Journey to Freedom Sermon 8

March 22, 2024

I brought along a picture with me today. I’m guessing you have seen it before. It’s known as the Old Woman/Young Woman illusion (pic 1). Because depending upon your perspective, you see one or the other. The image first appeared on a German postcard in 1888. But really didn’t become known until 1915. When a British cartoonist named William Hill published it under the title – my wife and my mother-in-law. Today, over a hundred years later, it continues to be used in classrooms to teach about the science of perception.

I’m told that illusions like this are triggered by what is known as top-down processing. That’s where the brain uses prior knowledge and expectations to interpret what we are seeing. For example, studies have shown that your age influences whether you see the elderly woman, or the young woman first. Those of us over the age of 30 tend to see the elderly woman. Most likely because our brains are associating our experience of aging and its impact on facial features. In so many words, how we see things is largely based upon our experience and our expectations.

I got to thinking about this as I was preparing my sermon this week. And it struck me that on that first Palm Sunday long ago, there were a number of different interpretations of what was going on. You probably didn’t know this. But there was a donkey. And folks waving palm branches. And Jesus arriving in Jerusalem. And yet, depending on who you were and where you were, you saw that donkey and those palm branches and Jesus coming to Jerusalem very differently. I want to unpack that this morning. In particular, to reflect on the significance of that first Palm Sunday to the disciples and the crowds. And in doing so, gain clarity on what Palm Sunday means to us.    

I ask you this morning. What is the significance of Palm Sunday to you? Is it just like any other Sunday with extra greenery? Or is it more? Just how does Jesus riding into Jerusalem so long ago – impact your life today?

Listen now to the reading of God’s Word. The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 21. Verses 1 – 11. As always, I invite you to turn to it in your Bibles and follow along. We are going to be referring back to it.

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna^[b] to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna^[d] in the highest heaven!” When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” Matthew 21:1-11

So, what did the disciples see? “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me.” Matthew 21:2

I don’t know about you, but I always assumed that Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was more of spontaneous thing. That Jesus and the disciples finally reached the outskirts of the city. And Jesus, being a Jewish rabbi, knew the Hebrew scriptures. And wanted to ride in on a donkey. So, he sent his disciples to secure one. And then, as he got closer and closer to the city, the more crowds noticed him and started to get excited. Waving palm branches and shouting hosanna. 

But come to find out, that isn’t how Matthew tells the story. Remember, Matthew wrote his gospel some 50 or more years AFTER Palm Sunday. There was no beat reporter for the Jerusalem Times. And the way that Matthew tells it, Jesus sets the whole thing up. Take the donkey. Jesus didn’t just happen across one. He arranges for it. He has spent a lot of time in Bethphage. It is where Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus are from. Three of Jesus’ closest friends. We know they are close to Jesus because they are named in the Gospels more than almost everyone else. More than most of the disciples even. My point? Jesus would know where a donkey could be found in Bethphage.

Not only that, if there ever was a crowd ready to stage a parade. It would be there. Why? What is so special about Bethphage? In Bethphage, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. It would make sense that they would be most eager to embrace Jesus as the Promised one. Plus, Matthew says that the crowds went before Jesus into Jerusalem. That is, they weren’t from Jerusalem. The donkey. The crowds. From the disciple’s perspective that first Palm Sunday was choreographed.

Which begs the question. Why? Why would Jesus want to do such a thing? To understand that, we have to go back to what happens just before our reading. Back to Matthew chapter 20. Where Jesus and the disciples are leaving Jericho. Pretty much the last major stop before Jerusalem. And as they do, they pass by two blind men sitting on the side of the road. The blind men shout out – Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us. And in response Jesus says – yes? What can I do for you? It is the first time Jesus has allowed his Messianic title to be said in public. Three years of ministry. All that traipsing around the countryside. Miracle after miracle. The apostles’ heads must have popped off their shoulders. They had waited so long for Jesus to publicly embrace his identity. But time and again Jesus warns them to not tell anyone. Not anymore. Now Jesus accepts the mantle. Now Jesus is ready for the world to know.

Second, what does the crowd see? “A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.”Matthew 21:8.

First there are the palm branches (pic 2). At least we think they were palm branches. Matthew doesn’t tell us what kind of branches they were. John in his gospel does. But the real reason scholars think it was palm branches is Israel’s past history with them. Particularly when it came to military victories. A hundred and seventy years before Jesus, give or take, a man named Simon Maccabee led the Jews in a revolt against the enemy occupying Israel – the Greeks. And drove them from Jerusalem. “On the twenty-third day of the second month, in the one hundred seventy-first year, the Jews entered it with praise and palm branches, and with harps and cymbals and stringed instruments, and with hymns and songs, because a great enemy had been crushed and removed from Israel.” 1 Mac. 13:51

Simon’s brother, Judas Maccabee, even began to imprint their money with a palm branch (pic 3). In acknowledgement of their great military victory of independence. In other words, by Jesus’ time, palm branches had become a symbol of Jewish nationalism.

And then there is the prophecy. First century Jews knew their scriptures. They would be familiar with the prophet’s oracle in Zechariah chapter 9. The one Matthew quotes in our reading this morning. About the day that would come. When God would vanquish Israel’s enemies. Re-establish the throne of David in Jerusalem. And reign over the entire region. A how, on that day, God’s chosen one, the Messiah, would come riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. On a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Now, remember, Zechariah prophesied some 500 years before Jesus. At a time when many in Israel were still in exile. Over those 500 years leading up to Jesus, Israel was a vassal state. An occupied land. The Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks and now the Romans had each taken their turn subduing and ruling Israel. It’s no wonder that when Jesus came riding down the street on the foal of a donkey, the people grab their palm branches. Just as they had done with Simon Maccabee. They had longed for a warrior king who would deliver them militarily. And re-establish their nation. This is what the crowd saw that first Palm Sunday.

And yet, a nationalistic, militant warrior king was not who Jesus was. And not what Jesus came to do. A deliverer – yes. But not that kind of deliverer. Zechariah even says so in his prophecy. “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, GENTLE and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”  Zechariah 9:9.In the Hebrew it literally says – Behold your king is coming to you. He is just and endowed with salvation. HUMBLE and mounted on a donkey. The word in Hebrew is AW-NEE. It means lowly. Far from being a militant warrior, the Messiah would be gentle, humble, lowly. Not only that, but in the very next verse, Zechariah 9:10 – Zechariah says – “I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations.” Zechariah 9:10.

What I am trying to get at is this. The crowds see the Messiah they want to see. They did not see the Messiah as Jesus is. Out of their longing, they co-opted Jesus for their cause. And this, I think, largely fueled the transition from euphoria to disappointment to rage in the space of one week. Where those who praised Jesus on Sunday will call for his death on Friday.

I don’t want to sound too critical of those in Jerusalem that first Palm Sunday. We have our own history of intermingling our causes with Jesus and violence. In fact, the church has a tragically long record of this. From ethnic cleansing to slavery to the crusades. I don’t know about you, but it feels like our current political environment and the rise of Christian nationalism and the idea that the ends justify the means is bordering on this. That is how the crusades came about. If Palm Sunday teaches us anything it is that using Christ for our cause leads to disappointment. Jesus came to bring peace. And he didn’t just come with a goal. He came with a way. And that way was humble. Lowly. I think of the late Dr. Martin Luther King who said that “The Christian doctrine of love operating through the Gandhian method of non-violence was one of the most potent weapons available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The disciples saw a choreographed revealing of Jesus’s identity. The crowds saw a nationalistic warrior. The question is. What do we see? What is the significance of Palm Sunday to us? Is it just like any other Sunday with extra greens? Or is it more? Just how does Jesus riding into Jerusalem so long ago, impact our lives today?

The answer, I think, is in the cloaks. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road…” Matthew 21:8.

In the Hebrew scriptures, cloaks were a symbol of authority. You may remember this odd story in 2 Kings 2 where Elisha parts the Jordan River with his cloak. So, laying one’s cloak might represent laying down of one’s authority in acknowledgement of one who is greater. It certainly was a sign of respect and submission. And I think, a sign of faith. In those days, folks didn’t have a closet full of outfits. They had a cloak. It kept them warm and provided protection from the elements. Taking it off and laying it at the feet of Christ would be a sign of trust in God’s provision (pic 4).

And this is really what I take away from Matthew’s account. We can look at one way and see one thing. Or look at it another way and see something different. Like the elderly woman/young woman illustration. But regardless of our perspective Palm Sunday is ultimately about the recognition of Jesus as the Christ. The one sent from God to deliver us. And in that recognition to lay at his feet something with which we need to trust him.

When you came in today, you were handed a strip of clothe. In a moment you are going to be invited to come to the altar. And as you come to stop at the table with markers. And write on that clothe something that you wish to leave with our Lord Jesus this Easter. In recognition of his authority, something that you have been carrying. Something you need to trust him with.

I did this exercise several weeks ago. And what I wrote on my strip is my struggle to feel I am enough. Part of my story is a constant wrestling with associating love with performance. It’s a regular part of my conversations with my therapist. And this Easter I want to leave it with the one who is greater. The Christ who is able to deliver. What about you? Maybe it’s an illness. Maybe it’s an addiction. Maybe it’s a ruptured relationship. Maybe it’s a dream that you long to see fulfilled. Maybe it’s an opportunity that you need to act upon. And you feel called to trust Him Messiah with it. Write it down. Take it to the altar and pray over it. And then put it in the basket between the altar rail. Releasing it. Throw it in the road so to speak before the Christ. We will take those and put them at the foot of the cross for our Maundy Thursday service. Part of the work that Jesus does on the cross is to give us the power over these things.

The truth is, Jesus is Lord. He is greater than anything we carry. Jesus said – Come to me all who weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For I am gentle and humble in heart. And you will find rest for your souls.

This Easter, I come to Jesus Messiah. Trusting in his provision. How about you? How about you?