Palm Sunday
John 12:12-19; Philippians 2:5-11
March 29, 2026
Two things stand out at the center of Palm Sunday. First is that our Lord rode into Jerusalem as a humble servant, who came to give His life as a ransom for many. And we will certainly talk about this today and throughout Holy Week.
But something that perhaps we don’t talk about much on Palm Sunday is the palm branches and the garments on the ground – the worship. They were worshiping God, praising God by their waving palms and placing garments on the ground and shouting out, “Hosanna,” which means, “Lord, help us, please.”
But what is worship? By definition, worship is when, through our words or actions, we ascribe worth to someone or something. In other words, we recognize the worth of someone or something and we give that someone or something due credit, praise, and honor. And we find this sort of worship, not just in religions throughout the world, but we find it in day-to-day life, in the words, actions, and even thoughts people give toward movie stars, athletes, musicians and artists, and quite often such worship turns into idolatry especially when the worship of these people is elevated so high that they hold a place in our lives as high or higher than God.
Pastors and theologians over the past few generations have often observed that the modern, western world is characterized by its increasing idolatry of athletes, actors, and musicians and this is certainly proven by the billions of dollars we spend on these things vs. how much we spend in the church or on giving or helping the neighbor. It used to be that the churches were the biggest and tallest and most vital buildings in a community, but now…not so much. We’re lucky if a church can even keep its lights on anymore. Follow the money…and where does much of our money go in today’s world?
Worship. That person, that thing to which we ascribe value or worth or importance in our life. And because we each still suffer from the ancient vices such as pride or greed or gluttony, sometimes we find ourselves worshiping at the altar of false gods and we don’t even know it.
But the good news is that our Lord helps us in this our greatest failing. He helps us because He defines worship very differently than the dictionary. See, Christian worship is a different thing altogether. And in fact, if we teleport back to ancient Judaism, to the time of Moses or King David or the prophets, God established worship for them for a very different reason than how the rest of the world saw worship. While the pagan world and pagan religions were all bowing down to their golden statues and stone altars hoping to appease their gods or goddesses and earn a good harvest or fertility or riches and earthly power, God setup the Jewish system of worship – which included the tabernacle and the priestly attire, the very detailed, intricate liturgy which the people were to follow, and of course the sacrifices, all of it was setup by the Lord Himself to both teach the people of their sin and to develop in them a faith as they awaited their redemption.
For Israel, worship was God coming to them, giving to them, helping them, forgiving them – teaching them and preparing them for the coming Messiah.
Only the Jews got it wrong. They turned worship into a work they did in order to appease God’s wrath so that they could continue to live their lives as they please, embracing the culture around them and even worshiping the false gods which the world had setup. They figured, “As long as we do a sacrifice or two, God will leave us alone to live our lives and do as we please.” They worshipped the Lord with their lips, but their hearts were far in a different place.
They were not looking to the coming Messiah; they were not trusting in God’s promise of redemption – they may not have even cared. They worshipped the creation rather than the Creator and as a result or a consequence of their idolatry and false worship, Babylon came and not only were the people and their nation exiled and destroyed, but the very center of what was supposed to be true Jewish worship – the temple – was destroyed. You don’t know what you got until it’s gone.
And it happened again in 70 AD, when the Romans destroyed their second temple. See, the Jews rebuilt the temple – they were still rebuilding it in some respects – but once again, they worshiped, not as the Lord instructed but their worship was done so as to appease God’s wrath, keep Him at bay, so they could live their lives according to their own rules. But even worse, there in the midst of them was Messiah, Christ Jesus who came to save them from their sins, generations of waiting and preparing, fulfilled in their eyes. But they were so embedded in their false worship that they didn’t recognize Him and ultimately judged Him a false prophet and nailed Him to a cross.
To this day the Jews refuse to recognize Jesus as Messiah because they believe the true Messiah is not a savior from sin but a savior from foreign political oppression. And in truth, much of the backdrop of modern Zionism which includes certain aspects of Premillennialism, is the notion that Messiah is a political savior who must be ushered in by the rebuilding of the temple. And for some strange reason, many Christians in the west get on board with this and it makes me think that the messiah the Zionists want isn’t Christ the savior but either another antichrist or THE antichrist, he who stands in the place of Christ as Christ but is not Christ.
That’s what false worship does. It always pushes God aside, Jesus aside; it makes Jesus the enemy, the liar, the thief, the adulterer, the blasphemer because other things – things of creation, people – come before Him.
But as with the Jews, God seeks to help us so that we do not do as they did. God redefines worship. See, for Christians, worship is not about us groveling before God and trying to get Him to do what we want or appease Him so that He doesn’t get angry at us or get in our way. And sadly, there are a lot of Christian churches that treat worship in just this way. They think that, in order to get God to come to them, they need to “get the Spirit going” through all sorts of song and dance and performance because they believe that, to get God to come, the people’s emotions must be stirred. Worship always begins with man, and then God responds, and even His response all depends on the devotion or heart or how “into it” the worshippers might be. But this is not Christian worship.
Christian worship, as established by God, starts with God, and it started in Eden.
If we accept that Eden was a place of worship – a sanctuary – which God created for His people to gather in thankfulness and prayer, in service and obedience, then we also understand why God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in that sanctuary. God gave everything He created to Adam and Eve – everything – and He commanded them to use it for their benefit, to subdue it, populate it, and enjoy it. But He also created Adam and Eve in His image and likeness, which means they could, if given the right circumstances, imagine themselves equal to God. Of course, they could not actually be equal to God because creation never surpasses Creator, but they had the capacity to think, imagine it.
So, to warn them of this potential for pride taking the place of faith, a pride that would ultimately lead to their death – because pride is the basis for all sin and cannot exist in God’s holy presence – God placed the tree into the midst of the sanctuary. Why a tree? Because it would be on a tree that our Lord would die a humble, sinner’s death. The point was that if they were to forgo their faith and instead pursue pride by doing what the Lord said not to do and eating from a tree they had no business touching, there would be consequences because the creation cannot, by virtue that it IS creation, be equal to its Creator. The tree was a gift for them, that they learn fear but more importantly, they remain faithful.
After sin entered the world, not only were Adam and Eve banished from His presence in that perfect sanctuary, but they were banished from the sacrament of faith, the Tree of Life.
Later, God commanded Moses to build a tabernacle and setup a sort of mobile sanctuary, a mobile Eden if you will, for which the people could benefit. God gave many and great promises to the people through this system of worship around the tabernacle. Forgiveness of sins, community, peace, prosperity, hope, and joy. But, in the midst of the Jews, behind a veil which, upon it was depicted the mighty angels who guarded the door to the first sanctuary, Eden, in that room, the most holy place, the Lord’s presence dwelt, and no one was to enter it lest they die, but only the high priest on a specific day could reverently and fearfully enter to make atonement for the people. In that tabernacle and system of worship, the people looked back to Eden and they looked forward to Messiah.
But the serpent’s words stretched beyond Eden, for all who are born of Adam are born with the serpent’s words etched into their soul. The people succumbed to pride. First, they wanted a king, someone whom they could put faith in and trust and follow, despite God’s unending and unwavering help and support for them, they chose to have a sinner rule them instead. God gave them a king; He gave them many kings. But those kings failed, time and again, to be the people’s providers and protectors and many of them even led the people down evil and dark paths into idolatry and paganism. And their priests, lovestruck with pride for power and position, even they mediated for the people in sinful ways. The Lord brought it all down because the people used this system of worship in order to, themselves, become as gods and goddesses and rejecting Him.
But God still had a final promise to fulfill – Messiah who would come to save the people once and for all from their sins and usher in eternal life in the new Eden with the tree of life returning once more for the healing of nations.
And this Jesus who is God in the flesh, who Himself is the tabernacle and Eden among creation, He stood up to the serpent and defied its temptations. As God in flesh, Jesus exhibited true holiness, true godliness, true righteousness by entering into Jerusalem riding on the foal of a donkey, the lowliest of creatures. He didn’t come as a powerful king or conqueror, riding on His mighty white steed, seeking to be praised and elevated to the status of a god, even though He was God and had every right to it. But He humbled Himself even to the point of death on a cross.
For as our God and Lord has always done, since Creation itself, He comes to serve, to give, and to do what He does – for you, and no other god or would-be god or lord in the world or in all history can say that, for they all want praise and sacrifice where our Lord, the one and only true God of the universe, sacrifices Himself for you. In fact, that phrase, “For you” is perhaps the greatest thread running from creation to the Day of the Lord when He returns to judge the living and dead, that it is all for you, dear man or woman or child of God, that He has done it.
And there is one more thing He does for you and sometimes we don’t like this thing because it’s uncomfortable or exclusive or “negative.” But if we remember that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not placed in the garden to be negative but to help humanity remain strong in faith and know their place before the Lord – to not let pride or selfish desire rule them and thus destroy them, and if we remember that the veil in the tabernacle was not put there so that the priests could lord over the people and act like judges over their hearts but because sin cannot exist in the presence of God, then we understand that Closed Communion is that same loving and gracious, “for you” protection enacted by God so that no one approaches His altar and receives this fruit with ill intent. And the shepherds which God places in His church – the pastors who are called and set apart to serve from this altar, are the ones who He installs to say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ provided they are faithful themselves to His command.
For if you receive this sacrament with ill intent, without faith, with impenitence or pride ruling your heart, then it is for you what the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was for Eden or entering into the most holy place was for the Jews. It is death. Paul even says this in 1 Corinthians 11. Further, our Lord does not want us acting from ignorance, and so He teaches us what this Sacrament is, and then commands us to believe it as He taught it, that it is truly His body and blood given in bread and wine for forgiveness. In the same way, if Adam or Eve would have eaten of that tree out of ignorance, or if some random person were to have entered into the most holy place out of ignorance, death would still have happened.
The parable of the wedding feast, when the man came into the banquet not dressed properly and the master of the feast had him thrown out as a result is a description of closed communion.
Judas confessed with his mouth that he believed in Jesus, but in his heart, he was ignorant and full of pride, so when Jesus, who listened to his public confession, gave him the bread and wine, it brought judgment upon him and even Satan himself was able to enter him and use him. There was no faith in the words, but he honored God with his lips while his heart was far away.
Closed Communion is how God shows His love for you and all creation, that He doesn’t want you to bring judgment upon yourself, and He puts pastors in your midst to administrate this practice to the best of their ability, though sometimes they fail.
Because after all is said and done, it’s all about true worship. It’s about a holy and righteous and mighty God who created all things coming into your presence to give you good gifts. And He commands that we receive everything He gives by faith because for we who are His creatures, it’s not about us earning or deserving or having a right to anything He gives, but it is about humbly and thankfully receiving and living by these gifts of heaven because, thanks to His Holy Spirit whom He has given for our good, we believe they are for our good and for the good of our neighbor.
So shout, even today, “Hosanna, Lord help us,” because by His help and giving His life, “for you,” you, you have all the gifts of heaven and true life and purpose. Amen.
