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"Who
Is This?" March
24, 2002 Rev. Gary LeTourneau When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the
Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the
village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt
with her; untie them and bring them to me." If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord
needs them.' And he will send them
immediately." This took place
to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, "Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble,
and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey." The
disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and
the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and
others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed
is the one who comes in the
name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!" When
he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is
this?" The crowds were saying,
"This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee." Matthew 21:1-11 We
live in a world that recognizes people who do, and accomplish, and act in great
ways, and so they're worthy of recognition.
But isn't it true sometimes that the greatest thing a leader does is to
choose not to do something? To
act in restraint. And those
decisions, which may be the most difficult to make (not to exercise power), are
the ones which by definition are never recognized. I
think on Palm Sunday we have an example of great irony when the King of Kings
and Lord of Lords is finally given the recognition He deserves. But even the gospel writers had to know, as Jesus had
returned to His Heavenly Father and was seated at the right hand of the throne
of glory, where He was and is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that this Palm
Sunday parade was almost a mockery of what Jesus deserved. After
all, He had the angels at His command. After
all, He was and is the Creator, the Founder, the Sustainer of the universe.
A bunch of people in Jerusalem waving palm branches as Jesus rides on a
donkey--that doesn't begin to give Jesus the honor and the glory He deserves! The gospels all make it very clear that for Jesus to give up
His rightful place and to come as a servant to die was a difficult choice for
Him. In Matthew 4, we're told that
Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness.
And the temptation was, "Use your power. Display yourself to the world as you really are.
Let them see who it is that's come to visit."
That was the temptation, and Jesus refused. We're
told later on in Matthew's gospel that when the disciples finally figured out
who Jesus was, and Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Messiah,"
Jesus immediately began to teach them that
He would be going to Jerusalem to die for them and Peter said, "Oh,
no, Lord. Not that!"
And do you remember what Jesus said to Peter?
"Get behind me, Satan!" because He recognized that same
temptation--to exercise power, not to die for people, but to rule over the
people, to claim His place as Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
It was so strong that He spoke to His dear disciple, "Get behind me,
Satan! I must accomplish
what I came to do." And
so then we come to Palm Sunday. The
disciples, I'm sure, are clapping their hands and high-fiving each other and are
thinking, "Finally this is all coming into place!
We knew we were right about Jesus! We've seen what He could be, and now everyone has seen.
Here we go! It's all
starting." And in one sense,
they were right. It was all
starting. But
they were exactly wrong about what their King had come to do. Philip Yancey wrote a book--a very good book--The Jesus I
Never Knew. He contrasts the
humility of Jesus and His visit to the planet earth with the sort of prestigious
image that earthly rulers exercise. When President Bush went to Peru, did he ride a donkey?
No, it was a motorcade with motorcycles.
Did he find a McDonalds to eat dinner?
No, they had a state meal for him. And
you know the Peruvian government worked for months to prepare all of the
arrangements for that meal--who would be seated, what kind of honors would be
bestowed, who would make speeches, who would be congratulated. Philip
Yancey writes that in London, he was in an auditorium with the royal box where
the Queen and her family sat and "I caught glimpses of the way rulers
stride through the world, with bodyguards, a trumpet fanfare, a flourish of
bright clothes and flashing jewelry."
Yancey writes about Queen Elizabeth's visit to the United States:
Reporters delighted in spelling out the logistics involved:
Four thousand pounds of luggage, including two outfits for every
occasion. A mourning outfit, in
case someone died. Forty pints of
plasma in case she needed surgery [ours might not be good enough!].
White kid leather toilet seat covers for Her Highness to use the
bathroom. She brought along her own
hairdresser, two valets, a host of other attendants.
And
Yancey reports that a visit by Queen Elizabeth to a foreign country can easily
cost twenty million dollars. That's
the Queen of England. How about the
King of Kings and Lord of Lords? He
didn't have a leather toilet seat cover. He
was born in a barn. There were more
animals in attendance at His birth than people.
In His whole life, He operated in relative obscurity, recognized by a
few. The greatest recognition came
on Palm Sunday, but even then you're talking about maybe a couple of thousand,
not millions. More money was spent
on the meal that President Bush had yesterday in Peru than Jesus ever saw, or
knew about, or had spent on Him. What
kind of King is Jesus? Well, He's a
humble King. He's a King who
exercises the greatest humility in giving up who He was and what He had, for
what He wanted to do for you and for me. The
crowd incited the leaders to say, "Who is this?
Who is this?" "Well,
it's Jesus the prophet." "Who
is this?" "It's
the Son of God." "Who
is this?" "It's
the man who would be your King." But
if we're going to have Jesus as our King, we have to take on His attributes and
be like Him. So the challenge for
you and for me is to be humble, as Jesus was humble.
We're presented in our lives with many opportunities to act and many more
opportunities to exercise restraint, and to give up, and to lay down.
Jesus said, "I came to serve. And
if you want to be my followers, you must serve, too."
And
there won't be parades for us. There
was only one parade for Jesus. Not
much recognition. People are never
going to receive honor, and glory, and prestige for being humble.
Almost by definition, Christ's followers will never call a press
conference: "Look at how
humble we are." The road is
through quiet obscurity. Jesus was
a humble King. Second
thing: Jesus was faithful.
He knew why He came. He came
to give up His life as a ransom for many. But
I can't help but wonder, as He rode that donkey into the city of Jerusalem, if
He wasn't tempted--well, we know He was tempted--"Why not just go ahead and
reveal myself now? Let them see me
for who I really am. Why not go
ahead and wipe out these so-called rulers in Jerusalem?
And why not go ahead and wipe out the so-called government of Rome and
show them what a real King is, and a real Ruler?" The
reason is because He made a promise. A
promise to His Heavenly Father and a promise to Himself.
A promise to come to redeem His people.
It was ultimately a promise to you and to me, to set His people free.
And He knew he couldn't do it through power.
He knew it involved laying down and giving up.
If you and I are going to be subjects of a King like Jesus, we're going
to be people who are faithful and who keep our promises. Author
and business leader, Christian author and speaker Fred Smith, tells about one of
his treasured memories. It came
from a donut shop in Grand Saline, Texas. I've
never heard of Grand Saline, Texas, but he was there eating donuts.
There was a young farm couple sitting at the table next to mine.
He was wearing overalls. She,
a gingham dress. After finishing
their donuts, he got up to pay the bill, and I noticed she didn't get up to
follow him. But then he came back
and stood in front of her. And she
put her arms around his neck and he lifted her up, revealing that she was
wearing a full body brace. He
lifted her out of her chair and backed out the front door to the pickup truck,
with her hanging from his neck. As
he gently put her into the truck, everyone in the shop watched.
No one said anything until a waitress remarked almost reverently,
"He took his vows seriously." Jesus
took His promise seriously. He had
a mission to accomplish. He came to
do it for you and for me, and so you and I will be like Jesus: servants who are faithful in our promises. Louis
Smedes has written about people who make promises: Somewhere people still make and keep promises.
They choose not to quit when the going gets rough because they promised
once to see it through. They stick to lost causes.
The hold on to a love grown cold. They
stay with people who have become pains in the neck.
They still dare to make promises and care enough to keep the promises
they make. What a marvelous thing a
promise is! When a person makes a
promise, she reaches out into an unpredictable future and makes one thing
predictable. She will be there even
when being there costs her more than she wants to pay.
When a person makes a promise, he stretches himself out into
circumstances that no one can control and controls at least one thing:
He will be there no matter what the circumstances turn out to be.
In one simple word of promise, a person creates an island of certainty in
a sea of uncertainty. You
and I follow the King who made a promise. And
on Palm Sunday, by choosing not to act, He fulfilled that promise.
By laying down the claims of King and allowing Himself to be subjected to
a trial as a common criminal and dying for us, He was faithful to the end.
So if we're going to be His servants, we'll be people who are faithful,
who make promises and stick to them, even when the circumstances spin out of
control. Jesus the King will
empower us to be people of promise. The
final thing that strikes me about Jesus, as I picture Him in my mind riding that
donkey into Jerusalem, is His sense of determination.
It says that when He was on the hill outside of Jerusalem, He stopped and
He wept--because He recognized that Jerusalem was really not ready to recognize
the kind of King that He was. That
must be how He feels about the world when we don't recognize the kind of King
that Jesus is. Nevertheless, He was
determined to see it through all the way to the cross, all the way to the end.
He was in control. The Bible
says that at His trial, He chose not to speak.
When He was being tortured by the guards, he chose not to call
down the angels. When the Son of
God was crucified, He Himself said of His own death, "It is finished! I have accomplished what I set out to do."
He demonstrated for us determination.
And if we're going to be His followers, that's the kind of people we need
to be: those who are determined to
see our commitments and our life's opportunities through to the end as faithful
followers. You
know who my example is for this? You're
going to kind of chuckle when I remind you of him, but he is for me the very
picture of determination. His name
is Alvin Straight. Remember that
name? I know you're going to
remember him when I tell you what he did. In
1994 Alvin Straight wanted to go visit his brother.
His brother had suffered a stroke. Alvin
and his brother had not spoken in ten years--they'd had a falling out.
And Alvin was determined that they have an opportunity to be reconciled.
Alvin lived in Lawrence, Iowa; his brother in Wisconsin.
Alvin Straight didn't trust public transportation, and because he was
older (73 years old) he had limited vision and no drivers license.
So
Alvin Straight decided to drive his 1966 John Deere riding lawn mower to visit
his brother! Now do you remember
it? It took him six weeks--from
Iowa to Wisconsin, five miles an hour, trailer behind.
He stopped every night and camped out.
Publicity grew about him. He
was invited to appear on David Letterman and Jay Leno, but turned them down.
He wasn't doing it for the publicity.
A movie was made about him after he died--The Straight Story.
But that's not why he did it. Why
did he do it? Because he was
determined. He was going to be
reconciled with his brother. Their
relationship had been damaged for ten years.
They hadn't spoken. Now,
maybe we all kind of laugh because we all think, "What a fool!
Couldn't he have gotten someone to give him a ride?
He could have been there in an afternoon."
I suppose that's right. But
you know what? You
know, the people out there in the world, when they heard the story of
Jesus--they had one of two reactions. One
was admiration that the Son of God would give Himself up for us. The other was mocking scorn:
"What a fool!" they would have said. "If He was really the Son of God, why would He do
it?" If you and I become like
Jesus and we're faithful to our promises, and we're humble, you know what people
are going to say about us? "What
a fool! He could have done so much
more and been so much more, but he labored away in relative obscurity serving
others." You can say that
about Mother Teresa: "All that
organizational talent and skill--what a fool to give it up for dying people in
Calcutta!" That's
determination. And on Palm Sunday
we're reminded just exactly what kind of King we have. I'm
always kind of interested that Palm Sunday is the one day of Holy Week that the
news networks seem to be able to latch on to.
It's that kind of celebration. At
my previous church in Albuquerque, we had a Palm Sunday parade.
All we did was start in the front parking lot, walk around the block to
the back of the church, and enter the church.
But we had a donkey and someone to ride the donkey.
And every year the news outlets in Albuquerque--we'd be the lead off for
the Palm Sunday news! There our
church would be with whoever was selected to ride the donkey.
Because it's something people can understand--a parade. When
I arrived at that church, I was Youth Pastor and there was a great
campaign--because, you see, no one wanted to ride the donkey!
"Well, gosh--the newest guy on staff, the Youth Pastor--he could
ride the donkey!" I wasn't too
keen about it and what I said to get out of it (but I realize it has some pretty
deep theology attached to it) was that I don't mind riding the donkey on Sunday,
but I'm not sure I want to play the part on Thursday and Friday!
You see, nobody does. Jesus
gets all the honor he's going to get on Palm Sunday from the world.
You and I recognize that His greatest act was on Friday, when He died
alone on a cross for you and me, so that we could become what we otherwise could
never be: reconciled to God,
reconciled to each other, and having the opportunity to live out our lives
knowing Jesus is the King of Kings. I'd
like to conclude with a psalm--a contemporary psalm.
It was written by a man named Joe Bayly. Joe Bayly was an editor of Eternity magazine, and an
InterVarsity staff member. He was a
good writer. This is a short
contemporary Psalm and Meditation on Palm Sunday. I think it captures precisely where you and I need to be. King
Jesus, [he asks] why
did you choose a lowly ass to carry you to ride in your parade? Have
you no friend who owned a horse, a royal mount with spirit for a King to ride? Why
choose an ass? Small,
unassuming beast of burden, trained
to plow, not carry kings. King
Jesus, why
did you choose me, a
lowly, unimportant person to bear you in my world today? Uninformed
and unimportant, trained
to work, not carry kings (let alone a King of Kings). And
yet you've chosen me to carry you in triumph in this world's parade. King
Jesus, keep
me small, so all may see how great you are. Keep
me humble so all may say, "Blessed is He who cometh in the name of the
Lord!" Not,
"What a great donkey He rides." That's
our opportunity--to become like the donkey that carried Jesus.
Let people see the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in your life, as you
and I practice the virtue of that humility, faithfulness, and determination.
Let's pray together. Jesus,
it makes me happy and feel better to know that you did get a taste of the honor,
and glory, and the recognition you deserve.
There's a great part of me that wants to step into the scene of history
and to grab people and shake them and say, "Don't you know who this
is?" But of course, they
don't. Even today many times they
don't. But Lord I thank you that
you are the King who is faithful, who kept your promises, who was determined to
the end, that you laid down your life for me.
I pray that all during this week I will never, ever forget how great is
your love for me, how fully you have kept your promise.
I pray that all of us may one day join together and be in that great
throng that finally recognizes you and praises you as the King of Kings and the
Lord of Lords, as you receive the honor and glory that you deserve, both now and
forever. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Rev. Gary LeTourneau Senior Pastor Faith Presbyterian Church Minnetonka, Minnesota [Transcribed from an audiotape of the 9:00 a.m. worship
service on March 24, 2002] |
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