Zion--Gainesville, FL
Palm Sunday
3/24/2013
Luke 19:28-40
“He Comes in the Name of the Lord”
I. To Die
II. To Conquer
Hymns: 130, 133, 134, 131
Rev. Roger Rockhoff
Sermon #1163
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A little country boy asked his dad if he could go to the circus that was coming to town
that Saturday. His dad told him that if he had all of his chores done, he would be allowed to go.
Early that morning the boy got up and had all of his chores finished by breakfast. He asked his
dad if he could go to the circus, and his dad said that he could. His dad then pulled out a dollar,
more money than the little boy had ever seen.
The little boy ran to town where he saw a
crowd gathered along the main street. He pushed his way through the crowd got his first glimpse
of the circus. He saw marching bands, and jugglers, wild animals in cages, and finally the
clowns. As the last clown walked by, the little boy reached into his pocket and handed the clown
his dollar bill. Thinking that he had seen the circus when he had only seen the parade, the little
boy turned and ran home.
The people who lined the streets of Jerusalem had come to see the Messiah. They
cheered as he was led into the city, and many laid their cloaks or palm branches in his path.
Sadly, many went home that day and never saw the true glory of Jesus. When they heard that he
had not come to be their earthly king, they turned away and looked for another.
We are here today because, by the work of the Holy Spirit, we have seen the true Jesus
riding into Jerusalem. We are here to sing our praises and hear the story of his triumphant ride
into Jerusalem to battle, and defeat, sin, death and the devil. As we see our Lord today, we will
acknowledge that…
“He Comes in the Name of the Lord”
I. To Die
II. To Conquer
Jesus spent that Saturday night with his friends in Bethany. The next day we are told,
“…he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.” Jesus already knew the script to the story that
was unfolding. From eternity he had been partners with his heavenly Father in writing it. As he
rode into Jerusalem, he had come to represent his Father in heaven, to fulfill the role that he had
been given in the story of salvation.
When the people saw Jesus riding into Jerusalem, the celebration began. Luke says,
“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!” The praises that were sung that day were very fitting for our Lord. He was the
king who had come to bring “peace to men on whom his favor rests. (Lk. 2:14) He had been
acknowledged on several occasions by his heavenly Father as “my Son in whom I am well
pleased.” (Lk. 3:22, Mk. 9:7) He came with the full support of his heavenly Father and the full
blessing of what he was about to do.
What he was about to do was quite different than what many expected. Visions of an
earthly kingdom, prosperity, and political freedom had replaced the true picture of the Messiah
given by God in the Old Testament. Many expected a rebellion with swords and spears, and
grand battle that would be written about in the history books. But as Jesus rode into Jerusalem,
he knew that the victory that he had come to win would be won on the cross. He knew that the
story written in eternity would be quite different than what many had imagined. As he rode into
Jerusalem, he rode in the name of the Lord, to carry out the mission that he had been given, the
mission that could only be accomplished and completed if he died on the cross.
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At any time, Jesus could have avoided the cross. He could have allowed his disciples to
fight for him or he could have defended himself in his trial before Pilate, or, as he said, he could
have at any time called down legions of angels to fight for him. But saving himself would mean
damning the world and that was not what God’s plan called for him to do.
Years ago a missionary named George Atley was in Central Africa teaching God’s Word
to the people. One night a rebel party of natives attacked the camp and several broke into
Atley’s office. Beside his desk was a loaded shotgun which he instinctively began to reach for.
But he had thought through this scenario in the past and had decided that if he defended himself
and killed any who might attack him, he would do more damage to the chance of sharing the
Gospel than if he allowed them to take his life. Atley’s body was found in the stream behind the
camp the next morning, with the fully loaded shotgun still beside his desk.
Jesus had the loaded shotgun of divine power at his disposal at all times. At any time he
could have called up his divine power and defeated any who threatened to harm him. He could
have set up that earthly kingdom and enjoyed fame and fortune for many years to come. But
Jesus had not come to be that kind of a king. He had come to complete the story of God’s love,
the story that began with the first promise of a Savior and would end only when Jesus had died.
As he rode into Jerusalem, he knew that the praises of the people were well deserved. He knew
that by his death he would bring “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
II. To conquer
There is one word in the text written by Luke that might say more about this story than all
of the others. In reporting what took place that day, Luke said that the “disciples began to
praise God in loud voices.” “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?” (Mt. 13:55) some had asked.
“Can anything good come from [Nazareth]?” (Jn. 1:46) others had wondered? “Are you
then the Son of God?” (Lk. 22:67) the Sanhedrin had asked.
Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Luke wrote that the people were praising “God.” Though
“born of a woman, born under the law,” (Gal. 4:4) he was, as we confess, “true God,
begotten of the Father from eternity.” (Nicene Creed) When he heard the praises of the
people, Jesus did not stop them. In fact, when the Pharisees demanded that he tell the people to
be quiet, he said, “I tell you…if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Today we sing the praises of our Lord because in faith we see the lowly circumstances
but we realize the truth. We see God’s Son who had come down from heaven in the name of the
Lord to fight a battle that we could not win. The enemy is more powerful than we are. He
deceived Adam and Eve and has continued to claim his victims on every page of history. He
steals souls from the peace and glory of heaven and entraps them in the horrors of hell. He
bullies people, deceives them, and uses whatever means possible to take them away from God.
And, as our own list of sins proves, we are no match for this wicked foe.
But the wicked foe cowered in fear as Jesus rode into Jerusalem accompanied by the
cheering crowd of followers. He had tried to prevent Jesus from carrying out this part of God’s
plan of salvation. Three years earlier he had tempted Jesus in the wilderness for 40 days
following his baptism knowing that if he could defeat Jesus just once, he would prevent him
from saving the world. He had gone away defeated that day when Jesus relied on the power of
God’s Word to counter each attack against him.
It would be a desperate week for the Devil. He would try to break Jesus’ spirit by using
one of his own disciples to betray him and another to deny him. He would reveal the full extent
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of the suffering that Jesus was about to face as he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. He
would turn the very people that Jesus had come to save against him, moving them to ignorantly
cry out “Crucify him! Crucify him!” (Lk. 23:21)
Fully aware of the battle that he faced, Jesus rode into Jerusalem in the name of the Lord
knowing that he would conquer this formidable foe. Satan would watch in fear as the life of
Jesus was drained from body as his blood was shed. But he would see that blood washing clean
every soul that believed that Jesus was the true Son of God and Savior of the world. The devil
could offer no resistance when the Son of God cried out from the cross, “It is finished!” (Jn.
19:30) announcing that the victory over the devil had been won.
Today we sing our Hosannas to our Lord as he rides into Jerusalem in the name of the
Lord, yes, to die on the cross. But we sing our Hosannas because we know that we are “justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 3:23) The
stones should cry out in praise of Jesus as his parade leads him to his victory!
Like the little boy who watched the circus parade, we are amazed by what we see. But
we know that this is just the beginning of the week that changed history. The parade that
brought Jesus into Jerusalem would take him back out of Jerusalem in 5 days. It would lead him
out to the hill called Golgotha where he would, in the name of the Lord, die on the cross and
bring salvation to all who believe. God bless our celebration during this most holy of weeks as
we praise our Savior who came in the name of the Lord, humbly, yet powerfully, to bring us
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.” Amen.
“The peace of God….”