Sermon: Palmarum - 2020

5 April 2020

Text: Matt 21:1-9, 26:1-27:66

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

The passion of our Lord might lead one to think that Jesus is not in control of what is happening.  After all, look at the terrible things that happen to Him:

He tells them outright that, “the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”  He takes no evasive action, but goes like a lamb to the slaughter.

The chief priests and scribes hatch a plot to trap Jesus.  When a kindly woman anoints Him with oil, His own disciples call this a “waste.”  Judas plots with the chief priests to betray Him for a few coins.  At the Passover supper, our Lord acknowledges that He is being betrayed – and does nothing to stop it.  Afterward, Jesus tells Peter that Peter will deny Him.  Again, He submits to this cruelty.  He does not prevent it.

Jesus is handed over to the police, and not even Peter’s sword seems to be able to prevent His arrest.  Jesus even tells Peter, “Put your sword back in its place.”  He adds that He could have an army of angels to help Him, but He refuses the help of the angels.

He is lied about at His illegal trial, but “Jesus remained silent.”  He confesses that He is the Christ, the Son of God, and is spit upon and struck.  Jesus does nothing to stop it.  Jesus is put on trial before the governor – who wants to release Him, but Jesus “gave him no answer.” 

Jesus is condemned, scourged, and crucified.  He prays, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me.”  And He dies, yielding up His spirit.  And He is laid in a tomb, one that was guarded for fear of His earlier prediction about rising again.  

It is as though Jesus is powerless to put a stop to this injustice.  It is as though God refuses to hear the cries of the faithful for mercy.  It seems as if God no longer hears anyone’s prayers.  Has He been forsaken?  Have we?  The chief priests, scribes, and elders mock Jesus: “He saved others; He cannot save Himself.”

He cannot.  It appears as if our Lord’s claims of divinity are false.  For how can we worship a God who “cannot,” do something, dear friends?

But we do worship a God who cannot be anything other than God.  God cannot lie.  God cannot be unjust.  God cannot abstain from loving His people – even in their sin.  Jesus cannot save Himself, not for lack of power, but because He is who He is.  Just as God told Moses from the burning bush: “I am who I am.”  Even as our Lord told the crowds, “Before Abraham was, I am.”  He is who He is, and He is our Savior.  

And far from being a feather tossed about in a windstorm, our Lord is in control at all times.  The cross was the goal, for at the cross, Satan was defeated, and we are saved from sin, death, and the devil.  His blood atones for our sins, for He is the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world! 

And we see our Lord causing these events to unfold all along, like pushing chessmen around a board.  With unbendable will and uncompromising mercy, He offers Himself as the atonement for the sins of the world.  He does this so that we might live.  He bears the punishment that sets us free, dear brothers and sisters!

And we especially see Jesus in control in the Gospel reading for when we enter the church on Palm Sunday, remembering our Lord’s royal welcome into the Royal City.  For there was no detail that our Lord left to chance.  Using His divine power, Jesus arranges everything.  He crosses every tee and dots every iota.  For He is the alpha and the omega!  He is the Word by whom all things were made.

How silly it was for the chief priests, the scribes, the elders, Judas, Pontius Pilate, and even the mob that called for His crucifixion to think they called the shots.  How ridiculous is their fantasy that they have power over God, that they can extinguish the Messiah by force.  All the while, dear friends, they were being played.  Jesus is in control.

For “when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage,” our Lord gave specific instructions.  “Go into the village in front of You,” He commanded, “and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.  Untie them and bring them to Me,” He orders.  Jesus even tells them a kind of password to dispel any resistance on the part of the person whose animals are being requisitioned!

And so we see each action of each person working together in a kind of symphony to carry out our Lord’s plan to rescue us by His death on the cross.  

Dear friends, it is easy to think that Jesus is out of control.  Churches around the world are shuttered today.  We are seemingly bullied by a microscopic virus that prevents us from worship, that is killing thousands of people around the world, that is causing entire economies to collapse.

We see government officials – some with good intentions and some with hidden agendas – issuing decrees about what we can and cannot do.  In many states, liquor stores are open while churches are closed.  Our right to assemble and practice our faith is denied by government officials, with the claim that the Christian Church, the Gospel, the Word and the Sacraments are not “essential services.” 

And where is God’s power to put a stop to this, to bring us back into our churches, to save lives, and to exorcise this demon that seems to have the whole world under its thumb?  Why can’t God seem to do anything about this? 

And here, dear friends, is where we are called to put our faith in God, to trust our Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that he is indeed in command of every molecule in the universe.  We do not understand His will, but we pray, “Thy will be done” in spite of our lack of understanding.  We trust that He is carrying out the plan of salvation, even when it looks like the Church is the laughingstock of the world’s powers, when it appears that God is impotent, and when it feels like we are helpless and left alone.

We are not alone, dear friends!  God has not forsaken us.  Jesus is in control.  He is our Savior, and He cannot act in any other way other than showing love and mercy toward us, keeping His promises, and fulfilling the Father’s will.

Just like those who witnessed the crucifixion, we are called to believe even when belief is hard.  This is what faith is, dear friends, it is trusting in God even when we watch Him die on a cross, and when we see His lifeless body placed into a tomb.

For we know that He calls the shots, that He has nothing but good in store for us, and we know that Satan is defeated even when it looks otherwise.

And so even in remembering our Lord’s passion, with grief and with mourning – we still are not conquered and not defeated.  We know how it all ends.  And even though we don’t know specifically how this pandemic will end, even though we are prevented from waving our palms and singing, “Hosanna” together in our sanctuary today, we know how it ends, dear friends.  It ends with resurrection: our Lord’s and ours.  It ends with the saints in heaven, clad in white robes, waving palms, and singing “Hosanna,” that is, “Save us, Lord!”

We know that He does indeed save us by grace – even when we don’t know exactly how.  We have His Word, and that is sufficient for us, dear friends.  Let us look forward to a bright future, one in which Satan is thrown into the lake of fire, along with malignant viruses and with death itself.  Let us look forward to being raised from the dead by our Lord who controls all things, the One who dies so that we might live, and live abundantly – even unto eternity!  Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.