Philippians 2:5-11
Palm Sunday—CWS B
Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace-Benson/Vail, AZ
March 25, 2018
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
In the name of the King who comes in the name of the Lord, dear friends, Most people, no matter how great or how awful they feel their lives are, have wondered what it must be like to be someone else. People who are insanely wealthy or are so famous that they can’t go anywhere without being recognized wonder what it must be like to lead a ‘normal’ life. Sometimes they will even try—wearing a disguise and acting as if they are no one special. Most of us aren’t in a position to really appreciate what that must be like because the Lord has seen fit to give us kind of ‘normal’ lives. Unless some of you are really good at disguises, you are not incredibly famous and you don’t make millions of dollars a year! So, people like us wonder “What must it be like to be Jimmy Fallon or Oprah or Harrison Ford?” “What would it be like to be Tiger Woods or Alicia Keys? Would we act like they act? Would we think like they think? Would we talk like they talk? Would we love the attention or would it drive us nuts? The fact is, we won’t ever know. God has decided to let them be them and us be us. We could never be any of them—we are who we are—and that’s pretty good, because that’s what God has decided! You’ve seen those famous people though, with their entourages—bodyguards, family, significant others, friends, hangers-on. You’ve watched them on TV as they roll into a place, often with significant fanfare—maybe on the “red carpet.” So maybe you can picture the events of that first Palm Sunday when Jesus and his people rode into Jerusalem. If there were paparazzi back then, flash bulbs would have been popping all over the place and people would have been taking pictures on their cell phones! Jesus was famous and this day was a big deal! As you think about Jesus, maybe you wonder what it must have been like for him to receive the shouts of praise, the voices that testified that he was the promised Savior. Maybe you even wonder what it would be like to be Jesus—to be perfect, to be all powerful and all-knowing, to never be fooled and to possess the ability to superhumanly take care of anything! The truth is though, YOU COULD NEVER BE JESUS…BUT YOU CAN BE LIKE JESUS!
Think about what you heard in Luke’s gospel. Jesus knew that a colt would be there. He knew the answer that would satisfy anyone who might ask his disciples why they were borrowing it. He knew about the people and the praise and the palms. He was ready to receive their shouts of joy. And you might say, “I could handle that!” And wouldn’t we?! Let’s be honest—we love to receive praise. We’re happy when people are happy with us. It would be easy to BE JESUS! But remember, Jesus also knew about the trials and the torture and the tree that was now less than a week away. He was ready to set things in motion so that those events could take place. And right about here is where we readily admit that we COULD NEVER BE JESUS. To know that people were going to lie about him to the church and to the government? To know that unfair accusations were going to be screamed at him? To know that his body would be mercilessly punished and that he would die? No, we COULD NEVER BE JESUS. We avoid pain and trouble if at all possible. We stand up for ourselves. We defend our honor. We even seek revenge. But interestingly, that’s not Jesus. As Paul wrote to his dear Christian friends in Philippi, he described the Savior. He reminded them that Jesus being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! True God. I know you and I could never be that, but try to imagine it for a moment. Would you EVER give that up? Technically, Jesus didn’t give up his divine nature, he added a human nature. In essence he became a 200% being—100% God and 100% man. Don’t ask me to explain that because I can’t. But God tells us in his Word that it is true and therefore we confess it in our creeds. Not only could I never BE JESUS, I can’t even fully comprehend him! What we do know is that he loved us—sinful us—so much that he was willing to leave heaven to become the Savior—true God and true man—and to be the only possible sacrifice for our sin. He came to serve sinners, including you and me. How ridiculous would it be to have the President of the United States come to your house and do your laundry and dishes, serve you a meal, clean up afterwards and offer to do any other projects you just haven’t been able to get done?! Now, if in humility, the President of the United States wanted to do that, I bet he could make that happen. But what Jesus did, he did both because he wanted to and because there was no other option. If it was going to be done at all, it had to be done by him. You see, you can cook a dinner or run the washer and dryer but you cannot pay the punishment necessary for the forgiveness of your sins. You can’t do it and I can’t do it because God demands a perfect life and none of us has that. Here’s where the reality check comes in—think about your life. Think about the many ways you have screwed things up. Consider the times you have promised yourself, God, and others that you would change your ways—and you didn’t. Even you children know that you have made
promises to your mom and dad to listen from now on or not fight with your sister or brother and later you did it anyway! Whether we are young or old, wealthy or not, famous or flying pretty much under the radar, we know our sins, and we know that we COULD NEVER BE JESUS. That’s why we love him. He loved us so much that he came down from heaven to save us from the messy, sinful lives we live. He came to take all of God’s anger against our sin on himself. He came to live and die and make the payment for our sins. And how did he show up? As a baby in a stable. How did he live? Without a house and virtually no possessions. Who did he hang out with? Regular men and women and children—sinful people. How did he die? Cruelly. With no one to help. Even his Father turned his back on his Son that dark Good Friday. In all humility, Jesus was willing to bear all that for us. That’s why we love him. That’s why would place our faith in him. We know we COULD NEVER BE JESUS and we’re thankful he is who he is and that he did what he did. BUT, YOU CAN BE LIKE JESUS! As Paul writes to his friends, he says, In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. The most important lesson we can take from the Bible is that we have a Savior in Jesus and that he has made us right with God. When we know that, then we can also see Jesus as an example for us. I say it that way because many people ONLY see Jesus as an example! To them he’s an example of a great teacher, a wonderful prophet, a nice guy who lived a long time ago. Of course, we know that he is so much more than that—he lived and died and rose from the dead for us so that we are sure of being with him in heaven when we die. Only after we know that rock-solid truth do we look at Jesus also as an example. And there are some ways that WE CAN BE LIKE JESUS. As people who sometimes struggle with humility and putting others first, we need to see Jesus and what he did. Look at that first Palm Sunday again and tell me what you see. Do you see Jesus there on that road coming down from the Mount of Olives into the valley and up into Jerusalem? Do you see the thousands of angels in ranks around him? Do you hear God the Father declaring this to be his Son? Do you see the powerful war horse Jesus is riding in on? Do you hear Jesus shouting that he’s “the Man”, and that he’s going to “handle everything”? If you see that, you and I are not reading the same Bible! That’s a donkey he’s riding. He’s not saying much at all. There are no visible legions of angels and God the Father’s voice is not heard. This is a humble entry and yet one that looks like the beginning of a victory celebration. Oh it might seem premature, considering the upcoming events, but the people on this day know who he is and they know what he’s come to do. And even if they all aren’t sure of exactly how it will all unfold, Jesus knows the victory that is coming and he’s ready for it! He won’t say it of himself, but the people will: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Christ was humble before his Father in heaven. He could have said, “I’m not going down there! It’s awful down there and do you know what they would do to me?!” But Jesus didn’t say that. He is true God every bit and in every way that God the Father is, yet he humbled himself before the Father and willingly went along with his plan of salvation. Can YOU BE LIKE JESUS that way? Yes, you can! You and I can look at Jesus and draw strength from the example he sets for us when it comes to accepting God’s plan for our lives and the things he wants us to do. Jesus has forgiven all our sins so we are free to serve him in all humility. We can accept his plan whether it includes good stuff (like Palm Sunday was for Jesus) or bad stuff (like his death on the cross) or a bit of both. When we show God that we will follow him in humility, WE ARE LIKE JESUS. And that pleases God because we’re doing that from a heart of thanks and love for his Son. And how about this when it comes to humility: If we have to tell everyone how great we are and how much we’ve done and what we deserve, that’s not exactly the same as Christ’s humility, is it? I remember a pithy comment from my mom many years ago: “Self-praise stinks!” she said. I must have needed to hear that—and no doubt I still do, because I am not Christ. And you can remember my mom’s words too, if you want, but better yet is to remember what we see on a Palm Sunday and what we hear from Paul: the perfect example of humility—putting others first, serving other people—is found in Christ. YOU CAN BE LIKE JESUS if you will show true humility with the members of your family, those you work with and play with, those in your church family. Every time we offer to help, to put ourselves out for someone else, to bear the financial cost, to give up some time, to even suffer along with or in place of someone else—if done out of genuine love for God and for others, WE ARE LIKE JESUS. And that pleases God our Savior. Palm Sunday gives a sort of preview to the Last Day. There were some who were left outside the group praising Jesus because they had rejected him as the Messiah. And there were many who joined their voices in praising their Savior. The Apostle Paul shoots us forward to that final day when he writes: Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. That day will come, my friends. Jesus will return on the Last Day and he will gather round him all of us who trust in him as our Savior from sin. While many on that day will grudgingly confess that Jesus is Lord—to their shame and damnation, we will sing his praises loud and long around his throne in heaven. No, YOU CANNOT BE JESUS, but you don’t have to be—he has done everything necessary for your forgiveness and salvation. But, until that day of salvation comes, YOU CAN BE LIKE JESUS. May the Holy Spirit help us to do that. Amen. Now the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.