Palm Sunday
\nMarch 20, 2016
\nZechariah 9:9-10<\/p>\n
\u201cRejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!\u00a0 Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!\u00a0 See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.\u00a0 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken.\u00a0 He will proclaim peace to the nations.\u00a0 His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.\u201d<\/em> \u00a0(NIV1984)<\/p>\n Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,<\/p>\n \u201cHoly, holy, holy!\u00a0 Lord God Almighty!\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 I don\u2019t know about you, but I love singing that hymn!\u00a0 Do you know why?\u00a0 I love singing that hymn because it reminds me of the songs of praise that the angels and the saints sing before the throne of our holy God in heaven above!\u00a0 (See Isaiah 6:1-4; Revelation 4:6-11)\u00a0 But did you perhaps wonder why we sang that particular hymn today?\u00a0 If you remember, we sang that very same hymn just five weeks ago on the First Sunday in Lent.\u00a0 Why did we sing it again today?\u00a0 The reason we sang that hymn today, my friends, is because as you and I gather together here in God\u2019s house to celebrate Palm Sunday we are wrapping up our Lenten sermon series entitled Holy!\u00a0 Holy!\u00a0 Holy!<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 On each of the Sundays in Lent we have been focusing our attention on things that are \u201choly\u201d<\/em>\u2014 \u201cHoly Nation,\u201d \u201cHoly Destruction,\u201d Holy Ground,\u201d \u201cHoly Water.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Today, as we conclude this sermon series it seemed only appropriate that we once again sing \u201cHoly, holy, holy!\u00a0 Lord God Almighty!\u201d<\/em> as we use these words of the prophet Zechariah to focus our attention on:\u00a0 \u201cHoly Praise!\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 There are two things we want to see today.\u00a0 First, let\u2019s see that we are to bring holy praise to our King for who He is.\u00a0 Then let\u2019s see that we are to bring holy praise to our King because of the Kingdom He has established.<\/p>\n Our text for this morning takes us back to a time when God\u2019s people did not feel much like praising.\u00a0 The Lord God had fulfilled His promise and allowed His people to return home to Jerusalem after having lived as captives in Babylon for 70 years.\u00a0 But when the people of God returned home to the city of God they found nothing but ruin and destruction.\u00a0 Nebuchadnezzar and his army had done a very thorough job of destroying Jerusalem.\u00a0 The wall that once protected and defended the city against her enemies now lay on the ground in heaps of rubble.\u00a0 The homes of the people were now piles of trash.\u00a0 And most heart-breaking of all, the Temple of the Living God, the Temple that was built by wise King Solomon, the Temple that once glistened with gold and silver and precious jewels, the Temple in which the \u201cGlory of the Lord\u201d once visibly dwelt among God\u2019s people\u2014 the Temple was looted, destroyed, burned.\u00a0 No, from a purely human perspective the exiles who returned home to Jerusalem had no reason to lift up their praises.<\/p>\n The glorious task that the Lord gave to His servant Zechariah was to \u201clift up\u201d the people of God!\u00a0 (See Zechariah 1:16-17)\u00a0 Zechariah was to encourage God\u2019s people to learn from the mistakes of the past and remain faithful to their Lord.\u00a0 He was to motivate God\u2019s people to rebuild the Temple so that they could once again worship the Lord their God and bring both their sacrifices and their offerings to their King.\u00a0 He was to show God\u2019s people that they did indeed have a reason to rejoice!\u00a0 And why could God\u2019s people rejoice?\u00a0 Look once again at the glorious promise that God gives to His people in the opening verse of our text for today:\u00a0 \u201cRejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!\u00a0 Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!\u00a0 See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n You and I, my friends, can not read these words\u2014 words that were written some 500 years before Jesus was born\u2014 we simply can not read these words without seeing how this Messianic prophecy was fulfilled on the day Jesus the Christ victoriously rode into the city of Jerusalem, the day that we now call Palm Sunday.\u00a0 (See our Gospel lesson for today, Luke 19:28-40)\u00a0 Whether it was the people of God in the days of Zechariah, or the people of God on that first Palm Sunday some 2,000 years ago, or us, the people of God today, we always have a reason to bring our holy praise to our King!\u00a0 One of those reasons centers on who our King is.<\/p>\n Who exactly is our King?\u00a0 Zechariah reminds us that our King is \u201crighteous and having salvation.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 These words automatically reveal to us that our King is no ordinary king.\u00a0 Our King is no ordinary human being.\u00a0 An ordinary human being is rebellious in God\u2019s eyes not \u201crighteous.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 An ordinary human being possesses only condemnation not \u201csalvation.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Therefore, the King that Zechariah points to here in our text, the King that Luke pointed to in our Gospel reading for today (Luke 19:28-40), the King that Paul pointed to in our Epistle Lesson for today (Philippians 2:5-11), is indeed a true human being, but at the very same time He is infinitely more than just an \u201cordinary\u201d human being!\u00a0 Our King is the holy righteous Son of God who came into this world \u201chaving salvation\u201d<\/em> with Him!\u00a0 Our King is the only<\/strong> Source of salvation.\u00a0 Our King is the only<\/strong> Source of forgiveness and hope.\u00a0 And so\u2014 Yes!\u00a0 Our King deserves to receive our holy praise simply because of who He is!\u00a0 But there is more!<\/p>\n Zechariah also reveals to God\u2019s people that their King will be characterized by gentleness and humility.\u00a0 The people who first heard these words of our text knew that the last time a \u201cking\u201d rode into the city of Jerusalem he was riding proudly on a strong stallion and he brought with him death and destruction.\u00a0 In sharp contrast, the Lord\u2019s Messiah-King would enter the city of God in all gentleness and humility.\u00a0 The Lord\u2019s Messiah \u2013King would enter the city of Jerusalem \u201criding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Does that gentleness, does that humility in any way detract from the praise that our King deserves to receive?\u00a0 Absolutely not!\u00a0 The gentleness and the humility of the Lord\u2019s Messiah-King give us even more reason to bring Him our praise!\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because His gentleness and His humility led Him to sacrifice Himself on the cross for our sins (See Isaiah 53:7).\u00a0 His gentleness and His humility lead Him to wrap His loving arms around us whenever we come to Him for forgiveness and protection.\u00a0 And so\u2014 Yes!\u00a0 Our King deserves to receive our praise!\u00a0 He deserves to receive our praise because of who He is\u2014 \u201crighteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a colt, the foal of a donkey<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n But how, my friends?\u00a0 How can we, how do we bring holy praise to our King today?\u00a0 The details of how we answer that question will vary from individual to individual.\u00a0 But, there are some common ways in which we can all bring holy praise to Jesus!\u00a0 Let me share four of them with you.<\/p>\n First, our King says to us in Luke 9:23, \u201cIf anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 We bring holy praise to Jesus every day that we strive to follow in His humble and gentle footsteps.\u00a0 Instead of following in the steps of this world, instead of always and only looking out for what\u2019s best for us, we \u201cdeny\u201d<\/em> ourselves, we \u201ctake up <\/em>whatever \u201ccross\u201d<\/em> the good Lord asks us to bear in this world and we humbly \u201cfollow\u201d<\/em> Him! (Pointing to the cross)<\/p>\n Second, our King says to us in John 14:15, \u201cIf you love me, you will obey what I command.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 We all know how many people today have very little respect for God\u2019s holy Word.\u00a0 For the sake of being \u201cpolitically correct\u201d or for the sake of \u201cscience\u201d or for the sake of mankind\u2019s own limited human logic, God\u2019s Word is being dissected and discarded by both individuals and by churches alike.\u00a0 We, however, make it a priority in our life and in our faith to give holy praise to Jesus by \u201cobeying\u201d<\/em> His Word, by believing and confessing that what God says here in His Word \u201cis truth\u201d<\/em> (John 17:17)<\/p>\n In John 13:34, 35 our King says to us, \u201cA new command I give you:\u00a0 Love one another.\u00a0 As I have loved you, so you must love one another.\u00a0 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 It may sound simple.\u00a0 It may even sound simplistic.\u00a0 But the way that we Christians \u201clove one another\u201d<\/em> is one way for us to bring holy praise to Jesus!\u00a0 Even though we may not always agree with each other on worldly issues, our Christ-like love for each other as brothers and sisters in the faith is not only noticed by others, but it is also noticed by Him!\u00a0 (Pointing to the cross)<\/p>\n Finally, in Matthew 20:26-28 our King reminds us that the love that we have for each other cannot just be words.\u00a0 It also needs to be put into practice!\u00a0 Our King says, \u201cWhoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave\u2014 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Yes, my friends, by willingly and humbly serving each other we are indeed bringing holy praise to Jesus, the One who served us so perfectly right there!\u00a0 (Pointing to the cross)<\/p>\n Now let\u2019s turn to the second half of our text for today.\u00a0 The Lord\u2019s prophet reminds us that we have every reason to praise our Lord and our King because of the Kingdom that He has established.\u00a0 The Lord says through His servant Zechariah, \u201cI will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken.\u00a0 He will proclaim peace to the nations.\u00a0 His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The Kingdom of our Lord and the Kingdom of His Christ is a Kingdom that can not be overthrown.\u00a0 It is a Kingdom of pure perfect peace.\u00a0 It is a Kingdom that blankets the entire world.\u00a0 Is this an earthly kingdom, my friends?\u00a0 No, it is not.\u00a0 Jesus Himself reminds us, \u201cThe kingdom of God is within you\u201d<\/em> (Luke 17:21).\u00a0 Jesus Himself told Pontius Pilate, \u201cMy kingdom is not of this world.<\/em> (John 18:36).\u00a0 Martin Luther helps us to understand the Kingdom of the Lord\u2019s Messiah when he says concerning the Second Petition of the Lord\u2019s Prayer (Thy Kingdom come), \u201cGod\u2019s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead a godly life now on earth and forever in heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n How can we bring holy praise to Jesus for the Kingdom that He has established?\u00a0 Again, that is not a difficult question to answer.\u00a0 Let me point you to just two answers.<\/p>\n First, we bring holy praise to Jesus for the Kingdom He has established by openly professing that the only <\/strong>reason we are <\/strong>a member of Christ\u2019s Kingdom is because of His power and His grace!\u00a0 In the Gospel of John Jesus says to us, \u201cNo one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day\u201d<\/em> (John 6:44),\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI am the way and the truth and the life.\u00a0 No one comes to the Father except through me\u201d<\/em> (John 14:6), \u201cYou did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit\u2014 fruit that will last\u201d<\/em> (John 15:16).\u00a0 Every time we openly tell people that we are a Christian purely by the grace and power of God alone we are bringing holy praise to Jesus, our King!<\/p>\n And, of course, we bring holy praise to Jesus every time we follow His command, \u201cGo and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.\u00a0 And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age\u201d<\/em> (Matthew 28:19, 20).\u00a0 By simply sharing with others who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for them we are bringing holy praise to our Lord and our King.<\/p>\n \u201cRejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!\u00a0 Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!\u00a0 See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 May God grant that the words which God the Holy Spirit gave to Zechariah to proclaim to God\u2019s people some 500 years before Jesus was born, words that were so beautifully fulfilled when Jesus rose into Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday, be words that fill our hearts and overflow with holy praise into our lives each and every day!<\/p>\n To God be the glory!<\/p>\n Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Palm Sunday March 20, 2016 Zechariah 9:9-10 \u201cRejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!\u00a0 Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!\u00a0 See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.\u00a0 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be 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