One of the Crowd

ONE OF THE CROWD

Mount Hope UMC

Palm Sunday, April 5, 2020

Matthew 21:1-11 New Living Translation (NLT)

Jesus’ Triumphant Entry

21 As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. ² “Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.”

⁴ This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said,

⁵ “Tell the people of Jerusalem,^[a]
    ‘Look, your King is coming to you.
He is humble, riding on a donkey—
    riding on a donkey’s colt.’”^[b]

⁶ The two disciples did as Jesus commanded. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.^[c]

⁸ Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting,

“Praise God^[d] for the Son of David!
    Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
    Praise God in highest heaven!”^[e]

¹⁰ The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked.

¹¹ And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

            The Palm Sunday story is usually one that focuses on Christ’s triumphant entrance into Jerusalem riding on a donkey and a crowd of people shouting and proclaiming, “Hosanna in the highest” and waving palm leaves.  Within the week, we know that Jesus will be tried, crucified, died, buried and will rise again.

            Today, church begins the journey to Calvary for Christians.  This is going to be a different journey this year, because we will not be worshipping together in our Sanctuary.  Our homes have become our sanctuary.  But let me give you a word of encouragement.  In Christ’s time, while there were synagogues and temples, they were in large cities.  Many families worshipped in their homes then with the male head of the household – father or grandfather – reading the scripture and explaining it to the family and the mother setting the atmosphere with food, candles, etc.  So here we are today, gathered as families in our homes worshipping as the Israelites did in the past and even as some now do who do not have a synagogue near enough to their homes to walk to.  Let us give God praise that we can praise him anywhere, anytime, anyhow!

            I won’t be before you long, church, because I want you to be able to participate in the Love Feast and I want you to be able to also attend the service the District Superintendents are offering at 11:00 this morning.

            I want us to use our imaginations this morning and think about what that day over 2,000 years ago looked like.  Jesus’ reputation preceded him.  For three years he has been challenging the local priests, Pharisees, Saducees and Roman authority.  He has preached, healed, performed miracles and taught the meaning of the Word of God – all without what they considered “formal training” under a Rabbi.  He ministered to Jews, Samaritans, the centurions of the Roman army, the poor and the outcasts. 

Jesus is now a hunted man.  The Pharisees were looking for an excuse to kill him and he knew it.  His disciples had advised him against going to Jerusalem for this reason.  But it was time for the Passover Feast and every devout Jew would be going to Jerusalem to participate in the Passover.  I think it’s interesting that Joseph and Mary journeyed to Bethlehem for the census and it was during this mass gathering of people that Jesus was born.  Now, he is traveling again to a mass gathering of people to his death.  The circle of life will soon be fulfilled.

No crowds greeted him to announce his birth.  But because the Passover was a high holy day for Jews, Jerusalem would have been full of people making the pilgrimage.  Jerusalem would have been crowded with families and their households.  Houses would be teeming with family who have come from miles and miles and who have not seen family members since the previous year’s Passover.  Space would have been tight.  Life would have been stressed and strained.  Toilet paper scarce.

            Crowd hysteria is something psychologist have been studying for years.  It is a craze or state of extreme emotional excitement and it can exhibit itself in either a positive or negative form.  On that day, it only helped to incite the Pharisees further.  Their fear was that Jesus was influencing the Jews away from their teachings because they were teaching obedience to God but adding their own rules and restrictions.  Jesus was freeing people from the impossible laws the Pharisees made that even they could not obey.  So, the crowd was jubilant to see the man who ministered to the least, the last and the lost.  They were excited to see him for themselves and hoping that he would perform a miracle in their presence.  They were cheering the person who was meek and humble and who greeted them on their level and understood their pain.

            Can you imagine being one of the crowd that day as Jesus rode into Jerusalem.  Imagine yourself in that crowd.  Imagine you were the woman with the issue of blood who had been healed by Jesus.  Image you were the leper, or blind Bartemaeus, or the lame man by the pool of Bethsaida, who had been restored to wholeness.  Imagine you were the man in the graveyard who had been delivered of the demons that possessed him.  Imagine you were the woman who had been caught in adultery and was saved from a stoning death.  Imagine the deliverance and salvation you have received from accepting Jesus.

            If you were in that crowd you would be shouting and waving your palm leaves.  You would be shouting “Hosanna in the highest and peace to people on earth”; you would be shouting “Thank you, Jesus”; you would be pushing and straining to get closer, to touch his cloak, to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in its fullness.  You would probably even sing “Ride on King Jesus!”

            But also, in that crowd were people Jesus had not yet reached and who did not know him for themselves.  People he had not yet healed, had not yet restored to wholeness, had not yet taught the meaning of real love.  There were unbelievers in that crowd.  There were people who were threatened by this man Jesus and his followers.  People who were not waving palm leaves and shouting exhortations.  There were non-believers in that crowd.  We know this because there were people who asked who he was and those who knew told them that it was Jesus of Nazareth, the prophet.

            Are you one of the crowd who knows Jesus and his saving grace?  Has Jesus brought you out and delivered you from sickness, sin and death?  Has Jesus been your wheel in the middle of the wheel?  Will you follow him to the cross on Calvary?

            Or are you one of the crowd that have never experienced the love and peace that surpasses all understanding?  A love and a joy that keeps you safe and secure no matter the storms that blow in life?  A comfort that no matter how deep the heartache still lets you know that you are protected and cared for no matter the grief or rejection you have faced?

            I don’t know about you, but I am one of the crowd that can testify that Jesus can take a wretch like me and picked me up and turned my life completely around and put my feet on solid ground; that he can heal any disease and cure any sickness known to man; that Jesus, and only Jesus, can love me when nobody else does.  I don’t worry about no COVID-19 or coronavirus; I don’t worry about no pandemic, I don’t worry about no quarantine; I don’t worry about no toilet paper because long as I got King Jesus, I don’t need nobody else.