Palm Sunday (Two Crowds)
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21:1 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,
21:2 saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me.
21:3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately."
21:4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,
21:5 "Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
21:6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them;
21:7 they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them.
21:8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
21:9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!"
21:10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?"
21:11 The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."
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Salt and Light
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
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. This is the Sunday that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a Donkey. This is the day the crowd shouted ‘Hosanna in the Highest!’ This is when people in the crowd laid palm branches on the road, maybe waved them.
‘‘See, your king comes to you….
lowly and riding on a donkey.’’
— Zechariah 9:9
Two Crowds
There was quite a spiritual battle going on in Jerusalem that Holy Week and it features two crowds. The crowd who cried Hosanna on Palm Sunday and the crowd who yelled “crucify Him” on Good Friday. They were not the same crowd. The crowd that started to form in the village at Bethphage were followers of Jesus.
This is not the same crowd who sided with the Religious leaders five days later who shouted ‘crucify him.’ I hope to show that these two crowds are an outworking of Jesus’ sermon on the mount metaphor that we are to be salt and light in our world where there is religious opposition
The setting is Palm Sunday and the teaching on Salt and Light challenges the Palm Sunday crowd and us to make a difference in the world! The Matthew passage challenges our church. How we are getting on in the area where we are ‘poured out’ (salt)in Newport and the Isle of Wight?
The church should be a counterculture for the good of an area. How are we getting on as lights on the hill?
Our reading divides into two bite-sized pieces:
1. Salt of the earth. 2. Light of the world.
Salt of the Earth
The Palm Sunday context is that Jesus and his disciples they start out from the village of Bethany where Jesus resurrected Lazarus from death. Where he is known. Where his friends Mary and Marth live. Jesus is orchestrating his Triumphal entry, the crowds were gathering from the villages that knew him so well and loved him dearly. Matthew 21:9 ‘Those who went ahead and those who followed….’
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 about to enter Jerusalem and he accepts, in front of all, that he is the Messiah.
This crowd are the ‘salt of the earth’ who followed from the surrounding towns and villages. They were precious to him, loved him and they shouted “Hosanna” save us now. I want to look into what it means to be ‘salt of the earth’ where we are.
Salt was precious in New Testament times. It had various uses – religious sacrifice, medicinal, food preservation and seasoning.
In Matthew 5:14 Jesus says ‘you are the salt of the earth’, it is a natural metaphor for the people of that time - everyone knew it had worth.
1. Purity. As ‘salt of the earth’ we are an e.g. of Purity. In world where there is lowering of moral standards; we should be salt of the earth who keep God’s standards of purity: how we speak, conduct, honesty, morality. To be effective Christians must retain Christ-likeness as salt must not become impure. Salt in the neighbourhood – speaking out and standing out in our times of moral promiscuity – salt is about purity
In contrast to the decay in society of Me First society, if it feels good do it –“salt of the earth” are gentle, calm, not angry texting, keeping harmony, not hoarding possessions.
2. Medicinal. Salt is pre-TCP, an antiseptic, a healer. (Get a volunteer too gargle for a sore throat, mouth ulcers rinse with salt)
How often do we see ourselves as healing agents? People need to hear the good news that broken lives can be made whole again in Jesus Christ. We can be ministers of divine healing for the sick, spiritually and physically in Jesus.
That’s the crowd we want to be a part of.
3. Preservative, to prevent decay. Salt is used to keep fish from rotting. Do we see ourselves as agents in the world to prevent rottenness? Preserving God’s moral standards. Writing to our MP, signing petitions, and preserving the scriptures as they come under attack from progressive religious leaders wishing to change the words and meaning of these ancient Holy scriptures given to us by the ancient of Days.
4. Seasoning (not bland). The Greek word for ‘salt’ also means wit and sparkle. Salt puts the zest into a meal, transforming the plain into the delicious. In Matthew 5:14 Jesus said ‘salt of the earth’ in SOTM meaning active Christians should attractive people attracting others to our Lord. This isn’t about changing the Christian Church, but about changing the world. Salty people have zest and zeal, they are also reliable, committed, kind, genuine & honest. These are the people who change the world, according to Jesus. Illustration: add salt to plain crisps, salty is nicer, not plain.
NB, we are not to focus on the salt but on the difference we can make (Add salt to a steak and you don’tt say ‘that was great salt!’
No, you speak about the steak. Our saltiness is to glorify our Father in heaven.
Jesus implies that the religious leaders have become bland or compromised: ‘but if salt has lost its taste… It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.’ The religious leaders led the second crowd against Jesus on Good Friday - they were not the salt of the earth. They were so focussed on their religion that they could not see they were leading the second crowd to crucify their Christ - Messiah. Religious leaders today have become tarnished by trying to blend in with the culture of the day, the ‘wok agenda’ – losing saltiness - Illustration: add sugar to salt and it has lost its taste because it has been compromised.
Salt: a seasoning is also a preservative, medicinal and pure.
Light of the World
The Palm Sunday crowd is the ‘Light of the world’ proclaiming ‘Saviour’ Hosanna, showing the world the truth of Jesus, who he is – the image of the invisible God. When people know you are a Christian they need to see that it makes a difference in your life and you are the light reflecting Christ the light, see Christ in you. Our testimony should influence and impact the world around us. Notice Jesus gives the picture of a town on a hill which is a picture of community. It is often said you can be a Christian without being part of a church or a fellowship. This verse differs. You can’t be a town on a hill all by yourself.
In New Testament times the town on a hill would have a glow of the lamps & fires at night. Town on a hill, people would look up and see it for miles. Jerusalem was on a hill. No light pollution then from street lights just a glow of the community of houses.
In John 8:12 “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
In this Matthew 5 passage Jesus says- YOU are the light of the world. You plural, you as a community or fellowship. Not that we are the source but that we reflect Christ the light (like the Moon reflects the sun). Illustration of a light reflecting on a translucent ball, the ball has no light of itself but it reflects the light. The fellowship reflecting the Light of Christ. Through the church, God can show the people around you (who you mingle with and influence) who God is and what he is like. Through prayer and in witness (Midweek groups), through door-to-door parish visiting, and through care shown to Care homes in this area.
Good deeds of care, compassion, and generosity. Good deeds are not just good actions but include everything we say or do because we are a Christian - outward visible demonstrations of our faith. It’s about living out the Christian life in this neighbourhood, where you live. Our witness is so important - Live it & speak it out.
Two Crowds
Palm Sunday is recorded 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 the crowd that jeered ‘crucify him.’ This is a story of two crowds, a story of a spiritual battle that still rages today. Sadly, it is not always about the secular against the Christian but increasingly it is about the religious against the Christian - two crowds
The Big Surprise in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew Chapters 5 – 7 is that Jesus makes two contrasts and it is not contrasting good and bad, light and dark, salt and sweet. Matthew 5:13 there are two salts, 5:14 there are two lights, Matthew 6:12 two people praying, Matthew 7:17 two paths. Surprisingly the two ways are not good v bad, believers v unbelievers.
Both paths look the same two lights one is under a cover one shines for the world to see, two salts - one is tasty, is attractive one has lost it’s flavour, two paths, one is broad & leads to destruction one is narrow is the way (the true path). I believe what Jesus is doing here is contrasting the Christian life and the Religious life and unsurprisingly, both look similar. Both are about obeying the law and keeping the Ten Commandments, both tithe, both pray, both are going to church but one is heading for destruction.
In Holy week there were two crowds, one that had people who were the salt of the earth, light of the world - proclaiming Christ the light and Hosanna - Saviour. The second crowd was orchestrated by the religious leaders and that road leads to destruction.
Which crowd are you in the Jesus crowd or the other? You must be on the Saviour’s path that leads to eternal life .
‘‘Ancient of Days.’
—Song
