Word of Salvation – Vol.29 No.10 – March 1984
The Triumphal Entry
Sermon by Rev. John Houseward, v.d.m. on Luke 19:35-40
Scripture Reading: Luke 19:28-44
Psalter Hymnal: 234:1-5, 367, 135, 349
Beloved Congregation of the Lord,
As a rule a text like this will be preached upon on what is called Palm Sunday, and Palm Sunday is the beginning of what some Christians call Holy Week. The Friday after that the Church remembers our Lord’s death on the cross and calls the day, Good Friday. But, of course we can preach on this text any other Sunday as well. God’s word is not bound, nor are we. What we call Palm Sunday or the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem was the first day of the Old Testament Passover. Let us consider the Triumphal Entry.
– 1. A Day Of Praise
– 2. A Day of Decision
– 3. A Day of Faith.
- A Day of Praise.
Verse 37 and 38 tells us, “When He came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.”
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
A] Our Lord Jesus had chosen the Passover season as the time to enter the city of Jerusalem as King.
The estimated crowd of people in Judea was over two million. Their Passover was something like our Easter season. It was both a holy time and a holiday season. Some of the pilgrims had travelled far to come to Jerusalem. This would be a vacation with a religious purpose. The Passover was to the Jews a religious and patriotic day. It was a time they remembered their deliverance from bondage. Nationalism ran high but now it wasn’t deliverance from Egypt but deliverance from Rome. But this Passover was to be different. It was a Passover to end all Passovers.
The Old Testament background is important for our understanding of this day. The choosing of a colt which no one has ever ridden tells us of the preparation; hints of Genesis 49:8-12 where Jacob prophesies concerning Judah whose name sounds like the word for praise. Genesis 49 tells us, “The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet until he comes….!” Verse 11 tells us, “He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; He will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.” Quotations from Psalm 118:25,26 – found in Luke and the other Gospels – emphasize the “Hosannas” and the praise. “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Hymn 349, “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna,” captures the praise:
“Hosanna, loud hosanna, the little children sang;
Through pillared court and temple the lovely anthem rang;
To Jesus, who had blessed them, close folded to His breast,
The children sang their praises, the simplest and the best.
Hymn 234 combines the ideas of salvation, prosperity and joy.
“In this the day that thou hast made
Triumphantly we sing;
Send now prosperity, O Lord;
O Lord, salvation bring.”
The people, not understanding fully, nevertheless gave and showed their praise. They spread their clothes for Jesus. Like a carpet rolled out the people placed their clothes and the branches on the path Jesus took to Jerusalem.
B] The Christian Church has remembered Palm Sunday traditionally and symbolically. Of all the six Sundays of what some call Lent, only Palm Sunday is a day of joy and praise.
The week before Easter we start on a high note. The Church praises Jesus as their King. It is easier for us to see more clearly. We have the hindsight of history, the knowledge of the cross and resurrection. We know that Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to many witnesses. We see the cross through the opening of the empty tomb.
Let us especially praise Jesus as our King. The people were thinking more of a political ruler, a Messiah to deliver them from Roman rule. They didn’t think of a Saviour from sin but a Saviour from Rome. Let us remember Jesus came not on a horse but on a colt of a donkey. Jesus came as a King of peace and righteousness. He brings peace with God. He is our righteousness. He is worthy of our praise. Revelation 19:16 says, “On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written:
“King of Kings And Lord Of Lords”
Revelation 5:11 the angels sang in a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain
to receive power and wealth and wisdom
and strength and honour and glory and praise!”
Let us welcome Jesus Christ as our King and Lord and Saviour,
- A Day of Decision.
A] This first day of the Passover is also marked out because of our Lord Jesus Christ’s decision to come as King.
We sometimes begin our worship by saying, “This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” This is appropriate every Sunday as we remember the resurrection of Christ. It is especially appropriate when we remember Palm Sunday. This is the day the Lord has made. Jesus planned this day carefully. Our Lord had a timetable He was following. He set His face toward Jerusalem. He had a baptism to undergo, and He was distressed until it was completed. We see Jesus’ decision in the details of finding the colt. We see His timing in coming to Jerusalem at the beginning of the Passover. Jesus was to become our Passover; He had to die during the feast; not after the feast. This day may have been ushered in quietly but it was the quietness before the storm.
B] It was a day of decision also for Christ’s enemies. Verse 39 says, “Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”
The Pharisees sensed the deeper meaning of the Hosannas. They resented His disciples honouring Jesus as the king who comes in God’s name. The leaders had their own timetable and their plans. Caiaphas and the priests and elders planned to arrest Jesus after the Passover feast for they were afraid of a riot. However, Jesus is forcing their hand. The raising of Lazarus, Jesus accepting the praises of the people as their king, the cleansing of the temple, and Judas Iscariot’s willingness to betray Jesus called for a change of plans. “One must die for the people rather than the whole nation perish,” were the words of Caiaphas the high priest. John 11:51 goes on to say, “He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.”
The fearful decision had been made. Acts 2:23 summarizes the concurrence of God and man, even sinful man, in sending our Lord Jesus Christ to the cross. Verse 23 says, “This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross.” The leaders of the people were fully responsible for their decision and their action. Later in the week when the people cried, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”, they also were fully responsible for their actions. Pilate and the soldiers who were called “wicked men”, were also fully responsible for their decision and action in crucifying Jesus. We can understand the pressures put on Pilate. We know the weaknesses of politicians and judges to decide things for expedience, for the gain of the moment and the loss of eternity. Not so easy to understand is that the crowd who said, “Hosanna,” several days later said, “Crucify Him”. Maybe it was a different crowd. We also know they didn’t look for a Saviour from sin but a saviour from Rome. It would be easy to be carried away by the emotion of the day. Opinion polls can change overnight but on this day they sang their hosannas.
C] It was a day of decision for the disciples too. They also were caught up in the emotion of the day. The disciples didn’t fully realize what they were doing. After the resurrection they realized what had happened. The disciples weren’t ready for the cross. Their conception of an earthly king to rule in Jerusalem was strong. They also looked for victory over Rome, over the enemy. It took the death and resurrection of Christ to change their minds. It took the ascension, the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost to really open their eyes. The two disciples walking to Emmaus are typical. They said, “We thought He was the Messiah. Jesus was walking with them and their eyes were blind to Him.
Yet the disciples had decided to follow Jesus. They honoured Him by arranging the details of getting the colt. They honoured Him by putting their cloaks in His path. They honoured Him with the palm branches. They honoured Him saying in loud voices:
“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
D] Christ comes to us today and so it is a day of decision for us.
We know so much more. We have the New Testament. We have the witness of the church and the hymns for this day. But have we decided to honour Jesus as Saviour and King? For us who have decided, are we still serving the King in His Church and Kingdom? With the chorus let us say,
“I have decided to follow Jesus.”
No turning back. No turning back.”
- This is the Day of Faith
A] The church of Jesus’ day had largely lost the faith. The Pharisees as the leading teachers didn’t want to honour Jesus as their King. They did not understand their times. They wanted the “Hosannas” stopped.
Jesus makes a remarkable reply when He says in verse 40, “I tell you: if the disciples keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” That is true for then and for now. The believing remnant will cry to the Lord. The Old Testament Church and leaders were coming to their last days.
The church wanted to be saved from Rome but not from sin;
The church had neglected the Bible for their own words;
The church refused to repent when John the Baptist came;
The church refused to believe Jesus when He came;
The church had neglected real holiness for a form of godliness;
The church had neglected the Gentiles and become a den of thieves.
As the Bible puts it, Jesus came to His own and they received Him not. Jesus wept over Jerusalem, their blindness and their destruction. But the Word doesn’t stop there for it says, “Yet to all who do receive Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”
B] The disciples did believe. It was a shallow faith. It was a going through the motions without really understanding.
John says in John 12:16, “At first His disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about Him, and that they had done these things to Him.” The depth, the height and the breadth of the first Palm Sunday was not understood. They had obeyed Jesus in getting the colt. They had placed the branches and their clothes in the road. The disciples had given Jesus praise as King. They had said the right words, words from the Bible. This reminds us of the way we sometimes worship God. Sleeping during a sermon, half asleep or our minds on other things, we sing the hymns, recite the creed, hear the Word and partly follow the prayers. The disciples did not understand; they did not have the full picture of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus had not yet been glorified.
The children are an example to us in their praise of the Lord on this day. C.H. Spurgeon said:
“Ere a child has reached the age of seven;
Teach to him the way of heaven.
Better still the work will thrive,
If he learns before he is five.”
Psalter Hymnal number 348 put it like this:
“All glory, laud, and honour
to Thee, Redeemer, King,
To whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.
Thou art the King of Israel,
Thou, David’s royal Son,
Who in the Lord’s Name comest,
the King and Blessed One.”
We don’t have to wait until we understand everything perfectly before we believe and serve the Lord.
C] We have considered the enemies of Christ, their lack of faith, and we have considered the disciples’ faith and the children’s faith. Now let us consider our faith.
In the triumphal entry of Jesus as told us by Mark we read, “Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything.” Jesus comes today to our church and He looks around. What does he see? That particular day Jesus saw the merchants, the money changers and the materialists. The house of prayer for all nations was just the opposite. What does Jesus see when He looks around today in our churches? Jesus looks beyond the building, the pews, the flowers and the carpets. Jesus looks into our hearts. Are we honouring Jesus as our Saviour? Have we, are we repenting of our sins?
Are we honouring Jesus as King, as Saviour and Lord? Have we made Him King in our lives? Do we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ?
Are we following Jesus? Jesus tells His disciples to count the cost. “If any man would come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
Let us honour the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Let us honour Him in the morning and evening services.
Let us honour the King on Sunday and all week.
Let us honour our God in the home, in the school, in our work and in all things.
Let us sing and say in our hearts,
Hosanna in the highest!
Hosanna forevermore!
Amen!