Palm Sunday
MARCH 24
Devotional by Daniel Viezbicke, Pastor for Membership & Mobilization
Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.––Revelation 5:1–7
And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”––Luke 19:36–40
There’s a sort of parallel between what takes place on earth the Sunday before Jesus’s murder, and what takes place at his ascension to the right hand of the Father, 40 or so days later. An exultant moment meets the disciples as their king draws near to the gates of Jerusalem, shouting out Psalm 118:16 in acclamation of his kingship. They are the first to recognize him for who he is. Although their expectation of who Messiah is may be more shaped by their culture than the Old Testament, they certainly recognized Jesus as the prophetic fulfillment of the Old Testament promises of a coming King who would restore God’s world. But there are two things that perhaps his disciples did not realize.
First, they didn’t seem to realize that Jesus was not only going to fulfill God’s promises for Israel, but also for all creation. Upon Jesus’s ascension and appearance in heaven, he began to unveil and then unleash God’s purposes for the end times upon creation. The humble, even humiliating, coronation on Palm Sunday and Good Friday ends with the ascension of Jesus in exulted glory, with all authority given to him in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:19–20).
Second, they didn’t seem to realize that Jesus’s rule as King would come about not through a violent insurrection, but through a violent sacrifice of himself. He also told his disciples that they had to follow him to his death; eleven of the twelve disciples died martyrs' deaths, and the twelfth likely died in captivity.
This Holy Week, we would do well to consider the pathway that Jesus sets out before us. Glory only comes after suffering, and all glimpses of glory this side of eternity are only temporary foreshadowings. The rebuke of the world for following Jesus turns to lasting glory for us only on the other side of taking up our cross and following Jesus (Matthew 16:24–26). By following Jesus in a death like his now, we participate in a resurrection and life like his (Romans 6:5).
Does Jesus inherit the universe from his Father’s hand? He does, and so too will we, if we continue and seek to conquer by faith and faithfulness, as Jesus himself conquered and sat down on the throne with his Father (Revelation 3:21). As we remember raised palm branches at the coronation of our King, let us also remember the raised cross on Golgotha.
