PALM SUNDAY 06 B

It was Palm Sunday, but five-year-old Johnny had to stay home from church because he was sick.

When the family returned home carrying palm branches, he asked what they were for.

His mother explained, "People held them over Jesus' head as he walked by."

"Wouldn't you know it," Johnny said, "The one Sunday I don't go, Jesus shows up!"

I’m thankful that you have come today, because Jesus is going to show up! He will show up in the hearts of all who look to him in faith. He will show up in our Communion celebration. We know he is here because he promised that when two or three are gathered in his name, he will be in the midst of them.

When we hear this long Passion gospel read we may not catch all of the implications, nor do we necessarily know all of the details to help make this event in Jesus’ life even more meaningful.

Culturally, Passover was a time when the Jewish longing for a messiah intensified. Jewish tradition states that the Temple door was to remain open on Passover eve – just in case the Messiah arrived.

During this festival Jewish people celebrated deliverance from Egyptian bondage, but in Jesus’ time it angered them that Jerusalem was under foreign control Messianic fervor fueled a dangerous atmosphere.

Antonia, the Roman fortress that housed Roman soldiers in Jerusalem was located at the north end of the Temple mount. During Passover, Antonia was reinforced with extra troops. Episodes involving bloodshed were not unusual.

Nationalistic Jews used the people’s awareness of prophecy to declare themselves as messiahs to gain a following, which sometimes erupted into riots. “Messiahs” and thief followers who created problems for the Romans were often killed. Making a public spectacle was tantamount to a death wish.

Why would the Romans feel threatened by a Jewish Rabbi from Galilee riding a donkey and surrounded by a joyful crowd waving palm branches?

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the people chanted “Hosanna” and shouted “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” or in other words, “Please save us, O son of David.” In effect, they were proclaiming Jesus as a military and political savior. The Jews wanted a warrior-messiah who, like David, triumphed over the enemy.

Hosanna, a nationalistic chant, had become a prayer for political deliverance. It meant “Give me my freedom.” Originally, hosanna and palms were linked to the Jewish feast of Sukkot, which included the hosanna prayer from Psalm 118:25-26. Composed of two Hebrew words, “hosha” meant save and “na” added a sense of urgency. Thus, hosanna meant “Please save!” or “Help, please. Save us now.”

The palm, a symbol of Jewish national identity, had little to do with peace and love. Palm branches were to the Jews what the Stars and Stripes are to Americans. The waving of the palm branches might have been part of what led Jesus to weep upon entering Jerusalem.

When messianic anticipation was at its highest, Jesus proclaimed His messianic identity. Those assembled along the road into Jerusalem did not recognize Jesus’ true identity as the promised Messiah who would bring eternal salvation, not just destroy the enemy of the day.

Have you recognized who Jesus really is? Do you understand that he is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world? Have you asked God’s Son to forgive you for your wrong actions and behavior? Is the salvation of your soul your greatest need today? If so, you can ask Jesus to come into your life today, to take away your sins and to give you a new life in him.

I had the opportunity to go to Israel in the 70s, to walk down the Via Dolorosa and stand at the traditional place of Christ’s crucifixion. This place, called Golgotha, is located outside the city walls. Whether Jesus was crucified there or not is a matter for debate. It is quite possible that Jesus was not crucified on a hill but at the base or foot of a hill.

The Romans introduced crucifixion to Israel. Jews had previously put people to death by stoning who were guilty of blasphemy and sexual immorality. The Romans crucified their victims at the base of a hill so that the condemned would easily be seen by passersby.

During Palestine’s 400 year occupation by Rome, thousands were crucified, and this form of execution was governed by specific rules. The idea was to make this horrible procedure as painful as possible – and an example to others. Jesus’ long suffering on the Cross was dreadful.

Directed by Almighty God, no events have been more central and history changing than the Crucifixion and Resurrection of the Messiah. Before crucifixion existed as a method of punishment and execution, ancient biblical texts revealed God’s careful detailed plan regarding Jesus’ death.

Let’s take a look at the facts.

-Roman crucifixion took place in a public location outside the city. This is implied in Psalm 22.

-The Romans normally crucified people naked, something prophesied by Psalm 22.

-The condemned person was nailed to the cross through the wrists (the Greek word used for hand could also include the wrist, implying Jesus was nailed through the hands [wrists]) and ankles. Archeological evidence has confirmed that those nailed to a cross were nailed through the bones in the wrist where they joined the hand.

What procedures did the Romans follow?

-The Romans first flogged the condemned person, which often left the prisoner near death. We see that predicted in Isaiah 53 and confirmed in John’s gospel.

-The crossbar was tied to the prisoner’s shoulders. He was paraded through the streets for humiliation and as an example. We see that predicted in Psalm 22:6. A soldier carried a sign indicating the crime the person had committed. This, too, is seen in John 19.

-At the place of execution, the prisoner’s wrists were nailed to the crossbar. The crossbar was lifted and placed on the vertical beam, which was already in the ground. The condemned person’s ankles were then nailed to the vertical beam. Finally, the sign identifying the person’s crime was attached to the cross. The prisoner in excruciating pain eventually died of asphyxiation and loss of blood. Since prisoners could remain conscious for days, the Roman guards usually wanted to hasten the prisoners’ death so they would break their legs preventing them from pushing up to get air to breath. When they came to Jesus they found him already dead and did not break his legs. Psalm 22 again, many years before crucifixion was invented, predicted that fact. Just as the Passover Lamb was not to have any of its bones broken, so, too, the Lamb of God did not have any of his bones broken.

-The prophet Zechariah predicted hundreds of years before crucifixion was invented that Jesus would have side pierced, just as the gospel account verifies.

-Roman soldiers kept the victim’s possessions. They kept Jesus’ clothing, casting lots for some of his items. This was predicted in Psalm 22:18.

-Prisoners could talk only in short bursts because of the stress on their diaphragms. As Jesus hung on the cross, his statements were short:

-“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

-“I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

-“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

-“I am thirsty.”

-“It is finished.”

-“Father, into Thy hands I commit my spirit.”

Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on the 10^th day of the Jewish month. It was the day the Passover Lamb was chosen for the Passover offering. As each Jewish family selected a lamb to die on Passover, their most passionate desire was for a Messiah, a Savior, to come. Jesus’ arrival on this particular day was as if God was saying, “Here’s my lamb. Will you choose Him?”

Could the similarity between the Passover lamb and Jesus’ destiny to become God’s sacrificial lamb for the sins of the world be JUST A COINCIDENCE?

Traditionally, the daily sacrifice was slaughtered at 3:00 in the afternoon, including on the day of Passover. At that time, the priest stood at the pinnacle of the Temple and blew the shofar, or ram’s horn.

As Jesus hung on the cross, he heard the piercing blast of the shofar carry across the city. Jesus recognized that the hour of his sacrifice had come. When the knife slit the throat of the Passover lamb, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “It is finished.” At that moment, the Passover lamb and God’s substitute –our Passover lamb died at 3 p.m.

God is saying to you today, “Here is my Lamb. Will you choose Him?” Will you be willing to live for the one who suffered and died for you?