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MARCH 16, 2008
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” (ESV).
Matthew 21:1–11
If you pick up the September 9, 2002 issue of Time magazine, there is one article that’s a “must read.” It tells of the rescue of 31–year old Genelle Guzman. Genelle was the last of just four people to be found alive in the debris of the Twin Towers. After the planes hit the World Trade Center, Genelle was descending the stairway of the North Tower. Suddenly, steel beams weakened to their breaking point. Solid concrete was pulverized. But somehow her body found an air pocket. Her right leg was pinned under heavy concrete pillars. Her head was caught between stacks of wreckage. But somehow she was still alive. For 27 hours Guzman lay trapped and seriously injured.
In recent months before the attacks, Genelle had started going to church. She wanted to get her life turned around. So while she was stuck in the rubble, she started to pray. She’d trail off into sleep — wake up and pray some more. Shortly after noon on Wednesday the 12th, she heard voices. So she screamed as loud as she could, “I’m here! Hey, I’m right here!” A rescue worker heard her and said, “Do you see the light?” She did not. So she took a piece of concrete and banged it against a steel beam overhead. The searchers found the noise. Genelle wedged her hand through a crack in the wall, and felt someone grab it. She heard a voice say, “I’ve got you,” and Genelle Guzman said, “Oh God, thank you.” It took 20 long minutes, and then she was saved.1
There is something we can learn in Genelle’s rescue. In no way could she have saved herself. The rescuers had to come to her. In a sense, the same is true with us. When we were pinned down under the load of our sin, we were doomed. But God’s love found us. And Jesus came and rescued us by taking the entire load of sin and rubble off our backs. Christ died under the weight, but his sacrifice set us free. And like Genelle, we, too, cry out, “Oh God, thank you!” He has given us a name that is a most sacred name, i.e., “Christian.” We are most precious to him. And he keeps us safe in the palm of his hand! Forever! Hold that thought.
Now let us focus on our text: Jesus and his disciples had been traveling to Jerusalem for several days. This, however, would be Christ’s last trip. We pick up the story on the eve of Palm Sunday. Jesus, his disciples, and thousands of pilgrims were making the annual trip to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Many pilgrims had been traveling alongside Jesus and they surely had witnessed some of his miracles en route. Some had come to know him as their Savior. And on the eve of Palm Sunday, we find that the multitude had bedded down in the village of Bethany, the hometown of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, the same Lazarus whom Jesus had raised from the dead two months earlier.2
But morning dawned. And Palm Sunday arrived. So Jesus, his disciples, and a large throng of travelers prepared to make the last two–mile leg to Jerusalem. But shortly after they left Bethany, they stopped at the tiny village of Bethphage. There was a reason for the stop. He who has all of history in the palm of his hand, would not depart until everything was as it should be. And everything was definitely not yet as it should be! The Master instructed two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”3
So the two went. They found the donkey and its colt and began to untie them. When the owner asked what they were doing, they simply replied, “The Lord has need of them.” And immediately he gave them permission and the animals were brought to Jesus.
Why did Jesus have need of these animals? The apostles didn’t know. The pilgrim multitude didn’t know. But Jesus, who has our salvation in the palm of his hand, knows. He knows that he must now fulfill Zechariah’s 550 year–old prophecy. And it is by means of a common donkey that he fulfills it. The ancient prophecy reads, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; he is righteous and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.”4
If, for whatever reason, this prophecy should not be fulfilled Jesus would have been, by divine decree, disqualified as the Messiah! Thus, every spiritually alert Christian should utter a heartfelt prayer, saying, “Thank you Lord for knowing our needs, for fulfilling this prophecy, and for keeping everything safely in the palm of your hand.”
We move on. The march to Jerusalem begins again. Jesus was now riding on the colt. Our text reads, “And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest!’”5
What a beautiful song this was! It was sweet music to our Lord’s ears. His people confess him to be the true Messiah–King and hail him as the One who has come in the name of the Lord. They also sang the beautiful word hosanna! Hosanna is an Aramaic word that means literally “save, I pray” or “save now.”6 How wonderful! The Savior is hailed as the One who saves!
See the King of Salvation! He comes not as an earthly king with an army of warriors and chariots. No, he comes as the King of Salvation, mounted on an utterly unkingly donkey! From the world’s perspective the whole thing is downright laughable. The world says, “Jesus, if you are a king, get off that donkey and take possession of your kingdom — by force, if necessary.” But Jesus says to them:
Depart from me, for you are an offense to me. I must do the will of my Father. I ride on a donkey because my glory is not to rule with power but to die for sinners. Truly, truly, I say to you, from this time forward, the untouchables in India, the peasants in Mexico, the starving in Ethiopia, and the slum–dwellers of Calcutta, Sao Paulo, and Cairo must know that my glory is to suffer and die for them too. So, no thank you. I’ll stay on my donkey!
And so Jesus rides on. This procession into Jerusalem is our Savior’s triumphant death march. Consider those last three words, “triumphant death march.” If ever there were a seeming oxymoron this would be it. But appearances deceive, for, by his death, our sins were paid for. And his resurrection is the proof that he has triumphed over death. And in him, we share in his victory. Simple trust in his death on our behalf brings eternal life to our souls. So he is triumphant over the grave and we share in his triumph in receiving the eternal “crown of life.”7
One can understand the joy of the people over Christ. For thousands of years, the Old Testament faithful had waited for just this occasion, waited for the fulfillment of the promises given to them. Now, at last, the day had come. Now they would personally honor their King. And they did so with every means at their disposal. In a word, it was wonderful.
My friends, let’s return to the plight of Genelle Guzman. There are billions of Genelles in this world. No, they are not pinned under tons of iron and steel. But they are pinned spiritually under the deadly weight of their sins. And they can do nothing to free themselves of the accursed load!
Is there anything God can do to save them? Yes! In fact, the Lord has already won their salvation on the cross. And God has entrusted his saving power to his Church. He seeks lost sinners through the proclamation of the Gospel. He finds them through his Word. God says to his Church, “Preach and teach the saving work of my Son! Preach and teach the Gospel. Preach and teach that God works spiritual rebirth and washes away sin in Holy Baptism.” “Lord, we ask, “is that all there is?” Don’t we have to do more?” The Lord says, “No, for don’t you remember my charge to the Church, viz., that the Holy Spirit makes disciples through baptism and teaching!” (Matthew 28:19-20).
And the Lord reminds pastors and Christians to busy themselves with, preaching, teaching, baptism, and learning. “Occupy yourselves with these things,” says the Savior, “and you will have a lifetime of work to do.” And not coincidentally, in Divine Service, God promises to equip us for our tasks and/or vocations by feeding our faith with his saving gifts of Word, water, bread, and wine.
The whole mission of the church can be summed up in the words of St. Paul. To the Corinthians he said, “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”8 The church is not to entertain, but to proclaim ... to proclaim mankind’s salvation earned on the cross. Christ has done it all. So we faithfully proclaim salvation by grace alone through faith alone in merits of Christ alone. Yes, we do that and leave the results up to God. The church is not about success as to numbers, but about faithfulness as to the message.
The story is told of a small English village that had a tiny chapel whose stone walls were covered by ivy. Over an arch was originally inscribed the words of St. Paul: “We Preach Christ Crucified.”9 A generation of godly men did precisely that: they preached Christ crucified. But times changed. The ivy grew and pretty soon it covered the last word. The inscription now read: We Preach Christ. Other men came and they preached Christ: Christ the example, Christ the humanitarian, Christ the helper. As the years passed, the ivy continued to grow until finally the inscription read: WE PREACH. The generation that came along then did just that: they preached. They preached philosophy; they preached tolerance but not truth; and they preached innate goodness of all humanity. In short, they preached lies. They preached just about everything but Christ crucified.
But we shall preach Christ crucified, first, foremost, and always! Indeed, we must preach Christ crucified first, foremost, and always! For without the cross, there is no atonement for our sins. But with the cross, the Lord keeps us safely in the palm of his hand. As we keep our eyes on the cross, we join the entire New Testament Church in feeding on the Word and on the Sacrament of his body and blood. And on this day we join the pilgrim multitude of old and sing with them, “Hosanna! Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.” Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Endnotes
2 See John 11:1-45.
3 See Matthew 21:2-3.
4 Zechariah 9:9, author’s translation.
5 See Matthew 21:8-9.
6 See Greek/English lexicons.
7 In Revelation 2:10c, Jesus says, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
8 See 1 Corinthians 2:2.
9 See 1 Corinthians 1:23.
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