Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Zechariah 9:9-10
Pastor: Pastor Schlicht
Sermon Date:  April 2, 2023

What does humility look like to you? Is it the player in the postgame interview who deflects the compliments? Is it the shy student in the back of the class? Is it that family member who never wants to be the center of attention? They all sound plausible, right? But what about a man who claims to be a king? What about a man who lets people put their coats down on the ground just so his donkey can walk over them? What about a man who says that even rocks should shout his praises if other people don’t? This doesn’t sound very humble, does it? But this is what Jesus did. Which makes you wonder about the nature of humility, doesn’t it? We usually equate humility with certain personality types—the shy, the quiet, the passive, maybe even the weak. But that’s not what humility is really about, at least not biblically. In the Bible, humility is something associated with glory and exaltation. In fact, through the frame of Zechariah’s prophecy, we see the strength of humility, as Jesus rode into Jerusalem that first Palm Sunday, 2000 years ago.

When Jesus arrived in the city to shouts of “Hosanna to the Son of David, he was fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy of a king: Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you. He is righteous and brings salvation. He is humble and is riding on a donkey.” Jesus could have walked, it was only two miles from the Bethphage to Jerusalem. But this wasn’t about efficiency. This was about making a statement! And the people knew what he was doing. Thousands of hands stripped the palm trees bare on the ascent to Jerusalem to hail the new king who had come to set them free at Passover, the original independence day.

The Passover Feast was to Jews what the fourth of July is to Americans but on steroids. It was a rallying point for intense, nationalistic zeal. For instance, Do you know why they were waving palm branches? The palm was a symbol of national independence at the time. Almost exactly two hundred years before Palm Sunday, there had been a successful revolution led by a man named Judas Maccabeus. He even minted coins with the symbol of a palm tree. This became the icon of Israel’s freedom. The people surely hoped for another Maccabean-like revolution. Perhaps they thought Jesus had just been buying time with his teachings but now his intent was clear: To throw the Romans out! And here at the time of festival he had around 2 million zealous Jews gathered in pilgrimage from every corner of the empire. The bullet was in the barrel and the safety was off. All Jesus had to do was pull the trigger—just make the slightest move to revolt—and he would have had massive popular support.

In fact, that’s why the Pharisees tried to stop him. They knew this was getting out-of-control. Not only was Jesus overstepping their authority, but they feared the Roman backlash to all this seditious hailing of a new king (Jn 11:48). This is even one of the points they would make at his trial. But when they said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” he answered, ‘If they keep silent, the very stones will cry out.” (Lk 19:39, 40). Jesus and his followers are too strong, there is no going back now.

What must it have been like to be one of his disciples on that day? To walk at the head of a procession of thousands, with hopes of revolution and glory in the near future? Was their adrenaline spiked as they walked through the cheering crowds? Were their hearts beating out of their chests? Were their hands sweaty like soldiers just before a battle wondering what would happen? “How would Jesus do it?” They must have wondered. “Would he whip up the enthusiastic crowds and storm the praetorium? Would he call down fire from heaven? Would they be called on to fight? How many of his followers would be lost in the struggle?” The heat and tension of that moment must have been intense.

My friends, we have cooled off after 2000 years, haven’t we? We look back at Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem and think “Oh Jesus was so humble riding a lowly donkey.” But what he did that day, specifically by riding the donkey and fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy, did not look like humility to anyone. In fact, his entrance was so strong that the disciples missed the fact that, on a deeper level, this is what would make him truly humble.

You see, the only thing stronger than Jesus’ entrance on that first Palm Sunday, would be the let down his followers felt over the coming days. First he turns over the money-changing tables in the temple area, calling it a den of robbers. Next, he slips out of town to Bethany until Thursday, and they’re left holding the palm branches, shouting for a revolution that never happened, vulnerable to Romans who quickly punish insurrection with death. It’s no wonder that the palm trees turn into Calvary’s tree on Friday.

From a human perspective, Jesus made all the wrong moves between Palm Sunday and Good Friday. But from his perspective, it was all part of the plan. All the details had to be the right ones, fulfilling prophecy. The place had to be the right place: Jerusalem. The timing had to be right: Passover, when the sacrificial lambs were slain. Even the method of execution had to be right: Crucifixion, so that “the Son of Man is lifted up” as Christ said to Nicodemus.

Palm Sunday shows us an example of something that happened often in Jesus’ ministry: People give Jesus an identity that isn’t his, an agenda that isn’t his, and a schedule that isn’t his. And then they get upset when his plan isn’t their plan, when he doesn’t serve them the way they want him to. Do people still today force Jesus into their political agendas? Of course. And social agendas, and personal agendas. We all try to fit Jesus into our own molds. We imagine our top priorities must also be his. We praise God when we think our prayers will be answered the way we want, but then get frustrated when everything doesn’t turn out. We want to use God to our personal advantage, whatever that may be. It’s the assumption of pride. We always try to use things, even God, for our own personal advantage. But thankfully, Jesus refuses to fit into anyone else’s agenda.

You see the people correctly identified that Jesus was fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy, but I don’t think many understood the main thrust of the prophecy itself. Zechariah wrote, “See, your king comes to you. He is righteous and brings salvation. He is humble and is riding on a donkey” and then Zechariah contrasts this with “I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem.  The battle bow will be taken away, and he will proclaim peace to the nations.” In other words, this coming king is “humble and riding on a donkey” as opposed to the type which come in military pomp, who ride on a warhorse or in a chariot, to demonstrate their strength. And while Israel was hoping for a commander-in-chief who would lead them in battle, Zechariah said that the battle bow would be broken and he [the coming king] would declare peace, not just to Israel, but to all nations. So yes, Jesus declared himself to be king and he would be powerful. But his strength would not be found in battle, but in his humility.

The apostle Paul said of Jesus in our second lesson: Though he was by nature God, he did not consider equality with God as a prize to be displayed, 7 but he emptied himself by taking the nature of a servant. When he was born in human likeness, and his appearance was like that of any other man, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6–8). This is the strength of Jesus’ humility. He has all the power in the universe but he chose to serve us. He came, “humble and riding of a donkey” and instead of the glory of revolution he continued on to the degradation of the cross. It was his humility—his selfless ambition for your soul—that was his strength to save. It was his humility that led to his victory over death and the Devil. It was his humility that allowed him to serve you much better and more completely than you could even desire.

And this, the Apostle Paul says, is the attitude that should be in us! Since we know the strength of Christ’s humility on our behalf, we can be strong in humility too. By the Holy Spirit’s working through the Word, let us empty ourselves and take the nature of a servant. On this Palm Sunday, let us humbly let go of our own agendas and follow God’s will regardless of what the crowd thinks. Let’s remember that at the end of the day, no matter how the world calls for revolution, our fight is not against flesh and blood. Let’s use whatever power or advantage we have, not for self-promotion, but in loving service. Let’s use every opportunity we can to show others the strength of humility, because we’re only here for a short while. Our king and our kingdom is not of this world. Did you know there is one other time in the Bible that people wave palm branches for Jesus? It’s in heaven…After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:9–10) That’s the ultimate Palm Sunday and because of the strength of Jesus humility we’ll be there too. Amen.