Lenten Sermon Series, “Holy Week” #1, Palm Sunday

February 22, 2015: Lent 1B


This year during Lent I want to give a sermon series on the six days of Holy Week, according to the Gospel of Mark. It starts on Palm Sunday and goes to Good Friday. I want to talk about what happened on each day and its significance to the work of Jesus and its significance to us today. If possible, I want to tie it into the appointed Gospel readings of each Sunday also.
First let’s read the Palm Sunday account. This is Mark 11:1-11. [The Triumphal Entry]
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”
4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
“Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest!”
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

I think most of you know this story. Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey. Just like rolling out the red carpet, people spread their cloaks of the road and others spread leafy branches on the road. People greeted Jesus as if he were the new king of Israel. They saw Jesus as the gift of God to bring peace and happiness. They gave thanks to God for sending Jesus. They shouted “Hosanna in the highest!” I think a good English translation for these Hebrew words would be “Long live the King!” Or in Japanese, “Banzai!” There was great excitement in the city that day. But they were to be disappointed because Jesus came as the Messiah, not just as King. His throne would be the cross. His crown would be made of thorns. Cheers would change to jeers. And in this way Jesus would serve them as King in a way they could not imagine!

Today’s appointed Gospel lesson for the First Sunday in Lent is the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. In Mark’s Gospel this is very short, just one verse, “And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him” (Mark 1:13). In the Gospels of Matthew and Luke there were three temptations: to change stones into bread, to worship the devil, and to test God by jumping off the temple roof. In various ways these temptations would come again to Jesus in the Gospel of Mark throughout his ministry. For example, the temptation to change stones into bread is like the feeding of the 5000. Here he changed 5 loaves into enough bread to feed the whole crowd. At the end of that dinner, the people wanted to come and make Jesus their king. The temptation was to become King and forget the suffering on the cross. But Jesus overcame that temptation; he dismissed the crowd and went up into the mountains by himself to pray.

Perhaps walking on the water might be like jumping off the temple roof. It is to overcome the forces of nature, the force of gravity. But Jesus did not do it to test God; he did it to help his disciples who were fighting the storm in their boat out on the sea.

Or perhaps the temptation to jump off the temple roof was to jump off when everyone could see him. The temple would be crowded with people, and they would see Jesus flying in the air, and they would worship him as God and make him their King. Of course Jesus refused to tempt the Lord, because he already trusted in God his Father. But when Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem on the donkey, when all the people shouted “Hosanna, Banzai, Long live the King,” perhaps there was the temptation to accept their praises, and become their king. Forget about the cross and the suffering! Bring in the Kingdom of God! And the devil would win. Our sins would not be forgiven. We would die and go to hell. But Jesus did not worship the devil; he did not fall into temptation.

We read this story in the Gospel of Mark because it talks to us. When we see Jesus in his glory we too shout “Hosanna, Banzai, Long live the King.” It is even in our communion liturgy. “Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!” When we feel our sin before God, we know we need the Messiah who died on the cross to forgive our sin. But when we ignore our sin and just feel the weight and pressure of the world, we would rather have a king to give us bread and healing and prosperity and happiness. This is the temptation that comes from Satan to us. It is the temptation to reject the real throne of Jesus. It is to reject the cross and to accept the donkey. And if we do that, you know what we become….

Somehow in our faith, the Holy Spirit guides us to know that the King of Palm Sunday is the same Messiah who was crucified with this title above his head on the cross, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Pontius Pilate wrote it as a joke, but we see it as the truth. We are tempted to jump quickly to Christ’s resurrection. Somehow we are embarrassed that our mighty king could die a miserable death. We want to jump quickly from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. But that is a temptation to think of sin lightly. It is the temptation to think that our sin is not a big problem.

When Jesus is hanging on the cross on Good Friday, it is hard to say “Hosanna, Banzai, Long live the King.” But this is the King we worship. This is the King we pray to. We welcome him today into our hearts and into our lives. As he showed his love to us, we show that love to others. It was dangerous for Jesus to love us. Sometimes it is dangerous for us to love others. But Jesus teaches us that love is not for ourselves, but for others. That gives us courage, hope, and a goal for our Lenten Journey with Jesus.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


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