Pastor Slaughter

4-13-2025

Palm Sunday

Unstoppable

Luke 19:28-40

 

What makes someone powerful? Interesting question, especially when you think about powerful leaders from the past. What gave Hitler or Joseph Stalin their power? What led men like George Washington or Abraham Lincoln to become presidents? I am sure there are books written about the subject. I wonder if it boils down to a combination of inner qualities like confidence, resilience as well as external factors like leadership positions, wealth, and influence.

When we look back on history and we see nations rise and fall, how many people willingly gave up power? I can’t think of anyone. Instead it seems like people fight for it. We see this is the world. People who don’t have power want it and those who have power will do anything to keep it.

Today, we see something vastly different. Today we see someone give up power. We see Jesus, who possesses all power as the Son of God willingly surrendering his power and placed himself in the hands of his enemies. Why? Because of his love for you. Because nothing was going to stop him from being our Savior.

 

Palm Sunday just seems vastly different than the rest of Holy Week. Jesus rides into Jerusalem. The crowd of disciples began praise God joyfully, with a loud voice, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” But it is vastly different then the somber mood of Holy Thursday in that upper room and when he was arrested in the Garden, or the tears of Good Friday watching Jesus suffer and die.

Today we see another glimpse of Jesus power on displays and its with a donkey. Jesus is truly God. He knew exactly where the colt was tied which no one has ever sat. He knew exactly what the owners would say. And he sends his disciples to bring it to him.

Then he rides on the back of untamed donkey which submits to Jesus power. I think Jesus was trying to communicate something to us by his mode of transportation. In ancient times kings would ride on donkeys to announce that every enemy had been defeated and every threat put down. A warhorse was no longer needed because there was peace. And Jesus chooses a Donkey before his enemies were defeated.

However for Jesus, the donkey was not just a symbol of royalty. It was a symbol of humility. I think the crowed missed that. It seems like that the people are praising Jesus for the miracles they had seen. It almost seems like their expectation was that Jesus was riding to his coronation. That he was riding to be their earthly king. That he was riding to take up power instead of, in humility,  giving it up. Riding to take up a golden crown instead of a crown of thorns. That he was riding in to take his throne instead being lifted on a cross.

It would make sense why the people focused so much on wanting to make Jesus an earthly king. Just look at his miracles, feeding over 5000 people, healing the sick, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the blind received sight. He healed leprosy. He raised the dead. Think about it… what causes people to worry the most? Providing for your family…sickness, disease and the suffering they bring. And on top of all that, they are under Roman rule and that worry about what is happening around them.

I think we can relate. We have our own desires and designs for what we want God to do for us don’t we? Where it is almost like we want God to go the right when he takes us to the left or we want him to do this thing for us but instead he does that.

For the crowd in Jesus day, I think they just didn’t realize what he came to do. But for you and me is it more of a lack of trust that Jesus is doing, and will always do what is best for us? That our plans or our desires are better then his?

But today we see something. We see that Jesus can’t be stopped from doing what is best for us. When the Pharisees heard the crowds praise, they demanded Jesus to stop saying, “Teacher, Rebuke your disciples!”  But Jesus said, “I tell you, if these people would be silent, the stones would cry out.” Even creation supports that Jesus cannot be stopped. Jesus taking the unbroken colt and riding it into Jerusalem. So the typical features of nature are not going to stop him from his mission. The will of the people making him an earthly king isn’t going to stop him from his mission.

When we fast forward it to Holy Thursday and Good Friday, it sure looks like Jesus’ enemies have stopped him. By the very fact that Jesus gave up his power, place himself not on a throne but in the hands of his enemies, it sure appeared like he was stopped. As they arrested him, as people shouted, “Crucify him him.” As people ridiculed and mocked him on a cross. As they laid him in the tomb. This week sure makes it seem like the forces of evil had won.

Why would Jesus who deserves all praise and shouts, who is all powerful and almighty give it up? Because his love for you and me is unstoppable. Just look! He was unstoppable in his patience. He was unstoppable in his mercy by his resilient desire to give up his life on a painful cross. He could not be stopped from his mission. Saving sinners.

When we look at the events of holy week, we see evil just surrounds Jesus. At first glance it seems like evil is victorious. The women mourned. The disciples hid behind locked doors out of fear. It just seemed like everything was getting worse by the minute. Can you relate? Do you look around at the world and are so sure the world is going down the tubes and everything is in chaos and is getting worse by the minute? Don’t we at times just wish that Jesus would come back and reign on this throne and then everything will be better?

But when we think that the world is going down the tubes and evil is surrounding us, is it really as bad as when evil attacked Jesus? Is really as bad as the forces of evil ridiculing him, mocking him, killing him? So was Jesus stopped with those insults, the abuse, the crucifixion? Was Jesus stopped by death? No! Jesus love for you was so unstoppable that he allowed all of this to happen to him. To die in our place. So that our sins would not stop us from going to heaven.

If Jesus love for you and me was so unstoppable, as to overcome the forces of hell, when you look at the world and feel like the world is going down the tubes, do you think that it really can overcome Jesus? No. Not even close.

When we look at Jesus riding in and then giving up his power, it is so counter cultural and counterintuitive, it challenges us in our own thoughts about what God should be up to and how God should be functioning. It really reminds us to place our trust not in our plans but in his plans. To place our trust not in ourselves or our desires, but to place our trust in Jesus who did not take up his power but gave it up, because he would not be stopped from his mission of love… to save sinners.

Usually when we want to be unstoppable it is in a worldly way. We want to take up power or hold on to it. We want God to do what we want him to. But when we look at at Jesus’ unstoppable love. It Changes us. It leads us to want to be unstoppable not inn a worldly way (that focuses on us) But into that Jesus was. I want to be unstoppable in my kindness and in my patience no matter what anyone else says or does. I am going to be Christ centered because Jesus gave it all for us.

 

My family in Christ, The greatest lessons and comfort for us in the surrendering of Jesus power, he shows the greatest power of all, the power of his heart of love for us as sinners who could not have save ourselves but he offers himself in our place. Let us join the crowd and praise him ““Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Amen