Beloved in the Lord,
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week – the week of the Passion.
As I sit down to write this and reflect on this time, I’m easily reminded that there is something that is just so deeply moving about the image of Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey as the crowds waved palm branches and cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Jn 12:13) We call it the Triumphal Entry, and, from all appearances that seems to be a fitting name for it. Yet, on closer look, there’s a strange contrast at play, isn’t there? I mean, Jesus rides in, not sitting on the back of a war horse, or some noble steed. No. He rides in on a beast of burden. There is no parade showing off some military might, or worldly power. There are just cloaks and branches, children and pilgrims. No golden crown, but the shadow of a cross, and a crown of thorns.
Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the most sacred and consequential week in all of history. A week that nothing else could or can begin to come close to. Yes, it begins with palms and praise but it ends with nails and sorrow. That very same crowds that cried “Hosanna” will soon shout “Crucify Him.”
And yet, Jesus rides on.
He knows what lies ahead. He knows the bitter betrayal that waits in the garden. He knows the abandonment and isolation that will come as those who swore to be with Him to the end flee. He knows the lashes, the thorns, the jeers, the mockery, the silence of the Father, and the full weight of sin that will be placed on His shoulders.
And still, He rides on, not away from suffering, but into it, for you and for me.
That is our King. He’s not the one who demands that His subjects die for Him, but, rather, the One who lays down His life for His enemies. It is the King who hears the cries of the broken, the sinful, and the fearful, and instead of turning away, He comes near. Jesus rides on into Jerusalem with one singular purpose, with one singular mission in mind: He is set on saving us.
As we reflect on that we are struck by something. This is namely that Palm Sunday teaches us something vital about the heart of God. The crowds were hoping for a revolution. They were looking for someone to overthrow Rome, to bury Ceasar. But Jesus came to overthrow something far greater, something with a far more powerful grip on us: sin, death, and the devil. The victory He came to bring couldn’t and wouldn’t be won by sword or spear. It could and would be won by blood and mercy, by a cross and an empty tomb.
Let that sink in this Holy Week: Jesus rides into the chaos, into the noise, into the rejection, into betrayal, abandonment, pain and sorrow, into the worst suffering imaginable, and He does it not because He had to. He does it because He loves you that much. “Behold, your King is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey” (Zec. 9:9)
And He still comes. He is still coming to us.
He comes now through His Word and His Sacraments to bring us peace, not as the world gives, but true peace. He comes when our heart is weighed down by shame. He comes when fear creeps in, when life feels broken and uncertain. He comes when you feel we’ve failed too many times and we wonder if there is any hope for us at all. And with nail-scarred hands, He says, “Peace. Peace be with you. I have already borne it all.”
Palm Sunday invites us in and, as it does, it calls on us to lay down more than just branches. It invites us to lay down our pride, our self-reliance, our secret sins, our fears and doubts. It invites us to lay down every heavy burden that presses upon us. It invites us to cry out, not in superficial joy, but with true trust: “Hosanna… Lord, save us!”
And He does.
So as we begin this Week of the Passion, and we step out into Holy Week may we do so with open eyes and open hearts. May the story unfold not as something distant in our lives, but something deeply personal and intensely moving. Because this isn’t just Christ’s Passion. No. It’s His passion for you.
And remember, the road does not end in death. The shouts of “Hosanna” that were drowned out by the calls to “Crucify Him” will soon be swallowed up by cries of “He is risen!”
Until that glorious morning, may the King who rode into Jerusalem ride ever into your heart with His mercy, His truth, and His everlasting peace.
Now may the peace of the Lord that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus even unto life everlasting.
In Him,
Pastor Wyatt
