Palm Sunday. It’s the day we celebrate Jesus triumphant entrance into Jerusalem to celebrate his last Passover meal before going to the cross and rising again on what we now celebrate as Easter Sunday.
He enters the city riding on a donkey to shouts of Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest! The Jewish people celebrating this Prophet from Nazareth who would save the Jewish people from their Roman oppressors. There is great excitement in the city. The place is packed out with Jewish worshippers, some who would have traveled miles to get to Jerusalem for this annual celebration. It is a big deal.
I imagine however, that for Jesus, as he climbed onto that donkey to head into the city he may have been thinking something a little different. He may have been thinking….ok.. here we go. There’ll be no turning back once this Passover begins. It’s the last time he would celebrate this meal with his friends before his death.
Now pause there for a moment and let’s go back in time. Let’s take minute very quickly to learn a bit more about the Jewish history behind the Passover so that we can fully understand what’s going on here.
See on this side of the cross we read the story of the Palm Sunday entrance celebration and the Passover meal that Jesus shared with his disciples, and on Good Friday we remember how Jesus died on the cross and then on Easter Sunday we celebrate Jesus resurrection and the life we have in Christ, and rightfully so. But there is a lot we can learn from looking back at the traditional way in which the Passover was celebrated and why it was celebrated, things that will help us to see the love of God more clearly in Christ and may even help many of us with accepting ourselves more fully.
Before the cross the Passover or Feast of Unleavened Bread as it’s called was celebrated a bit differently. Instead of reading the stories we typically read today families would get together and the head of the household would tell the story of how God saved them and delivered them out of slavery in Egypt.
Many Jewish people still celebrate this time, you may have heard it referred to as the Sedar which is a service held at home on the first night of Passover. There they use a book called the Haddadah to lead the service. Haddadah means the telling in Hebrew. This book contains the instructions, the blessings and the Passover story.
We read this story in the book of Exodus which actually means a mass departure of people.
And the story they would read to their families is found in the book of Exodus .
“1 While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the LORD gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron: 2 “From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you. 3Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household. 4 If a family is too small to eat a whole animal, let them share with another family in the neighborhood. Divide the animal according to the size of each family and how much they can eat. 5 The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects. 6 “Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight. 7 They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal. 8 That same night they must roast the meat over a fire and eat it along with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat any of the meat raw or boiled in water. The whole animal—including the head, legs, and internal organs—must be roasted over a fire. 10 Do not leave any of it until the next morning. Burn whatever is not eaten before morning. 11 “These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed, wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the LORD ’s Passover. 12 On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the LORD! 13 But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:1-13)
This is the story of the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread was an annual celebration of this return from exile in Egypt.
When we study our Bible, we can see that not only were the people separated from God in the Garden, but their disobedience led to exile away from the promised land…away from the promises of God.
Most of us know that in the Garden humans sinned, they were disobedient to God in eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The result of this sin was separation from God. We read about this in the first three chapters of Genesis. But the Jews of Jesus day would have also read the last ten chapters of Deuteronomy and would have also understood that they were meant to worship the One God and do what he says because if you worship other gods you also face exile and captivity to other nations. It makes sense right what you worship becomes your god.
And see here now in Jesus day a great number of Jews believed that the exile in its theological and political meaning was not yet over. There were many prophetic words about a great coming restoration. Yes, the Jews were saved from slavery in Egypt, but their continued disobedience later landed them in captivity in Babylon and their temple was destroyed in the process.
Some Jews had returned from Babylonian captivity and the temple had been rebuilt. But this was not, it could not be, the restoration promised by the prophets and by Deuteronomy itself. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah proved that yes, we are in our own land again, but we are still slaves. Foreigners are ruling over us.
Isaiah’s ongoing prophesies in Isaiah 45-55 spoke of a new Exodus a new rescue and this was the hope of the Jewish people. The story at the heart of these five books, the Torah, the first 5 books of our Bible that talked about slavery, rescue, divine presence and a promised land would rescue them from both problems. The covenant rebellion (disobedience) that kept them in slavery to other nations and the deeper human separation from God due to sin in the garden. Two issues, one hope…a rescue by the One true God.
This rescue meant everything to the Jewish people, it is what they longed for. They were meant to stand out as God’s chosen ones and yet continued to fall prey to complacency and to the worship of foreign gods. They were desperate to be the people God had ordained from the beginning.
In fact, many Jews who were passionate about holding to their Jewish traditions followed the ancient tradition of what’s called zeal. Violence would be used if necessary, to root out wickedness from Israel. A person of zeal was willing to kill to protect the Jewish people from pagan influence, to keep them pure. The tradition of zeal was part of their freedom story, Israel against the world! David beating the Philistines, Solomon teaching wisdom to the world. Jews against the goyim which simply means non-Jews or pagans, those who worshipped false gods. The only way to see their rescue was to ensure they remained faithful to the one God. Yahweh. Many of these people were learned, very devout followers that knew the Torah well. They’re whole focus was Torah and Temple of God. Some were Pharisees and they were very zealous.
With this backdrop in mind let’s fast forward again. Here comes Jesus. The very Word of God in the flesh sitting on a donkey, and it starts. He rides into Jerusalem to the cheers of those he loved.
When you study this triumphant entry you’ll see that Jesus was smiling, he was happy and I imagine while he knew what was coming, he also knew what he would achieve and he lovingly looked into the faces of those he loved, I imagine it’s what kept him going because before the week was out with no victory in sight the people had a new battle cry…..crucify.
Talk about the ultimate betrayal. The same people you worshipped with, you taught to pray, you spent time with, people He had been ministering to for 3 years. Healing their sick, feeding the poor, declaring the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!
He’s the one they have been waiting for and they miss it, why? What turned this crowd of supporters into a crowd yelling crucify him?
The evidence was all right there for those who had read the scriptures and were familiar with the temple. He fulfilled the very prophesies that the Jews had been reading over and over for 400 years.
Isaiah 7:14, The virgin will be with child
Isaiah 8:8,10 Immanuel, God with us
Numbers 24:17We saw a star in the east and have come to worship him
Micah 5:2Out of Bethlehem will come a ruler
Isaiah 60:3Nations come to your light, kings to the brightness of your dawn
His life itself was represented in the tabernacle they knew so well. Oh, if they had just had 20/20 vision then, but we get to see it today,
The Alter of sacrifice
In the Old Testament tabernacle this is where the sacrifices were offered for sins, lambs without blemish. In the New Testament the herald of John the Baptist as he introduces Jesus in John 1:29 reads
“29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said,“Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
The Table of Showbread
Which in the Old Testament represented the manna that God gave the Israelites to eat while they were in the desert after freeing them from Egypt.
Jesus tells the crowd in John 6:35
“35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
The Seven-Branched lampstand
Which in the Old Testament Tabernacle represented Gods glory the light of all people.
Jesus, we know from John 8:12 proclaimed.
“12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
Jesus came fulfilling the prophesies and proclaiming who he is.
On this side of the cross we can see it clearly back then they would really need to know the scriptures to understand this. Which is the point because the average person may have missed it. But how in the world did the Pharisees miss it? Why do we read about the learned getting it wrong and the ordinary citizens and outcast receiving him? That’s not to say that all Pharisees felt this way. Remember Nicodemus came questioning, he was amazed by Jesus teaching. But why these leaders?
I believe it was zeal. Remember God put the law in place to help the people understand that there is no way to be perfect. The law was a mirror to show us our sin and need of salvation. What happened however is that the Pharisees, the religious leaders who had influence were slaves to their own pride. By holding onto the law, they held their power. So, their zeal for the one God was actually pious. Which is why Jesus called them out so many times saying you look clean on the outside but inside you are filled with dead mans bones. And remember we talked about zeal earlier and how violence might be necessary to stamp out anything or anyone who would come against the one true God.
They asked Jesus point blank after seeing his miracles and hearing him preach. Are you the Son of God to which he answered…I AM. They called Jesus a blasphemer, they tried him and they used their influence with the people. Instead of declaring what they should have known had they not been blinded by pride…He is the Messiah. They used their influence to tell the people…he is false prophet who must be put to death. The people believed because the leaders told them so.
Their zeal led the once committed crowd to cry crucify.
But here is where we see the beauty of our Jesus and the amazing love of God. Because the week before Jesus death he set some things in stone for those who would believe in him after he was gone.
He went into the temple and cleared the money changers tables, denouncing the practice of cheating the poor and keeping people from worshipping at the temple.
He spoke to his disciples about what was coming. During his last meal with them he tells them I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.”
Jesus explained to them that as the Lamb of God, He was about to fulfil the meaning of Passover by giving his body to be broken and his blood to be shed in sacrifice, freeing us from sin and death. During this Last Supper, Jesus established the Lord’s Supper, or Communion, instructing his followers to continually remember his sacrifice by sharing in the elements of bread and wine. A new feast if you will.
Jesus explained that they would all fall away out of fear but that he would see them again.
And later, Jesus and the disciples left the Upper Room and went to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed in agony to God, if this cup can pass from me…but not my will yours.
It was there that Jesus was betrayed with a kiss by Judas Iscariot and arrested by the Sanhedrin. He was taken to the home of Caiaphas, the High Priest, where the whole council had gathered to begin making their case against Jesus.
And Jesus allowed it. He had to. Because the very zeal of the Pharisees to keep the law and honour the one God, which we know was more pride then honour; Jesus would instead fulfil by becoming the lamb without blemish, sacrificed by the High Priest. God knew all along the only way to save the people was to come and fulfil the law himself, on our behalf. And in doing so Jesus rescued and restored both of the issues. We are now saved, fully reconnected with God and as Jesus declared in Luke 4:18 the captives have been set free
“18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free,”
No longer in exile, the promises of God restored for our lives. God’s love demonstrated so beautifully in the sacrifice of Christ. He went willingly
In John 10:18 Jesus says
“18 No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”
How wonderful is our Jesus! He is worthy of our praise and our worship. He is a faithful leader, full of truth and love.
Jesus was rejected and beaten be was betrayed and yet he died for all people, but not everyone understood him. And today the same is true. We still experience leaders who are so tight fisted with tradition that they are unwilling to look deeper into this Word of God to see the real heart of God and the greatest commandant which Jesus gave to us during the passion week. It’s found in Matthew 22:37-40
“37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Some of you have been influenced by leaders in your life who you respect, who have degrees in theology and I’m not knocking that at all there are some amazing leaders in the Body of Christ, but we are all imperfect, you need to know that. Some of these leaders, zealous for the Lord and doing their very best to follow God the best they know how can still get it wrong sometimes.
A great example that I want to share with you is the Apostle Paul. He was a zealous Pharisee, very learned man, absolutely devout Jew who before he truly encountered Christ was a person who supported killing Christians. Killing this new way that was challenging the Jewish beliefs. But one encounter with Christ and his whole world turned upside down. The brilliance of the glory of God in the face of Christ and he finally got it. The law, the rescue fulfilled in Christ. And he says this in
Romans 10:1-4
“1 Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. 2 I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. 3For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. 4 For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.”
So, if you’ve been told that God doesn’t love you because of who you are or who you love please understand that it’s impossible for God to not love you because God’s very nature is love so right there something is wrong. Our gender and sexuality are not news to an all-knowing God and who we are created to be is not a sin. But we do sin, we make mistakes and when we do there is grace because Jesus paid the price for us. Our lives are not an audition for eternity, that my friends has, been signed sealed and delivered through the cross. You are loved, you are accepted!! http://www.michurch.org.au
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