Messianic Expectation – Palm/Passion Sunday

Messianic Expectation

Palm/Passion Sunday T Matthew 26-27

INI

Messianic expectation was at an all-time high in Jesus’ day. The Romans occupied their lands. They taxed the Jewish people at unreasonable rates. Corruption was rampant. So, the question was on everyone’s minds – who would come and save God’s people from Roman oppression?

This was what made Jesus’ ministry exciting to people. Jesus seemed to be the one God sent. He’s the one they called the Messiah – the Son of God – the King of the Jews! They thought ‘Surely this would be the man to free us from Rome, and to reclaim the  holeland for Yahweh, with the Temple, and free from Roman tax, rule, and cruel treatment!’

The week before the Passover feast, Jesus entered into Jerusalem. And from the very onset, there’s competing images and expectations happening. On the one hand, there’s Jesus who defines His mission as sacrifice. And on the other hand, there’s the people who see Him through their own political desires.

First there’s the images and the symbolism behind them.

Jesus came riding on a donkey. Donkeys are humble animals. Meant for Kings – but they’re peaceful. That shows what kind of King Jesus is. He’s not drawing swords to conquer by force. If He were, you’d expect Him to enter on a highly trained horse. So, by coming in on a donkey, Jesus presents Himself as the Prince of Peace that the Scriptures prophesied Him to be. And that image countered the Jewish expectation for the Messiah.

And then look at the people who welcomed Jesus comes in. They chanted – “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord – the King of Israel.” It’s clear what they expected Jesus to be – a liberator. A political figure. That’s only further demonstrated when they wave palm branches to welcome in Jesus to the Holy City. In the first century, palm branches were a sign of Jewish pride and freedom from foreign occupation. In fact, about 100 years before Christ, the Jewish people and the Greeks had a war against each other. And the Jews minted their own currency with images of palm branches on it. Thus, as Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem, palm branches had become a symbol of Jewish defiance against Rome. They thought they were praising their liberator from Roman rule.

Second, there’s a difference in what Jesus came to accomplish, and what the people wanted Him to accomplish.

Jesus enters the Holy City not to take a kingly throne, but to offer Himself as a sacrifice. He comes to fulfill what the old covenant had always pointed towards. He enters not the earthly Temple to make a sacrifice, but He enters the true Holy Place by means of His own blood. The Temple curtain is torn, showing the symbolism that through Christ’s sacrifice, there’s no more separation between God and man. Atonement has been made through the blood of Jesus. Sin is forgiven through Jesus. And with Him as our High Priest and mediator, we can call God our Father. This is why Jesus comes: to be our Savior.

But the people see something else entirely.

They want a King – but not this kind of King. They want liberation, but not from sin. The Chief Priests, and the Scribes, and the Jewish people all thought they were getting political freedom– because in reality, that’s what they wanted. And so they take Jesus and reshape Him according to their expectations.

When Jesus refuses to be that kind of King, it doesn’t take long for a crowd waving palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” to switch their tone and cry “Crucify Him, Crucify Him!”

That switch wasn’t accidental. The Jewish leaders were definitely at center of it. They worked in secret. And once the moment came that they’ve been waiting for, when Judas went to them to betray Jesus for the price of slave, they took advantage of the opportunity. They stirred up the crowds to get them turn on Jesus.

But that’s what sinful man does with Jesus. He comes to do one thing, but we make Him into something else. We want a King who serves our purposes. A Jesus to drive our politics, but not our religious lives. Or we want a Jesus to drive our religious lives, but only if He stays in His lane and doesn’t interfere with the way I want to live my life, or the way others live their lives.

But this isn’t anything new. Even in Jesus’ ministry, people tried to remake Jesus to fit their desires. In John chapter 6 after Jesus fed the 5,000, the people wanted Jesus as a bread King – one who would fulfill all their physical needs. But Jesus disappointed the crowds when He said “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

That’s the sort of unbelief that drove the Jewish religious leaders. They refused to receive Jesus. Though He fulfilled the Scriptures, and opened the eyes of the blind, and healed the sick, and raised the dead – they still misunderstood what the Messiah came to do.

He’s come to free them not merely from the oppression of Rome, but from the oppression of Satan, sin, and death. For these are the true enemies that lie behind every corruption , injustice, and earthly oppression.

And so, by His death on the cross, Christ our Lord shows us His true work as the Messiah. His work isn’t for this kingdom, but a kingdom not of this world. Not a temporary liberation – but a liberation from death that frees unto life everlasting.

The King came not to take a throne, but a cross. He knew the cost. But He comes anyway – because that’s the kind of King He is. He’s not the King who rules by force, but by love. He’s not the King who takes, He’s the King who serves. He’s not the King who retreats in battle, He puts Himself out on the front lines to lay down His life for you. And before this week is over, you’ll see exactly what this King gives.

INI

Pastor Joshua Ralston