Luke 19:28-40 (Palm Sunday)

19 verses 28 through 40. That's page 878 and 879 in the Pew Bible.

Let me invite you to go ahead and turn there with me.

And before we read this, let me pray for us.

Lord, indeed how great you are.

Lord, we ask now that as we come before you in your word,

that you would display your greatness once again to us.

Jesus, you indeed are the lion and the lamb.

We ask that we'd be able to see you and behold you

in that perfect glory that is yours alone.

Lord, help us as we draw near to you in this text.

Lord, that we would hear these words as not just an ancient and faithful account of events that happened long ago,

but as a living word for us today.

We ask this in Christ's name and by your spirit.

Amen.

Luke 19 verse 28.

Luke 19:28

And when Jesus had said these things, he went on ahead going up to Jerusalem.

When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany at the mount that is called Olivet,

he sent two of his disciples saying,

Go into the village in front of you where on entering you will find a colt tied on which no one has ever sat.

Untie it and bring it here.

If anyone asks you why are you untying it, you shall say this,

The Lord has need of it.

So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them.

And as they were untying the colt, its owner said to them,

Why are you untying the colt?

And they said, The Lord has need of it.

And they brought it to Jesus and throwing their cloaks on the colt,

they set Jesus on it and as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road.

As he was drawing near, already on the way down the Mount of Olives,

the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice

for all the mighty works 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.

And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him,

Teacher, rebuke your disciples.

He answered, I tell you, if these were silent,

the very stones would cry out.

So, as we've been saying, today is Palm Sunday.

This is the day when we remember Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem nearly 2,000 years ago.

And as John mentioned at the beginning of our service,

this Sunday marks the beginning of what is sometimes called Holy Week.

Traditionally, this week is the high point of the year for Christians

when we remember Jesus' crucifixion on Good Friday

and we celebrate his resurrection on Easter Sunday just one week from today.

And the account of the triumphal entry that we just read is from Luke's gospel.

In fact, this is one of the handful of events that every single gospel writer mentions.

The triumphal entry.

But the way that Luke has structured his gospel here,

his account of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem,

comes at the end of a long middle section of his gospel,

chapters 9 through 19,

where Jesus in that section is concerned above all

to teach his disciples what it means to follow him.

In that middle section, discipleship is the primary focus.

And as a sidebar, to give a little advertisement,

in a couple of weeks,

we're going to be studying that section in the gospel of Luke

in the evening service.

So, if you want to get a first-hand look at what following Jesus is really all about,

then you can come along to the evening service starting April 3rd

and we'll dive into that together.

But, here, in our text, at the end of chapter 19,

now Luke's emphasis shifts.

No longer is he primarily focusing on discipleship,

but now Luke wants to draw our hearts back

to the one who is the center of it all.

He wants to draw us back to the person and work of Jesus himself.

And he's coming back to some of the core questions

that really drove all of the gospel writers, really.

Who is this Jesus?

What did he come to do?

And how are we supposed to respond?

And what we see is that this is a passage filled with all sorts of misunderstanding

in relationship to those questions.

As Jesus rides into Jerusalem, some people seem to get it right,

but maybe not completely right.

And some people certainly get it wrong.

And everyone, it seems, is caught up in their own expectations and desires and wishes,

their own agendas, their own kingdoms.

And we wonder, reading a passage like this

and maybe looking at our own lives today,

does anyone really get it?

Does anyone understand who this Jesus is

and what he's come to do and how we ought to respond?

Now, maybe this isn't your first Palm Sunday.

It comes every year, after all.

Maybe you've sat through a lot of Palm Sunday services.

Maybe you've even been to a Palm Sunday service

where they actually hand out palm branches for you to celebrate with.

That's fun.

You know, sometimes as Protestants,

we can be really sort of hard on those sorts of things.

But you know what's funny?

Every youth ministry seminar I go to,

this is what they tell you.

They say, here's how you reach people in teaching.

Try to appeal to more than one of their senses.

Don't just hit them in the ears.

Hit them with their hands.

Hit them with their nose.

Do whatever you can.

Show them neat pictures on the overhead.

So it seems like the church for many, many ages

has sort of gotten really good teaching methods.

They give you a Palm on Palm Sunday.

And there it is.

You can taste it.

You can look at it.

You can touch it.

Whatever you want to do with it.

Palm Sunday.

But you know, could it be after all these years

that perhaps you and I are missing something critical about Jesus?

Perhaps we've let our own agendas and our own expectations cloud our thinking.

And maybe we've been missing something crucial all these years.

Now maybe for you, this is your first Palm Sunday.

Maybe you're not sure if you've ever been to a church service on Palm Sunday before.

Maybe Christianity is all quite new to you.

And my guess is that you too have some sort of notion about Jesus.

But this morning, along with Luke, let's focus our gaze back on who Jesus is

and what he's come to do and how we ought to be responding to him once again.

Let's come back to these basic questions

so that we won't settle for vague notions or popular misconceptions.

Because as we'll see, by the time we come to the end of this passage,

this is no question of sort of mere historical interest.

The stakes are high and the claim is great.

Jesus, in essence, will say that our whole life and our whole being

only finds its proper meaning in him.

So let's look at these three questions together then.

Who is Jesus?

What's he come to do?

And how ought we respond?

So first, who is this Jesus?

As Luke sort of directs his camera right on the person of Christ,

he focuses in, in this passage, on something that seems to us

maybe sort of insignificant.

What sort of dominates the opening verses of our paragraph?

This cult, this animal, right?

Right?

Verses 29 through 35 seem to be all about this simple animal.

Did you notice that Luke doesn't mention which disciples Jesus sends?

He could care less about that.

Nor does Luke mention which village they go to.

Is it Bethany?

Is it Bethphage?

We don't really know.

Luke doesn't seem to care.

But rather, this unsuspecting cult seems to take center stage.

Why is this animal so significant?

Well, it's significant for Luke

because as we see here, it's very significant for Jesus.

Jesus commands that it be brought to him.

And the disciples, we find in verse 32,

found it just as he had told them.

And of course, many a reader of the gospel has looked at this

and said, perhaps quite rightly,

that here we see a glimpse of Jesus' divine knowledge of all things.

Perhaps in his divine nature,

Jesus knew that they'd find the cult just as he described,

ready to be borrowed.

And according to the cultural custom of the day,

important dignitaries and even rabbis

could often procure use of property for personal reasons.

This would have been a sort of strange request.

That's why when the disciples come

and say to the owners of this animal,

the Lord has need of it,

they're glad to let him borrow it.

But in fact, surely these owners had heard of Jesus.

So they were more than willing to let him have use of the cult.

But you know, whether this instance is a glimpse

of Jesus' divine foreknowledge

or whether simply Jesus had arranged for the cult ahead of time,

you know, this wasn't the first time

that Jesus had traveled through Bethany and Bethphage after all.

In either case, the important point to see here, I think,

is that Jesus is in complete control of the situation.

He is the one directing all the events here.

Now, why did Jesus take and make such intentional plans for this cult?

Did he think that he'd be tired

after the long journey toward Jerusalem?

It was a pretty steep hill up the Mount of Olives.

Was it a common custom for people to ride into Jerusalem

for the Passover festival?

No, actually.

In fact, from what we can tell historically,

it seems that pilgrims always walked into Jerusalem

as a sign of reverence.

So what does it mean?

Well, for most first century Jews,

the meaning would have been shocking but clear.

By riding the cult into Jerusalem,

Jesus is intentionally making a public,

dramatic demonstration

of his identity as the promised Messiah,

as the long-awaited king.

You see, nearly all of the Hebrew prophets

looked forward to the day of their coming king.

And in one particular book,

the book of Zechariah,

he actually gives a description

of what this arrival would look like.

In Zechariah chapter nine, verse nine,

we find this,

rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion.

Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem.

Behold, your king is coming to you,

righteous and having salvation is he,

humble and mounted on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

So it's unmistakable.

Jesus is taking on himself,

Zechariah's prophecy about the coming king.

In fact, that's probably why Jesus emphasizes

the fact in verse 30

that the colt is one on which

no one has ever yet sat,

which is to say that it's a young creature.

It's a foal,

just like Zechariah had foreseen.

So what's going on here

is this unmistakable sign act

on Jesus' part.

By riding the colt,

it's as if Jesus is saying,

the king that you've been waiting for,

I'm the one.

Do you see what an utterly astounding claim that is?

Imagine I showed up where you work,

wearing a nice suit,

maybe driving a nice car,

which I borrowed from somebody.

Parked right in,

and I drove up and I parked right

in the CEO's parking spot,

reserved for such and such.

I parked right there.

And then I confidently marched

right into the building,

went up the elevator,

walked into the corner office,

as if I owned the place,

as if I ran the place.

Well, depending on the level of security

where you work,

that charade is going to last

maybe about three seconds, right?

No one is going to be convinced.

And certainly the people who know me well

will be the first ones to say,

not a chance.

And yet for Jesus,

it's very different.

He makes this utterly stunning,

bold, public proclamation

of his kingship.

And those who know him best

think it's completely appropriate.

In verse 37,

we're told that they praise God

with a loud voice

for all the mighty works

they had seen.

And what were those mighty works?

Well, Luke's gospel

has been recounting them

again and again and again.

Here was the one

that they had seen

heal the sick

and cure the lepers.

Here was the one

who restored sight

to the blind

and drove out demons

from the oppressed.

Here was the one

they had seen

take a handful of loaves

and a couple of fish

and feed thousands

in one sitting.

Here was the one

they had seen

speak to a raging storm

and immediately

it became calm.

Here was the one

they had seen

speak into a dead man's tomb

and the man

came to life again.

When the Christ appears

some had said

will he do more signs

than this man has done?

Go get the cult

Jesus says.

The time is now.

And they found it

just as he had told them.

Friends,

I wonder if you're starting

to get a glimpse

of this king.

How utterly in control

he is.

How fearless.

How unrelenting.

How bold.

At this point in the story

the authorities

are already seeking

his life.

The opposition

is already mounting.

But,

he gets the cult.

He declares

his true identity.

He rides into Jerusalem.

Fearless,

powerful,

bold.

And yet,

at one and the same time,

in the exact moment

that Jesus demonstrates

his authority

and power,

he also displays

his humility.

Humble and mounted

on a donkey,

Zacharias says.

Not a war horse,

not a chariot,

but a cult

the foal

of a donkey.

Can you imagine

the Roman soldiers

who occupied Jerusalem

looking out

at this band

of pilgrims

coming down

the Mount of Olives

like so many

groups of pilgrims

had come down

the Mount of Olives

coming towards the city?

And this one's

shouting

and waving

and throwing

their cloaks

in the road

which was a sign

of homage.

and at the center

of this

excitement

is a man

riding

on a donkey.

What a ridiculous sight

it must have seemed

to the Roman authorities.

Some king

they must have mocked.

Which is probably

why the Roman authorities

didn't march right out there

and squelch it

to begin with.

What was the threat?

A man riding

a donkey

followed by a band

of disciples

throwing their clothing

in the road?

And yet,

friends,

Jesus is no ordinary king.

I don't need to tell you

that many of the rulers

of this world

are intoxicated

with brute power,

with control,

and with utter subjugation.

And yet,

here is a king,

indeed the true king,

with all the authority

of God himself

because he is God himself

and he's exercising

that power

in humility

and in gentleness

and in service.

Here's the one

who not only

calmed the raging sea

but who welcomed

children to his side

and blessed them

as we saw last week.

Here's the one

who not only called

Lazarus forth from the grave

with a loud voice

but raised

Jairus' daughter

back to life

with gentle words

saying,

in essence,

little girl,

it's time to get up.

Here's the one

who said,

all authority

in heaven

and on earth

is given to me.

But who also said,

come to me

all who labor

and are heavy laden

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you

and learn from me

for I am gentle

and lowly in heart

and you will find rest

for your souls.

Who else

is like this king?

Show me someone

who is as fearless

and yet as kind,

as authoritative

and yet as humble,

a calmer of storms

and yet a friend of sinners.

Friend,

you might not think

you want a king.

You probably don't think

you need a king.

But don't you want

someone like that?

Unfathomable glory

and perfect humility.

Infinite justice

and infinite grace.

You see this unfold.

You see his character unfold

in the rest of Luke 19.

If you just scan your eyes

over the rest of the chapter,

if you were to read further,

then you would see Jesus weep

broken hearted

over hard hearted Jerusalem,

rejecting their king.

And in the next moment,

you'd see Christ's zeal

as he cleanses the temple.

Fury

and tears.

Lion

and lamb.

The king mounted

on a donkey.

You know,

from one angle,

you can read the entire story

of the Old Testament

as a story

of waiting

for the rightful king

to come.

In the book of Judges,

a refrain goes up

again and again.

In those days,

there was no king in Israel

and everyone did

what was right

in their own eyes

and the nation unravels

socially,

spiritually,

morally,

politically.

And then when Israel

finally gets a king

in the opening chapters

of 1 Samuel,

he sort of looks the part.

Saul is tall and strong,

but ultimately he fails.

And then David,

with David,

Israel gets as close

as they ever do

to having their ideal king.

He's a man after God's own heart

and even David fails

and falls short

as we've been seeing

in the evening service

these many weeks.

And Solomon,

David's son,

likewise,

turns out not to be the king

that Israel or the world

really needs.

After Solomon's death,

the narrative of 1 and 2 Samuel

sort of functions

like a spotlight,

just going back and forth again

from north to south

and back again,

seeing whether one of these kings

will bring righteousness

and stability

and hope.

And of course,

if you've read those stories,

you know that none of them do.

But the great prophets

foresee a day

when God's promise

to his people

will be fulfilled.

That one day,

one of David's offspring

will sit on the throne

forever and ever.

And this king,

Isaiah tells us,

will be called

nothing less than

wonderful counselor,

mighty God,

everlasting father,

prince of peace.

Of the increase

of his government

and of peace,

there will be no end.

He will sit on the throne

of David

and over his kingdom

to establish it

and to uphold it

with justice

and with righteousness

from this time forth

and forevermore.

And you see,

the unrelenting witness

of the New Testament

is that in Jesus,

this king has at last come.

That in Jesus,

indeed,

God has come

to shepherd

and to rule his people

and to renew all things.

So friends,

let me ask,

if this is who Jesus is,

the lion and the lamb,

the one with all authority

and all humility,

the calmer of storms

and the friend of sinners,

what is it that keeps you

from entrusting your life to him?

what is there

that you desire

in a savior,

in a king,

in a God

that is not

in the Lord Jesus Christ?

And maybe you're asking yourself,

well,

what did it look like?

What if I actually took

Christ as my king?

As crazy as that sounds,

what if I were to center

my life on him?

What would I expect?

What kind of relationship

would that be?

In the 18th century,

a pastor and theologian

named Jonathan Edwards

put it this way.

He said,

Christ will give himself

to you

with all those

various excellencies

that meet,

that come together in him

to your full

and everlasting

enjoyment.

He will ever after

treat you

as his dear friend

and you shall

ere long

be where he is

and shall behold

his glory

and dwell with him

in the most free

and intimate

communion

and enjoyment.

Luke is writing

his gospel

because he wants us

to know Christ

like that.

he wants us

to really see

who he is

and to know him.

But it's not just

who Christ is

that's on display here.

We're actually also shown

a glimpse

of what he's come to do.

And that's the second point

I want us to look at.

What's Jesus come to do?

Now the disciples,

again as we mentioned

a little early in the service,

are most certainly

expecting Jesus

to do one thing.

Come in

and topple the Romans.

It is Passover

after all

at this point.

in the year.

It's the national festival

celebrating

Israel's liberation

when God extended

his mighty right arm

and completely unraveled

the nation of Egypt

with plagues

and set the people free.

And that's what

the disciples think

Jesus has come to do.

Military victory.

Political liberation

from their Roman overlords.

In fact,

in the first century

waving palm branches,

which as it turns out

Luke doesn't mention

in his account

of the triumphal entry

but the other gospel writers do,

this idea of waving

palm branches

was actually a symbol

of Jewish nationalism

and military victory.

It wasn't sort of

a cute thing

that they did

in the synagogues

once a year.

And as they would have

waved those palm branches,

they would have been

hailing Jesus as king

and expecting

a great victory

over political oppression.

And yet this isn't

what Jesus does.

If you read Luke's gospel,

you'll find that

Jerusalem is mentioned

a number of times

in chapters 9 through 19.

And as that narrative progresses,

the momentum builds

and builds

as Jesus gets closer

and closer to the city.

But at the beginning

of that section

in chapter 9,

in Luke's account

of the transfiguration,

we're told there

that Moses and Elijah

come and speak to Jesus

about what?

About his departure

that he was about

to accomplish in Jerusalem.

And very interestingly,

that word departure there

is literally

his exodus.

That's chapter 9,

verse 31.

So when Luke says

in verse 28

in our text here

that Jesus

went on ahead

going up to Jerusalem,

finally the story

is starting to reach

its peak.

Jerusalem,

this city

that we've been anticipating

as we followed

Luke's gospel

along the way.

And it's weighted,

it's freighted

with all sorts of meaning

at this point.

In particular,

it means that Jesus

is now finally

going to accomplish

his exodus,

whatever that means.

A whole new Passover

is going to be achieved.

But it wouldn't be

what anyone expected.

But you know,

knowing what we know now,

can't you almost see it

in this scene

as the one

who tamed the raging seas

and rose the dead to life?

God's true king

as he comes riding in

on a lowly donkey.

There he is!

Humble.

Almost foolish.

Perhaps even to some

a scandal.

But you see, friends,

this greater exodus

would be won

through an even

greater humility

and through

an even greater scandal.

The king would enter

on a donkey,

but the king

would win his victory

going even lower still.

Mounting a cross

and being crucified.

Again and again,

Jesus told his disciples

what will happen

when they reach Jerusalem.

He'll be handed over

to the authorities

and crucified,

but in three days

he will rise.

The king is entering Zion

to win a great battle,

yes,

but this even greater exodus,

this even greater liberation

is going to be won

through a cross

and through a resurrection.

The people wanted a victor

who would eliminate

their political enemies,

but Jesus comes

and does one better.

He has a greater enemy

in view

and he's come to liberate us

from our greatest enemy

and our greatest fear,

the enemy of sin

and the fear of death.

And in praising Jesus

in this moment,

as the disciples sort of

take up these verses

from this psalm

that had been sung

so many times,

in taking up these words,

the disciples speak

better than they knew.

What do they say here?

Almost unconsciously

echoing the angels

at Jesus' birth.

Peace in heaven!

They exclaim.

And friends,

isn't that exactly

what the king

has accomplished?

Peace

in heaven.

Jesus would be

the true Passover lamb

dying in the place

of his sinful people

so that the rightful wrath

of God

could pass over our sins

and we could be saved.

Friend,

do you know peace

this morning?

Not the peace

of having a good-paying job,

although that is a good thing.

Not the peace

of having a healthy family,

although that is something

to be thankful for.

Not the peace

of having little

or no conflicts

with your coworkers

and neighbors,

although that is good too.

I'm talking about

the kind of peace

that even if all

those things

were stripped away,

your work,

your health,

your family,

your friends,

even if all those things

were stripped away,

you could still

wake up in the morning

and know joy.

That's the kind of peace

Jesus has come

to win for you.

Peace

with

God.

So you see,

when Jesus told

his disciples

to get the cult,

he knew exactly

where it was all

going to end up.

He would ride

into Jerusalem,

he would be betrayed,

arrested,

condemned

at the hands

of his own friends

and his own people,

and at the hand

of the Romans,

the Romans,

everyone thought

he was coming

to overthrow.

Jesus himself

would be overthrown.

But three days later,

he would rise.

So don't you see,

his decision

to mount

the cult

was his decision

to mount the cross.

And he knew exactly

where it all would lead.

And in so doing,

he would fulfill

even more words

of the prophets.

Like these from Isaiah,

he was wounded

for our transgressions.

He was crushed

for our iniquities.

Upon him

was the chastisement

that brought us

peace.

There it is again.

Peace.

Peace.

Peace.

Friend,

you can know

peace this morning.

The ultimate peace

of having your sins

forgiven.

You have a victor

who humbled himself

and conquered sin

and death for you.

And that's what

Holy Week is all about.

That in Jesus'

death and resurrection,

all who turn

and believe in him

are liberated

from the guilt

and penalty of sin,

from the curse

of the law,

from the fear

of death

and they have

peace with God.

Friend,

I wonder if we've

forgotten what

great news this is.

I wonder if we're

still trying to squeeze

Jesus down

into the mold

of our expectations

and our desires

and our petty

little kingdoms

when he's opened up

the kingdom of God

for us.

Well, this brings us

to our third

and final point

briefly.

In our text today,

we see the division

that Jesus inevitably

causes.

Look at the end,

those last few verses.

The disciples hail

Jesus as the king

with those words

from Psalm 118,

blessed is the one

who comes in the name

of the Lord.

But the Pharisees

say to Jesus,

teacher,

rebuke your disciples.

And don't those

two responses

represent two of

the most fundamental

ways that we can

still respond

to him today.

On the one hand,

we can consider

Jesus a mere teacher,

a teacher whose

disciples probably

got a little

out of hand,

a teacher whose

disciples started

making claims of

Jesus that he

himself would

never have supported.

Of course,

our text this

morning shows that

Jesus was making

those claims.

Jesus' identity

wasn't something

that was fabricated

by the disciples

as they played

whisper down the

alley in the

decades after

his death.

But we can see

him as a mere

teacher,

or on the other

hand,

we can rejoice

before Jesus

and praise him

as the king

who comes in

the name of

the Lord.

And between

these two

options,

what does

Jesus himself

say?

What's his

verdict on

these two

responses to

his identity,

to his

person,

to his

work?

Verse 40,

I tell you,

Jesus says,

if these were

silent,

the very stones

would cry out.

Well,

that's about as

definitive as you

could make it,

isn't it?

In this moment,

Jesus says,

I have to be

praised.

And if human

beings aren't

going to do it,

then the

inanimate creation

itself is going

to break forth

in song and

hail me as the

king.

That's what

humans were

meant to do,

by the way,

created in the

image of God,

to take the

full praises of

creation and

reflect them

back to its

rightful king

and creator.

And Jesus

says,

here,

look,

if you're

not going

to do it,

then the

praises of

creation will

crash over

your heads

and keep

coming,

whether you

come or not.

Even the

stones will cry

out.

Teacher,

the Pharisees

called him.

Teacher?

What Jesus is

saying here is

that the

universe exists

for his

praise.

Everything,

every rock,

every star,

every molecule

in your body

was fashioned

by him and

through him

and for him,

as Paul later

says in

Colossians 1.

And do you

see what that

means?

That here is

the one

who can make

your whole

life sing.

every stitch

and every

fabric within

you was

made to

praise this

king.

To not

acknowledge him

as such

is to live

at a joint

with your

very essence.

Some of you

are here this

morning and

you're wondering

why life

just doesn't

seem to be

adding up.

Why on the

surface,

everything in

your life

seems to be

pretty good,

pretty right,

pretty commendable.

But inside,

there seems to be

nothing but chaos.

friends,

have you ever

asked and

have you ever

thought that

maybe you're

praising the

wrong thing?

Maybe you're

centering your

life on

something that

just can't

hold.

I often think

of our lives

like a wheel

on the spokes

of the various

parts of our

life.

And in

themselves,

oftentimes these

spokes seem to

be okay.

Our work,

our family,

our relationships,

they seem to

be fine.

And yet,

no matter what

we put in

the hub,

no matter what

we put in

the center,

nothing keeps

them together

and they're

always flying

apart and

they're always

crashing into

each other.

But friend,

if there's a

God who made

you and who

took on flesh

to redeem you

because he

loves you,

then surely

he must be

the rightful

center.

Surely he must

be the one

around whom

everything else

must and

can spin.

Surely he must

be the one

you've got to

praise above

all else.

And that's the

call of the

gospel,

to hail Jesus

not just as a

teacher but as

a king,

as the king,

and to take up

your cross and

follow him,

and in so doing

to find peace and

joy and true

freedom.

But there's

more in this

little comment

about the

stones,

isn't there?

Because it

points ahead to

Jesus' second

coming.

When the

resurrected Jesus

returns to

bring his

kingdom to

completion and

fullness,

when he does

that he's going

to renew all

things,

friends,

and then at

that moment

it's not just

going to be the

rocks that are

crying out,

but it's going

to be the

entire creation

that will rejoice

in that moment.

Here's how

Psalm 96 put

it.

Psalm 96

says,

let the heavens

be glad and

let the earth

rejoice,

let the sea roar

and all that

fills it,

let the field

exult and

everything in

it.

Then all the

trees of the

forest sing for

joy before the

Lord for he

comes,

for he comes to

judge the earth,

he will judge the

world in

righteousness and

the peoples in

faithfulness.

And we see it

again in Isaiah

55,

for you shall go

out in joy and

be led forth in

peace and the

mountains and the

hills before you

shall break forth

into singing and

all the trees of

the field shall

clap their

hands.

And friends,

if the trees are

going to clap

their hands in

that moment,

what's going to be

true of us?

One day Jesus is

going to make the

earth resound with

joy at his coming

through the victory

he won through his

death and resurrection

and even creation

itself is going to be

set free from its

bondage to decay,

Paul says.

And friends,

if one day he

will do that,

and he will,

then surely today

he can take your

heart of stone

and make it cry

with life again

and with joy

and with peace.

That's what Holy

Week is all about.

How will you

respond to Jesus?

Will you keep him

at arm's length

as just another

teacher?

Or will you

praise him as

your rightful king?

Let's pray.

Father,

indeed,

we ask for

your Holy Spirit

to come

and to make us

willing and able

to receive Jesus

as our Lord

and King.

God,

our own flesh

pushes against

that idea

with almost

everything within

it.

We don't want

a king.

We don't want

someone to rule

over our lives.

We'd rather

try to just

have a teacher

who can give us

advice and then

we can stay in

control and we

can try to work

things out our

own way.

Oh,

Lord,

would you give us

your spirit

to overcome

our self-control

and our self-love

and pull us

out of ourselves

into where real

life is found

in the glad

embrace

of this great

king.

Lord,

make it so,

we pray.

In Jesus' name,

amen.