The Final Confrontation – March 24, 2024, Palm Sunday

Zechariah 9:9-10, Matthew 21:1-17
March 24, 2024, Palm Sunday

So, today we celebrate that day in the life and ministry of Jesus that we’ve come to know as Palm Sunday.  Or, as you might find it in the paragraph heading in your Bible, “The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.”

This is a major turning point for Jesus!  In Luke’s Gospel, we’re told that he got to a certain point in his time here on earth, and “he set his face to go to Jerusalem.”  That was big!  That’s where everything would come to a head.  That’s where all of the controversy surrounding him would reach its culmination.  And as I’m saying it today, that’s where Jesus would have his “Final Confrontation.”

Now, there are two things happening here.  First, there was a celebration of Jesus.  That’s the obvious thing we see.  Crowds gathered.  People were excited.  This now famous man was coming into the holy city.  That part was real.  There was a processional.  And it was similar to the processional that took place in 164bc, when Judas Maccabees rode into Jerusalem in triumph.  He was the one who led the successful rebellion against the Seleucid empire.  I’ve talked about that on previous Palm Sundays.  (For you history buffs, that’s one of the empires that arose after the death of Alexander the Great.)

That’s what the people were hoping for this day.  They wanted their freedom.  They were ready for a king!  And this just might be the day that happens.  This might be the start of their rebellion!  This time it would be against the Romans.  They were ready for this.  They were excited about this.  And as I said many times, the Romans had to be very nervous about this!  And they were there, of course, watching – maybe gripping their spears a little tighter!  At what point would they step in and crush this rebellion? – Like they had already done on a number of other occasions!  And they were brutal!

But!  The Romans were only one part of this picture.  And granted, they could have been a huge part of it, had Jesus actually started the rebellion!  That would wait for another 40 years or so.  And it wouldn’t go well!  But no.  The biggest part of this Palm Sunday picture was not “the final confrontation” with them, it was “final confrontation” with the religious authorities.  That’s the real conflict Matthew is showing us here.  And it had to do with everything that happened that day.

Hailing this Jesus as king was the first part of that.  The chief priests and scribes had already decided that couldn’t be.  They refused to accept Jesus.  And not only that, but by this time, they had already been plotting how to do away with him.  In Luke’s account, they tried to get Jesus to stop this parade.  “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” they said.  And of course that’s where Jesus responded, “If these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

I’ll never forget a mentor friend of mine telling me that Jesus was quoting scripture there – which he often did.  He was quoting from the Prophet Habakkuk, who told of the time that the stones would cry out from the walls.  And they were crying in judgement against the injustice being done to the people. (Habakkuk 2:11)  So Jesus’ response here wasn’t just a confirmation of who he was.  It was a further indictment against those in the religious leadership who were doing those injustices to the people!

“The final confrontation” then grew even more serious when Jesus then took it into “their house.”  He entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple.  And this time it wasn’t just a matter of teaching controversial things, or healing on the Sabbath.  This time Jesus did the most violent thing he ever did.  He wrecked the place!  He turned over the tables and booths of those who changing money and selling sacrifices.  They were the ones doing the injustice to the people!  They were scammers!

We’ve talked before about how the people were “required” to bring “pure” sacrifices to the Temple.  So their sacrifices had to be “inspected” by the priests.  And if the sacrifice wasn’t good enough, “Well, we have these for sale right over here!”  “Oh and by the way, when you give a monetary offering, it has to be in the ‘Temple currency.’”  “But don’t worry, we can exchange your money for you right over here – for a fee, of course.”  Like I said last week, God’s greatest judgement was reserved for those who used their positions of spiritual authority for personal gain!

Well, there are other things Jesus did in Jerusalem between Sunday and Thursday.  And Matthew records some of them.  And I hope you’ll take time to read them this week.  For instance, later in this chapter there was a confrontation with the religious leaders where asked him where he got his authority.  Maybe you remember that.  He responded by asking them a very tricky question about John the Baptist.  He asked them, “Where did John get his authority?”  And they were stuck!  “If we say it was from God, he’ll ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’  But if we say it wasn’t, the people will be angry, because they believe John was a prophet.”  So they said, “We don’t know!”  And Jesus said, “Then I’m not telling you about my authority, either!”  That didn’t make things any better.

I do encourage you to read the next few chapters of Matthew, as he fills in the time between Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday.  You’ll see that Jesus was in and out of Jerusalem in those days.  He taught openly in the Temple, and he told some parables.  And if you read it, you’ll see that some of those were parables that “called out” the religious authorities and made things even worse with them.  You’ll also read about how the Pharisees and Sadducees tried to trap him in his words, and make him look bad in front of the people.  That didn’t go so well either!  And then you’ll read chapter 24, where he spoke prophetically about the future.

But I believe it all started with this celebration we have today, Palm Sunday.  This was the final confrontation.  This was the last straw for the religious authorities!  The people were proclaiming Jesus as king.  There seemed to be no stopping him.  Their Temple business was in ruins, and I’m sure they were afraid that the Romans would soon have no choice but to “intervene.”  (To put it mildly!)

You might keep in mind that another part of this picture was the great miracle Jesus performed in the raising of Lazarus.  We find that story in John’s Gospel.  That happened before Palm Sunday.  And as John saw it, at least part of the reason this whole procession took place was that the people were coming to see the man who had done that great miracle.  And John tells us that the Chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death, too!

So this was the final confrontation.  But the religious leaders had a problem, of course.  Their problem was the people.  Jesus was hugely popular!  The people believed he was indeed the “king who has come in the name of the Lord.”  For the powers that be to do away with such a person, with all of those crowds in and around Jerusalem, would be very “tricky!”

Remember, this was Passover.  Jerusalem was a very crowded place at that time.  All good Jews wanted, and were even expected, to celebrate Passover in the Holy City, at least once in their lifetime.  And many tried to do so every year.  So Jerusalem was a crowded place!  And that made it very difficult for the religious leaders to deal with Jesus the way they wanted to.  But finally on Thursday, they got their chance.  And you know that story.

As you know, I like to look at the history of these things.  I think it’s helpful to see the “big picture” of all that was happening.  But of course, we can’t just leave it at that.  We also have to ask what this means for us!  On Palm Sunday, we too hail Jesus as king.  We raise the palms in tribute to our deliverer – like they did.  We sing his praises in song.

But we also have to know that the stakes were much higher than we might realize.  This was more than just a parade!  This Jesus was more than just an earthly king that day – much more!  In fact, if you think about it, an earthly king is one thing he was not!  If he was, he would have been just another name for children to learn in their history class.

No, this Jesus was God incarnate.  He was there that week, not just for the final confrontation with the religious authorities, but for the final confrontation with the forces of evil.  His real struggle was against death itself.  That’s why the empty tomb on Easter was so important!  It didn’t just show us his victory over his enemies.  The empty tomb shows us his victory over sin and death.

And so I ask you, doesn’t that make this celebration – Palm Sunday – even more triumphant?!  Hosanna!  Blessed indeed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Prayer

Eternal God, we hail Jesus as king.  But we also acknowledge his victory over sin and death.  As we think of the events of that first Holy Week, help us to understand better all that happened, and help us to know that it all happened for us.  We thank you that through him, we find our atonement.  And for that and all things, we give you thanks and praise, in his name, Amen.