April 13th, 2025 Sermon
Title: The Passion (The Cost of Redemption) Palm Sunday -- Series: The Path of Redemption
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Title: The Passion (The Cost of Redemption) Palm Sunday
Series: The Path of Redemption
Introduction:
The streets of Jerusalem were electric that day. Word had spread quickly—the miracle worker from Nazareth was approaching the city. People rushed to line the streets, cutting palm branches, spreading their cloaks on the dusty road.
Their voices rose in a thunderous chorus:
"Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest heaven!"
They had waited so long for this moment. Centuries of oppression under foreign powers had created a desperate longing for the promised Messiah. Surely this Jesus was the one—the Savior who would restore Israel's glory, who would overthrow Roman occupation, who would establish God's kingdom on earth.
Yet riding on a humble donkey, Jesus knew something they didn't. This moment of triumph was leading directly to sacrifice. The same crowds shouting "Hosanna!" would soon cry "Crucify him!" The palm branches would give way to a crown of thorns.
Last week, we began our series "The Path of Redemption" by exploring God's promises throughout history. Today, on Palm Sunday, we turn to "The Passion"—the cost of fulfilling those promises. The word "passion" comes from the Latin pati, meaning "to suffer." The passion of Christ refers to His suffering—the price He paid to fulfill God's promise of redemption.
Let's turn to Matthew's account of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem:
[1]As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away."
The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 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 heaven!" (Matthew 21:1-3, 6-9)
Today we'll explore four aspects of Christ's passion: the Crown of triumph that led to the Cup of suffering, the Cross of salvation, and finally, the Call to surrender.
1. CROWN OF TRIUMPH
Palm Sunday represents a moment when Jesus publicly accepted His identity as Messiah. Until this point, Jesus had often avoided public declarations of His messianic role. But now, the time had come for public acknowledgment.
Jesus deliberately fulfills prophecy by riding on a donkey, fulfilling Zechariah's words:
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9)
By entering Jerusalem in this way, during Passover when the city was swollen with pilgrims, Jesus is making a clear messianic claim. The crowd's response shows they understand—they use explicitly messianic language, calling Him "Son of David."
But Jesus is not the kind of Messiah they expect. Most Jews anticipated a political and military leader who would drive out the Romans. Jesus, however, rides a donkey, not a warhorse. In the ancient Near East, kings rode horses into battle but donkeys when coming in peace. Jesus comes not as a conquering warrior but as a servant king.
The crowd's misunderstanding reveals something about human nature. We often want God on our terms, fulfilling our agenda. The people wanted freedom from Roman occupation; Jesus offered freedom from sin. They wanted political revolution; Jesus brought spiritual transformation.
How often do we approach Jesus with our own expectations? We want Him to solve our problems, fulfill our dreams, support our causes. We create a Jesus who validates our lifestyle and confirms our biases.
Palm Sunday challenges us to examine which Jesus we're welcoming. Are we welcoming the Jesus who overturns tables in the temple, who confronts religious hypocrisy, who calls for radical discipleship? Or are we welcoming a comfortable Jesus who demands little and changes nothing?
2. CUP OF SUFFERING
From the jubilation of Jerusalem, Jesus moves to the garden of Gethsemane. The contrast couldn't be more stark. From crowds to solitude. From celebration to anguish.
Mark describes the scene:
They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”
Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." (Mark 14:32-36)
The "cup" Jesus refers to is a powerful biblical metaphor. Throughout the Old Testament, the cup represents God's judgment against sin. What Jesus faces in Gethsemane is the prospect of drinking the full cup of God's judgment against human sin. He who knew no sin would become sin for us.
No wonder Jesus was "deeply distressed and troubled." No wonder His soul was "overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death."
We often focus on Jesus' physical suffering, which was indeed horrific. But Jesus' spiritual and emotional suffering was even greater. The physical pain lasted hours; the spiritual anguish of bearing the world's sin was immeasurable.
What's remarkable about this moment is Jesus' honesty. He doesn't pretend the cup is easy to drink. He admits His desire for another way: "Take this cup from me." Yet in the same breath, He surrenders to the Father's will: "Yet not what I will, but what you will."
Jesus' struggle in Gethsemane teaches us several truths:
First, suffering is part of God's redemptive plan. The path to resurrection goes through crucifixion.
Second, honest prayer includes expressing our desires while surrendering to God's will. Jesus didn't hide His desire to avoid the cross, but He subordinated that desire to the Father's purpose.
Third, we're never closer to Jesus than when we're suffering. When we face our own Gardens of Gethsemane, we share in Christ's experience.
3. CROSS OF SALVATION
The cross represents the ultimate paradox of Christianity. What appears to be defeat is actually victory. What looks like weakness is actually power.
Paul captures this paradox in Philippians:
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. (Philippians 2:8-10)
For us, the cross has become so familiar that we forget how shocking it was in the first century. Crucifixion was not just a method of execution; it was the most shameful, humiliating death imaginable. The Romans reserved it for slaves and insurrectionists.
For Jews, crucifixion carried additional stigma. Deuteronomy 21:23 states that "anyone who is hung on a pole is under God's curse." The idea that the Messiah would die by crucifixion was not just unexpected; it was scandalous.
This is why Paul later writes that the cross is "a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles" (1 Corinthians 1:23). Yet this apparent absurdity reveals the depth of God's wisdom and love.
What happened on the cross? Scripture gives us several perspectives:
First, the cross was a sacrifice. Jesus is our Passover lamb, the perfect sacrifice for sin.
Second, the cross was a ransom. Jesus said He came "to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).
Third, the cross was a victory. It appeared that evil had triumphed when Jesus died, but in reality, He was "disarming the powers and authorities, making a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross" (Colossians 2:15).
Fourth, the cross was reconciliation. "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them" (2 Corinthians 5:19).
The cross is intensely personal. Jesus didn't die for an idea or a cause; He died for people—for you and for me.
4. CALL TO SURRENDER
Jesus' passion isn't just something we observe; it's something we're called to participate in. Before His arrest, Jesus told His disciples:
"Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it." (Luke 9:23-24)
Notice: Jesus doesn't say "admire my cross" but "take up your cross." The passion of Christ calls us to a passion of our own—a willingness to surrender everything for Him.
This call to surrender runs counter to our culture's values. We live in a world that celebrates self-promotion, self-fulfillment, self-determination. Jesus calls us to self-denial, self-sacrifice, self-surrender.
What does taking up our cross look like in daily life?
First, it means surrendering our will to God's will. Just as Jesus prayed, "Not my will, but yours be done," we're called to subordinate our desires to God's purposes.
Second, taking up our cross means embracing suffering for Christ's sake. This might involve persecution for our faith, sacrifices made to follow Jesus, or simply the daily struggle against sin.
Third, the cross we bear involves dying to sin and self-centeredness. Paul writes, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20).
The paradox of the Christian life is that surrender leads to freedom, sacrifice leads to joy, and death leads to life.
Conclusion
As we stand at the threshold of Holy Week, we've traced the path from Palm Sunday's triumph to Gethsemane's anguish, from Calvary's sacrifice to our own call to surrender. The passion of Christ—His suffering for our sake—reveals both the depth of our sin and the height of God's love.
The good news is that the story doesn't end with the cross. Next Sunday, we'll celebrate the power of the resurrection—God's vindication of Jesus and confirmation of our hope.
Remember: the crown of triumph led to the cup of suffering, which led to the cross of salvation, which leads to a call to surrender. And surrender, paradoxically, leads to the greatest freedom we can know.
May we have the courage to say with Jesus, "Not my will, but yours be done." And may we discover that the path of surrender is ultimately the path of joy.
[1] All Scripture is from the NIV (New International Version)