Psalm 118: 1-2, 19-29; Luke 19: 28-40
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
April 14, 2019
Palm Sunday
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures for ever!
Let Israel say,
‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’
Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvellous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!
O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
The Lord is God,
and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
up to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God, I will extol you.
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures for ever. - Psalm 118: 1-2, 19-29
Jesus he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, “Why are you untying it?” just say this: “The Lord needs it.” ’
So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, ‘Why are you untying the colt?’ They said, ‘The Lord needs it.’ Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.
As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying,
‘Blessed is the king
who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven,
and glory in the highest heaven!’
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, order your disciples to stop.’ He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.’ - Luke 19: 28-40
The one and only Jack Black was the voice for Po Ping, a bumbling giant panda in the movie, Kung Fu Panda. Po was obsessed with kung fu and he was the biggest fan of the Furious Five; famous animated kung fu students of the Red Panda Master Shifu.
Po’s training with Master Shifu was like a roller coaster but it culminated into one fantastic and life-defining moment; Po and Tailung faced off. As Tailung swung his southpaw, Po intercepted his opponent’s paw, ready to flex his power with the pinky death grip, also known as the Wuxi Hold. Once that pinky finger was up, there was no looking back; the world would never be the same.
Tailung was scared straight and said, “The Wuxi Hold! Surely Shifu didn’t teach you that!”
And Po, the Kung Fu Panda, replied, “Nope, I figured it out. SKA-DOOSH!”
And as soon as Po dropped his pinky, the world was shaken with ripples of a conquering life force. Tailung, the enemy, was swallowed up forever and the world was saved. It’s an awesome scene! But not as awesome as Easter!
Jesus Christ’s ministry had culminated into a defining moment for all humanity and creation. Today our awesome God claims his power and authority as Savior of the world. The fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy was being fulfilled.
The Lord himself gave a sign to see the woman who bore a son and named him Immanuel, God-with-us (Isaiah 7:14).
This child was born for us, this Son of God given to us; authority rests on his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish it and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore (Isaiah 9:6-7).
And now your king comes to you, triumphant and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).
As the disciples set Jesus on the colt, they could feel God’s Spirit at work in all of this. They praised God joyfully for all the deeds of power they had seen in their Rabbi and Lord (Luke 19:37). The crowd waved palm branches and threw down their cloaks to proclaim the Lord, who had once delivered them from Egypt, was about to deliver them again through Jesus Christ the Messiah (Leviticus 23:40).
From the beginning Jesus was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and was set apart to teach, heal, and proclaim the kingdom of God in a hurting and broken world [1]. The disciples and the crowds were amazed by the new life Jesus created from humanity’s brokenness; something only God could do.
Now making his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, God was moving Jesus Christ towards the cross. Jesus’ obedience to be led to the cross revealed that God’s redemption draws near through the Son of Man (Luke 21:26). With the Lord’s redemption comes God’s blessing, peace, and glory that Luke’s story talks about; gifts of God that are unparalleled.
God blessed his chosen, our Messiah. God’s spirit was upon Jesus to faithfully bring forth justice to the nations. God called Jesus Christ in righteousness and gave him as a new covenant to the people. Scripture affirms God is moving Jesus Christ towards the cross to open the eyes that are blind and to bring out the prisoners who sit in darkness (Isaiah 42: 1-8).
God shines the light of Christ into the darkness of our human sin which holds us captive. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness will never overcome the light of God’s love in Jesus Christ (John 1:5).
And yet even as we cheer the triumphant entry of our Savior today, we cannot deny that our sin put Jesus on the cross; it is a sobering thought. But in all this a spirit on high is poured out on us to bring righteousness; the effect of righteousness is peace (Isaiah 32:17).
We have peace knowing God’s love is mending the broken pieces of ourselves and our world. Peace is trusting that the work of the cross is making us more whole everyday through Jesus’ forgiveness and his ongoing ministry of reconciliation. Salvation in Jesus Christ leads the way to God’s peace.
Today we begin to walk towards the cross of Good Friday and the empty tomb of Easter because they are sure and certain signs of the glory of God.
The cross is where Jesus suffers for the sake of right relationships between God and humanity. Righteousness and glory only belong to God for sin and death no longer have the last word. The good news of Jesus Christ is for our sakes so that grace as it extends to more and more people may increase our thanksgiving to the glory of God (2 Corinthians 4:15).
Today as we celebrate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, God is moving you and I to the cross. Holy Week is a life changing seven days as we recall the story of Jesus’ costly grace.
German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed 74 years ago last week on April 9 at a concentration camp in Flossenburg, Germany. Bonhoeffer said:
“Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again. It is costly because it condemns sin; it is grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, grace is costly because it was costly to God, because it costs God the life of God’s Son – “you were bought at a price” – and because nothing can be cheap to us which is costly to God. This costly grace comes to us as a gracious call to follow Jesus [to the cross]; it comes as a forgiving word to the fearful spirit and the broken heart.” [2]
I pray that God’ Spirit would move our faith mightily this week as we retrace Jesus’ steps to the costly grace of the cross.
It is at the cross that we truly experience God’s blessing, peace, and glory of the new life promised on Easter.
In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.
Sources Referenced:
[1] Luke 4:14; 4:36; 5:17; 6:19; 8:46; 9:1; 10:13, 19
[2] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Discipleship: Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Works, Volume 4” (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003), p. 45.
No comments:
Post a Comment