| Palm Sunday, 2001
Matthew 27:1-54 The Blood of Jesus
On June 28, 1914 the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was scheduled to attend army maneuvers in the Bosnian mountains and, as a gesture to the Slav population, he decided to pay a ceremonial visit to the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo. As a show of goodwill, he asked that the troops normally lining the streets for security during an imperial visit be dispensed with. Except for a scattering of local policemen, the crowds were to have free access to the heir to the throne. Franz Ferdinand, dressed in the pale blue tunic and red striped black trousers of a cavalry general, with green plumes waving from his cap, sat in the open back seat of the second car next to his wife, Sophie. Around him on the streets he saw smiling faces and waving arms. Flags and decorative bright colored rugs hung from the balconies; his own portrait stared back at him from the windows of shops and houses.
After visiting City Hall the entourage was scheduled to celebrate at a reception in another part of town. They decided to go back through the city by a different route from the one announced. On the way, a wrong turn was made. At that moment, a slim nineteen year old boy stepped forward, aimed a pistol into the car, and fired twice. Sophie sank forward onto her husband's chest. Franz Ferdinand remained sitting upright and for a moment no one noticed that he had been hit. Then the governor, sitting in front, heard him murmur, "Sophie! Sophie! Don't die! Stay alive for our children!" His body sagged and blood from the severed jugular vein in his neck spurted across his uniform. He died almost immediately. Sophie died soon after. Fifteen minutes later, both bodies were laid in a room next to the ballroom where waiters were chilling champagne for his reception. And so began World War I.
The reaction of the crowds to Jesus on this Palm Sunday is similar. From the Mount of Olives the people ran before the Lord's donkey singing and shouting, waving and laying down palm branches. Where did they learn to do this? It is hard to say. But it seems they borrowed the symbols from the Feast of Tabernacles as the basis for their special palm ritual. During the Feast of Tabernacles the families would build huts of palm branches to live in for seven days. These leafy booths were supposed to call up a couple of things: first, they brought home their forty years of wilderness wanderings after the exodus from Egypt; and secondly, they looked forward to the day when Eden would be restored, for the arbor was a figure of paradise.
How about waving and shaking their palm branches? What was that about? On each of the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles the priests would lead a large procession of palm-waving people around the altar of the Temple. On the seventh day they would circle the altar seven times in imitation of the seven times their ancestors had circled Jericho before its destruction. What about the Mount of Olives? Why was that significant? It was thought that the long expected Messiah, once he came, would launch his ascension to power from that mountain. These surely were the background ceremonies that caused the multitudes to carry out their palm branch ritual during the Passover Feast. The procession was their way of trying to usher in the kingdom. If ever Jesus' kingly nature and regal beauty shone forth it was on this triumphant parade into the great city. He rode in majesty, receiving and returning the greetings of His followers. It was a day of hope and joy.
But there is a somber note on Palm Sunday. The Son of God came to earth to die. He set His face resolutely toward Zion as His ministry came to a close. It was precisely to die that the Son took our humanity to Himself in His incarnation. And so on Palm Sunday Jesus came riding into the city as the great conqueror. The multitudes cheered wildly. His wisdom and love and leadership seemed to be guiding Him to a spectacular dynasty. Nothing seemed to be in the way of His becoming a king over the nations. But the crowds missed the point. The ministry He had come to fulfill included, as its climax, His being lifted up on the cross. He would hang on a tree so as to purchase His church with His own blood, and drawn men to Him (John 12:32ff. Acts 20:28).
Accordingly, our Gospel text from Matthew chapter 27 describes a total reversal of things. A couple of days after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem the enthusiasm of the throng evaporated totally. Instead of the crowds rejoicing in Jesus as their messiah they are shrieking for His ruin. Let us examine just a couple of the many details of our Lord's passion. Let us read Matthew 27:15-22. (Reads it.)
The event itself is remarkable. Barabbas was a murderer and insurrectionist. Apparently he had slain people in a coup attempt. If anyone deserved death on a cross it was Barabbas. The Cross was reserved for only the most degraded of criminals. It was so abhorrent even to the Romans, that it was forbidden for a Roman citizen to suffer the disgrace of being put to death by crucifixion. We see in the crucifixion of Jesus and the release of Barabbas the doctrine of substitutionary atonement. Literally, and for all to see, Christ died at Calvary the innocent for the guilty, the holy one in the place of the unholy sinner. The punishment due to Barabbas was inflicted on Jesus, and Barabbas walked away a free man. What we should realize here is that you and I are Barabbases. God is holy and just. We are sinners who transgress His law every day, and sin is a serious matter. Like Barabbas, we deserve the death and agony of the cross. Like Barabbas, Jesus took our place and died in our behalf.
The tide of hatred is rising. The people want Jesus dead. Thus, Pilate tries to wash his hands of the doing. Clearly, he didn't have the guts to defend an innocent man from the blood thirsty crowd. Matthew 27:25 says, "And all the people answered and said, 'His blood be on us and on our children.'" These are chilling words. What is behind this response? There is a theological concept being voiced. The Bible teaches that generally speaking all blood has a voice. When Cain murdered his brother Abel, the LORD came to Cain and asked, "Where is Abel your brother?" and Cain said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" And God said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground." In other words, the voice of innocently shed blood can never be stilled in the world. Blood is forever crying out. It cries out to heaven. Based on the law of God, the voice of the blood cries out for a hearing. Genesis 9:6 tells us why that blood cannot rest; "whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed" (Genesis 9:6). The innocent blood of man, made in the image of God is not to be shed. But if it is unjustly shed, then that blood cries out for capital punishment. Its restlessness is so strong, and its voice so penetrating, that even those who are not guilty cannot escape its call. That is why Deuteronomy 21 provides a remedy for the innocent shedding of blood. According to that Old Covenant provision, if a person were found dead somewhere in a field and the murderer had gotten away, and could not be found, then the elders of the city were to sacrifice a young bull to atone for the innocent death. Once the heifer had been killed the elders would wash their hands over the sacrifice while saying, "Our hands have not shed this blood" (Deut. 21:6 ff). Perhaps Pilate knew about this precept which gave him the idea for the hypocritical gesture of publicly washing his own hands.
Be that as it may, the Jews realize that if the blood of the Nazarene were innocent, it would never cease crying out in the world. Then it would be upon everyone responsible for shedding it. They realize the seriousness of what they are doing. But the mob comforts itself with the thought that this blood is not innocent. They argue that it does not have the right to cry out. The spilling of this blood cannot be regarded as a sin against heaven. "We are not afraid!" they are saying in effect. "Let his blood be upon us and upon our children!" They were perfectly willing to take responsibility for the death of Christ. They were willing to call down His blood upon them and upon their children.
Pilate granted them their desire. They crucified Jesus at a place "called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of the Skull" (Matthew 27:33). Verse 50 says, "And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split" Forty years later the Roman armies surrounded Jerusalem and laid siege to her. When starvation set in, many Jews attempted to escape, but most were captured by the Roman soldiers. The Jewish historian Josephus tells us that 500 captives a day were crucified on crosses that circled the city. Hence, the blood of Jesus in a way did come down upon the children of the apostates. God judged the children because they cooperated and continued their parents' apostasy.
But for those who believe in the cross of Jesus, the blood of Christ brings about an entirely different result. Consider the declaration of the people to Pilate: "His blood be on us and on our children." What a cruel and horrible statement. Yet, what made that proclamation so foolish was the context. "His blood be on us and on our children" had the purpose of trivializing the trial of Christ. It was said in unbelief, and therefore became a curse. But if we change the context of that statement it could become a blessing. We do need our sins covered, we do need the blood of Jesus upon us and our children. And that can come about only through death, through the passion and dying of our Lord. Our salvation required the sacrifice of the God-Man, Jesus Christ, the true Lamb of God (John 1:29) Through His blood our sins are covered (Romans 4:7, 24, 25).
In her baptism today little Sophia Byerly was washed in the blood of the Lamb. Baptism pictures the washing of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, as well as our covering with the atoning blood of Christ (Titus 3:5). Blood is an inescapable concept in Scripture. We will either partake of the blessing of Christ's blood, which is the cup of salvation, or we will drink the dregs of God's wrath, which is eternal damnation. Let us choose today the cup of blessing which is the blood of Christ (I Corinthians 10:16). Let us hallow that blood that flowed forth from the nails hammered into his hands and feet, the thorns driven into His skull, the lashes of the whip on His back, the spear that punctured His heart. That is the blood we need. And thus, as God's servants and soldiers we can pray, "His blood be on us and on our children." What a blessing, what a joy to be redeemed by the blood of the Lamb!
St. Anselm was an Italian who lived during the eleventh century. As a young man he left Italy and traveled north to Britain to became a monk. In 1093 he was appointed the Archbishop of Canterbury. He wrote and preached on a host of subjects, but what he is primarily remembered for today is his teaching on the atonement. One day he was called to give counsel to an old friend who was near to death. The questions that Anselm posed to the dying man reveal the heart of a faithful pastor. They are recorded like this:
Q. Do you confess that your life has been so evil that you deserve eternal punishment?
A. I confess it.
Q. Do you repent of this?
A. I repent
Q. Do you believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for you?
A. I believe it.
Q. Are you thankful to him?
A. I am.
Q. Do you believe that you cannot be saved except through his death?
A. I do believe this.
Q. Then do this while the soul remains in you; place your whole trust in this death alone and have no trust in any other thing; commit yourself wholly to this death; cover yourself wholly with it alone; wrap yourself wholly in this death; and if the Lord God should wish to judge you, say: "Lord, I interpose the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between me and your judgment; in no other way do I argue with you." And if he should say to you, "It is because you are a sinner," say: "Lord, I plead the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between you and my sins." If he should say to you, "It is because you deserve condemnation," say: "Lord, I place the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between you and my demerits, and I offer his merit in place of the merit which I owe and do not have." If he should say that he is angry with you, say: "Lord, I place the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between me and your anger."
And so on went Anselm's deathbed counsel. The Archbishop understood the power of the cross of Christ because he understood the grace of God. The cross demonstrates the absolute seriousness of sin and at the same time it exhibits the infinite love of God. As you come now to partake of the cup of salvation in the Holy Communion take time to survey the cross. Contemplate its mercy and mystery. If you believe and are baptized, that is where the Son of God died for you, it is where He shed His life-giving blood, the blood that covers your sins, the blood that saves you, sanctifies you, yea, the blood that gives life to the world. (John 6:53) On the cross God's judgment fell with terrifying fury, and yet Christ's blood propitiates, it assuages His anger against our sin. The blood of Jesus was and is the heart of Christianity. From the cross flows God's love and mercy to sinners. Come to Christ in faith and repentance. Offer Him your sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.
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