Sermon for 4/13/25: Palm Sunday (c)

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The Long Road
John 12:12-19

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Creed moves from our Lord’s birth to His suffering and death with little mention of the life He lived. Some have faulted the Creed for failing to note His works of mercy or His words of truth. But in moving directly from His birth to His Passion, the Creed confesses that the One “who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary” came to suffer and die.

The events that we are observing this week are not the sad conclusion to an otherwise triumphant and well-lived life. Rather, they are at the very heart of who Jesus is and what He came to do. It is no small matter that Jesus comes to the holy city to suffer and die as the Passover Lamb whose blood brings redemption for this sinful world. Ponder well all that takes place this week, for the Son of God did it all for you and for your salvation.

Jesus comes to Jerusalem at the head of a parade. “Everybody loves a parade,” as the old saying goes. But the Romans did not love this parade. In fact, this looked more like the start of a riot. With nervousness the Roman troops looked on as the crowds chanted about the coming of another King of Israel. What could this mean? Was this Man a political revolutionary who would incite Jerusalem, swollen with pilgrims who were in town to celebrate the annual Passover, to revolution? Would His presence stir up the ancient memories of Egypt’s oppression of Israel to rouse a revolt? Roman soldiers watched in vain for this would-be insurrection. Jesus is not that kind of King.

The Jewish religious leaders did not love this parade. Jesus was not their kind of Messiah. He was not a teacher of Israel who could be controlled. They were threatened by His popularity and concluded that, if He were allowed to continue on, their religion would be ruined. No wonder they stood by as the parade passed and said to themselves: “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the whole world has gone out after Him!”

Neither did Satan love this parade. In fact, Satan had tried to prevent this parade. He had offered Jesus another way three years earlier as he tempted Jesus to embrace the kingdoms of this world by simply bowing down and worshiping him. The cross would mean suffering and shame for Jesus, but for Satan it would spell his own eternal defeat. No wonder that Satan, speaking through Simon Peter, had rebuked Jesus as our Lord spoke of how He must go to Jerusalem to suffer, die, and rise again on the third day. The devil hated the sight of this parade as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords made His way in humility to the place of sacrifice.

But Jesus loves this parade. He isn’t fooled by the shouts of “Hosanna!” He knows that they will be short-lived. He knows that another cry will come from the fickle lips of the people: “Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Let His blood be upon us and our children.” He knows that even His own disciples will forsake and deny Him; one of them will even betray Him. He knows that those for whom He died care little for His cross, even knowing what it means for our salvation. Jesus loves this parade because it ends at the cross. That is why He came into the world. That is why He rode into Jerusalem in fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophetic word. For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame.

We spend so much our lives trying to avoid suffering. The world tells us that it is a good thing to end the life of one who suffers. To those who think that the supreme good in life is to avoid pain, the Suffering Servant, our Lord Jesus Christ, is an embarrassment, and His cross a foolish scandal. If the cross is the highlight of the parade and the foolishly suffering Jesus is the grand marshal, the world wants nothing to do with him.

But Jesus did not detach Himself from the suffering. He did not avoid Jerusalem. Jesus took the path to Calvary. He walked the way of the cross. Even when He was abandoned and deserted, betrayed and denied, He held to the work that was His alone to do. He drained the cup of suffering. When the parade was over and cheering crowds were silent and the palm branches wilted in dust, the Lamb of God kept walking to the judgment hall and the cross. He goes there, driven by the passion to have you with Him for all eternity. The pain that He endures is real and raw. The death He dies is dark and cold. He does it all for you.

This morning we participate in another parade, as we come forward to receive the body and blood of Christ. Satan does not love this parade, either. The devil has made this a parade of pain and suffering because he does not want you to get to the end of it. But the body and blood of Jesus strengthens you to continue on, enduring that suffering, so that you will not perish, but have eternal life. It is no small thing that the same God who went the way of the cross still comes to you today. He does not come to show you the way around suffering, but the way through it. It is the way of His cross and resurrection. It is the way of His Gospel. It is the way of His body and blood, given you to eat and drink from this altar. “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” Blessed is our Lord. And through Him, blessed are you. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.