Robert E. Cushman - "Blessed Is He That Cometh!" (April 7, 1963)
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Transcript
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| (liturgical music) | 0:18 | |
| - | So let us offer under God, | 0:55 |
| our unison prayer of confession, let us pray. | 0:57 | |
| Eternal God thou unseen source of power. | 1:03 | |
| We confess our unfaithfulness to Jesus Christ. | 1:07 | |
| We who like ancient Jerusalem have welcomed Him | 1:11 | |
| with professions of loyalty, | 1:14 | |
| have crucified Him before the week ended. | 1:16 | |
| Amid the way weirdness of a violent world. | 1:20 | |
| We have denied His faith and forsaken His way. | 1:23 | |
| We have not walked kindly with one another, | 1:27 | |
| nor humbly with thee, nor honorably with ourselves. | 1:30 | |
| We ask thy forgiveness and restoration | 1:35 | |
| through this same Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. | 1:38 | |
| here are the gracious words of our Lord Jesus Christ | 1:44 | |
| unto all who truly repent and turn to Him, | 1:47 | |
| "Come on to me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, | 1:52 | |
| and I will give you rest. | 1:57 | |
| Him that cometh onto me, I will in no wise cast out." | 2:00 | |
| May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all. Amen. | 2:06 | |
| And now as our savior Christ has taught us, | 2:12 | |
| let us pray together saying our Father who art in heaven, | 2:15 | |
| hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, | 2:20 | |
| Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. | 2:24 | |
| Give us this day our daily bread | 2:28 | |
| and forgive us our trespasses, | 2:31 | |
| as we forgive those who trespass against us | 2:33 | |
| and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. | 2:37 | |
| For Thine is the kingdom, | 2:42 | |
| the power and the glory forever. Amen. | 2:43 | |
| (liturgical music) | 3:13 | |
| The scripture lesson is found in the 21st chapter | 7:29 | |
| of the gospel, according to St. Matthew. | 7:33 | |
| "And when they drew near to Jerusalem | 7:41 | |
| and came to Bethphage to the Mount of Olives, | 7:44 | |
| then Jesus sent two disciples saying to them, | 7:48 | |
| 'Go into the village, opposite you. | 7:52 | |
| And immediately you will find an ass tied | 7:54 | |
| and a colt with her. | 7:57 | |
| Untie them and bring them to me. | 8:00 | |
| If anyone says anything to you, | 8:03 | |
| you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them.' | 8:05 | |
| And he will send them immediately.' | 8:09 | |
| This took place to fulfill | 8:13 | |
| what was spoken by the prophet saying, | 8:15 | |
| 'Tell the daughter of Zion, | 8:17 | |
| behold, your king is coming to you, | 8:20 | |
| humble and mounted on an ass | 8:23 | |
| and on a colt, the foal of an ass.' | 8:26 | |
| The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. | 8:30 | |
| They brought the ass and the coat, | 8:35 | |
| and put their garments on them and he sat there on. | 8:37 | |
| Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road | 8:43 | |
| and others cut branches from the trees | 8:46 | |
| and spread them on the road. | 8:48 | |
| And the crowds that went before Him | 8:50 | |
| and that followed Him shouted, 'Hosanna to the son of David, | 8:53 | |
| blessed be he who comes in the name of the Lord. | 8:58 | |
| Hosanna in the highest.' | 9:02 | |
| And when He entered Jerusalem, | 9:05 | |
| all the city was stirred saying, 'Who is this?' | 9:07 | |
| And the crowd said, | 9:12 | |
| 'This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.'" | 9:14 | |
| Here the lesson ends. | 9:21 | |
| (liturgical music) | 9:26 | |
| The Lord be with you. | 12:38 | |
| - | And with your spirit. | 12:41 |
| - | Let us pray. | 12:43 |
| Oh God who are glorious and holiness, | 12:47 | |
| full of love and compassion, abundant in grace and truth. | 12:51 | |
| All thy works praise Thee and all the earth. | 12:57 | |
| By glory is revealed in Jesus Christ Thy son. | 13:01 | |
| Therefore we praise Thee | 13:07 | |
| Father, son, and holy spirit, one God. | 13:09 | |
| Blessed be Thy name above all names forever. | 13:14 | |
| All mighty God our Father, who has so loved the world | 13:23 | |
| as to send Thy son to seek | 13:28 | |
| and save our rebellious creatures. | 13:30 | |
| We give thanks for the grace by which he came among us | 13:34 | |
| as a servant, meek, and lowly. | 13:38 | |
| The friend of sinners and the companion of the poor. | 13:42 | |
| We remember with joy that the common people heard Him gladly | 13:48 | |
| and the multitude welcomed Him with Palm branches | 13:53 | |
| and songs of praise. | 13:57 | |
| Grant us grace, oh God, | 14:01 | |
| to join with all our hearts | 14:03 | |
| in the spiritual triumph of the prince of peace | 14:05 | |
| through Jesus Christ our Lord. | 14:11 | |
| Almighty God, who has taught us to pray for others, | 14:17 | |
| hear our prayers of intercession. | 14:22 | |
| Hear us as we pray | 14:27 | |
| for those who have been unfortunate in life | 14:29 | |
| and bruised in spirit. | 14:32 | |
| For those who have toiled without success. | 14:35 | |
| For those who are lonely and hurt. | 14:39 | |
| For those who have endured with no outside encouragement. | 14:43 | |
| For all these, our Father, | 14:49 | |
| we pray that sure knowledge of Thy boundless compassion | 14:51 | |
| made known to us in Thy lonely bruise and suffering son. | 14:56 | |
| Oh God who has called our nation to a place of trust | 15:03 | |
| and responsibility throughout the world. | 15:07 | |
| We only humbly Thee for all the ways | 15:11 | |
| in which thou has blessed and guided us unto this day. | 15:13 | |
| We confess before Thee, with shame, | 15:19 | |
| all that has been evil in our history | 15:21 | |
| and all that now makes us, an unworthy nation before Thee. | 15:25 | |
| Take from this nation, pride, greed, and injustice. | 15:32 | |
| And temper it with a spirit of unselfish service | 15:40 | |
| Here I say as we pray for this university, | 15:49 | |
| may knowledge be increased among us | 15:53 | |
| and may scholarship flourish. | 15:56 | |
| We pray for all who teach here and all who learn, | 15:59 | |
| that in humility of heart, they may ever look unto Thee, | 16:04 | |
| the fountain of all wisdom. | 16:08 | |
| Grant that all who served this university in any capacity | 16:12 | |
| may labor as unto Thee. | 16:17 | |
| Oh God, we pray for Thy church. | 16:23 | |
| Baptize her afresh | 16:26 | |
| with a life-giving spirit of Jesus Christ. | 16:27 | |
| Bestore up on her a more imperative response to duty. | 16:32 | |
| A swifter compassion with suffering | 16:37 | |
| and utter loyalty to Thy will. | 16:41 | |
| Help her to proclaim boldly the coming of Thy kingdom. | 16:46 | |
| Fill her with the prophet scorn of tyranny | 16:51 | |
| and with Christ light tenderness | 16:55 | |
| for the heavy Laden and the downtrodden. | 16:57 | |
| Bid her seize from seeking her own life, lest she lose it. | 17:03 | |
| Make her value to give up her life to the world. | 17:09 | |
| That like her crucified Lord, | 17:14 | |
| she may come into Thy kingdom by the path of the cross. | 17:16 | |
| All this we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. | 17:24 | |
| Now our Father hear us as we pray for ourselves, | 17:32 | |
| make us perfect in Jesus Christ. | 17:37 | |
| Out of His fullness, | 17:41 | |
| may we all receive and rest in Him forever more. | 17:42 | |
| May His passion be our deliverance, His wounds our healing. | 17:48 | |
| His cross, our redemption and His death, our life. | 17:57 | |
| Suffering with Him here, may we reign with Him hereafter. | 18:07 | |
| And bearing now His cross, | 18:14 | |
| may we hear after wear His crown. | 18:17 | |
| Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. | 18:23 | |
| Oh thou in whom we live and move and have our being, | 18:29 | |
| at this time we offer and present onto Thee ourselves, | 18:34 | |
| our spirits and bodies, our thoughts and desires, | 18:39 | |
| our words and deeds to be a reasonable, | 18:44 | |
| holy and living sacrifice under Thee, | 18:48 | |
| through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. | 18:52 | |
| (liturgical music) | 19:04 | |
| - | Almighty God, from whose bounty we have all received, | 26:05 |
| accept this offering of Thy people. | 26:10 | |
| And so follow it with Thy blessing | 26:13 | |
| that it may promote peace and Goodwill among man, | 26:16 | |
| and advanced Thy kingdom | 26:20 | |
| through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. | 26:23 | |
| (liturgical music) | 26:48 | |
| - | Let us pray. | 26:57 |
| Grace be unto you and peace from God the father, | 27:01 | |
| and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. | 27:05 | |
| In Matthew's gospel the lesson for the day we read, | 27:15 | |
| "And the multitude that went before Him | 27:21 | |
| and that followed cried saying, | 27:24 | |
| 'Hosanna to the son of David, | 27:26 | |
| blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord, | 27:29 | |
| Hosanna in the highest.'" | 27:35 | |
| As in the season of lent, | 27:40 | |
| Christians retrace the toilsome steps | 27:43 | |
| of their Lord to the Mount of Calvary. | 27:47 | |
| They do not forget that in some mysterious way, | 27:51 | |
| Palm Sunday is a glad day in the long, | 27:55 | |
| long memory of the Christian Church. | 27:58 | |
| From the first it was such a day. | 28:02 | |
| It was a day of rejoicing for the Pilgrim throng | 28:05 | |
| that accompany Jesus to Jerusalem. | 28:09 | |
| Coming up for the celebration of the Passover, | 28:13 | |
| the Pilgrims from Galilee and beyond Jordan | 28:16 | |
| swelled the company of Jesus' followers. | 28:20 | |
| As they recognize the prophets of Galilee | 28:24 | |
| with His disciples, | 28:27 | |
| they broke into noisier claim hailing Jesus | 28:29 | |
| in words of historic messianic import. | 28:33 | |
| That recalled the words of the Old Testament prophets. | 28:37 | |
| Somehow the ancient phrase | 28:42 | |
| is formed on the lips of one or two | 28:45 | |
| were passed along to become a chorus. | 28:49 | |
| Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord, | 28:53 | |
| Hosanna to the son of David, Hosanna in the highest. | 28:58 | |
| Evidently the contrast between the kingly role, | 29:04 | |
| they ascribed to the prophet of Nazareth, | 29:08 | |
| and His lowly mount quite escaped Him. | 29:11 | |
| Seemingly they took no notice that he rolled upon a donkey, | 29:15 | |
| a humble beast of burden. | 29:20 | |
| And a memorial symbol of patient service | 29:23 | |
| and uncomplaining endurance. | 29:26 | |
| It did not occur to them that Jesus, | 29:30 | |
| after the fashion of the older prophets, | 29:32 | |
| might be enacting the meaning of His message and mission. | 29:35 | |
| And that the words of Zachariah might be the clue. | 29:39 | |
| "Rejoice greatly, oh daughter of Zion. | 29:44 | |
| Shout oh doctor of Jerusalem, | 29:48 | |
| behold thy king cometh onto thee is just | 29:51 | |
| and having salvation. | 29:56 | |
| Lowly and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt, | 29:58 | |
| the foal of an ass." | 30:03 | |
| The throng was excited. Now it didn't festival mood. | 30:06 | |
| It moved it no question of Jesus' real identity | 30:11 | |
| or hidden meaning that might attach to His kingship, | 30:12 | |
| crowds do not reflect, they react. | 30:13 | |
| It was enough to be carried on the upwelling | 30:25 | |
| tired of their own spontaneous enthusiasm. | 30:26 | |
| They rejoiced in the reputation | 30:33 | |
| of the celebrated prophet of Nazareth in Galilee. | 30:36 | |
| He was their own countrymen. | 30:41 | |
| And with Him for a moment and with high expectations, | 30:44 | |
| they were glad to be identified. | 30:49 | |
| But we know that the two molt and the shouting died | 30:53 | |
| and that the exalted gladness | 30:58 | |
| of the first Palm Sunday was soon to pass. | 31:00 | |
| The fidelity of a crowd is as substantial | 31:04 | |
| as the measure of its understanding | 31:08 | |
| and of understanding this crowd had not enough. | 31:11 | |
| And shortly in retrospect Jesus' disciples, | 31:16 | |
| had to view the acclaim of their master on Palm Sunday. | 31:20 | |
| It was only a passing interval | 31:25 | |
| of welcome relief in Jesus fateful | 31:28 | |
| and relentless march to Jerusalem and to Golgotha. | 31:32 | |
| From the north country, | 31:38 | |
| the Mount of transfiguration you will remember, | 31:40 | |
| Jesus had steadfastly set His face like Flint, | 31:44 | |
| to go to Jerusalem. | 31:50 | |
| Here was the seat of theocratic authority and power. | 31:52 | |
| Here was the Citadel Lavon bending and hostile resistance | 31:59 | |
| to His mission, His message, and His person. | 32:04 | |
| Here was Mount Zion and the temple that crowned the hill | 32:09 | |
| that enthroned established cultic law and practice. | 32:15 | |
| Here in Jerusalem, | 32:20 | |
| Jesus was set upon making His final appeal | 32:23 | |
| for the obedience of Israel, | 32:28 | |
| to the imperatives of God's kingdom. | 32:30 | |
| Here He was to confront decisively and climatically | 32:34 | |
| the of reaction. | 32:38 | |
| And here also was to be settled for all time to come. | 32:41 | |
| The question of His own identity | 32:46 | |
| and the real meaning of His kingship. | 32:48 | |
| And now the moment of arrival was at hand. | 32:53 | |
| And the long way is behind Him. | 32:58 | |
| And before Him beyond the brow of the Mount of Olives | 33:01 | |
| lies the wall city of Jerusalem. | 33:06 | |
| Honduras gates, glistening temple, | 33:10 | |
| and around Jesus and His followers is the throng of pilgrims | 33:14 | |
| converging on the holy city, they all gust city of David. | 33:19 | |
| We do not know what sparked the recognition | 33:25 | |
| of the prophet of Nazareth by the festival throng. | 33:28 | |
| As he rode astride, a lonely beast of burden | 33:32 | |
| accompanied by His disciples band, | 33:35 | |
| He was recognized and hailed in language | 33:38 | |
| that surely recall the long awaited | 33:41 | |
| Messiah of Israel's ancient hope. | 33:45 | |
| Hear the words again, | 33:48 | |
| Hosanna to the son of David, | 33:52 | |
| blessed is He that cometh is in the name of the Lord. | 33:56 | |
| Now knew better than the one acclaimed the hidden mockery. | 34:01 | |
| Yet it was all so spontaneous and with all soul right, | 34:08 | |
| even if for the wrong reason. | 34:12 | |
| But when the Pharisees | 34:17 | |
| enjoined Jesus to rebuke His disciples | 34:18 | |
| for their scandalously exorbitant praise, | 34:21 | |
| Jesus justly replied, | 34:25 | |
| "I tell you that if thee shall hold their peace, | 34:27 | |
| the stones will cry out." | 34:31 | |
| Our Lord fully understood | 34:35 | |
| that the joyous acclaim of the throng, | 34:37 | |
| was based upon some misunderstanding and miss identification | 34:40 | |
| of His role and purpose. | 34:46 | |
| Yet that he found in it a right instinct, | 34:50 | |
| is attested by His adroit and perfectly calculated reply | 34:53 | |
| to the complaining priests and scribes. | 34:59 | |
| "Did he never read?" He asked. | 35:02 | |
| Out of the miles of babes and sucklings | 35:06 | |
| thou has perfected praise. | 35:09 | |
| Jesus irony is crystal clear in all of this episode. | 35:13 | |
| And yet he knew that the untutored | 35:17 | |
| and half childish recognition of His mission and message | 35:20 | |
| by the Pilgrim throng was nevertheless | 35:25 | |
| a partial comprehensive. | 35:29 | |
| It was plainly to be honored | 35:32 | |
| for such truth as it comprehended and embraced. | 35:34 | |
| And it was much to be preferred to the poor blind | 35:39 | |
| obstinate and craft the obliquity | 35:43 | |
| of rulers, Priests, and scribes. | 35:47 | |
| Whose minds were fast closed, | 35:50 | |
| indeed impervious to neutral. | 35:54 | |
| Yes. Out of the miles of babes and sucklings | 35:59 | |
| thou has perfected praise. | 36:04 | |
| Except you become as a little child, | 36:07 | |
| you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. | 36:09 | |
| If there had to be a choice, | 36:14 | |
| then Jesus had always made it clear | 36:17 | |
| that over sophistication, not simplicity, | 36:21 | |
| is the great deceiver. | 36:25 | |
| And so we may confidently believe | 36:29 | |
| there was for Jesus on the first Palm Sunday, | 36:32 | |
| a measure of satisfaction and joy | 36:36 | |
| in the glad recognition of the crowd. | 36:39 | |
| And for Jesus' disciples, | 36:43 | |
| it doubtless was a triumphal entry. | 36:46 | |
| However trench, | 36:50 | |
| for them it was at least a momentary fulfillment of hopes | 36:52 | |
| they had half abandoned | 36:57 | |
| or no longer there to entertain | 36:59 | |
| in view of Jesus repeated warnings | 37:02 | |
| of His own eventual betrayal and death. | 37:05 | |
| Never quite to be forgotten where the shouted Hosanna's, | 37:09 | |
| the waving palms, and the crowds tumultuous to claim. | 37:14 | |
| But in accordance with their worst misgivings | 37:20 | |
| and against their irrepressible but deepest hopes, | 37:25 | |
| the disciples were to learn | 37:31 | |
| that the exaltation of the crowds, | 37:33 | |
| was only a brilliant and fleeting interlude. | 37:36 | |
| It was like a shaft of glorious sunlight | 37:43 | |
| that momentarily illuminates a darkening landscape | 37:47 | |
| in the face of an advancing storm. | 37:51 | |
| As we know, the storm broke. | 37:55 | |
| And we move quickly | 37:58 | |
| out of the joy and gladness of Palm Sunday, | 37:59 | |
| into the deepening gloom and menacing shadows | 38:02 | |
| of the final days of Jesus' earthly ministry. | 38:06 | |
| So rapid is the descent into the darkness | 38:10 | |
| of Gethsemane and Golgotha, | 38:14 | |
| that it is easier for us as it was for the disciples | 38:18 | |
| to account the Hosanna's of Palm Sunday as hollow mockery, | 38:22 | |
| than was on Hosanna's praise. | 38:27 | |
| And with pier in vain, | 38:30 | |
| among the throngs that followed Jesus to His crucifixion. | 38:31 | |
| For the remnants of that Pilgrim ban that on Sunday, | 38:37 | |
| had hailed His entry with words of messianic acclaim. | 38:41 | |
| If there were remnants present, | 38:48 | |
| they were silent and then conspicuous now. | 38:50 | |
| Had they been mistaken about Jesus' real identity? | 38:54 | |
| The answer is plainly, yes. | 39:02 | |
| They had expected and overpowering deliver | 39:07 | |
| are not a prisoner or under sentence of debt. | 39:12 | |
| But the prevailing witness of the gospels is that | 39:16 | |
| not only were these mistaken about Jesus real identity | 39:20 | |
| so was everyone else. | 39:25 | |
| Not the fouls of Jesus only, | 39:28 | |
| but even His intimate disciples were mistaken. | 39:31 | |
| Consider the disciples, consider their fear, | 39:35 | |
| their uncertainty, their indecision, | 39:40 | |
| and their desertion of Jesus in the hour of crisis. | 39:43 | |
| And Peter's denial | 39:49 | |
| following upon His vehement protestations of loyalty, | 39:50 | |
| all of this points to imperfect understanding | 39:55 | |
| of Jesus' mission and consequently of His identity. | 39:59 | |
| And not only Peter, | 40:03 | |
| but such other prominent disciples as James and John. | 40:06 | |
| At a late hour in Jesus' ministry, | 40:11 | |
| these to reveal a painful misunderstanding | 40:13 | |
| of Jesus' intention and work. | 40:18 | |
| Almost at the last they secretly asked | 40:22 | |
| for places of preeminence in the messianic age to come. | 40:26 | |
| It was then that Jesus disclosed | 40:32 | |
| with rare and on the custom directness, | 40:35 | |
| the nature of His ministry. | 40:39 | |
| It is a ministry of uttermost service, | 40:42 | |
| not a rulership of earthly prerogative and supremacy. | 40:45 | |
| "The son of man." He said, | 40:51 | |
| "Came not to be served, but to serve. | 40:54 | |
| Not to make claims, but to give His life a ransom for many." | 40:58 | |
| Doubtless to the disciples, | 41:06 | |
| these words were veiled in mystery, | 41:09 | |
| a mystery that was sharply to be embodied in the cross. | 41:12 | |
| But even in the cross, the embodied mystery remained. | 41:17 | |
| It remains for us to this day when we enter into it | 41:23 | |
| and take in the magnitude | 41:29 | |
| of the spiritual achievement it in shrine. | 41:31 | |
| When we do, we know, and in reverence confess, | 41:35 | |
| that we stand shamed and overpowered | 41:41 | |
| by the supreme moral event in the history of our race. | 41:43 | |
| In its spiritual vision and majesty, | 41:49 | |
| it remains in comparably and unapproachably the highest. | 41:53 | |
| It is the sign of the cross incomparable | 42:00 | |
| and hung somehow mysteriously between heaven and earth | 42:05 | |
| and somehow as a bridge between them. | 42:09 | |
| In the cross, | 42:13 | |
| somehow we do know that God becomes identified with man | 42:15 | |
| and man with God. | 42:19 | |
| And then this coalescence, | 42:21 | |
| the identity of the prophet, Jesus of Nazareth is revealed. | 42:23 | |
| Who does not feel this is not to be blamed, | 42:30 | |
| but to be pitied. | 42:35 | |
| For he has lost the capacity of deeper moral sensibility | 42:37 | |
| and often not through grossness of life, | 42:42 | |
| but through atrophy of His powers. | 42:46 | |
| The truth is none could know | 42:50 | |
| the identity of Jesus before Calvary. | 42:53 | |
| It could not be seen in prospect. | 42:57 | |
| The simple pilgrims did divine, | 43:00 | |
| a charismatic greatness in the prophet of Nazareth, | 43:04 | |
| attested to them by His word and work in Galilee, | 43:08 | |
| within the slender limits of their vision they might exalt | 43:13 | |
| on His entry into Jerusalem. | 43:17 | |
| But neither they nor the disciples, | 43:20 | |
| much less the secular eyes Sadducees | 43:22 | |
| or the fanatical Pharisees, | 43:26 | |
| could probe the dimensions | 43:29 | |
| of Jesus' vision of His vocation under God. | 43:31 | |
| It was appropriate that all Jerusalem | 43:36 | |
| should be stirred saying, "Who is this?" | 43:38 | |
| None could expect an answer. | 43:43 | |
| The fact is the answer was not available. | 43:46 | |
| It had not yet been given. | 43:50 | |
| It could not be given. | 43:53 | |
| Saved by Jesus Himself as the outcome of an inward struggle. | 43:55 | |
| The issue of which was still pending | 44:01 | |
| and was to be settled only by a deed of final victory | 44:04 | |
| over all temptation, pay a small. | 44:07 | |
| It was to be a deed of absolute and in detectable commitment | 44:12 | |
| to God on behalf of deviant and wayward man. | 44:18 | |
| And therefore on Palm Sunday, | 44:24 | |
| Jerusalem asks saying, "Who is this?" | 44:27 | |
| The answer is not available. | 44:31 | |
| It is only in the making. | 44:34 | |
| Yet it was already in the making | 44:36 | |
| long before the entry into Jerusalem. | 44:39 | |
| If therefore we look at the events of Palm Sunday, | 44:43 | |
| now in the light of the deed of Good Friday, | 44:48 | |
| we may find a clue to the meaning of the triumphal entry | 44:53 | |
| and because our Lord purposefully put it there. | 44:58 | |
| Why did Jesus ride into Jerusalem on a donkey? | 45:04 | |
| There is no evidence that Jesus ever transported Himself | 45:09 | |
| by land sail on foot. | 45:13 | |
| Now on His entrance into Jerusalem, | 45:17 | |
| He forsakes His custom deliberately | 45:19 | |
| and takes not to horseback | 45:23 | |
| the manner of princes and warriors, but to donkey back. | 45:25 | |
| Do you not see the irony, even the whimsy in it? | 45:34 | |
| The preventing conception of Messiah was that of king. | 45:39 | |
| Can you imagine a king making entrance to His Royal city, | 45:45 | |
| not on a donkey Marilee, but on a donkey's colt? | 45:50 | |
| For those who might have eyes to see | 45:59 | |
| the irony, the whimsy and with all the purpose, | 46:02 | |
| if ness of Jesus' action, this becomes plain. | 46:06 | |
| To all who can perceive Jesus is saying what He says, | 46:12 | |
| to pilot in the hour of His trial. | 46:16 | |
| "My kingdom is not of this world. | 46:20 | |
| That is, it is not your world. | 46:25 | |
| Your world of claims and counter claims, | 46:30 | |
| of status seeking, of prerogative, | 46:33 | |
| and inforce supremacy over men's will. | 46:36 | |
| The kingdom I represent is God's not man, nor even mine." | 46:41 | |
| But the point was missed by the disciples | 46:50 | |
| and the Pilgrim throngs, | 46:54 | |
| sensing that they were in the presence | 46:57 | |
| of prophetic greatness, | 46:59 | |
| it was enough for them that Jesus rode and did not walk. | 47:01 | |
| It was only in retrospect | 47:07 | |
| in the after days of the early church, | 47:09 | |
| that Jesus meaning was recovered | 47:11 | |
| from the writings of the prophet Zacharia | 47:13 | |
| and recorded in the Mathean Version of the triumphal entry, | 47:16 | |
| only then, was it seen to be a triumph, but of humility? | 47:21 | |
| "Tell ye the daughter of Zion, | 47:29 | |
| behold thy king cometh unto thee, | 47:32 | |
| meek and riding upon an ass and upon a colt, | 47:35 | |
| the foal of an ass." | 47:41 | |
| But now the early church was divining the identity of Jesus. | 47:44 | |
| Now they knew in the light of the cross | 47:50 | |
| that He came as He said, | 47:53 | |
| not to be ministered onto, not to claim prerogatives, | 47:56 | |
| equal and commensurate with His station, | 48:02 | |
| but to minister and to serve. | 48:04 | |
| In truth His kingdom was not of this world, | 48:08 | |
| but He was revealed as the king in the realm of the spirit. | 48:12 | |
| There He was king of Kings and Lord of Lords, | 48:19 | |
| that is in perfect obedience onto God. | 48:25 | |
| And in entire service to man. He was Bartholomeus king, yes. | 48:29 | |
| But He was the miking came, Bartholomeus pray offs. | 48:36 | |
| For Jesus Himself had taught in work, | 48:41 | |
| He had enacted in life, He had embodied in death, | 48:44 | |
| and He had received in the resurrection. | 48:48 | |
| The truth of the beatitudes, | 48:51 | |
| blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. | 48:53 | |
| On the first Palm Sunday, | 49:01 | |
| all Jerusalem was stirred say, "Who is this?" | 49:04 | |
| The answer was not fully available. | 49:10 | |
| Jesus was in process of making the answer. | 49:13 | |
| We know Him or may know Him as the ironical. | 49:17 | |
| Yes, the whimsical, the mysterious one, | 49:23 | |
| not simply the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. | 49:28 | |
| For in the cross, | 49:32 | |
| He ever lastingly identifies Himself | 49:34 | |
| for those who will stop to see, to gaze, | 49:37 | |
| to ponder, and to learn. | 49:42 | |
| In the cross of His entire self offering He is, | 49:46 | |
| in the centurion's words, | 49:51 | |
| words of dawning realization, truly the son of God. | 49:54 | |
| So likewise, if we come to see, | 50:02 | |
| and with the centurion at the foot of the cross, | 50:07 | |
| enter somewhat into the mystery that is embodied there. | 50:10 | |
| We will be better abled | 50:16 | |
| than the Pilgrims on the first Palm Sunday, | 50:18 | |
| to declare with confidence, | 50:22 | |
| blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. | 50:26 | |
| Amen. Let us pray. | 50:33 | |
| Oh king of man, master of human life, | 50:44 | |
| lettered into the glory by way of the cross | 50:48 | |
| and to whom all authority is given | 50:52 | |
| both in heaven and on earth, | 50:54 | |
| enter now into our lives and make Thy kingdom there, | 50:57 | |
| and subdue the world in us, | 51:02 | |
| by the might of Thy love through Jesus Christ our Lord. | 51:05 | |
| And now may the blessing of God almighty, | 51:13 | |
| Father, son, and holy spirit | 51:16 | |
| be among you and abide with you now and evermore. Amen. | 51:19 | |
| (liturgical music) | 51:27 | |
| (bell dings) | 52:57 | |
| (liturgical music) | 53:13 |
Item Info
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