Holy Week 2010: Palm Sunday

The stones will cry out!

Luke 19:28-44

 

Opening words: There are 52 two weeks each year. However, the one week that stands out on the Christian calendar is Holy Week. Webster defines Holy Week as the week leading up to Easter, including Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. In other words, during Holy Week we remember the last precious days of the Master’s earthly ministry.

 

This is Palm Sunday and on Palm Sunday we remember how Christ rode in Jerusalem on a humble animal. After two thousand years the point is clear to us. Jesus came in true humility to establish a spiritual kingdom, the Kingdom of God. May God give you ears to hear these words from the nineteen chapter of Luke, verses twenty-eight through forty-four. Let me call this message “The stones will cry out!“

 

Luke 19:28-44 28After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30"Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.' " 32Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" 34They replied, "The Lord needs it." 35They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.

37When 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: 38"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" 40"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." 41As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."

 

Have you ever felt alone in a crowd? You are silent while everyone else is laughing and talking. You are one black and white face in a color picture. You are up tight while everyone else is relaxed. If you have ever felt alone in a crowd then you can relate (ever so slightly) to the Master on that first Palm Sunday. You know the scene. We visit it annually. It is one of the most loved scenes in the entire Bible.

 

One of the reasons this scene is so loved is that it is easy to imagine. If you use your sanctified imagination you can picture Jesus riding into Jerusalem on that simple animal. However, while it is easy to imagine the scene, it is hard to completely understand the scene. For to understand the scene means you must understand the politics of the day. (Does anyone here understand the politics of our day?) The politics of that day revolved around foreign domination. The Roman Empire had come to their little corner of the world and oppressed the people. What “Joe the plumber” wanted more then anything else was his independence. The Jews hated the Romans. They prayed for their liberation and longed to be rescued. They prayed that God would respond as he did in the past and send a Messiah.

 

It is into this scene that Jesus came. He rode into Jerusalem riding a simple animal. Only the Gospels of Matthew and John tell us it was a donkey. Mark and Luke leave out that detail. However, the event itself is so significant that all four Gospels record it. Jesus came to Jerusalem that day to communicate one thing. He was this long awaited Messiah! The problem was he was not a political Messiah. He was a spiritual Messiah. The people wanted a political Messiah so they did political things. Like they were welcoming a conquering hero, they waved palm branches and cheered political slogans, “Blessed he is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” What they really wanted was a king with a powerful army. Jesus was the only one who understood. He was not interested in politics, he was interested in salvation. In other words, he was alone in crowd. The action of the crowd is so revolutionary that verse thirty-nine says the Pharisees request Jesus’ help. Get the crowd to stop cheering. Jesus responds with our quote for the day, “I tell you if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

 

What does that verse mean? The stones will cry out! Do it mean that if the crowd was silent the stones would make a great noise? No! It has it nothing to do with volume. However, it has everything to do with the coming days. This is Holy Week and during Holy Week we remember all the events of the Jesus’ last few days. When Jesus says, “The stones will cry out” he is referring to the events of what will come. If you want to understand that quote then you must understand that Jesus knew everything that was going to happen. We believe in an all knowing God. He knew Judas Iscariot would betray him. He knew Peter would deny him. He knew he would be arrested and tried. He knew he would be crucified. However, he also knew he would be resurrected. He knew that the one stone that would speak louder then the crowds was the stone that was placed in front of his tomb. That stone would be rolled back and the world would change forever. It was God’s version of shock and awe!

 

Compare Palm Sunday to standing on a mountaintop. When you stand on the summit there is a great view. You can see everything! The same thing is true with Palm Sunday. You can see everything! You can see all the events of Holy Week, including the resurrection. When you see everything during Holy Week you are reminded that it really does all begin and end with Jesus. So on this Palm Sunday let us take a few minutes and look at our favorite topic, Jesus! Let us look at the Master by examining three words. Each one is illustrated in the events of the coming days. So if you are ready to begin say, “Amen!”

 

Word #1: Submit

One of the things I looked forward to each year is the NCAA basketball tournament. You know how it works. The tournament begins with 64 teams. When the brackets are announced I read all the names of the schools. The name and location of the big schools are known. The best is when smaller less famous schools make the tournament. I am not sure where some of these schools are located. Can someone tell me where Gonzaga or Samford are located? Often those small schools are paired against the big schools in the first round. Every once in a while a small unknown school beats a larger known school. The first round of the tournament was last weekend. I love those first two rounds of the tournament. Someday I am going to block out those four days on my calendar to watch those games. However, that didn’t happen this year. My calendar was full the entire weekend. The only time I had to look at any of the games was Saturday night. I looked forward to Saturday night all week. I dreamed of sitting on my couch watching basketball and eating pizza. That was why I was devastated on Saturday morning when my wife said to me, “Do you mind going to dinner at Y.S.U. tonight? It is sponsored by a group called Thinking Christians. They are going to serving Middle Eastern food, show a movie to raise our social consciousness and talk about the movie once it is completed. We should be home no later then 11:30.” I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to raise my social consciousness. All I wanted to do was watch basketball and eat a pizza! What do you think I did? Last Saturday evening I filled by eating humus. As I watched the worst movie in the history of Western Civilization, I looked at the basketball scores on my blackberry. Now why did I go? There is only one reason. Love! She didn’t want to go but it was part of her job. But she really didn’t want to go alone. So I went because I love my wife. Have you ever done anything you didn’t want to do because of love? Jesus did.

 

On Palm Sunday we remember how Jesus submitted to God’s will. On Thursday evening after summer, Jesus went to the garden to pray. It was one of the most touching scenes in the Bible. Do you remember what Jesus said? Jesus said, “Not my will but thy will. We cheer for Jesus on Palm Sunday because he surrendered his will for God’s divine plan for the salvation of the world. If this divine truth makes you think say, “Hosanna!”

 

Word #2: Substance

On Thursday morning I officiated at a funeral for a man by the name of Richard. It was painful looking at his widow. Her name was Emily and they had been married for sixty-two years. The night before the funeral I went to the funeral home and talked with Emily. As we sat in a quiet corner I asked her, “How did you and Richard meet?” She said, “I wrote him during the war. I didn’t know him but I was asked to write him as a way to support the troops. When he came home on leave he contacted me and asked me out for a cup of coffee. By the time his leave was up we were engaged. I was seventeen years old, he was twenty.” She added these words, “He was just perfect!” I asked, “Was he still perfect after sixty-two years of marriage?” She said, “More then perfect.” That is true love. Do you know anyone who is perfect?

 

On Palm Sunday we remember the kind of person Jesus was. He was a person of substance! In other words, Jesus was perfect! Do you remember the story? On Friday morning Jesus stood before the Roman governor, Pilate. The Sanhedrin, the leaders of the orthodox Jewish, wanted Jesus to be executed. They don’t have the authority to kill Jesus so they send him to one who did, Pilate. He knew Jesus had done nothing wrong but the leaders of the Jewish faith insisted. Pilate wants to release Jesus but the crowd chooses Barabbas. The governor knew what he was doing wasn’t wrong but he ordered Jesus to die to keep the peace. If you don’t believe me then ask Pilate. He will tell you he was innocent. Two thousand years later Jesus wasn’t just innocent. He was perfect, he was sinless. We worship a perfect Savior. And all of God’s people said, “Hosanna!”

 

Word #3: Substitute

Years ago a man named David Kostka was umpiring a Little League baseball game in Wheatland, Pennsylvania. A violent thunderstorm erupted and soon tornados appeared. When David saw the black funnel heading toward the field, he rushed into the stands and grabbed his niece. He pushed her into a nearby ditch and covered her with his body. Then the tornado struck. When the youngster looked up, her uncle was gone. He had given his life in the deadly storm to save her. That is the story of the Christian faith. One man, Jesus, gave up his life so we could live.

 

On Palm Sunday we remember how Jesus became our substitute. He died instead of us! On Friday evening we will gather in the mausoleum at Green Haven Memorial Gardens and hear those last few events of Christ’s life. Why go to a creepy on a nice Friday night? We are going to stand among the dead to emphasize the fact that Jesus was dead! If I had my way we would return on Easter morning to emphasize the same point. Jesus was dead! He sacrificed his life so we could live. He became our substitute. You have the opportunity of going to heaven and living for eternity because Jesus died for you first! And all of God’s people said, Hosanna!” Let me end with this story.

 

John Newton wrote the most popular him in the history of the church, Amazing Grace. He knew Jesus’ amazing grace first hand. He was the captain of a slave ship when he accepted Christ. He couldn’t believe that God would save such a wretch as him. After his conversion he left the slave industry and entered the ministry. He was a good friend of the founder of Methodism, John Wesley. One Sunday, while delivering his message he repeated the sentence: "Jesus Christ is precious." His helper whispered to him: "But you have already said that twice." Newton turned to his helper and said loudly, "Yes, I've said it twice, and I'm going to say it again." The stones in the ancient sanctuary fairly shook as the grand old preacher said again: "Jesus Christ is precious!"

 

It is as true today as ever, Jesus is precious. On Palm Sunday we remember how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on that humble animal and how the crowd went wild. We remember how the Pharisees protested and asked Jesus to calm the crowd. In so many words, Jesus said your problem is not the crowd, it is the stone. You can call it foreshadowing. The stone of which Jesus spoke was the one that would be rolled away one week later. Jesus wasn’t wrong. The resurrection changed everything! Let there be no doubt about it. Jesus changed everything.

 

On Palm Sunday we remember three things about Jesus. First, we remember how he submitted to God’s will. Second, we remember the Master as a man of substance. As a matter of fact, he was absolutely perfect. was our substitute. He took our place, he died instead of us. Third, we remember how Jesus became our substitute. He died instead of us. Someday we are going to heaven! And all of God’s people said, “Hosanna”