Palm Sunday
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As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples,
2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”
4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it,
5 some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?”
6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it.
8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields.
9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven”
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve. -
Nota Bene is the Latin phrase for a well-known abbreviation N.B. meaning – Note Well.
It is a good way to start our Easter season and in particular Palm Sunday.
Palm Sunday is such a familiar date in the church calendar and the beginning of Holy Week, our countdown to Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
I assume you know this is the Sunday that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a Donkey
I am assuming you know the crowd shouted ‘Hosanna in the Highest!’
I am assuming you know people laid palm branches on the road, maybe waved them
Note Well N.B.
N.B. four C’s to take with you into Palm Sunday and on to Easter.
N.B. the Context
N.B. the Control
N.B. the Choice
N.B. the Conclusion
N.B. the Context
The context of Palm Sunday recorded in Mark 11 and Matthew 21, is that as Jesus and the disciples drew near to Jerusalem, blind Bartimaeus shouted:
‘Son of David, Jesus,
have mercy on me.’
Everyone would have known that was the title of the Messiah – Son of David. The crowd would have been amazed that Jesus answered to the title.
N.B. Jesus owns this title messiah, saviour. As he heads for Jerusalem Jesus accepts the very title that will bring him into conflict with the authorities, religious and Roman.
N.B. The context is they start out from the village of Bethany where Jesus resurrected Lazarus from death. Where he had said ‘I am the resurrection and I am the life’
It is the day before Palm Sunday and the drama builds. That is the Context.
N.B. the Control
Jesus is in Control. Jesus stops in Bethpage and Bethany where his friends Mary and Marth live.
N.B. Jesus is orchestrating his Triumphal entry, the crowds were gathering from the villages that knew him so well and loved him dearly. Mark11:9, ‘Those who went ahead and those who followed….’
N.B. the Control – Jesus sent two disciples to Bethpage to get a Donkey. He knew this village, he knew who owned the Donkeys. When the disciples gave the answer “the master needs it and will return it after” the drama builds some more. Jesus is in control. This is not gentle Jesus meek and mild, this is Breaking News – Jesus is about to enter Jerusalem and he accepts, in front of all, that he is the Messiah. The crowd who followed from the surrounding towns and villages cheered – he knew they would – they knew him and loved him - they shouted “Hosanna” save us now.
‘‘See, your king comes to you….
lowly and riding on a donkey.’’
— Zechariah 9:9
N.B. the Choice
Donkey — riding on a donkey, not a warhorse nor a white stallion fit for a king but, a donkey the beast of a servant. Oh, the humility of a peace prince riding into Jerusalem where he would be named king. Zechariah 9:9 called it 500 years before, ‘See, your king comes to you….lowly and riding on a donkey.’
N.B. Jesus makes a choice that connects with the prophet – a king on a donkey.
N.B. At the and of Palm Sunday, Mark 11:11 says, ‘since it was already late, Jesus went out to Bethany with the Twelve.’
It is the end of Palm Sunday; the Lord Jesus chose to go back to Bethany to rest with his friends. N.B. The Choice.
N.B. the Conclusion
Palm Sunday featured in all four Gospels; Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19 and John 12, from which we can safely conclude – this really happened – this is history. And if Palm Sunday is history with the crowds cheering Hosanna, so too is Good Friday historic with crowds jeering ‘crucify him.’
I believe with all my heart that Christianity stands or falls on the historicity of Easter. Cynics would agree to the Sunday before the Friday and to the details of the Friday but not the Sunday after when our Lord and Saviour defeated death and opened the door to eternal life for each and every one of us – Easter Sunday – Resurrection day.
N.B. We only have to believe it, he arose, he is alive, he reigns because his kingdom come has come and will come in great glory. I urge you to choose to believe it, I urge you to urge others,
N.B. this is true accurate history, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday, he was led outside Jerusalem city walls on the Friday after, where they crucified him and buried him. The following Sunday, he arose from the tomb alive forevermore and we can know him and love him today because he loves you and longs to know you today - I urge you, do not ignore him, believe in him – he says to you
‘‘I am the resurrection and I am the life,
those who believe in me shall never die.’
— John 11: 25-26
