Palm Sunday

Matthew 21:1-11 
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

Today is Palm Sunday which I am sure comes as no surprise to anyone.  We celebrate an important and interesting episode in the life of Jesus. The account this year comes from the Gospel of Matthew, however all four Gospels give an account of this episode. Each Gospel presents the story a bit differently and Matthew has some specifically unique elements to his story. To begin with, we are all familiar with the image of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a colt. However, Matthew says that Jesus rides in on a colt and a donkey. Somehow the disciples spread their coats on both animals and Jesus was able to sit on both.  Matthew makes this point because he finds fulfillment in Jesus’ Triumphal Entry in Zechariah 9:9. When you read Hebrew poetry in the Old Testament, there are often two lines where the second one repeats the first but either modifies, intensifies, or somehow explain the first line.  This is what is happening in Zechariah 9:9.  The second line is intensifying the first to say not only a donkey, but even a colt, the foal of a donkey. (which, you will notice, defines the word colt that doesn’t really need a definition.) We understand that this is poetry.  I don’t want to misread Matthew or discount his telling.  Matthew says Jesus rode colt and a donkey because he wants it to be clear that Jesus is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy as the true Messiah.  This is something that Matthew is continually pointing out in his Gospel; Jesus fulfills the prophecy of who the Messiah is and what the Messiah will do.

Matthew also adds the line, “all the city was stirred, saying “who is this?” (21:10) This is a question Matthew has dealt with before back in chapter 16:13-16.  Jesus asks who the people think the Son of Man is, to which Peter eventually confesses that Jesus is the “Christ, the Son of the living God.” (16:16) The crowd didn’t understand who Jesus was in chapter 16, even the disciples didn’t understand what Jesus being the Messiah meant since Peter is called Satan a few verses later.  It is not surprising that in chapter 21, the crowd is still asking who Jesus is and the answer given is that he is a prophet.  Despite Jesus’ miracles and teachings, the crowd didn’t understand yet who Jesus is.

I want to mention also the word Hosanna, used in all the Gospels but Luke.  It comes from our Psalm this week 118:25. It is actually two words in Hebrew which, in Greek, is transliterated. In the Psalm, it means “save, now” or “save, please.” In the Psalm, it is a cry for rescue, which is followed in the next verse by “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,” a cry of thanks and deliverance. The crowd in Jerusalem quotes Psalm 118 perhaps drawing from both aspects of the Psalm--a cry for help and praise that God has and does save.  Either way, the crowd recognized that Jesus coming into the city on a colt, like a peaceful king, was something to show up and watch. We must remember that even if the people are confused about just who exactly Jesus is, they have no doubt heard of Jesus’ miracles and maybe even heard how Jesus recently raised Lazarus from the dead.  On this basis alone, many might have shown up just to see the man doing these things.

So, why is the Triumphal entry important in the life of Jesus and the Church? This is actually a question I don’t recall being answered in Church since I can’t think of a traditional Sunday School answer. Maybe I was just sleeping when it was discussed, but why is it important? Perhaps it is important because Jesus did it, so the authors wrote about it. But they had a choice about what to include in their accounts.  Matthew seems to think it is important because it fulfills prophecy, and if Jesus hadn’t done this, then he wouldn’t have been the Messiah. That is only part of it, I think. My Bible notes that Jesus’ actions are “deliberately Messianic” so that he will provoke the religious leaders. (NASB study bible, Zondervan) The Messianic overtones are important and Jesus’ choice of a colt reveals that Jesus’ kingdom will be one of peace, not ruled by an Emperor on a warhorse. Finally, it sets the stage for Jesus’ final week, and explains how popular he was just a few days before he was killed by the same crowd. Palm Sunday is a high point for Jesus as the Messiah in popularity in terms of his earthly ministry and life.

I believe I have discussed this before, but the question of who Jesus is we must all answer for ourselves, just like those in the crowd had to.  Just who is Jesus and how does that affect how we see ourselves and those around us?  This week, think about that question-- who is Jesus, and how does that affect me?

Have a good Holy Week, if that is the correct sentiment. Hopefully you will have the opportunity to gather with your church before Easter to reflect on some element of Jesus’ last week before we gather again to celebrate Easter and his resurrection.

Grace and Peace.