Sermon Snippet – The Triumph of Truth
INTRODUCTION – Today we remember Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (Mark 11:1-10). Many of the people placed palm branches in front of Jesus, much as we roll out a red carpet to honor someone today. It was an emotional time. Unfortunately, emotions can be good or bad, leading us in the right direction or in the wrong direction.
1. THE CROWD WAS RIGHT AND WRONG
Their high regard for Jesus was correct. They repeatedly shouted, “Hosanna; blessed is He [Who] cometh in the name of the Lord,” quoting from Psalm 118:25-26. This Psalm was uppermost in their minds because it was used at Passover, only days away. It was a Messianic Psalm (more about that later), giving details about the promised Savior. Certainly it was right to apply these prophetic words to Jesus. However, their cultural expectation was that this Messiah would immediately free them from repressive Roman rule (“Hosanna” means “save now,” as it is translated in the King James Version’s rendering of Psalm 118:25). We understand their desire for freedom from tyranny (including, as we will see in a moment, from the oppression of the religious rulers). As Americans, we dearly value our God-given Constitutional rights. However, the people were wrong in their focus on the political only. If Jesus had inaugurated a merely earthly kingdom, their and our eternal needs would not have been met. A temporary respite from despotism would have been good, but an everlasting liberty is infinitely better.
2. THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS WERE WRONG AND WRONG
Luke 19:39 adds, “And some of the Pharisees among the multitude said unto Him, ‘Master, rebuke Thy disciples.’” Matthew 21:15 later includes other religious rulers: “And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, ‘Hosanna to the son of David’; they were sure displeased.” What a wrong response to “wonderful things”! These religious elites were also wrong in not quickly connecting Psalm 118 to Jesus. They knew the words, but they refused to see the truth of those words in the life of Jesus. In fact, it is hard to think of even one thing that these elites got right about Jesus: the closest was the callous statement of the priest Caiaphas, who stated that “it was expedient that one man should die for the people” (John 18:14b). He was cynical and calculating, thinking of political expediency only. Jesus, that “one man,” would die to offer salvation to all “people.” The religious leaders were unfailingly (failingly?) wrong.
3. JESUS WAS RIGHT AND RIGHT
He knew that Psalm 118 spoke of Him. In fact, at the end of the Passover meal, He would sing it in its entirety. He would sing, “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner” (verse 22) – words which He on Palm Sunday applied to Himself and to His rejection by the religious aristocracy (Matthew 21:42-44). Poignantly, He would sing verse 24: “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Yes He would sing these words within hours of His death on the Cross, on that very “day which the LORD hath made.” He would sing, “Save now” (verse 25), knowing that only through His death would salvation become available to all. He was right that the rocks could have shouted (Luke 19:40), for the Creator is not constrained by the scientific laws that He created. He was right to cry over the fate of Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44). Jesus was right.
CONCLUSION – Jesus is right. He is righteous, always doing the right thing. He is the right choice for each of us. His triumphal entry into Jerusalem becomes the triumph of truth, of the One Who proclaimed, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father but by Me” (John 14:6). May each of us welcome “the Truth” into our lives; may we trust in Him and walk with Him in truth. “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (III John 4).