What Kind of Messiah is This?

From the archives. Sermon delivered on Palm Sunday, March 28, 2010.

Lectionary texts: Luke 19:28-40; Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 22:14-23:56.

In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

This morning is Palm Sunday and marks the beginning of Holy Week. We have just read the Passion narrative and I am content to let that comprise the bulk of the sermon for today. I encourage you to ponder this story because it is the story of your salvation. Keep it in the forefront of your thoughts this week and ponder the depth, the height, the width, and the breadth of God’s love for you manifested in the cross of Christ.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, it was in fulfillment of prophecy, specifically Zechariah 9:9, in which Israel’s King arrives triumphantly and victoriously on a donkey. Luke tells us that the people spread their cloaks on the road, apparently as an act of homage (see, e.g., 2 Kings 9:13), and in response to the mighty acts of power they had seen Jesus perform, begin to cry out, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord,” a reference to the messianic psalm of praise, Psalm 118.

From this there is little doubt that the people understood the messianic symbolism that Jesus employed to announce his arrival at Jerusalem. They understood that this meant Jesus was proclaiming himself to be the awaited Messiah, God’s anointed one. Luke implies that even Jesus’ opponents understood this because they told Jesus to order his disciples to stop what they were proclaiming.

What is less clear, however, is whether Jesus’ supporters (or his opponents for that matter) really understood the true nature of Jesus’ messiahship. Based on Luke’s description of why people paid Jesus homage and praise fit for Messiah—they had seen his deeds of power—and the traditional Jewish expectation of what God’s anointed one would be when he arrived—he would be a conquering liberator and military hero—there is every reason to believe that most people in the crowd that day probably expected Jesus to be just that, a liberating hero ready to overthrow the bonds of Roman oppression. In other words, it is likely that many people were following Jesus because they expected him to be something other than he really was.

Likewise with us sometimes, isn’t it? As we enter Holy Week, many of us are eager to rush to the great Easter celebration and skip over our Lord’s passion and death. We are more eager to worship and talk about the Risen Christ than to worship and contemplate a crucified Messiah. But that would be a grave mistake because like many in the crowd on the day of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, we would apparently be misunderstanding the very nature of our Lord’s mission and purpose. In effect, we would be denying that he is a suffering Messiah.

As both our OT and NT lessons remind us, Jesus the Messiah did not come as a conquering military hero. True, he did come to conquer sin and death, but not as a warrior. As Paul reminds us in the great hymn found in today’s Epistle lesson, Christ obediently humbled himself and came as a servant, a theme echoed in the Third Servant Song found in today’s OT lesson. He gave up the full manifestation of his deity to become human so that he could die for us. The path to Christ’s glory was suffering and the cross. There he bore the punishment for our sins and made it possible for us to live with God forever.

The cross is the central act in history. Without it we have little hope and an empty tomb would be meaningless because there would have been nothing done to end our alienation and exile from God permanently. Consequently, we must not be too hasty to rush to the great Easter celebration without stopping to consider the great Act on Calvary that makes Easter such a joyous event.

But what does this mean for us? Just this. If we are to follow him, we must become like him. We must put to death our sinful self-centeredness and serve him by serving others. We must follow the way of the cross, in which we act as if Jesus is Lord and we are not. We do so, not reluctantly but gladly, as a grateful response to all that our Lord has done for us. We are thankful that our God is a crucified God and not a vengeful or vindictive God.

Therefore I urge you to engage fully in the events of Holy Week, to observe a holy Triduum, the period of time from Maundy Thursday evening to Easter. Do not be too eager to jump to the great Easter celebration. First, come to Maundy Thursday and be with our Lord as he commands his disciples and us to partake in the sacraments of his body and blood. Imagine the self-righteous indignation Peter must have felt when Jesus told him he would deny him. Feel the tension around the table as he announces to the disciples that there is a betrayer in their midst and ponder in your heart if he could be referring to you.

Go with our Lord to dark Gethsemane and watch him struggle in prayer over his upcoming Passion. See him agonize over the suffering he must endure for the sins of the whole world and the separation from God that must inevitably follow because he chooses to do so. It is an agony so great that it caused him to sweat great drops of blood. As you watch Jesus in Gethsemane, recall the hymn in Philippians from today’s lesson and give thanks in the midst of your sorrow that you are watching love struggle in action for your sake. Be thankful that Jesus was obedient to death so that you can live.

Remain with our Lord even as the twelve desert him after his arrest in the garden. Be vigilant during the farce that masqueraded as a trial in front of both the Jewish authorities and Pontius Pilate. See how he was mocked, spit upon, beaten, and scourged to within an inch of his life before being condemned and led away to be crucified with criminals. Realize that this is God they are doing this to and recall the Philippians hymn again. Remember that you are watching your salvation story unfold.

On Friday go to Calvary with our Lord and watch in sorrow as his pierced, bloody, and naked body hangs on a tree. Listen in amazement as he prays for those who are crucifying him and in the midst of your tears, listen in wonder as he promises the repentant thief salvation that very day. As you do, remember that this is your story, your salvation. You too are being offered salvation this very day by the One who loves you and gave himself for you. Give thanks that Jesus didn’t come down off his cross because he had had enough of his mockers and his suffering. No, he chose to hang there and die so that you can live. This is God’s great love for you being played out. This is God’s symbol of justice and in it find hope in the midst of your sorrow because you are watching God do the impossible for you so that you can live with him forever.

Then spend Holy Saturday in quiet contemplation, musing over the terrible price God paid for your sins as you remember Christ’s dead body lying in a tomb. And because we know the happy ending to this story, begin to prepare for the great Easter celebration by giving thanks to God and asking him to help you become the obedient servant he calls all of us to be.

Then come to the great Easter Vigil Saturday evening in hope and anticipation of our Lord’s mighty Resurrection. Hear again the unfolding story of God’s salvation and give thanks that he has called you to be part of it. Give thanks too that Jesus is more than a military conqueror. In his mighty Resurrection he has conquered even death and God has vindicated his messiahship so that you know the Good News of Jesus Christ is true.

Holy Week is more than being about Easter. It is the pinnacle of God’s story of salvation. It is the story of the way of the cross and what it means for us to be disciples of Jesus. Take time this Holy Week and give thanks to God who loves you so much that he took on our flesh and died for us so that we can live with him forever. Remember his mighty and terrible acts on our behalf and give thanks because you realize how unworthy you are.

Life with Christ begins here and now and remains unbroken even by death. We have the cross and empty tomb to bear witness to this truth. That’s good news, folks, now and for all eternity. Considering all God has done for you, can you not give him some more of your time and self this week by attending the events in the Triduum as a grateful response? I hope and pray that you can and will.

In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.