With His Coming
Posted by Isaac Butterworth | Filed under Lent, Liturgical Year, Sermons
Long ago, God had made a promise. It was a threat, really, delivered to the serpent. “I will put enmity between you and the woman,” he said, “and between your offspring and hers. You will strike his heel, but he will crush your head” (Gen. 3:15). By riding into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday long ago, Jesus was exposing his heel to the poisonous snake, and he would be wounded – how does Scripture put it? “wounded for our transgressions” (Isa. 53:5). But with that self-same, bleeding heel he would crush the serpent’s head.”
Mark 11:1-11 (NRSV)
1 When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’”
4 They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, 5 some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it.
7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it.
8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,
“Hosanna!
10 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord![1]
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
11 Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
THERE’S A STORY in the Bible about King Jehoshaphat and how, one day, he was given some distressing news. Messengers came, and they told him that the massive armies of three – not one or two, but three – nations were coming against him. “A great multitude,” they called it, and the hordes were already near, almost at the gates (2 Chron. 20:2).
Maybe you have had news like that. Your life is going along as normal – not great, maybe, but not bad either – and then you find out that something unexpected, something unplanned for, is about to rearrange your life. Someone you love is in an accident, or you get an unwelcome diagnosis. An expense you hadn’t counted on drains your savings. One of your children makes a bad choice that threatens to ruin his or her life. A valued relationship comes to an end, and you feel to blame. It could be these or any number of other things, but, whatever the case, it is for you like it was for Jehoshaphat: “a great multitude is coming against you,” and you don’t know what to do.
The Bible says simply that the king “was afraid.” He knew that he could not withstand the force of the coming invasion. He didn’t have time to mount a resistance, and, even if he did, he didn’t have the firepower to succeed. But what he did have was prayer. So, he called to the people – the whole assembly of Judah – and “they came [together] to seek the Lord” (v. 4).
In his prayer, Jehoshaphat cried out to God. Disaster has come upon us, he said. And we stand before you…and cry to you in our distress, and we believe that you will hear and save…. O God, will you not come and help us? For we are powerless against this great force that is coming against us. We do not now what to do, but our eyes are upon you.
Then there was silence. We are told that “all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children” (v. 13). They were all so vulnerable, no match for the swarm coming against them.
Then, suddenly, the silence was broken. The Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men “in the middle of the assembly.” And he spoke so that all could hear. “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God’s’” (v. 15).
That account is given in 2 Chronicles, chapter 20. And if you read it, you will see that God did defend his people. He came to their aid. The armies that were marching against Judah were seized by a spirit of confusion, and they turned on each other and destroyed one another. King Jehoshaphat and his people didn’t even lift a hand in self-defense. They didn’t have to. They simply watched as the Lord won the battle on their behalf.
And, as they watched, Jehoshaphat called to the people and summoned them to praise. They began to sing, and the song they sang began like this: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His steadfast love endures forever.” As it turns out, these are the opening words of Psalm 118. It’s the very psalm the people were singing as Jesus rode into Jerusalem that first Palm Sunday. And in it are the words they shouted: “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”
It may not look like it, but Jesus was riding into a war zone. He was entering the battlefield. This was an act of provocation. He had an ancient score to settle, and it was about to come down to a showdown. He was entering the heart of darkness. He was moving in on enemy territory. He was poking the bear, refusing to let sleeping dogs lie, carrying the battle with evil to its own soil, even giving it the home field advantage.
Long before this, at the dawn of time, “the great dragon…, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” (Rev. 12:9), entered Eden and deceived Adam and Eve with intent to harm. Jesus called him a thief, and “the thief,” he said, “comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). And that’s what he came to do. And when he was finished, our first parents stood before God, guilty and ashamed and undone. Sin had entered their hearts, and with sin always comes death. But God is the giver of life, and that day he made a promise. It was a threat, really, delivered to the serpent. “I will put enmity between you and the woman,” he said, “and between your offspring and hers. You will strike his heel, but he will crush your head” (Gen. 3:15).
And now Jesus was walking into the snake pit, knowing full well that he would be snake bit, but doing it all the same because that’s why he came. He was walking face-first into the prophesied ENMITY. He was going to battle on our behalf. He was making himself vulnerable so that we would be victorious. He was putting himself in harm’s way to drive all harm away from us.
It would be the ancient battle all over again. Like it was for King Jehoshaphat, a great multitude of forces moves against us. We are out of options. Our backs are against the wall. We are afraid. We don’t know what to do.
And into our fear, God speaks those words: “This battle is not for you to fight” (2 Chron. 20:17). “Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God’s” (2 Chron. 20:15).
By riding into Jerusalem on that Sunday long ago, Jesus was exposing his heel to the poisonous snake, and he would be wounded – how does Scripture put it? “wounded for our transgressions” (Isa. 53:5). But with that self-same, bleeding heel he would crush the serpent’s head.
As Jesus rode into the city, the people cried out, “Hosanna!” It’s a Hebrew term. You know what it means? It means, “Lord, save us.” And that’s what he had come to do. His strategy was counter-intuitive. Like a lamb before its shearers is dumb, so he did not lift up his voice or speak a word in protest. He yielded completely to the enemy’s plan. And the serpent had a plan. He struck the death blow. By week’s end, what friends Jesus had left were removing his lifeless body from a bloody cross. Then he was laid in a tomb and sealed away.
The serpent had won. God’s people were scattered like sheep without a shepherd. If this is the way God fights for his people, his people – it would appear – don’t stand a chance. If he is their helper, surely they are helpless.
But imagine the surprise when the slain champion, who has been devoured by the dragon, is suddenly spewed out – like Jonah from the great fish – because “death could not hold its prey.” Jesus came forth from the tomb, his heel squarely fixed on the head of the old serpent. The battle was the Lord’s – as it always is – and he secured the victory on our behalf. And now, neither sin nor death has any power over those who take their refuge in him. He put himself in harm’s way to drive harm away. He made himself vulnerable so that we could be victorious.
In Jehoshaphat’s day – when God had rescued them from their enemies – the people of Judah assembled again in a valley outside the city. They went there to bless the Lord. And they called the place the Valley of Beracah, which means “the valley of blessing.” Psalm 118, as we said earlier, contains the words, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” That’s verse 26. The very next verse says, “The Lord is God, and he has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar.” And, as though instructed by these earlier accounts, the people of Jesus’ day gathered up leafy branches from the nearby fields and strew them along his path up to the altar. And they cried out – just like others before them – “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”
What then are we to do? Can we do less? We have no palm branches to wave, but we have grateful hearts. Will you take a moment just now to bless the Lord Jesus, who made himself vulnerable so that you could be victorious, who put himself in harm’s way to drive all harm away from you? If you would, bow your head and, with eyes closed, silently offer your thanks to Jesus. Just now. If you would like, you can use the words of Scripture. Simply say: “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Prayer
We give thanks to you, O Lord, for you are good. Your steadfast love endures forever. Our Lord Jesus Christ made himself vulnerable so that we would be victorious. He placed himself in harm’s way to drive all harm away from us. We give you thanks for our King and Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Blessed is he. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. In his holy name we pray. Amen.
[1] Psalm 118:26: “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD.”
Photo Credit: Palm Tree Details by Randi Hausken
