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Palm Sunday 2024: The Hollow Cry of Hosanna


Jesus Enters Jerusalem, Matthew 21:1-11

21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

5 “Say to Daughter Zion,
    ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
    and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” 

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 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!”

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”


AN INADEQUATE GESTURE AT A CRUCIAL MOMENT

  1. Jesus enters the City of His father, David, the City of the Great King, the City of Holiness, the City in which Yahweh will put His Name. The ancient site of Mount Moriah where Abraham had offered Isaac, later established by King David as the capital of Judah.
  2. Along with its religious and spiritual pedigree, Jerusalem had been built up to a notable metropolis under the oversight of Herod the Great and his successors. 
  3. Having spent most of His ministry on the outskirts, the Lord makes His arrival in Jerusalem as a humble King, and receives a humble, but acceptable, welcome from the people. 
  4. This is only the beginning. We would be remiss to take these verses out of context to describe this as an altogether happy occasion. By the end of the day, the Lord would be disgusted at spiritual state of the city, and wearied by the obstinance of its spiritual leaders. And within a few days, the same crowds would be shouting “crucify Him!”(Matthew 27:15-23)
  5. All in all, this is an inadequate gesture at a crucial moment. This was the hour of visitation. This was the day of salvation. This was the fulfillment of age-old promises. This was the satisfaction of the desire of ages. The was the last moment of mercy before the time of wrath. Surely, the response to His coming was inadequate and inappropriate, given His majesty and the existential threats that lie ahead. 

Jesus Enters the Temple, Matthew 21:12-17

12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”

14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.

“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,

“‘From the lips of children and infants
    you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?”

17 And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

JESUS UNWELCOME IN HIS FATHER’S HOUSE

  1. The Lord’s reaction to the goings on in the temple was visceral. The court of the Gentiles, the place designated for foreigners to be able to worship, had become a marketplace. The worship of God, and the access to the worship of God, was commoditized. 
  2. The power of God manifest, the healing of the sick and downtrodden, and the precious faith of little children were shown to be of little priority to the priests and teachers of the law. 

Jesus Curses a Fruitless Fig Tree, Matthew 21:18-22

18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.

21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

NO FRUIT, ONLY LEAVES

  1. Do not miss the object lesson here. Jerusalem is the fig tree. The desired fruit is holiness, purity, justice, and true worship. The leaves are the superficial veneer of religiosity.
  2. The Lord’s humble tickertape parade was not met with heartfelt repentance and outcry. There was no understanding of the times

The biblical condemnations against religious hypocrisy are too many to count. It might be best to limit it to the Lord’s lukewarm reception at Jerusalem (Matthew 21-23):

  • Commoditizing the worship of God (21:12-13)
  • Creating barriers to the worship of God (21:12-13)
  • Lack of awe at God’s power (21:14-15)
  • Lack of concern for the downtrodden (21:14-15)
  • Inability to understand the fulfillment of Scripture (21:16, cf. Psalm 8:2)
  • Lack of care for discipling the children (21:15-16)
  • Church leaders protecting their own place of power over Jesus’ authority (21:23-27)
  • Religious leaders boasting about faithfulness without backing it up (21:28-32)
  • The fickleness of the crowds who are too busy and self-satisfied to heed the call of discipleship (22:1-14)
  • The attempts to trap Jesus through dishonest and disingenuous means (22:15-40)
  • The inept and dishonest handling of God’s Word to conform to their agenda (22:41-46)
  • The preaching of legalistic burdens that the preachers themselves do not keep (23:1-4)
  • Using religious service as a means to ladder climb, for prestige and money (23:5-12)
  • Preaching a false gospel of endless works that drives their followers further from God (23:13-15)Using religious vows and terminology to mask greed and dishonesty (23:16-22)
  • Meticulously keeping ceremonial aspects of the law while neglecting justice, mercy and faithfulness (23:23-24)
  • Appearing outwardly as holy, but inwardly as worldly and wicked (23:25-28)
  • Lionizing the prophets of the past, while murdering the prophets in the present (23:29-32)

Likewise, the examples in every corner of Christianity are too many to count:

  • The cartel members who massacre men, women and children throughout the week only to receive absolution at Catholic Mass on Sunday.
  • The guilds and “good old boys” that blight our evangelical institutions.
  • The sin, hypocrisy and utter lack of humility among famous church leaders.
  • The utter mockery made of worship in many churches.
  • The peddling and commoditizing of the Gospel through endless conferences and concerts.
  • The woke tone-deaf preaching that berates and harasses the sheep of God while ignoring their real needs.
  • The prosperity preaching the manipulates and exploits the sheep of God playing of their deepest needs and fears.
  • The saccharine seeker sensitive preaching that is devoid of biblical truth, leaving the sheep vulnerable and malnourished.
  • The fanaticism of the preaching in many “prophetic” circles who declare “peace, peace” for the United States without repentance.
  • The sheep with “itching ears” who create a demand for the supply of all the false teachings mentioned above.
  • The fickleness and complacency of many people who only follow God when it is popular, convenient or expedient.
  • The religious showmanship displayed in people waving palms in churches TODAY with no real desire to live lives for the glory of Jesus Christ. 

Jesus Curses a Fruitless City, Matthew 23:33-39

33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.

37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”