Victory via Divine Wisdom (Palm Sunday)

OT Lesson: Isaiah 50:4-9a (CEB)

The Lord God gave me an educated tongue
to know how to respond to the weary
with a word that will awaken them in the morning.
God awakens my ear in the morning to listen,
as educated people do.
The Lord God opened my ear;
I didn’t rebel; I didn’t turn my back.
Instead, I gave my body to attackers,
and my cheeks to beard pluckers.
I didn’t hide my face
from insults and spitting.
The Lord God will help me;
therefore, I haven’t been insulted.
Therefore, I set my face like flint,
and knew I wouldn’t be ashamed.
The one who will declare me innocent is near.
Who will argue with me?
Let’s stand up together.
Who will bring judgment against me?
Let him approach me.
Look! The Lord God will help me.
Who will condemn me?

NT Lesson: Mark 14:1-15:47 (NRSV)

It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him; for they said, ‘Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.’

While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head. But some were there who said to one another in anger, ‘Why was the ointment wasted in this way? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.’ And they scolded her. But Jesus said, ‘Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.’

Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, ‘Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?’ So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, “The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.’ So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

When it was evening, he came with the twelve. And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.’ They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, ‘Surely, not I?’ He said to them, ‘It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.’

While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’

When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. And Jesus said to them, ‘You will all become deserters; for it is written,

“I will strike the shepherd,

and the sheep will be scattered.”

But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.’ Peter said to him, ‘Even though all become deserters, I will not.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.’ But he said vehemently, ‘Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.’ And all of them said the same.

They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. And he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.’ And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. He said, ‘Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.’ He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. He came a third time and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.’

Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.’ So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, ‘Rabbi!’ and kissed him. Then they laid hands on him and arrested him. But one of those who stood near drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled.’ All of them deserted him and fled.

A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.

They took Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes were assembled. Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the guards, warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none. For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree. Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, saying, ‘We heard him say, “I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.”’ But even on this point their testimony did not agree. Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, ‘Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?’ But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’ Jesus said, ‘I am; and

“you will see the Son of Man

seated at the right hand of the Power”,

and “coming with the clouds of heaven.”’

Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘Why do we still need witnesses? You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?’ All of them condemned him as deserving death. Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, ‘Prophesy!’ The guards also took him over and beat him.

While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.’ But he denied it, saying, ‘I do not know or understand what you are talking about.’ And he went out into the forecourt. Then the cock crowed. And the servant-girl, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, ‘This man is one of them.’ But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, ‘Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.’ But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, ‘I do not know this man you are talking about.’ At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.’ And he broke down and wept.

As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ He answered him, ‘You say so.’ Then the chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate asked him again, ‘Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.’ But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.

Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked. Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom. Then he answered them, ‘Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?’ For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. Pilate spoke to them again, ‘Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?’ They shouted back, ‘Crucify him!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Crucify him!’ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort. And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. And they began saluting him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.

It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, ‘The King of the Jews.’ And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!’ In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.’ Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘Listen, he is calling for Elijah.’ And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.’ Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’

There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.

When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.

Sermon

Introduction

Good morning. For the last a few weeks, it looks like we have good weather only on Sundays. As you all know, there was a heart-breaking news from TN—yet another school shooting at a private Christian school which is run by the Covenant Presbyterian Church. Let us pray for the victims, but I think prayers alone are not enough. Since the shooting at the Columbine High school, it is repeating over and over again and nothing was changed. I pray and hope something to be done to prevent this kind of senseless shooting. What kind of monster pulls the trigger at nine-year-old children? We may feel it is a story from far away, but it is not. Last week, the public library here in Lebanon was closed for the whole week because of a threat of shooting by an armed person. I have no idea how often we have shooting accidents in this town, but the safety is not guaranteed actually. Anyone can have guns, and they can pull the trigger at us because crazy people and criminal minds can be anywhere. A few years ago, there was a shooting at a McDonald’s in Southern Indiana. The drive-through line was moving slow, and a person honked. Then the guy in front got off the car with a gun and shot at the guy who honked. The guy did not die thankfully because the McDonald’s was right by a big hospital. So again, crazy people and criminal minds can be anywhere. So please pray for the victims and the families of the recent school shooting. And let us try to find a way how we can ensure the safety for our children at PPM, and also for ourselves not only inside the church building but also in the community. 

There are a few things to announce. We will have pizzas after the worship service. Twelve pizzas will be delivered at 11:30AM. If I am still talking, please someone get the pizzas. And make sure not to tip the driver because we already tipped $25 online. Last Friday, we had the second meeting of the Gourmet Seekers at a Thai restaurant in Whitestown. We enjoyed the food very much. Next month, we will go to a Longhorn Steak house on Friday, April 21st. You can join us for the yummy steak. By the way, how do you eat steak? I have my steak always medium rare. Do you know how Jesus eats His steak? According to the Bible, Jesus one day walked into a Longhorn steak house. The server asked Jesus, ‘Sir, how would you like your steak?’ And Jesus answered, “Well done. Good and faithful servant. It’s well done.” So obviously Jesus and I do not agree when it comes to steak.

Finally today is Palm Sunday when we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Do you all have Palm fronds? Let’s wave the palm branch and shout together, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”1 As you know, I am following the Lectionary for now, and the Gospel reading for today is two chapters from the gospel of Mark with almost 2,500 words, which is extremely long. That is why I did not read the entire NT lesson today. Lectionary is wonderful but I think it is way too long today. So after Easter, I may not use the lectionary except a few very important days.

Triumph and Palm

On this day about two thousand years ago, Jesus entered Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel, the centre of the politics, economics, and religion back then in Israel, and now the centre of the conflicts and religions in the world. The Jewish people welcomed Jesus and hurrayed like Roman citizens welcomed Julius Caesar and hurrayed in his triumphal procession. But there were two big differences between the triumphal procession of Jesus and of the secular victors. First, Roman emperors and generals such as Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Titus, Agrippa, or any other successful conquerors had their triumphal processions in their capital city after they had final victory by finishing the battle and war completely. But Jesus had his triumphal entry into the capital city before He began the final battle, before He had the ultimate victory over death. Second, other victors were riding on a shiny chariots driven by many beautiful horses. Jesus rode on a humble donkey. It is like the President of the United States of America, not riding the Cadillac One but driving a Toyota Prius by himself. I know that Prius is a good car, but for the President, it is a very humble car.

The people of Jerusalem were Okay with that. A Prius was fancy enough for those poor people. They went crazy with happiness, shouting Hosanna, and laying down their cloaks. Hosanna (הוֹשִיעָה־נָא) means in Hebrew ‘Please Save Us.’ And the name of Jesus in Hebrew (יְשׁוּעָ‎, Yeshua) means ‘the Lord Saves,’ that is the Saviour. So practically they were shouting in Hebrew, “Saviour, please save us!” And those people were waving the palm branches while shouting Hosanna. And that is why we call it ‘Palm Sunday.’ So today we are the people waving palm branches at Jesus. Let us do that again—waving palm branch and shouting Hosanna. So what does the palm branch means? The palm branch is a symbol of victory, triumph, and peace in the ancient Near and Middle East and also in the Mediterranean world. The peace is usually referred as not having active battles or physical conflicts. When a battle or war is over, there is peace. But there are two different kinds of peace. There is a peace when you lose a war. For example, after the WW2 was over, there was no more battles in Japan and in Germany—they lost the war but anyway there was peace. And there is a peace when you win the war, of course. The peace of the palm branch is the victor’s peace.

The palm branch has one more meaning. Do you know how to say palm tree in Greek? That is φοῖνιξ (fo-ee-nix), in English pronunciation phoenix. You know Phoenix. That is a city in AZ. 

Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix is also a mythical bird from Greek mythology and from Harry Potter which is supposed to live forever. 

Phoenix, a bird in Greek mythology

But the name of this bird actually came from the palm trees because the palm tree is a symbol of eternal life in the ancient Middle East. In ancient Egyptian mythology, the palm branch also represented immortality. 

Date Palm in Israel

John 12:13 in Greek bible says that the people were waving “Phoenix.” And that is not the bird phoenix but the palm branch phoenix. People were shouting Hosanna, waving palm branches. And that is, the people were praying to the Saviour and asking for the eternal life. Our victory over death is the eternal life.

To Lose Is To Win

Jesus began His triumphal procession to His final victory. And His victory was His suffering, was His wounds, and eventually was His death on the cross. And we do not understand it because it is the divine wisdom. Jesus says “those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for My sake will find it.”2 Because we do not understand this, Jesus showed us His example by His death and resurrection. This divine wisdom is also called the Christian paradox because to lose is to win, and to die is to live. This does not make sense in our human wisdom and understanding.

Human Wisdom

Cain and Abel were brothers. They both worshipped God and sacrificed their offerings. For some reason, God accepted the offering from Abel, but not from Cain. Cain was disappointed and he got his feelings hurt. He was so jealous. In his human wisdom, Cain thought he would get all of God’s love by himself if his brother is no more on the face of the earth. That seemed a brilliant idea. So he killed his younger brother. But instead of getting all God’s love, he was forever cursed and became the first murderer in human history.

Jacob had eleven sons, and he loved his youngest son Joseph the most. Joseph’s ten older brothers were not happy. They were so jealous. In their human wisdom, they thought they would get their father’s love very much if their youngest brother is no more on the face of the earth. So one day while they were away from their father Jacob, they caught and sold their youngest brother Joseph to a slave trader. They lied to their father that Joseph was killed by a wild beast. Against their original intention of being much more loved, they simply pushed their father into deep despair and bottomless sorrow. And later they also got to risk the lives of their own and their children as well.

Judas Iscariot was one of Jesus’ twelve disciples. So he was one of the specially chosen ones for salvation. He was well learned and smart. At those days, Jesus, his master and teacher, was falsely accused by the Pharisees and Sadducees. In his human wisdom, Judas Iscariot thought it would be a brilliant idea to bring Jesus to the court. Beside, he was going to get thirty silver coins, so he would become richer. And his Master might get a chance to officially defend Himself in the court. Judas Iscariot thought it was catching two birds with one stone. But he just ended up being the worst betrayer and eventually killed himself. In our human wisdom, we may not understand God’s way. And thus we usually say that God moves in a mysterious way, just like the Indiana drivers. How many times have I seen drivers put the left blinker on and make right turn? Anyway, God does not really move in a mysterious way. We just do not understand with our limited knowledge and human wisdom. God’s way is in fact simple. That is love.

God’s Way

David was falsely accused of treason when he was young and when Saul was the king. David became a fugitive. King Saul and his soldiers were hunting David. He kept running away. And one day he had a lifetime opportunity. King Saul came in and fell asleep where David was hiding. David quietly approached and stood next to king Saul with his sword in his hand. He could have killed his enemy easily and become a new king. His counsel also advised him to do so. In human wisdom, that was not only a right thing but also a wise thing to do. But that was not God’s wisdom. And David chose to follow God’s wisdom which seemed stupid in human eyes. David showed mercy to king Saul who tried to kill him and he continued his flight. God’s wisdom looked foolish at first. But in the long run, David became the king and also he became the most beloved one by God. He eventually became the ancestor of Jesus Christ, the Messiah because he chose God’s way of love.

Jesus before His triumphal entry knew exactly what was waiting for Him. He knew that there would be the sufferings, pains, and death on the cross. He did not like it so He prayed to God to take away His bitter cup if possible. It was not that Jesus was helpless and powerless. Only if He wanted, He could have summoned more than twelve legions of heavenly army. He could have swept away all His enemies at once. His disciples also advised Him to do so. In human wisdom, that was not only a right thing but also a wise thing to do. But that was not God’s wisdom. And Jesus chose to follow God’s wisdom. He chose to bear the sufferings, pains, and cruel death on the cross in the place of humankind out of love. He was flogged. He carried His cross. And He eventually was executed on the cross. God’s wisdom looked foolish at first. But eventually God raised Jesus from the dead. He now lives forever and He is the Saviour of the world.

Conclusion

Whoever followed the human wisdom failed and perished. But whoever follows Jesus Christ and the divine wisdom will find eternal life. By the triumphal entry, Jesus went through the sufferings, pains, and death. And these are the very victory what Jesus meant. So friends, let us abandon our own human wisdom and follow the divine wisdom of love which may look foolish at first in our eyes. When we wave the palm branches at Jesus and follow Him to the end, then we will have the true victory and the eternal life through God’s love. Amen.