The Sunday of Passion: Palm Sunday – Mark S. Winward
The Paradox of the Palms
As we reflect on Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and his ultimate death on the cross this Palm Sunday, I want to suggest that the palms we blessed this morning are more than just greenery; they are tangible symbols of our faith, our sin, and our redemption. Even in the midst of betrayal, pain, and tragedy, God’s grace will not be thwarted. It stands out in the darkness as a beacon of hope.
Today, we recall that triumphal entry of Jesus on a donkey, processing up the road to Jerusalem strewn with palms while the crowd proclaimed: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” Yet, the contrast is jarring. Just a few days later, those same people will be shouting, “Crucify him!” In less than a week, raised hands of praise transform into shaking fists of condemnation. Each year, many Christians throughout the world act out this drama on the only Sunday that rightly bears two titles: Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday. As we hold these palms, we find a tangible connection with that crowd—a connection that both glorifies and condemns Jesus. These palms represent the mystery of our own salvation and our own blame. The same crowd that glorifies him also betrays him, and you and I might just as well be standing among them.
Misunderstanding the Messiah
The ancient Judeans had already decided what kind of “messiah” God was going to send them. They believed the true messiah could only come to free Israel from the yoke of tyranny. They had undoubtedly seen many self-proclaimed messiahs come and go, but there was something different about this man. There were the wild stories of him healing the blind, making the lame walk, and even raising the dead, but it was his disarming words and powerful presence that truly captivated the people. Although his parables were often cryptic, there was something about them that made the heart burn with truth. His humility clothed a strength of character befitting royalty, and when he preached that “the kingdom of God is at hand,” the people were certain: this had to be the King of Israel, David’s royal Son, the Blessed One who comes in the name of the Lord.
A Kingdom not of This World
God had far greater intentions for “David’s Son” than the people, priests, or prophets could have ever imagined. Jesus entered Jerusalem as a King intent on freeing not just Israel, but all people. The crowds were right to recognize him as a King coming to claim his crown and throne; they simply did not realize that his crown would be made of thorns and his throne would be an executioner’s cross. Like the people on that first Palm Sunday, we remember the proclamation of Jesus as our King, but Palm Sunday cannot be separated from Passion Sunday—for it is in Christ’s Passion that his kingship shines the brightest.
The Fickleness of Faith
Like the ancient Judeans, we too have a tendency to decide what kind of a king God has sent us. We are often prepared to accept the coming of God’s kingdom only on our own terms, rather than allowing God to shape our character and our lives. Ironically, although the people of ancient Jerusalem proclaimed Jesus as their king, they inevitably rejected both him and his message. We can imagine them questioning how a Nazarene carpenter could possibly be the messiah, or how he dared to disrupt the temple and speak of a “kingdom not of this world.” In the span of a few days, public opinion catastrophically turned. Those very same people who proclaimed Jesus their king later shouted at his trial, “Let him be crucified!” Even Peter, Jesus’ closest friend and confidant, denied any association with him. In a dramatic reversal, the man welcomed only a few days earlier in a magnificent victory parade was left betrayed and friendless.
Standing Among the Crowd
Could any of us really have been among those people who condemned Jesus? We often dismiss that murderous crowd as a group of worked-up, ignorant first-century peasants, but a quick look at modern history dispels such misconceptions. In fact, we have all become all too used to the violence, injustice, and oppression we see on the news. In accepting this as our “normal,” we passively reject the message of Jesus and his kingdom. It was more than just the corporate sin of the world that led Jesus to the cross; it was also our personal and individual sin. Every time we turn aside from God’s way of love to follow our own selfish paths, we reject Jesus. The sting of sin is that it ultimately separates us from our true selves, our neighbors, and our communion with God. Yet, despite our choice to go our own way, Jesus chose the path of the Cross for the very people who rejected him. In doing so, he bridged the gap between a lost humanity and a holy, righteous God.
Redemption in Suffering
Centuries before Jesus stepped foot on this earth, the prophet Isaiah proclaimed:
He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:3-6).
Through the incarnate Son, God experiences the suffering and pain we inflict on each other. Through the Son, God suffers the penalty of death in our place and demonstrates His infinite love for us.
In a sense, the people’s expectations of the Messiah were right—Jesus certainly came to free us from the yoke of tyranny, but it was the tyranny of sin. Those palms we hold become both a confession of faith and an admission of the sin that ultimately brings Jesus to the cross. Without the rest of the story regarding Jesus’ loving sacrifice, Palm Sunday is hollow. Each time we hear that story, we know the triumphal entry will end in betrayal and death; yet in that death lies the way of redemption. In acknowledging his sacrifice in our hearts, we can genuinely exalt him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. As you reflect today, remember that these palms are symbols of our faith, our sin, and our redemption. In the words of Isaiah, “All we like sheep have gone astray.” Indeed, we are that Jerusalem crowd!
Amen.