Sunday 04/13/14 Freeville/Homer Ave
UMC’s
Sermon Title: “The King of Glory Comes”
Old Testament Scripture Lesson: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
New Testament Scripture Lesson: Philippians 2:5-11
Gospel Lesson: Mathew 21:1-11
Brothers and sisters,
welcome again on this Palm or Passion Sunday. This is the Sunday in the
Christian calendar where we celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into the city of
Jerusalem, to shouts of “Hosanna,” which translates into English to mean, “save
us,” “rescue us,” or “help us.” The last two Sundays of the Lenten Season are also
sometimes referred to as “Passion Sundays” as we prepare for the Passion of
Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, this coming Good Friday.
Yet as we will
hear this morning, “The King of Glory Comes” in the city of Jerusalem today.
Yet, “The King of Glory Comes” not with a pomp display of wealth and power, but
with simplicity, and with little to nothing. In our culture, we seem to expect
that people of wealth and power will make a triumphant and a memorable entry just
about everywhere they go. When there is a major annual movie awards event, such
as the “Oscars,” the buzz begins by the media on the “Red Carpet.” “Who is
going to wear the nicest and the fanciest dresses and outfits, they may ask?” “Who
will have the largest and the most expenses pieces of jewelry on, they may ask?”
“Who will have the nicest cars arriving to this very swank event, they may ask?”
Imagine for
moment though, if these very wealthy and successful actresses and actors, showed
up in taxi cab, and wore clothes that they had recently purchased from a second
hand store. What would be the reaction on the “Red Carpet,” to this? I think
that we all know what the reaction of the media would likely be, and that it
would probably be less than kind to that actor or actress.
You see
brothers and sisters, we have long lived in a world, where kings, queens, and
people of power and wealth would and do display this power and wealth, when
they made or make a big entry. To show ones social and economic status, only a
big entry would and even today will do. During the coming holiday of the Jewish
Passover in Jerusalem, likely King Herod Antipas and Pilate likely entered the
city with glitz, glamor, shining armor, chariots, soldiers, drums beating, and
gold glistening in the sun light. Likely people looked on with scorn and envy.
Since Jesus
was also about to enter Jerusalem near the time of the Jewish Passover, the
city of Jerusalem was filled with thousands upon thousands of people. You see
this Jewish holiday of the Passover occurred to commemorate the literal Passover
of Pharaoh trying to kill the first born of each family of the Jewish children
in Egypt. God had told Moses to tell the Jewish people to sacrifice a lamb and
then spread the lamb’s blood above there doorways, so that there house would be
“Passed Over,” and there first born child would not be killed by Pharaoh. This
is also the same holiday where the young twelve-year old Jesus was in the
temple talking with the religious leaders, and Joseph and Mary accidently left
him in Jerusalem. They then came back for him, and he said to them, “didn’t you
know that I was supposed to be in my Father’s house?”
So the
Passover was a big and a festive week long holiday, and all of Israel was there.
This was the big “Red Carpet” event of the year. Yet this year, when the
celebration of the blood of lambs being smeared on doorsteps to save the first
born children of the Jewish people would occur, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ,
will prepare himself to shed his blood for all of humanity. You see the Lord
saved the first born of the Jewish people in Egypt, because they sacrificed a
pure lamb, and by the blood of that pure lamb being smeared on the doorways of their
homes, they were saved. Today, “The King of Glory Comes,” as the pure and
spotless Lamb of God. This lamb is to be sacrificed so that all of humanity,
both past and present, can be passed over, and can be saved. The sacrifice of
this lamb will also be a one-time sacrifice, and all we must do is except this
sacrifice, and believe in Jesus. Like the Jews in Egypt then, we can be saved
by the blood of the pure lamb.
Today then
brothers and sisters, “The King of Glory Comes” into Jerusalem, in the humblest
of ways, unlike modern day celebrities on the “Red Carpet.”
When we look
at the reading from Psalm 118 from this morning, we are reminded that God’s “steadfast
love endures forever.” The Psalm then continues on to say, “Open to me the
gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the
LORD.” The Psalm then says, “This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall
enter through it.” Today brothers and sisters, the precious “Lamb of God,”
Jesus Christ, comes through the gates of the Jerusalem, the City of God.
The Psalm then
says that, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief
cornerstone.” This rejected “chief cornerstone” in Jesus Christ. Then in verse
25, it says, “Save us, we beseech you, give us success! Blessed is the one who
comes in the name of the LORD.” These shouts of “Hosanna” or “God save us,”
have come this day, as “The King of Glory Comes.” The Psalm then says, to “Bind
the festal procession with branches,” and this day people will lay palm
branches in the path of Jesus Christ.
When looking
at the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or letter to the church in Philippi, or the
Philippians, the Apostle Paul encouraged the church in Philippi to be of “the
same mind” in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul tells the church in Philippi that
Jesus, “emptied himself, taking on the form of a slave, being born in human
likeness.” The Apostle Paul then said, “And being found in human form, he humbled
himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.” On
this day brothers and sisters, “The King of Glory Comes,” to the city of
Jerusalem, the city of God, and does so as a humble servant. He does not come
on a chariot, he does not come covered in gold, he does not come adorned with
armor, he does come with the sound of loud drum beats, but rather, he comes
simply and humbly.
When looking
at the narrative or the story line from the gospel of Mathew reading from this
morning, Jesus and the disciples had just arrived in Jerusalem. When they
reached the “Mount of Olives” on the outskirts of the city of Jerusalem, Jesus
sent two of his disciples ahead of him telling them, “Go into the village ahead
of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie
them and bring them to me.” Jesus then said, “If anyone says anything to you,
just say this, “The Lord needs them.” So the two disciplines went, and sure
enough the animals were there, and they did just as Jesus said.
The reason
that Jesus asked his two disciples to do this, was fulfill what the Old
Testament Prophet Zechariah said in 9:9-10, that, “Tell your daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey, and on a
colt, the foal of the donkey.” Jesus then fulfilled yet another prophesy of
what the coming Messiah would do.
The gospel
then says, “The disciples then went and did as Jesus had directed them; they
brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on
them.” At this point, the gospel say that, “A very large crowd spread their
cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on
the roads.” This massive crowd then began shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of
David.” Then quoting Psalm 118 from this morning, the shouted, “Blessed is the
one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” The gospel
reading for this morning then concludes by saying, “When he entered Jerusalem,
the whole city was turmoil, asking, “Who is this? The crowds were saying, “This
is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
So you see, this
Palm or Passion Sunday, is a grand day indeed. On this day, “The King of Glory
Comes,” into Jerusalem in the simplest and most humble of ways. He comes on a
simple donkey, to triumphant shouts of “Hosanna!” On this day he enters humbly,
simply, but as a triumphant king. He does not have a limousine, fancy jewelry,
or bundles of money, he comes simply and humbly.
Brothers and
sisters, I would like to close this message this morning with a story. This is
a story that I wrote myself. This story is called “From Hero to Zero.” Here is
how it goes: “Imagine for moment if you will, that even in the most humble of
clothes and transportation, that you were received into a big beautiful city like
a rock star. Imagine that when you entered this big beautiful city that you
were given a massive reception, that made you feel like the most important
person on earth. In this reception, countless people would flock to you, and
would look to you for inspiration. In this case they would even look to you to
save them for all that binds them in this world. You see, these people would
even look to you for salvation, and for eternal life itself. These people would
even lay there garments and tree branches in front of your humble mode of
transportation as love offerings, and these people would have you be as close
to them as possible. These people would believe in you, for you would be there
hero and even there savior.”
“Yet within
about four to five days of this triumphant entry into this big beautiful city,
the religious leaders of this city have all gotten together to discuss you.
They have decided that you are no longer the rock star and the hero that
countless people claimed you were just four to five days before. In fact, they even
desire for you to die. They will soon shout “crucify them!” On this day, this
hero, you, will become a zero. You see on this the day, you, the hero that came
into this big city with shouts of acclamation, will soon be abandoned by almost
all of these people who claimed to love you so much. Some of them will even
curse you, some of them will even spit on you, and some of them will even shout
“crucify them,” as they nail you to the tree. You see today you are there hero
and there savior, but soon they will abandon you, and even after all that, you
will still die for them. You will do this, because even though they abandoned
you, you still love them so much. You love them so much, that even when they
abandoned you, you still made sure that they will have the blood from the pure
lamb. This blood will not cover there doorways, but instead, this blood will
cover all of their sins. So you see, even though the world will soon reject
you, you decide to die for all of humanity, as you just love them that much.”
You see my
brothers and sisters, on this day, “The King of Glory Comes.” On this day Jesus
is the triumphant hero, and the savior of people. Yet by this Good Friday of
this Holy Week, almost all of the people who today will shout “Hosanna,” will
abandon him, and consider him a zero. He will go “From Hero to Zero.” Yet he is
still coming this day, coming so that a pure Lamb of God may be sacrificed, so
that your sins may be forgiven, and that you will be passed over for eternal
condemnation. Today my brothers and sisters, on this Palm Sunday, “The King of
Glory,” Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, comes into the big beautiful city
of Jerusalem. Amen.
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