Super, awesome, amazing and the best are words we use often to describe things like food or a vacation. We also use them to describe a dramatic rescue of someone from a burning car or the lifetime of love from our family. When we slow down to think about the people and situations that we lump together by using the same descriptive words, it becomes clear that we are not careful with our words. Some words are meant to be saved to describe something, or someone that far surpasses the rest.
When we do reserve words of praise for that rare person, we show our true appreciation and alert others to the special nature of such a person. Many do this for the college team that rises to the top during March Madness. In Jesus’ day, rare words of praise were shouted out for him when he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey fulfilling the prophecy from our Old Testament reading from Zechariah 9, 9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. The people had waited about five hundred years or double the age of our nation for this prophecy as Jesus rode into Jerusalem like a victorious king with the crowd’s cloaks and palm branches covering his path, and their shouts of praise based on Psalm 118, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” This was a rare occasion that had not been seen for generations, but many did not understand the hype.
Pops of color, shouts of excitement and a general hum of activity characterized the city, but many did not understand why. Over the past weeks, and the week to come the Easter season colors, shouts of excitement for what candy or toy is inside an egg and busyness prepping for the meal and accommodations have characterized our lives. A similar hum was over Jerusalem when Jesus arrived as we read in our Gospel reading from Matthew 21, 10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” For all the shouts and stirring, most did not understand who Jesus was. Even many who shouted his praises, who shouted ‘Hosana’ which means ‘save please’ and correctly identified him as the ‘Son of David’ did not expect Jesus to be hung on the cross in less than a week. Jesus was thought by many to be a political power to overthrow the Roman occupation of Israel and retore the nation of Israel. Plus, with his miraculous powers, he could feed and heal the nation as it reestablished itself. This misunderstanding continues today, but even more propaganda has been pumped into our populace with the commercialization and secularization of Easter as a time of pastel colors, bunnies and egg hunts.
Our rare praise and hype for Easter cannot be for the jellybeans and geopolitical spoils. As we reflect on our understanding of Palm Sunday, one simple way to summarize today is the day our King Jesus arrived for his final battle. Jesus moved strategically during his few years of ministry to position himself at just the right time in Jerusalem for the Passover festival so the city would be filled with Jews to see him battle. They were also there to see the outcome. We have seen the outcome, and we live free because of his victory. The world and people of all time past, present and future have been affected by what Jesus did this week. So, the question for us to consider as we reflect on our understanding of Palm Sunday is the same one asked in Jerusalem, “Who is this?” And I do not mean it so much as a check on our understanding of who Jesus is, but how many people have asked us, “Who is this?” With not only a correct understanding, but a living faith in Jesus as our Savior, our words and actions ought to shout Jesus. Not that we copy the unique things we do today like carrying palm branches or singing or posting ‘Hosana!’ Instead, we are called to live as Jesus who attracted others to himself with rare-in-this-world displays of love and authoritative teaching of Scripture that touched and healed people’s hearts. The rare occasions when others ask us about Jesus reveal how much we needed Jesus to ride into Jerusalem to do his praiseworthy work.
Jesus rode into Jerusalem for you. Jesus did not come to Jerusalem eager to hear the fanfare. He was not heading for a press conference, he was not livestreaming, he was not selling bobbleheads or heading up a revolution. In our Gospel reading from Matthew 21, we again hear this phrase from Zechariah 9, 5 … ‘See, your king comes to you.’ Jesus prioritized you. He is your biggest fan, so much so that when he saw you losing your daily, weekly, monthly, yearly battles, he and his Father, agreed, it was time for him to sub in. When we have been so distracted from the game by watching the proverbial butterfly, which is actually a symbol for Jesus’ life, burial and resurrection, that the world would not recognize us as Christians, Jesus offered his life to save us from our fair-weather fandom along with all our sins as we hear in our New Testament reading from Philippians 2, 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! We praise Jesus on Palm Sunday because he is a king who has done praiseworthy work for his people. His public appearance forced the hand of his opposition and in their minds, they surprised him with the ultimate play, crucifixion. And through their hatred, he endured the Father’s hatred for their sins and the sins of the world. On the cross Jesus gave his life to save us. Now, Jesus rules all things victorious from heaven, and he rules as the king of our hearts.
Give people FOMO for Jesus. Jesus went to Jerusalem to do something for the world. He came to give, to fight, to love and to save. In our devotional life with him, God wants the same. Our devotional life is not meant to be transactional, but transformational. So, our time with God is about being honest about who we are as believers who struggle and still fall into sin, and we look to Jesus for his forgiveness and healing. As we spend more time in God’s Word, the Holy Spirit breaks down our fear of letting go of sin and fear of admitting how deep our need is for salvation with the forgiveness of our righteous victorious King Jesus’ battle during what we call Holy Week. As we grow in our own FOMO for Jesus, God will naturally work through us to give it to others. One Scripture to familiarize ourselves with for our FOMO response, our anthem, fight song, cheer, talking points to the question, “Who is this?” is summarized in our New Testament reading from Philippians 2, 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Super, awesome, amazing and the best are words we use often, some words are meant to be saved to describe someone that far surpasses the rest. When we do reserve words of praise for that rare person, we show our true appreciation and alert others to the special nature of such a person. Many do this for the college team that rises to the top during March Madness. In Jesus’ day, it happened when he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and was greeted with many loud cheers of “Hosanna to the Son of David!” Jesus rode into Jerusalem to face the cross for our sins and show his power over sin, death, the devil and hell. We have been saved by Jesus, and we get to share him with others praising the One who does what is praiseworthy. Amen.
Gunnar Ledermann, Pastor Divine Peace Church
Gunnar Ledermann
I’m passionate about Rockwall’s vibrant community and actively engage with local non-profits and community organizations, including the Rockwall Chamber of Commerce, the City of Rockwall, and the Downtown Rockwall Association. My background includes a bachelor’s degree in Classical Languages and a master’s degree in divinity. Currently serving as a pastor at Divine Peace Church in Rockwall, I also enjoy spending time with my wife, Marinda, and our five children.
