The Hope of Palm Sunday II
It’s no secret, we all struggle with the unexpectedness and harshness of life at times. It can be a rollercoaster of great days and deep valleys of difficulty. We have a Savior who perfectly understands. The road Jesus walked on, what we now call “Holy Week,” was the substance of up and down. On the first Palm Sunday 2000 years ago, it was applause on Sunday and people crying out, “crucify him” on Friday. Jesus understands the fickle winds of change. He knows what it means to struggle spiritually, emotionally, physically, and relationally—and yet he emerged perfectly. And then, on the first day of the week, Easter Sunday, the resurrection of Jesus announced victory, triumph, and conquest over sin and death! So, as we experience Palm Sunday again this year, I want to point out that followers of Jesus are people of hope. Hope for a better day. To see this more clearly, let’s look ahead and see beyond the first Palm Sunday and look at Christ’s second triumphant entry.
Take a moment and read Revelation 7:9-13…
“After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, ‘Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God. They sang, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.’ ”
This scene is a sequel to the first Palm Sunday when thousands of people lined the road from the Mount of Olives to the East gate of Jerusalem. A sequel to that first celebration of the Kingship of Jesus where palm branches were waved and Jesus declared as the center of all the hopes of Israel. But the celebration was short-lived. The first Palm Sunday was witnessed by people who wanted a Savior and desired a King, but they didn’t understand how God would present his Savior and elevate his King. That first Palm Sunday crowd was fickle. They had their own image of Savior; a different version of what God’s Savior would accomplish. However, in the future, on what I would call “Palm Sunday Part II,” true Christ-followers and God’s angels will worship and celebrate God’s Savior, Jesus Christ—the Lamb of God who was slain, who shed his blood to pay for the penalty of our sin. And let me tell you, this second triumphal gathering will be far superior to the first!
Jars of Clay
Most of us understand that our lives consist of both good and bad experiences. We experience wonderful accomplishments, the gift of loving relationships, meaningful work, marriage, establishing a home, the joy of children, times of leisure, relaxation, and holiday fun. We can also experience the joy of living in a genuine relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Life can very good. And when life is good, it represents God’s gifts of grace. On the other hand, we also live in a sin-sunk world. It’s sin that causes your road in life to be strewn with disappointments, fear, broken relationships, disease, tragedy, sin and death.
And because of that, you and I are not that different from the people who first lined the road into Jerusalem cheering for Jesus on the first Palm Sunday. There are days when we cheer (worship) Jesus and other times our sinful thoughts and actions scream, “Crucify him!” Sin is a soul-darkening reality that causes so much heart-break and disappointment.
Sin is the author of fear, broken relationships, disease, and tragedy. Sin is what makes us feel broken. And if not for the saving grace, power, and the treasure of Christ available to people of faith, we would be totally broken for all eternity. Jesus changes all that.
The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:7…
“We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.”
If you are a follower of Jesus, your life is like a jar of clay—fragile and broken. But your body, soul and spirit also contains the treasure of Jesus living within you. As such, you’ve been given a foretaste of what is to come. One day, the celebration that didn’t last on that first Palm Sunday, will become an eternal celebration of a joy that will never end.
Palm Sunday Part II Is Coming!
Most movie sequels that Hollywood generates are not nearly as good as the original. Most reenactments can’t capture the magic of the original event. Part 2 is rarely as good as part 1. But let me give you the exception: Palm Sunday Part II will be vastly superior than the first. Can you even imagine being a part of such a vast crowd that no one can get an accurate count? Can you see yourself standing with people from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne before Jesus? Do you see yourself among millions upon millions of God loving people, clothed in white, holding palm branches and shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!” That’s the Palm Sunday I long for!
I heard a message at worship this past Sunday that brilliantly put this all in perspective. The pastor spoke from 2 Corinthians 5:1-5…
“For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee, he has given us his Holy Spirit."
The pastor reminded us that the difficulties, the despair, and the tragedies, and death we experience in this life will all end for those whose faith is in Jesus. These jars of clay we live in today are cracked and dinged and chipped, but they also have eternal life living within. God has given each believing person a down-payment, a guarantee (the Holy Spirit) that life will not end in death but is actually being swallowed up in LIFE! Disease will be swallowed up by life! Broken relationships will be swallow up by life! Despair, tragedy, pain, regret, even death, is being swallowed up by life!
The scene in Palm Sunday Part II is that of Christ-followers standing before the throne of God, forever gone are the jars of clay. Instead every follower of Jesus will be given new bodies fit for eternity. They will realize that they’re standing before God in Heaven only by the blood of Jesus Christ and by the mercy of God’s grace. They’ll understand that they received a mercy so wonderful that their hearts could never begin to repay him and can only be expressed as thanksgiving and worship. You can begin today to get ready for that day.
Next Step
If you’re a Christ-follower, Palm Sunday Part II will be the culmination of lavish love, unabashed thankfulness, and worshipful remembrance for all Jesus did at the cross and resurrection. But don’t wait for that day in eternity. Today realize the price that was paid for your soul, what your Savior accomplished in saving you from sin, death and eternal separation from God. This Palm Sunday, allow that truth to overwhelm you with a sense of praise and adoration!
