Today is known as Palm Sunday on the Christian calendar. This day commemorates Christ’s final entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday before his trial and crucifixion. On this day Christ entered into the city of Jerusalem on a colt, fulfilling the prophecy written about him hundreds of years earlier in Zechariah 9:9 (NIV)which says, "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
As Jesus approached the city, Matthew’s gospel tells us that, "A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the [palm] trees and spread them on the ground. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, 'Hosanna, to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" Matthew 21:8-10 (NIV)
Hosanna was an expression of praise that meant, 'God saves.' The crowd was bursting with triumphant energy. Jesus was going to save them from Roman oppression. He was going to establish an everlasting throne and a kingdom unlike anything the world had ever seen. They would be wealthy. They would be kings. They would be secure. Jesus would satisfy all their hopes, longings and aspirations! Jesus was their ticket to the life they always wanted! Go Jesus! Go Jesus! Go! Woooo Hoooo! Hosanna in the highest! Blessed be your name!
The gospel of John tells us a little bit more about the crowds that gathered on Palm Sunday. John 12:17 (NIV) tells us that this crowd had been with Jesus when he raised Lazarus from the dead. This verse says, "Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word." The image of Lazarus who had been dead four long days walking out of a sealed tomb with his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen and a burial cloth wrapped around his face was still fresh in their memories.
And how could they forget Jesus’ words to Martha, the sister of Lazarus, in John 11:25-26 (NIV)? "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" For the moment at least, the crowd understood that Jesus had the power to give life. So they were spreading the word about the miraculous signs Jesus had performed. They were stirring up the city of Jerusalem. But in a few short days, these same crowds would turn on Jesus and chant, "Crucify! Crucify!"
The crowds soon abandoned Jesus when he didn't meet their expectations.
You may be shocked to discover that the first Palm Sunday crowds were not seeking the kind of life Jesus Christ came to bring. They had their own ideas about life. They saw Jesus, the son of God, as a means to their own ends. They wanted Jesus to use his power and fame to fulfill their desires and meet their needs. When Jesus didn’t conform to their expectations, they abandoned him. They assumed they could find the life they wanted apart from Christ. They missed the whole purpose for which Jesus Christ came to earth.
I always find it ironic that Christians wave palm branches every Palm Sunday. I wonder how many of us share the same sentiments as the first Palm Sunday crowds? I wonder how many of us are missing the true life Jesus Christ came to offer the world?
Several years ago I came across the pioneering work of Abraham Maslow, a psychologist who discovered what is popularly referred to as the pyramid of needs. He theorized that we all have basic needs that must be fulfilled in order for us to enjoy life. Until we satisfy these needs, we find it difficult to focus on much of anything else. At the bottom of pyramid is one of our most basic needs. The need for security.
Maslow's first basic need- the need for security.
We all need the assurance that our world is basically stable and predictable and that we aren’t in any real danger and are safe. Our security needs include basic things such as food, water, clothing, shelter, and medical care. When these life needs aren’t met, tension builds. We become anxious and worry. We may even panic or become filled with fear and act impulsively.
Many of us spend a great deal of time and energy worrying about basic security needs. For many of us, life is all about having enough food and water. It is about having a place to call home. It is about having a great physician who can heal our bodies. So we work hard for our money and save diligently to make our lives more secure. Food is life. Water is life. Clothing and shelter is life. Medicine is life.
Maslow's second basic need-the need for companionship.
We all need companionship and affection. We need to feel loved. We need to feel like we belong and are accepted. We want to know that other people like us. In this age of technology, our television with one thousand channels, Game-Boy, high speed internet and e-mail, and our Pentium powered computers leave us feeling isolated and alone. Because of this, we squeeze every last drop out of the relationships around us. We are consumed with books and magazines and television programs about strengthening our marriages and families and friendships and teams at work. We develop a kind of co-dependency on others. Life is all about my boyfriend or girlfriend or spouse. Life is all about holding on to mom or dad or my children. For so many of us, human relationships are the essence of life.
Maslow's third basic need- the need for esteem.
We all have a need for recognition. We want status, prestige, approval and self-respect. We want to stand up and be counted. We want to matter. We want our fifteen minutes of fame. My dad used to have a sign hanging in our garage that read, "The rat race is over, and the rats have won."
We do the things that make us feel valued. We become the student, the athlete, the parent of the athlete, the employee, or the teacher. All of us want be valued for something. When we don’t feel a sense of value or worth, we lose our confidence. We develop a low-image. We doubt ourselves and resent others. We experience shame and guilt. Some would just as soon not to live as to lose their sense of identity and self-worth. The essence of life is being somebody. It is having self-esteem, being valued and noticed. Keep walking with me. We're just chatting about how so many of us view life.
Maslow's fourth basic need- the need for independence.
We all have a need for independence. We don’t want to be pushed or manipulated. We want to prove how responsible and capable we are. We want to take care of ourselves by controlling our own lives, shaping our work, or forging our destiny. The essence of life is me not having to depend on anybody or anything for nothing. Take the training wheels off. I am in control. I’m in charge. I’m my own best boss. When others encroach on our independence, we feel frustrated. We feel entrapped. We feel exploited. We resent those who did not give us a chance.
Maslow's last basic need- the need for self-actualization.
We all want to grow, learn, and mature. We want to make the most of our resources. We want to master some skill or circumstance. We want to reach our highest potential. At this level of achieving our needs, our greatest fear is getting stuck at a dead end with nowhere to go. It is wasting chances and opportunities to do something great or to leave a legacy.
The crowds wanted Jesus to supply all their basic needs.
So often our needs blind us and keep us from understanding our greatest need. This is what happened to the first Palm Sunday crowd. They were less in tune with their need for Christ and more in tune with their needs for security, companionship, esteem, independence, or self-actualization. This is why they flocked out in droves to see Jesus. They wanted bread, water, shelter, health, relationships, esteem, independence, and achievement from him. They wanted to have all the world and to rule all the world. And when Jesus didn’t give them the life they sought, they wrote him off. "Crucify! Crucify! He’s of no use to us."
The question we need to ask this Palm Sunday is what kind of life we are seeking. Are we truly looking for life in Jesus Christ, or is that all lost as we look for life in the material provisions of food and water? Jesus was focused on eternity. Read what he says in the following passages.
Are we focused on our needs in this life? Or like Jesus, are we focused on eternity?
When the crowds or individuals asked Jesus about water he gave a shocking answer. To the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:13 (NIV) he said, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
To the crowds celebrating in Jerusalem in John 7:37-38 (NIV) he said, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." Jesus doesn’t give us water so we can have life. He himself is the living water that forever quenches our need for water.
When the crowds came to Jesus in John 6:26-27 (NIV) demanding that he feed them bread, he was unmistakably clear. "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."
Later in that same chapter, in John 6:48-58 (NIV), Jesus was crystal clear to the point of becoming offensive. " 'I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.' Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?' Jesus said to them, 'I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.' "
Concerning doctors and medicine in Luke 4:23 (NIV), "Jesus said to them, 'Surely you will quote this proverb to me: Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.' "
Concerning relationships in Luke 14:26 (NIV), "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."
In John 14:6 (NIV)Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
John 11:25 (NIV) Jesus said to Mary, the sister of Lazarus, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."
John 3:36 (NIV) says, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him."
Our lives are found in Jesus Christ.
To the crowds gathered on this Palm Sunday, there can be no misunderstanding about life. Christ is our life. Apart from him there is no life. 1 John 5:12 (NIV) says, "He who has the son has life; he who does not have the son of God does not have life." That’s what Christ taught.
Life is not found in food, water, clothing, medicine, relationships, self-esteem, or achievement. Our lives are found in Jesus Christ. And until we find that life, we’ll walk through this life hungry and thirsty, never being satisfied.