United Church of Pittsford

Matthew 21:1-11

Once upon a time there was a brutally occupied, and cruelly oppressed little nation, located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

For centuries these people had been conquered by an array of foreign armies, and viciously ruled first by the Assyrians, and then, by the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and now, the hated Romans.

There was no peace, no prosperity, no justice,and no sense of security for the vast majority of the citizens of this nation.

Oh . . . there were a few who had sold their souls to the Romans . . . and lived rich and comfortable but precarious lives, dependent upon
the unpredictable whims of their occupiers.

Finally, out of the darkness there began to appear a tiny ray of hope
in the midst of all the fear, pain, powerlessness, sorrow, and sense of defeat that plagued the people.

Rumor had it, that the long-awaited and urgently anticipated
Messiah of God just might have finally come to set things right!

Tradition spoke of a divinely inspired and empowered military leader, who would liberate the people from their violent and virulent oppressors . . . and return their nation to a position of power, respect, influence, and prestige.

This agent of God would bring justice to the people . . .
cleanse the Temple of its corruption . . . and usher in an endless era
of peace and prosperity that would effect the lives of every last person of God.

Gossip rapidly began to spread of a holy man from Nazareth, who was able to heal the sick and diseased, cast out demons, and even raise the dead.

His gracious and generous interpretation of Torah drew gigantic crowds . . . and his profound insight and inexplicable authority
confounded and mystified many of the Scribes and Pharisees . . .
and often embarrassed and angered the aristocrats, the Temple officials, and many of the Sadducees.

The day finally came when this proclaimed Messiah from the wilds of the Galilee came riding a donkey into the ancient city of Jerusalem, the political and religious center of the nation.

People poured into the streets and passionately cheered his arrival!

Inspired and animated by year and years of pent-up hope and anticipation, they vigorously waved palm branches, their cultural symbol of political authority . . . spread their garments on the dusty roadway . . . and frantically, even feverishly shouted with all their might, “Hosanna, God save us, you glorious son of the great king David . . . blessed are you who comes in the name of the Lord . . . Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna!”

Everybody loves a parade . . . and it was no diffrent when Jesus came to town!

Josephus, the famed Jewish historian of that period, estimated
the welcoming crowd to number in the millions . . . which was most likely a gross exaggeration . . . but it did capture and express
the tremendous excitement and overwhelming anticipation that fueled that event in the life of the Jewish people.

As you recall, when Jesus entered the Holy City, he came riding on a donkey.

The cheering masses certainly were remembering the words of the prophet Zechariah as they welcome Jesus . . . for the prophet had said: “Rejoice greatly, O daughters of Zion!
“Shout aloud, O daughters of Jerusalem!
“Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he . . . humble and riding on a donkey.”

However . . . by the very next day, things began to change.

Jesus infuriated the Temple officials by courageously calling them out in public for their well-known and well-documented corrupt leadership . . . and caused the Roman authorities to label him a trouble-maker, potential political agitator, and serious threat to peace . . by attacking the crooked animal venders, and over-turning the tables of the unscrupulous money-changers who took advantage
of their positions of power at the Temple by profiteering at the expense of their neighbors . . . especially the poor!

His angry assault of the venders and money-changers at the Temple
actually accomplished nothing more than stirring-up the emotions of the people, with no lasting effect or radical change in the status quo.

And he failed to inspire those anticipating an attack on the Romans.

As the week unfolded, more and more people who had cheered him
upon his arrival in the city, became disappointed, disinterested, disillusioned, and in some cases, even angry!

By Thursday, his death warrant had been issued, and he was arrested.

On Friday, some were even shouting, “Crucify him!”

When Jesus arrived in the city he was received as the long-awaited Messiah.

By the end of the week, it was painfully clear that he was not the kind of Messiah the people were longing for.

Jesus had come to Jerusalem for Passover . . . that religious holiday
set aside to celebrate the Hebrew people’s deliverance from slavery
in Egypt.

You might remember that ten terrible plagues had been visited upon Egypt at that time, as a way to convince Pharaoh to free the people of God.

The final plague, the one that eventually lead to their liberation,
was the death of all the firstborn, both animal and human,

In order to spare the Hebrew people from this catastrophe,
God instructed them to kill lambs and sprinkle the blood
on the doorframes of their homes.

Wherever the blood appeared the agent of death would then
“pass over” that house.

By his death on a Roman Cross, Jesus became like a Passover lamb . . . his blood spilled in order to save the people!

That salvation our Lord acquired for us through the example of his life,
through his excruciating death on that Roman cross, and through
his glorious resurrection, is not only salvation from the finality of death . . . but salvation, liberation from the bondage, the captivity,
the enslavement to sin.

Through the mercy, grace, and forgiveness offered to us by Christ . . .
and through the power of his indwelling Spirit . . . we have been liberated, freed from that sinfulness that had separated us
from God’s gift of new life, and left us bound and
fettered with hopelessness, helplessness, and guilt.

Our tradition has called Jesus our Paschal Lamb, the lamb of God
who takes away the sins of the world . . . and Palm Sunday points us toward that Easter celebration just around the corner.

Amen