The Terms for Peace [Sermon from Palm Sunday]

The terms for peace

Luke 19:42

Palm Sunday is one of the most important days in the Christian calendar after Christmas and Easter. Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter, and marks the beginning of Holy Week, the week of events leading up to Jesus' death. Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. The gospels record the arrival of Jesus riding into the city on a donkey, while the crowds spread their cloaks and palm branches on the street and shouted "Hosanna to the Son of David" and "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" to honor him as their long-awaited Messiah and King. The significance of Jesus riding a donkey and having his way paved with palm branches is a fulfillment of a prophecy spoken by the prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 9:9).

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
    righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey

(or some translations…a beast of burden).

[LUKE 19: 28-44]

The Triumphal Entry

²⁸ And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. ²⁹ When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, ³⁰ saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” ³² So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. ³³ And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” ³⁴ And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” ³⁵ And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. ³⁶ And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. ³⁷ As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, ³⁸ saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” ³⁹ And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” ⁴⁰ He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

⁴¹ And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, ⁴² saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side ⁴⁴ and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

 

        The typical Palm Sunday sermon places the focus upon the entry, the loud “hosannas,” or the significance of Jesus riding in on a donkey. This morning, however, I believe the Lord has led me to a different verse. As I read through this, one particular verse stood out to me. Luke 19:41-42 says, “And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on the day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” Jesus is weeping over Jerusalem because he knows the terms for peace. He knows that in a few short days, these shouts of “Hosanna! Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord,” turn to shouts of, “Crucify Him!” He knows the terms of peace, but as for Jerusalem, it has been hidden from their eyes. Why had the terms of peace now been hidden from their eyes? Before we get into that, let’s first address the need for peace.

Romans 5:10
^"10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life."

We were enemies of God! If you read the Bible, and meditate on the words, you find that prior to Christ we are enemies of God. In our sinful condition, we are enemies of God! But God, being rich in mercy, grace, and love made a way for peace. If you have not surrendered your life to Christ…If you have not repented of your sin…if you have not believed in and followed Christ…you are still an enemy of God. The good news of the gospel is that God has provided the terms for peace. The only thing is…you cannot settle the terms yourself. There is no amount you can pay…there is no amount of good work you can do that covers the terms for peace. This is a debt that is only paid by the blood of a spotless lamb…and there is only one…and you are not it. O that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace. Apart from Christ, we are enemies of God…and this has now been hidden from Jerusalem. Was God being unjust in hiding this from the Jews? Was this fair? If we look at Romans 1:28- 32, we can see what had happened.

Romans 1:28-32

²⁸ And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³² Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

        Look at the end of Luke 19:44…”you did not know the time of your visitation.” Let’s go Old Testament for a minute…when you saw the word “visitation” in the Old Testament…it usually meant one of two things. That God is bringing salvation or that God is bringing judgment. In Isaiah 29:5, the prophet says to the rebellious people, “The multitude of your foes shall be like small dust…and in an instant suddenly; you will be visited by the Lord of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and with a great noise.” In another instance, in Genesis 50:24, Joseph prophecies to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land which he swore to Abraham.” This is a prophetic word from Joseph of the Exodus from Egypt. This was a great moment of salvation and deliverance. Today, I believe that each one of us is here for a purpose. Please, understand that the gospel is good news to those who hear and understand, but is also news of great judgment to those who hear and ignore. Jerusalem had ignored the words of the prophets for centuries. They would kill the prophets or at least beat them up and run them out of the city. They did not heed the words of Christ time and time again. Many had come proclaiming that the Messiah was in their midst, but they ignored. Instead, they lived for the flesh…so God gave them up to their debased minds. This is why, in Luke 19:41, we see Jesus weeping over the city. Over and over and over again the Israelites had been shows the goodness and mercy of God. Over and over and over they replaced God with an idol and turned from Him. Jesus is weeping because God’s chosen people do not know what they are doing. He also knows that the complete wrath of God is going to be poured out upon Him for their sake and for our sake.

            Please, hear the words of the Lord. You, if you have never surrendered your life, still have the opportunity for peace.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. -ROMANS 5:1

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body^[a] and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.^{[b] 4} But^[c] God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.-Ephesians 2: 1-10

            These are the terms for peace. First and foremost, that Christ had to drink the cup of the wrath of God! That Christ had to face a trial. That Christ was beaten for hours on end. That Christ had to carry his cross to the top of the hill called Golgotha. That Christ was nailed to a cross suffering pain and agony for yours and my sake. That Christ…get this…GAVE UP his life for our sins. No one takes the life of Christ away…he knew what had to be done! That Christ was buried in a tomb. That Christ rose again on the third day and now we can gladly sing in our churches that we have Victory in Jesus! Christ has defeated the grave! Sin has lost its power. Death no longer has its painful sting. We are now, in Christ, co-heirs…Children of God! Since Christ has risen, the gap between God and man has been bridged. Christ says that He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Him. The Gospel is that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The Gospel is that for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in CHRIST JESUS, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance (or patience) he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has FAITH IN JESUS. These are the terms for peace! So what is hindering you from making peace with God today? What is hindering you from repenting of your sin and believing (which includes following) Christ Jesus today? Next week is the greatest holiday that a Christian celebrates. Christmas is great. Easter, however, is the very hinge of our faith. If Christ did not rise, then this is all in vain, as Paul says. We believe…we have faith….we place our very hope in the fact that Christ Jesus did die and rose again. There is a quote that I want you, who have never followed Christ, to think upon… “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, but if true, is on infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be in moderately important.” There is no middle road to heaven. There is a narrow road which leads to life and only a few find it. Then there is a wide road which leads to destruction. Christ is the door. No one comes to the Father…no one stands in the eternal presence of the Father without first repenting of sin and placing their faith and hope in Jesus Christ. So, today, think again…”What is hindering you from following Christ?” Friend, I tell you…it is the greatest thing in the world to serve our God and to follow Jesus Christ.