Palm Sunday 2017

One week before Jesus died on the cross, he entered Jerusalem with shouts of salvation ringing through the streets. the people of Jerusalem responded to his arrival as recorded in Matthew 21:9 -

The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

The reaction by most of the religious leaders of the day was fury! Quickly the schemed a plan to have this man killed. But why now? He had healed, preached, and taught for years in their city. Why would this entry on a donkey accompanied by shouts of salvation give them the ammunition they needed to conduct one of the greatest misuses of justice?

In 1 Kings 1 we read the story of how David's son Adonijah declared himself king. To make the announcement, he sent fifty chariots before him declaring his kingship. He was full of bravado, pride, and frankly - full of himself! He went through the town declaring his status and then threw a party. David heard of this and wanted his son Solomon to be the real king. He declared that Solomon would be appointed king and that instead of the pompous chariot spectacle, Solomon would ride in on a donkey - a lowly animal for a servant king. Solomon rode the donkey through town, was declared the rightful king, and assumed the throne.

So we see in Jesus the same approach - a servant king riding in on a lowly animal. How much that was in juxtaposition to the pomp and circumstance of the Roman leaders. The chariots, legions of soldiers, and fanfare was spared no expense. But here on Palm Sunday we read of the true king arriving as his ancestor had - humble but authentic.

The cries for salvation, "hosanna", were cries to a king. This salvation would come at a price. Jesus spent his last week before his death teaching and preparing his followers for his departure. He submitted himself to the authority of the Jewish leaders and the rule of Rome, resulting in his crucifixion. On the cross, Jesus completed his work here on earth. His final words summarize his effort and give us inspiration for our lives. His words, recorded for us in John 19:30 are a term most commonly associated with accounting. He tells everyone "it is finished" before he bows his head and gives up his spirit. The term for "it is finished" is an accounting term meaning "paid in full".

His completed work provides salvation from Death, Debt of Sin, and Damnation. Paul writes of these things to the Colossians in his letter to them (chapter 2):

"13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross."

We are made alive with Christ (verse 13)! This is amazing! We no longer have our life (one that begins at a certain point and will last forever) but we now share in the life of Christ (which has no beginning and no end). This means that God sees us in his son, the one who has no sin - and therefore will never face spiritual death!

Our debt of sin is cancelled by his death on the cross (verse 14). we are charged with breaking the laws of God, and God is a just God, demanding retribution for this injustice. But through the sacrifice of Christ our debt is canceled (the Greek term here means obliterated, erased, wiped out) and we no long can be held accountable for that debt!

This debt had a serious payment: damnation. All who sin will have to be paid the wages of sin with is death (Romans 6:23). Death is described here in Romans with a Greek word meaning misery of the soul. What greater misery wold there be than the total separation of us from God with no hope of reconciliation. This is the very judgement that awaits all who are not written in the lamb's book of life (have salvation). All who reject God's salvation will be cast out (Revelation 20:14-15). Thank God, the death of Jesus on the cross saves us from this eternal damnation!

The completed work of Christ on the cross also provides us with victory over evil. In Colossians 2:15 we read that God disarmed the powers and authorities by the cross. This is not speaking of the Roman rulers at that time. It is a spiritual victory! The cross disarmed the rulers, authorities, and the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms - ones that we truly fight against (Ephesians 6:12). Jesus alluded to this fact that he was fighting a spiritual fight and not a physical battle when he tells Pilate during his trial “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place” (John 18:36). The cross provided victory over spiritual evil in a way that allows us to be free from all indenture-hood spiritually speaking!

On the cross, Jesus paid it all. We owe no further sin debt, we are truly free!