300 years before the birth of Christ, Alexander the Great and his Greek army conquered the known world.  About 100 years after the Old Testament time had ended, Alexander marched his army across territory after territory, conquering everything in sight.  Alexander was a warrior who charged before his troops on a horse.  The territory of Israel fell to him, as did all the surrounding countries.  Alexander rode a war horse and came with dazzling brilliance, to force-feed his Greek culture to the conquered Israelites.  He did this all before he died at only 33.

Alexander’s Greek successors oppressed the Israelites for a couple hundred years, until the Romans began oppressing them.  During all of this oppression, the Israelites were looking for a King, a Savior, a Messiah.  After so many years of captivity, oppression, and hardship, their vision of the Messiah God was going to send them changed from someone who was coming to deliver them from God’s wrath to someone who was coming to deliver them from the world’s wrath.  They wanted a King to come charging in on a horse to lead them to victory, too!

Clop, clop, clop.  A donkey slowly trots down the Mount of Olives toward Jerusalem.  Clop, clop, clop.  This humble beast of burden is carrying a humble-looking man.  Clop, clop, clop.  Even though there is nothing extraordinary-looking about this man, the people are hailing him as a king.  They are spreading their cloaks in front of him, waving palm branches, and singing his praises.  But it’s no war horse – it’s a donkey.  Clop, clop, clop.  I wonder if anyone in that crowd remembered the Scripture passage where the OT prophet Zechariah wrote, “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…He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea.”

Could this be the king Zechariah was talking about?  This man riding on a donkey?  Clop, clop, clop.  Is this the way a King would ride?  I mean, this isn’t what we are really looking for, is it?  Where’s the war horse?  The dazzling brilliance?  Clop, clop, clop.  Donkeys are for poor people.  Slaves and servants.  And his attendants?  A rag-tag group of pilgrims coming to the Passover who just grab whatever they can find to hail this man.  After all, he has done some interesting miracles, and they were maybe hoping that this guy, in spite of this lowly entrance, could, with his amazing powers, trot in and begin conquering the powers that be.  So let’s jump on the bandwagon and hail him on!  We are desperate for any kind of leadership here!

Today Jerusalem was buzzing with activity and throngs of people.  It was Passover time, and pilgrims from all over the world were returning to Jerusalem to celebrate with family.  Today, Sunday, was the first day of the week-long Passover celebration.  And this day was especially busy and crowded, because this was the day everyone selected the lamb which they would sacrifice for the Passover celebration.  Today, they had to carefully choose a lamb that was spotless, one that had no blemishes or defects.  Then they had to bring their lambs to the temple so the priests could check them over and certify that they were indeed perfect specimens for sacrifice.  Clop, clop, clop.  There was another lamb being taken to the temple.  Clop, clop, clop.  Today, Jesus, the Lamb of God, was going to the temple.  Clop, clop, clop.  This man was God’s choice; his sacrificial Lamb; spotless, perfect, and without any blemish.  And like the other lambs, He was being brought to Jerusalem for slaughter.  Clop, clop, clop.

This is the way the Savior rides.  Clop, clop, clop.  He isn’t coming to conquer armies or overthrow world leaders.  He is coming to die.  Clop, clop, clop.  He Rides to Meet His Death.  He doesn’t try turning around, running away, or fighting against it.  His mind is made up.  He is moving at a slow, but definite pace toward the sacrificial altar.  Listen to the donkey’s hoof beats:  clop, clop, clop.  He is going willingly – nothing will deter Him.  He is riding to his death.

Why?  Because the people in that crowd wanted to be entertained by his miracles.  Because they were hoping He was going to overthrow the Romans.  Because this same crowd, disappointed when Jesus didn’t do these things, would be yelling “Crucify Him!” instead of “Hosanna!” by the end of the week.  Because these people, like the whole human race, have been constantly rebelling against their fair and loving Creator.  Because you and I have not put God first in our lives as He deserves.  Because we have been selfish, greedy, and hateful.  Because we have failed to love and serve others every day.  Because we have lashed out in revenge, always wanting to repay others for their crimes against us.  Because we’re always looking for how we can get the best deal out of life, instead of looking for how we can help others.  It was because of all these things and more that Jesus was riding to meet his death.  Clop, clop, clop.  A perfect sacrifice to pay the penalty for all these sins of ours was needed, and Jesus happened to be the sacrificial Lamb God chose for you and me.  Clop, clop, clop.  This is the way our Savior rides!

And He was being cheered onward that day.  But that cheering soon stopped. Why?  One reason is because Jesus began to talk more and more about a cross. In the early part of his ministry Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God. This people wanted to hear about, especially since they misunderstood this kingdom to be a restoration of Israel to the days of King David’s glory.  But increasingly Jesus began to talk about sacrifice—even giving up your life.

One summer, in a Pee-Wee baseball game, a little boy got up to the plate, looked over to the coach, and saw him give the signal to sacrifice bunt. He then promptly proceeded to take three big swings and strike out. The coach ran up to him and said: Didn’t you see me give you the signal to sacrifice? “Yes,” the boy replied. “But I didn’t really think that you meant it.”  Isn’t that what we so often say to God?  “Yes, Lord, I heard that talk about sacrifice but I didn’t really think that you meant it.”  The cross says emphatically that He did mean it!  Onward Jesus goes.  Clop, clop, clop.  This is the way the Savior rides!  He Rides to Meet His Death.

But He also Rides to Conquer His Enemies!  There would be a victory at the end of this ride!  It wouldn’t be a victory over a superpower army.  But it would be a victory over our superpower enemies: sin, death, and the devil.  Ever since our first parents sinned, God promised that He would send a King to crush the head of our chief enemy – Satan.  And when Jesus loaded up all of your sins and mine on his back, and carried them to the cross to be separated from his Father for them, Satan was getting nervous.  Because when Jesus died and accomplished his mission, and proving it by rising again, He stomped on Satan’s head!  Crushed it!  Defeated him!  He conquered sin, death, and the devil for us!  We no longer need to fear these foes!

Jesus was a King!  We do see triumph on Palm Sunday!  The people were hailing Jesus as a King!  They lined the dirty roads with their cloaks.  This was real honor!  (Would you lay down your best leather coat under the wheels of the Prime Minister’s limo?)  Look how much honor they were giving Jesus!  And if you were Jesus, would you actually ride over those coats?  Not unless you actually were the Messiah they were hailing you as!  Jesus accepted their praise!  He knew He was their king – but not an earthly king.  Not an Alexander the Great.  A heavenly King.  One who would bring peace, not between Rome and Israel, but between God and us.  I wonder if those people knew how right they were as they sang: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  This King was coming to bring peace!  Peace between God and us, because through his suffering and death, God would forgive our sins and promise us heaven!  This is the way the Savior rides!  Clop, clop, clop.

He rides to conquer our enemies.  Palm Sunday was a triumph! A triumph of love over hate; because what was expected was war, but what mankind received was sacrifice. We cannot reach up to God so in grace God comes down to where human beings are. He is not above it all but in the midst of it all. Clop, clop, clop.  And because of our Savior’s ride, there is forever a triumph of love over hate, of life over death, of JOY over GUILT!

A number of years ago, Newsweek magazine carried the story of the memorial service held for Hubert Humphrey, former vice-president of the United States. Hundreds of people came from all over the world to say good-bye to their old friend and colleague. But one person who came was shunned and ignored by virtually everyone there. Nobody would look at him, much less speak to him. That person was former U.S. president Richard Nixon. Not long before, he had gone through the shame and infamy of Watergate. He was back in Washington for the first time since his resignation from the presidency.

Then a very special thing happened, perhaps the only thing that could have made a difference and broken the ice. President Jimmy Carter, who was in the White House at that time, came into the room. Before he was seated, he saw Nixon over against the wall, all by himself. He went over to him as though he were greeting a family member, stuck out his hand to the former president, and smiled broadly. To the surprise of everyone there, the two of them embraced each other, and Carter said, "Welcome home, Mr. President! Welcome home!"  Commenting on that, Newsweek magazine asserted, "If there was a turning point in Nixon's long ordeal in the wilderness, it was that moment and that gesture of love and compassion."

The turning point for us is Palm Sunday. It is our moment of triumph, because God decided to ignore our miserable state and act on our behalf. He chose to ignore the crowds’ version of Palm Sunday and go with His. No matter what we have done: compromised our principles, sold out to the expediency of the moment, given in to sin, God comes into our world and welcomes us home. We may not deserve to be there but He welcomes us just the same. If there ever was a turning point in our long ordeal in the wilderness, this is it!  If you listen very carefully, you just might be able to hear it:  clop, clop, clop.  This is the way the Savior rides!

The story is told of a soldier who had drawn remote duty and had written home to his wife, telling her of his seven new friends with whom he had developed a close friendship. "I am so grateful," he said, "because in this isolated and barren land a person could easily be driven to despair." When his next birthday rolled around, there was a large package in the mail from home. When he opened it, he discovered not one gift, but eight gifts. One for him and one for each of his seven friends. The soldier looked at the eight presents and, with tears rolling down his cheeks, exclaimed, "That's my wife for you! Yes sir, that's my wife!"

The wife was revealed by her actions. That was the kind of thing she would do. That's what she was like. Today, as we pause at the doorway of Holy Week, we look at the cross and we recall the whole story of pain, suffering, darkness and death. And as we gaze upon our King, arms spread wide in forgiving love, we proclaim, "That's our God for you! Yes, that's what our God is like!”  Like Alexander, Jesus died when He was 33.  But unlike Alexander, He rose to life, and this was the beginning of his kingdom, not the end!  Clop, clop, clop.  Here comes our King!  Willing to do whatever is necessary for you and me!  Clop, clop, clop.  This is the way the Savior rides!  Lowly on a donkey.  Can you hear the clop, clop, clop?  Amen.