Palm Sunday Sermon
Sermon
Location St. Luke Lutheran Church – Date 4/5/09
Palm Sunday – Year B
Primary Text: Mark 11:1-11
The Roman Triumph or the Triumphal Entrance. In ancient Rome, when a conquering General or Emperor returned to Rome, they were rewarded by an imperial procession to the Senate. There would be a grand procession, full of horns, the whole senate, all of his troops, any spoils of war or captured enemies. This ruler would then gain the title vir triumphalis, or triumphal man. Most interesting is that standing in the chariot with the soon to be triumphal man is a slave whispering into his ear, “remember you are mortal.” This grand procession would wind its way along the Via Triumphalis, or way of triumph, the streets lined with the people of Rome all celebrating this leader.
There is little wonder that the people of Jerusalem would welcome Jesus in this way. To the Jews of Israel, Jesus is already seen as the Messiah, the anointed of God, the one who will set them free. And so they give him their version of a triumphal entrance, palms, and shouts of praise. “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, Blessed is the coming kingdom of David.” It is within those words that we can see the people of Jerusalem’s hope. They see Jesus as a messiah coming in the name of the Lord to reestablish the kingdom of David and free them from Roman rule.
Jesus has different ideas though. Jesus looks around at everything, not a ruler, but a pilgrim travelling to the Holy City. Then he returns to Bethany, the next days leading up to the Passover spent the days in Jerusalem, the nights on the Mount of Olives. Each day seems to cause the chief priests and scribes to see Jesus as a cause for concern. He kicks all of the money changers out of the temple, he does not fall into their trap of who to give taxes, gives them different answers to questions they think are unanswerable, flips their understanding of giving money on its head with his understanding of the widow giving two coins and the rich man give a lot. That seems ok, Jesus is talking about standard things, no real problem, it is good to get the money changers out of the temple. Yes, it is nice to have other answers to those questions, maybe it is not about how much we give but how much of what we have that we give, and man though, I wish he would have fallen for our Roman coin trick.
Then Jesus starts getting, to the Priests and Scribes, a little more out there. Jesus says that the walls of the temple will be thrown down. Finally after all of this, the chief priests and scribes, two days before the Passover, begin to plan on how to kill Jesus. Judas comes to them and agrees to help. He says that he will lead them to Jesus while he is alone on the Mount of Olives. And so he leads the troops of the priests and scribes to where Jesus and the disciples are praying, shows them who Jesus is through a kiss and let them lead him away.
Jesus undergoes his trial, where Pilate cannot find any cause against him, but lets the crowd decide. The crowd, who so recently was praising and singing to him, has turned against him. Why? It could be for the very same reasons that they were praising him to begin with. Jesus was seen as the Messiah, but Jesus had a different understanding of what Messiah meant. Jesus was not coming to free the Israelites from Rome, but came to free us from death, not to restore the kingdom of David, but show the way to the Kingdom of God, not to restore the covenant of Moses with Israel, but to create a new covenant with all the world.
We often think that Jesus’ Triumphal march was finished on Palm Sunday, but Christ’s march contined, and is finished on Good Friday, not on the Via Triumphalis, the way of Triumph, but on the Via Dolorosa, the way of sorrows. Not to bring sorrows, but relieve them. For Christ’s triumphal march was not because of what he had already accomplished, but he was marching towards his triumph. Christ’s triumph is in the cross, in the death of the one who came to us, and took our sorrows and sins upon himself and died for us.
Blessed be the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed be the one who came to us in the name of the Lord!
Blessed be the one who died for us in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!
Amen.
Location St. Luke Lutheran Church – Date 4/5/09
Palm Sunday – Year B
Primary Text: Mark 11:1-11
The Roman Triumph or the Triumphal Entrance. In ancient Rome, when a conquering General or Emperor returned to Rome, they were rewarded by an imperial procession to the Senate. There would be a grand procession, full of horns, the whole senate, all of his troops, any spoils of war or captured enemies. This ruler would then gain the title vir triumphalis, or triumphal man. Most interesting is that standing in the chariot with the soon to be triumphal man is a slave whispering into his ear, “remember you are mortal.” This grand procession would wind its way along the Via Triumphalis, or way of triumph, the streets lined with the people of Rome all celebrating this leader.
There is little wonder that the people of Jerusalem would welcome Jesus in this way. To the Jews of Israel, Jesus is already seen as the Messiah, the anointed of God, the one who will set them free. And so they give him their version of a triumphal entrance, palms, and shouts of praise. “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, Blessed is the coming kingdom of David.” It is within those words that we can see the people of Jerusalem’s hope. They see Jesus as a messiah coming in the name of the Lord to reestablish the kingdom of David and free them from Roman rule.
Jesus has different ideas though. Jesus looks around at everything, not a ruler, but a pilgrim travelling to the Holy City. Then he returns to Bethany, the next days leading up to the Passover spent the days in Jerusalem, the nights on the Mount of Olives. Each day seems to cause the chief priests and scribes to see Jesus as a cause for concern. He kicks all of the money changers out of the temple, he does not fall into their trap of who to give taxes, gives them different answers to questions they think are unanswerable, flips their understanding of giving money on its head with his understanding of the widow giving two coins and the rich man give a lot. That seems ok, Jesus is talking about standard things, no real problem, it is good to get the money changers out of the temple. Yes, it is nice to have other answers to those questions, maybe it is not about how much we give but how much of what we have that we give, and man though, I wish he would have fallen for our Roman coin trick.
Then Jesus starts getting, to the Priests and Scribes, a little more out there. Jesus says that the walls of the temple will be thrown down. Finally after all of this, the chief priests and scribes, two days before the Passover, begin to plan on how to kill Jesus. Judas comes to them and agrees to help. He says that he will lead them to Jesus while he is alone on the Mount of Olives. And so he leads the troops of the priests and scribes to where Jesus and the disciples are praying, shows them who Jesus is through a kiss and let them lead him away.
Jesus undergoes his trial, where Pilate cannot find any cause against him, but lets the crowd decide. The crowd, who so recently was praising and singing to him, has turned against him. Why? It could be for the very same reasons that they were praising him to begin with. Jesus was seen as the Messiah, but Jesus had a different understanding of what Messiah meant. Jesus was not coming to free the Israelites from Rome, but came to free us from death, not to restore the kingdom of David, but show the way to the Kingdom of God, not to restore the covenant of Moses with Israel, but to create a new covenant with all the world.
We often think that Jesus’ Triumphal march was finished on Palm Sunday, but Christ’s march contined, and is finished on Good Friday, not on the Via Triumphalis, the way of Triumph, but on the Via Dolorosa, the way of sorrows. Not to bring sorrows, but relieve them. For Christ’s triumphal march was not because of what he had already accomplished, but he was marching towards his triumph. Christ’s triumph is in the cross, in the death of the one who came to us, and took our sorrows and sins upon himself and died for us.
Blessed be the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed be the one who came to us in the name of the Lord!
Blessed be the one who died for us in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!
Amen.
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