelling, “Crucify Him! Crucify Jesus!”, “Away with Him and crucify Him!”

Palm Sunday is a Sunday of contradiction. It even has two names. Today is called “Palm Sunday” and “Passion Sunday”, or “Sunday of the Passion”. (“Passion” meaning His “Suffering”; different than how we use that word today.)

Today begins with the Palm Procession, the “Triumphal Entry” gospel reading, a joyful “Hosanna” hymn – All glory, laud, and honor To You Redeemer, King, To whom the lips of children Made sweet hosannas ring…

Then the service transitions. The “Passion of Our Lord” gospel reading. And then singing, “…‘Crucify!’ Is all their breath, And for His death They thirst and cry.” [Lutheran Service Book, #430, My Song Is Love Unknown, stanza 3]

We see on Palm Sunday, Passion Sunday, the transition and contradiction that our Lord experienced in His people in that week when these events happened.

On that first day of the week, the Sunday before the Passover that year, Jesus rode into Jerusalem as the King of Peace. On a humble colt, the foal of a donkey – not on a chariot or a war horse – with disciples as followers, not an army – Jesus rode into the city for His kind of victory.

The crowd knew this humble servant-king as their true King. They made a carpet of their cloaks laid out on the road. They waved the palm branches, as they did in previous victories. They knew Him as their Savior, crying “Hosanna!” – “Save Us!”

And they knew, it seems, on that Sunday, what their humble servant-king came to save them from. They knew which enemy He was defeating. “The crowd that had been with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet Him was that they heard He had done this sign.” [John 12:17-18]

He came to save them from the true enemy – not men, not rulers, not nations – but from death. This was the one who raised Lazarus from the dead a few days earlier [John 11]. This was the one who could save us from our lifelong slavery to death and the fear of death [Hebrews 2:15].

And from sin, and original sin, the root causes of death. And from hell which would follow; and from the devil who brought this all upon us. This Jesus is the one who could conquer the grave.

The Pharisees said, “Look, the whole world has gone after Him!” Yet, so soon after, on the Friday after that Sunday, they choose the strong of this world in place of their servant-King. They choose Barabbas, a rebel and fighter against Rome, to be released instead of Jesus – while calling upon the Roman governor to do away with their servant-king and Savior, Jesus.

How quickly did they no longer need the Savior from sin, death, and hell. How quickly did Pilate and Herod, and Barabbas the rebel, all become more important than the King who came to save them.

As they began shouting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Jesus!”, they were also found yelling, “We have no king but Caesar!” [John 19:15]. How quickly did their needs and allegiances become about this world first.

How quickly? It happened between Sundays. On Sunday they praised Him. By Friday they had no use for their servant-king and Savior and cursed Him with their lips.

You and I, like this crowd, live with contradictions. On Sunday, we kneel before our servant-King as Lord alone. During the week, our minds – and our fears and faith – become set on the strong of this world, whether friend or foe, ruler or rebel.

And our lips which praise His name on Sunday find less use for His name during the week – or even use His name in vain. And those same lips speak ill of brothers and sisters who bear His name. “With our tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God…” [James 3:9-10]

If we confess to need Jesus on Sunday, but don’t find as much use for Him during the week, misuse His name as a casual curse or exclamation, or have a mind focused only on this life during the week, not giving thought about the next, then we are walking too much like this crowd, which praised Him on a Sunday and had no use for Him by Good Friday but denied Him and abandoned Him.

“Hosanna! Blessed is He!” became “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” Yet the Lord used this contradiction in the hearts of His people for His ultimate good purpose of being their Savior. Jesus laid down His life – gave Himself on the cross – for the kind of sinners who would deny Him, leave Him, and crucify Him. He redeemed them.

By the end of that day, the very soldiers who crucified Him were praising God and saying, “Truly, this man was innocent”, and, “Truly, this was the Son of God!” [Luke 23:47; Matthew 27:54]. He redeemed them.

In those few hours, two thieves crucified next to Him were at first mocking Him [Matthew 27:38,44], then one of them began praising Him [Luke 23:42], then that one entered into Paradise with Him [Luke 23:43]. Jesus was redeeming people, buying them back, by His death.

On the cross, Jesus used some of His very last cries to pray for those crucifying Him – “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing” [Luke 23:34].

Jesus went up on that cross to die for sinners who are guilty. To save them. To forgive them – to make them spotless and without blemish in God’s sight by His blood. And to make them new men and women.

We are contradictory. Jesus is very consistent. Jesus remains steadily “God-Who-Saves”. He is not only able to forgive sinners like us – not only able to give us eternal life in Paradise – but is also able, in this life, to make us less contradictory.

Jesus is able to make you more consistent every day with what you confess on Sunday, not by human might but by the divine might of being your humble servant-King. He redeems you from sin and death all at once. He transforms you over a lifetime.

So, trust in Him, and spend a lifetime with Him, to be transformed by Him, that - week-by-week – our life may become more consistent with our Hosanna cries.  Amen.