MARK 11:1-11

11:1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples

2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.

3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’”

4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it.

5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?”

6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go.

7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it.

8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.

9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

It’s time to call out the cavalry.  You don’t hear that expression much these days do you?  It’s something that you say when you’re desperate.  The situation looks hopeless and you’re not sure what you should do about it. You feel the same way a little boy felt one night when he climbed into bed and said his prayers.  “Dear God,” he said, “Please take care of mommy and daddy, my little sister and my dog.  And Lord, please take care of yourself cause if anything happens to you, we’re all sunk.”

That’s the way the people of Jerusalem felt when Jesus rode into the Holy City.  You can see their desperation in their shouts of “Hosanna!”  Now that wasn’t a throw away word like yippee or hooray!  In fact, it wasn’t a word of praise at all.  It was actually a plea for help.  You see, hosanna is an ancient Hebrew word that means, “Save us now!”  Make no mistake about it.  The people in the crowd meant it when they said it.

“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest…”  Save us Lord before it’s too late. Save us Lord because we can’t hold on much longer. “Hosanna to the Son of David!” It was a plaintive plea from a nation that had been humbled and humiliated.  It was a plaintive plea from a people who desperately wanted to be liberated after 100 years of Roman occupation and oppression.

Hosanna! Save me Lord!  When was the last time you bowed your head and said that in a moment of prayer? Hosanna! Save me Lord! I’ve got this family situation that I’m dealing with and I don’t know what to do about it.  Hosanna!  Save me Lord.  My job is driving me crazy and I feel like I’m trapped.  By the way if you’ve ever felt that way about your job then you can probably identify with the teacher who sat down at her desk one morning and bowed her head. “Lord,” she said, “grant me the wisdom to discover the talents that you have given to each boy and girl and to nurture those divine sparks with a lot of love and patience. They’re coming into the room now, Lord.  All 32 of them!  Help me Lord!  Any miracle at all will be greatly appreciated!   Amen.”

Hosanna! Save me Lord! My job is driving me crazy and I feel like I’m trapped. Hosanna! Save me Lord! I can’t stand this pain that I’ve been living with for years.  Hosanna! Save me Lord! I can’t live with this guilt any longer. 

Hosanna! Save me Lord! My marriage is in trouble.  I’m worried about my parents.  The world around me seems to be falling apart. Hosanna!  Hosanna!  Hosanna!

Well, I have good news for you.  Holy Week is all about salvation and being saved, but there’s a catch.  Yes, even with God there’s a catch.  You can see that catch by looking at what happened at the end of Holy Week.  Holy Week doesn’t end with the cavalry coming to the rescue.  Holy Week ends with Jesus being crucified on the hill called Calvary. 

Now, that was a shocking turn of events for the people who shouted hosanna when Jesus rode into the Holy City. They were expecting a conquering hero but what they got they got was a suffering Savior.  They were expecting a violent victory but what they got was a crucified Christ. What Jesus did was turn their hosannas upside down. He showed them that God’s salvation doesn’t come by winning.  It comes by loosing. Now I know that that sounds crazy.  It only sounds crazy because we’ve been indoctrinated to look at things through the wisdom of the so called real world. 

The wisdom of the real world says that salvation comes by winning.  Let me share with you though a medical description of what happened when Jesus was crucified.  Then you can tell me if it sounds like winning to you.  According to medical experts after the cross is lifted into place…

“…the person slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain – the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves.  As he pushes himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, he places the full weight on the nail through his feet.  Again he feels the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the bones of his feet.  As the arms fatigue, cramps sweep through his muscles, knotting them in a deep, relentless, and throbbing pain.  With these cramps comes the inability to push himself up and exhale.  He fights to raise himself up in order to get even one small breath.  Finally carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream…Hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-renting cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from his lacerated back as he moves up and down against the rough timber.  Then another agony begins: a deep crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with (fluid), and begins to compress the heart.  It is now almost over.  The loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level.  The compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues.  The tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air.  He can feel the chill of death creeping through his tissues.  Finally, he allows his body to die.”

Does that sound like winning to you?  The lesson of Holy Week is that God’s salvation comes not by winning but by loosing and yes, that’s not the way salvation works in the so called real world.

In the so called real world salvation comes by winning and defeating the Romans or the Yankees.  It comes by breaking a bad habit.  By winning an argument.  By getting tough and not asking for help when life is difficult.  Salvation means getting the big promotion and riding around in the expensive car.  After all what’s the saying these day?  He or she who dies with the most toys wins.  Well as far as Jesus is concerned that a lot of rubbish.  The only thing it proves in many cases is that the person can be stingy and selfish and can step on or over people to get to the top.

In God’s kingdom here on earth salvation comes not by winning but by loosing.  Remember when Jesus got to Jerusalem he didn’t find a crown waiting for him.  When he got to Jerusalem he found a fearsome and foreboding Cross waiting for him.  Jesus won by loosing; by turning the other check and by uttering words of forgiveness while he hung on the Cross.

So salvation doesn’t mean winning the lottery.  It means being content with the simple things in life.  Salvation doesn’t mean winning an argument and proving to everyone that you’re right.  It means respecting the other person’s opinion.  Salvation doesn’t mean working hard so you can get to the finish first.  It means taking the time to stop and make a few sacrifices for someone who needs a helping hand. Salvation doesn’t mean getting even with someone who treated you badly.  It means forgiving the person and letting go of the past.  Salvation doesn’t mean pushing yourself to perfect.  It means accepting your limitations.  Salvation doesn’t mean trying to impress everyone how great you are. It means standing before God and saying with a humble heart, “I need You Lord.  Forgive me and be gracious unto me.”

On the Cross Jesus said, “Give me all your sins, your inadequacies, your broken dreams and come home.”

True salvation won’t be found by calling out the cavalry.  It will only be found by climbing the hill called Calvary.  The family of Frank Salazar found that out 30 years ago.  Frank Salazar was a seven year old boy at the time and he had the nickname “Bopsy.”  His claim to fame is that he was the first child to have a dream come true through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  It was 1981 and young Bopsy was fighting a loosing battle with leukemia.  One of his wishes was to be a fireman.  So, the Phoenix Fire Department made him the first honorary fireman in the city’s history.  They got him a custom made uniform with a yellow coat and helmet.  Then they took him for a ride on one of their fire trucks.  He got to use the siren and after the ride he got to spray a few cars with the fire hose.  Not long after his dream came true Bopsy’s condition worsened.  He went into the hospital.  A few days later he heard a tapping sound on the window to his hospital room.  When his parents opened the curtain they saw a fireman on a ladder.  The fire truck was parked down below.  So, they opened up the window and five of Bopsy’s fireman friends climbed up the ladder and came into the room.   They hugged their friend and told him how much they loved him.  It is said that when Bopsy asked, “Am I really a fireman now?” one of the firemen said, “You are and the head chief, Jesus, is holding your hand.”  Upon hearing that Bopsy said, “I know, he’s been holding my hand all day, and the angels have been singing.”  Bopsy passed away later that evening.

When things aren’t going very well Jesus wants you to shout hosanna.  You just have to understand that when you do that he isn’t going to call out the cavalry.  What he’s going to do is take you to Calvary where you’ll find a different kind of salvation, a better kind of salvation.  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

March 28, 2010