April 1^st, 2007 Luke 19:28-36

After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.’” Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They replied, “The Lord needs it.” They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.

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!”

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

If you were to be put up on a high mountain and allowed to view all of the different approaches to worship in America, an overall focus and purpose in worship would be to focus on praising God. Churches want to create a happy and upbeat atmosphere with the songs they choose to try and lift the heart to feel God. I can almost guarantee you that our worship services would be judged as dry and archaic to most evangelicals because most of our songs don’t flow like theirs or include drums or electric guitars. If they were to visit us, they would view our liturgical worship as too rigid and somber. Frankly, they would call it boring.

What they probably would fail to understand is that worship is not all about happy praise. When you read the psalms you can read confessional prayer songs, prayers for God’s protection, and sorrowful songs of pain and suffering as well. The season of Lent is especially meant to be sorrowful and somber. But that doesn’t mean that we never have joyful praise songs. If you stick with us long enough throughout the liturgical church year – you might actually hear a “happy” song from time to time – a period of big time rejoicing. Today is one of those days. It’s Palm Sunday – the day of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Palm Sunday is for Praise

I. Praise Him loudly

This Sunday and celebration is really quite unique within the history of Jesus’ ministry. The reason I say that is that I can’t think of any other instance in the Gospels where you see such a huge group of people publicly worshiping and praising Jesus out in the open. Granted, while Jesus taught – they all came and listened to him – which is also a form of worship – where Jesus serves them with the Word. But here there is really a public outpouring of praise which you don’t see anywhere else – not even after his resurrection. Instead, we find the disciples huddled together in houses – afraid of being locked up and put away. The reason for that the people were afraid to praise Jesus while He was still walking and talking among them – was because they were extremely intimidated by the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law. Think, for instance, of the reaction of the parents of the blind man who had been healed.

• John 9:18-23 The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?” “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

The parents were clearly intimidated to say anything positive about Jesus – out of fear of being thrown out of the synagogue. When the blind man then proceeded to call him a prophet, they became irate with him told him that he was “steeped with sin at birth.” Being put out of the synagogue was a terrifying thing to the Jews. It was the only connection they felt they had with their LORD. If they were put out of the synagogue, their sacrifices could not be brought – and their sins then could not be forgiven. SO – to profess Jesus was a terrifying thing. This had become very clear to the people by the end of Jesus’ public ministry.

That’s why it’s so neat to hear the crowd of disciples finally let loose and really praise Jesus at the top of their lungs. If you look at a map of the Jerusalem area – you will notice that Bethany is about ¾ of a mile to the west of Jerusalem – up a huge hill. If you read through this portion of the Gospels – it seems to infer that this praise took place for the full ¾ of a mile – from Bethany all of the way down the hill to Jerusalem. This is an all out celebration. People are throwing their cloaks down for Jesus to walk over. They are cutting down palm branches – which may have surrounded this pathway – and throwing them before Jesus. They are shouting from the top of their longs. “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” This was a quote of Psalm 118. They were letting everyone know – without apology – that Jesus was the promised King – they didn’t care what the Pharisees said or thought - and Jesus loved it!

This is the kind of praise that Jesus loves! When David brought back the ark from captivity, he danced before it with all of his might. His wife Michal thought he looked like an idiot, and she rebuked him for disrobing in front of the slave girls. (2 Samuel 6) David rebuked her back, angry at her for judging him in his celebration. He didn’t care what he “looked like” in his worship dance – and the LORD accepted his worship. This is what we are commanded to do in Psalm 98:4 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;

When it is time to praise God – then do it with joy. Don’t worry about whether you are in tune or not. There is a good purpose for choirs and soloists – who can train and lead the congregation in worship. Yet God calls on each and every one of us to praise Him – from the least and the youngest to the oldest. I can recall years ago hearing a young child yell out during the service. I thought he was acting up. But then I realized that he only yelled during the hymns. He was singing – with his own little toddler voice – in his own little words – to the Lord – and it was BEAUTIFUL. This is what worship is for – to praise the LORD. The disciples outside of Jerusalem used palm branches and coats – whatever they had available to show their respect and love to the Lord. They were all involved in some way. Their worship didn’t involve hiring ten people with good voices to sing a song they liked so they could all sit and listen.

The first time I went caroling at a nursing home – I have to confess that if felt weird – to sing in a strange place with strangers watching – knowing that some of them probably didn’t want to hear a word we were singing. It took me a while to get used to it – and a bit of sorrow as well –at the own hesitation I was having. Would you be embarrassed – if our congregation went to your place of employment – and you were asked to sing Christian songs to your co-workers in front of them all? Would you be embarrassed to sing these same songs with us – if we were at your school – singing to your friends and classmates? Do you sing – even here – with a joyful and loud voice? Or do you mumble? The answers to those questions are embarrassing – even more embarrassing than your voice would sound – if you used it like you could. Imagine if – at your 25^th wedding anniversary – your spouse were called on to say something nice about you. How would you feel if he or she had to be forced to stand up – and then – when speaking at the mike – said nothing – or only mumbled a few things so that no one could hear him or her? Would you be impressed? Would you be happy with that – after 25 years of marriage? How does God feel about your worship?

II. Praise Him for His miracles

Now, you can look at your own worship – the way you sing – participate – and you will most likely feel guilty – for who of us ever could praise God with all of our heart, soul, and mind? We look around and listen to our worship – and this is where we can become very critical of ourselves. Are we singing to our full potential? Are we using our full gifts? No. So what is the solution? Is it to just simply say, “come on now – let’s really worship like on Palm Sunday!” Well, no – that really doesn’t motivate us any more – than to make us feel more guilty. Here’s the solution that many “worship gurus” have tried; “let’s find music people like. Let’s try to create a really worshipful atmosphere – that will make people want to praise Jesus. If we can pick more upbeat music – then people will sing it. Or let’s just not sing at all – and let the talented musicians take care of that while we sit here and watch them.” Are those really God pleasing solutions? To rely on the music to move hearts? To just take the songs out of the mouths of those who are “less talented”? Not at all.

Notice that the people who praised Jesus on this Palm Sunday didn’t have any instruments handy at all. At most, they had a simple refrain of Psalm 118. So what was it that really “motivated” them to sing without fear? 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. It was the miracles they had seen Jesus perform. At this point in Jesus’ ministry – He had performed almost every miracle we have recorded. He had walked on water, raised Lazarus from the dead, stilled the storm, fed the 4,000 and the 5,000, healed the lepers, blind, deaf, and the sick. The people had seen and experienced all of these wonderful things from Jesus – these glimpses of glory - and they were absolutely thrilled about what He had done. In light of all these miracles they naturally were compelled to praise Jesus on Palm Sunday with all they had.

If you feel like your tongue is tied in worship and you aren’t motivated to sing and praise God, then it would be good for you to make sure your eyes are open to the miracles of Jesus in your life. The thing is that these miracles aren’t always so glorious as the stilling of the storm or the raising of Lazarus. Many times they occur like the procurement of the donkey. In a miraculous yet hidden way, Jesus knew exactly where to find the donkey – and what would happen when they found the donkey in Bethphage and Bethany. Anybody else watching the disciples get this donkey would see nothing more than a few guys walking a donkey around. Yet for the disciples – who experienced this miraculous prediction and foresight – experienced a miracle hidden in the finding of this donkey. The donkeys were right where he predicted they would be. The owners responded just as He said – much like the paying of the taxes from the coin found in the fish’s mouth. After everything happened as predicted, they must have known and felt that Jesus was more than a mere man just from the mere words He spoke and the promise He gave – as well they should have.

In the same way, God expects us to see and marvel at these hidden miracles that are revealed to us through the word and promises of God. If we don’t remember His words and promises – these miracles will escape us. Just think about the miracles of child birth – the fact that God has established the laws of nature – how a little baby could grow and thrive in a woman’s womb – and then come out – it is a miracle of God. Marvel at the miracle of the seasons – how every year we have a winter, spring, summer and fall. It’s a miracle that this world and our planet has not fallen apart for these thousands of years – especially in the midst of the sin that corrupts it. But let’s remember to see the greatest hidden miracles – the Holy Spirit working forgiveness of sins and faith through the baptism of an infant. Think about what a miracle it was for God to take you from the kingdom of the devil to make YOU His own in your baptism – washing your sins away! See the body and blood enter your mouth in the Lord’s Supper – assuring you once again – that your sins are paid for – even the sins of lackluster praise. Never cease wondering at the fact that you can use your tongue to praise God and confess Him as Lord. How could this be? It happens through the miraculous working of the Holy Spirit – whom you never see or even feel. When you learn to see the hidden miracles through the eyes of faith – you can’t help but praise Jesus – at the top of your lungs. Why? Because God has been so merciful to you – so unbelievably good to you! When you reflect on God’s grace this praise won’t have to be manufactured. It will flow from your heart – out your tongue – to the world.

III. Praise Him like the whole crowd of disciples

In looking at the example of the Palm Sunday disciples - I would be remiss to not at least briefly look at and examine the very words they speak. They were not just repetitious words saying, “let me praise you – I want to praise you – praise you – praise you – yeah.” Nor were they self centered words of praise like that of the Pharisee – thanking God for what good people God had made them. They were words of praise that were completely focused on Christ.

What did they specifically say about Jesus? There are basically four different things that I can see in this text.

1. Blessed is the king who comes – They recognized Jesus to be the king. Of course their version of the King of the Jews – which Jesus was crucified for – were probably different from what Jesus was trying to teach them. Yet they still recognized that Jesus was the Promised King – their ruler. A part of faith is recognizing that Jesus is the Lord – the master of our fate. He was more than a prophet. He was and is a King. His kingdom is not one of castles and armies but of heart and soul. He can be praised because He comes and takes up realm in our once dead souls – giving us life, hope and salvation through His precious death and resurrection. Blessed is He who comes to us – and makes a kingdom in our heart.
2. In the name of the Lord – Long ago, in Moses’ time – the LORD had explained who He was through Moses. He was a compassionate and gracious and forgiving LORD – a faithful Lord. Jesus was praised by the disciples because he fit the bill – he came with the approval of God. Jesus had come in the name of the Lord. His words and actions were flowing with love, mercy and forgiveness. This is the KEY motivation and reason for praising Jesus. Jesus shows us and tells us who the LORD is and what He is all about – a sacrificial, forgiving, and gracious love.
3. Peace in heaven – this is somewhat different from what the angels said, “peace on earth” – yet they mean the same thing. The very life of Jesus – with his forgiveness and gracious actions showed that God – through Christ – was not only a God of wrath. This showed them that there was peace in heaven. As we look at Christ we see we have peace with God. We see this because we know that God let His wrath loose on Christ on the cross, instead of us. Jesus never promised us an earthly peace. As a matter of fact, he promised us the exact opposite. No, we praise Him because of the heavenly peace we have of knowing God loves us and forgives us in Christ.
4. Glory in the highest – The glory of the moment in seeing Christ enter into Jerusalem all belonged to God. They had done nothing to earn His coming. God had sent Christ to them. He deserved all of the glory, and He still does today. This was plenty of reason to praise God. All of their praise revolved around what God had done through Christ for them. Although they didn’t know the full extent of this love – and even though I’m sure all of their concepts were far from perfect of the Christ – Jesus still lovingly accepted and enjoyed this praise. It was time to do so.

And so we designate this Sunday to emulate that praise – to try and reflect on the atmosphere and sing praises to Jesus as well. We have the children bring palms and lay them before the altar. We mimic the words of the disciples by singing “Sing Hosanna to the Chosen One.” Yet something is different – isn’t it? It’s not just that we don’t have actually palm trees here or that we don’t have cloaks thrown down or an actual Jesus walking on a donkey. There’s something else. What is it? It’s that we know something those disciples didn’t know. We know where Jesus was heading. He was heading down to Jerusalem – to die.

So we’re kind of put in an awkward situation. We want to praise Jesus – yet we know that He is going to die. So do we just try to ignore the elephant in the closet and go along with the praise? Or should we shout out to the people – “WHOA! Hold on! Don’t cheer him on! Tell him to turn around! Jesus, you’re going to be BEATEN and CRUCIFIED there!” Not at all. The strange thing – the foolish thing to the world – is that instead of denying him as Lord – we cheer Him on all the more. For when we see Jesus go to the cross – we see Him go there as our substitute. We see Him go there to take God’s wrath for us. So instead of closing our mouths – we praise Him and cheer Him on all the more – “Blessed is He who comes in the NAME of the Lord.” It is in the cross – and only in the cross - that the name of the LORD shouts out most – the name of unconditional love and forgiveness.

This is what makes our praise on Palm Sunday and really every Sunday different from a music based praise or a feel good praise. It is a gospel based – a message based - praise. We don’t praise Jesus because He looks so good on the donkey. We don’t join in the praise because we like the music or we’ve got an extra palm tree at our disposal. We praise Jesus because He’s the King of the Universe – who is riding into Jerusalem to die for our sins – to show us what our LORD and Savior is all about. He is here to bring the peace of forgiveness to the world. That’s why Palm Sunday and every Sunday we can praise the LORD – no matter what the circumstance, song, instrument, or music. Amen.