Anytime you begin a service like we did with baptism, it makes it a special day.
But today is special, not just for our church, but throughout the Christian church, throughout the world.
Today is Palm Sunday.
Today is the Sunday when we celebrate, think about Jesus making what has become known as His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
Could I help you there, sir?
Sir, I know these things of which you speak, the triumphal entry.
May I share them?
Yes. Come on, share with us.
Thank you.
Good morning.
Shalom.
May the peace of God rest upon you this morning.
Rejoice, O daughter of Zion.
Shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem.
For your king comes to you, riding upon a donkey, upon the foal of a donkey.
Those were the words that the prophet Zechariah wrote 500 years before I saw those things that day.
Today, I want to tell you what I saw with these eyes.
The things that I heard with these ears.
And now, what I know in my heart.
You see, my name is Benjamin.
In your language, you would say Benjamin.
I am a shepherd.
I tend the flocks like my ancestors before me.
I live in a small village about six miles south of Jerusalem near Bethlehem.
I was bringing sheep to Jerusalem.
For it was the time of the Passover.
Many people came from far away.
And could not bring the sacrifice that was required.
So we sold sheep that would be for sacrifice.
They were the sheep as prescribed in the law of Moses.
They were without spot, without blemish.
And I came that day with sheep to be sold.
You see, they were normally, for a man like me, from a small village.
There were many people in Jerusalem, always.
There were about 50,000 people that lived in the city.
But now, at Passover, there were...
Who could count?
Because Moses, our great lawgiver, had said 1,400 years earlier,
He wrote that every male of Israel was to come before the Lord three times each year.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread, like now at Passover.
And then again, at the Feast of Weeks.
And the Feast of Booths.
And then he said, and he must not come empty-handed.
So the shepherds would live nearby, would bring sheep for to sell.
That's why I was there that day.
As I walked from my town up toward Jerusalem.
It was a glorious morning.
For the sun came up over the Mount of Olives.
And its rays shone down on the city.
And it gleamed like a jewel.
The walls, those huge rock walls,
almost appeared to be golden in color.
But above all, was the temple.
The center of worship for all Israel.
And I thought as I walked that way,
what a glorious sight.
What our God has done.
When I arrived at Jerusalem,
I thought, things are very different today.
People were stirring.
People going about their business.
And as I walked up those streets that wound through the city,
toward the temple where I would sell the sheep,
I noticed the Roman soldiers.
They seemed to just be everywhere.
But they were different this time.
They seemed to be very watchful.
Very alert.
And you never saw just one.
There were always two, three, four, maybe more.
And one of the things that was very obvious.
They all carried the gladius.
The gladius was that short sword
that they used for fighting very close by.
And I thought,
What?
What are they watching?
They just stood.
And their eyes moved back and forth
as they watched.
And I thought,
What are they watching for?
Are they expecting an uprising?
What?
I did not know.
But I thought,
I must be careful.
For they must know something I do not.
I moved on toward the temple.
And I saw small groups of rabbis
as they talked.
Rabbis do not smile very much on a good day.
But today,
no one smiled.
They were talking about something
that was obviously of great importance.
because their faces were hard.
Their eyes were narrow.
And they spoke quickly.
And their hands moved fast as they talked.
And I thought,
What is this they talk about?
What is this?
First,
there was the soldiers.
And now,
the rabbis.
What is happening here?
I did not know.
Even the common people
spoke in low and quiet tones.
And if a stranger approached,
they stopped talking.
As if they were being very careful
with their words.
I thought,
this is not a normal day
at Passover.
It was then
that I saw
a friend
who was talking to a man
that I did not know.
as I approached,
I heard my friend say,
Do you think he will come?
The man
with which he spoke
saw me
and stopped talking.
And he just
looked at me.
Never moved his head.
Just turned his eyes
toward me.
And then back to my friend
as if to say,
Stop talking.
My friend turned.
And saw me.
He smiled.
And said to his friend,
It's alright.
It's just Benjamin.
It's alright.
And he asked again,
Do you think he will come?
And the man said,
I do not know.
But the entire city
is looking for him.
For the rulers of the people
said,
If anyone knew
where he was,
they should tell them.
For they wanted
to kill him.
I thought,
What?
Kill him?
For what?
What had he done?
my friend,
I said,
Why would they kill him?
I said,
I hear
he has opened the eyes
of the blind
that he had caused
the deaf to hear.
He had loosed
the tongue of the dumb
and caused cripples
to walk.
Why would they kill him?
Would they kill him
for these things?
I didn't understand.
My friend said to me,
Yes,
all of these things
are true.
And just a few days ago,
in Bethany,
just beyond
the Mount of Olives,
he raised a man
from the dead
who had been dead
for four days.
and they want
to kill him too.
I thought,
What?
Kill him too?
Why?
As I thought
about these things,
there was a tension
in the air
that was
very much
like,
I thought,
like,
the string
on King David's harp
that you,
bing!
That seemed to be
the atmosphere
in Jerusalem.
It was then,
all of a sudden,
there was
movement.
And it was like
the wave
on the great sea
as the people
moved
toward the gate
that led
to
the Mount of Olives.
I wanted to see
what this was.
So I too
went
when I could
see,
I could see
a people
coming
across the top
of the hill
and down
that road
that wound
down the
Mount of Olives
toward the
Brook Kidron.
and there
were people
from Jerusalem
going up
to meet
them.
And as I
looked,
I could
hear
the words,
I could
see
some
carried palm
branches
and they
laid them
in the road.
I thought,
what is
this?
they do
that for
kings,
for people
of great
power.
What do
they do?
Some
even took
off their
garment
and laid
it in the
roadway.
I thought,
what?
God,
that you
did only,
it was a
symbol
of
submission
to the
authority
of the
one coming.
I thought,
what is
this?
And then
I heard
their voices
as they
said,
Hosanna!
Blessed
is he
who comes
in the
name of
the Lord.
Hosanna
in the
highest.
I thought,
Hosanna!
Save us
now!
What did
they say?
Do they
believe that
this is the
Messiah?
And I
watched
as they
came down,
down,
down the
Mount of
Olives.
And at
one point
they stopped
and it
appeared
that the
prophet,
riding on
the donkey,
was weeping.
I watched.
I did
not know
then
why
he wept.
I would
learn later.
The events
of that
week
in Jerusalem
moved
very
rapidly.
I did
not
understand
it all.
But
later
that week
I heard
that this
prophet
had been
arrested
by the
temple
guard.
He had
been taken
before the
Sanhedrin,
the ruling
body of
our people.
men
and because
of the
witness
of men
that had
been paid
money,
he was
condemned.
But he
was taken
to the
Roman
governor,
Pilate,
where he
was cruelly
treated
and again
falsely
accused.
and there
he was
condemned
to die
by crucifixion.
He was
crucified
between
two
thieves
and died.
when he
died,
it was
noontime
and the
sky became
as black
as midnight
and the
earth shook
as if
something
happened
that had
never happened
before
and would
never happen
again.
there was
a rumor
that three
days later
he rose
from the
dead.
I did
not know
these things
and I
returned
to my
village
and I
thought
about
what I
had seen,
what I
had heard
and I
wondered
what
is God
doing
in Jerusalem?
A few
weeks
passed
and I
was back
in Jerusalem
for the
feast of
Pentecost.
There was
another
crowd
and this
time in
the temple
there was
a crowd
gathered
and one
of the
prophet's
disciples
the one
they call
Cephas
Peter
was addressing
the crowd
and he
was explaining
to them
they had
questions
they said
they had
heard the
sound of
a great
wind
but there
was no
wind
they said
the disciples
of this
prophet
were drunk
and all
kinds of
things
and Peter
was
explaining
no
this was
simply
the
fulfillment
of another
ancient
prophecy
and with
many words
Peter
explained
that this
prophet from
Nazareth
this Jesus
was indeed
the Christ
the hope
of Israel
as I
listened
to those
words
my heart
was stirred
and I
knew
that what
he said
was true
it was
that day
that I
Benjamin
the shepherd
became a
follower
of this
man
Jesus
who is
the Messiah
but it
was also
a sad
day
for me
a great
day
but I
thought
about
Israel
God
you see
one
few weeks
earlier
when the
prophet
rode on
the donkey
and came
to Jerusalem
our
great
God
was
presenting
the Messiah
to his
people
but
he
was
just
as
Isaiah
had
said
despised
and
rejected
what a
sad
day
for
Israel
some
years
later
the
apostle
John
wrote
these
words
referring
to
Jesus
the
Messiah
he
said
he
came
to his
own
creation
think of
that
when
God
became
man
and left
the glory
that was
his
in heaven
and came
to earth
he
came
unto
his
own
creation
and his
own
people
my
people
the
nation
of
Israel
did
not
receive
him
they
rejected
him
what
sad
words
but
John
also
wrote
but
as
many
as
received
him
to
them
he
gave
the
right
the
authority
to
become
the
sons
of
God
even
to
them
that
believe
on
his
name
you
know
my
friends
our
great
God
still
today
makes
that
same
offer
to
you
and
all
heaven
awaits
your
choice
God
awaits
your
choice
what
will
you
do
with
Messiah
will
you
receive
him
as
I
and
now
adopted
into
the
family
of
God
and
am
known
of
God
ah
what
the
relationship
will
you
receive
him
or
will
you
reject
him
God
still
offers
today
would
you
pray
let's
pray
together
father
we
have
heard
this
message
of
good
news
about
why
Jesus
came
into
this
world
why
he
went
to
Jerusalem
on
that
Sunday
father
make it
clear
to
everyone
in this
room
that
you
sent
your
son
into
this
world
to
save
sinners
people
who
recognize
that
they
have
sinned
that
they
have
failed
you
that
they
do
not
have
a
relationship
with
you
lord
if
there's
anyone
in this
room
right
now
that
is
where
they
are
away
from
you
so
work
in
them
to
give
them
the
desire
to
trust
Jesus
help
them
to
understand
that
when
he
died
on
the
cross
he
actually
took
their
punishment
the
punishment
that
their
sin
deserves
help
them
to
know
that
if
they
will
call
upon
Jesus
to
save
them
that
he
will
that
you
will
forgive
them
you
will
make
them
your
child
father
we
thank
you
for
that
promise
from
your
word
that
we
just
heard
for
as
many
has
received
him
he
gave
the
right
to
become
children
of
God
even
to
them
that
believe
upon
his
name
so
father
right
now
we
pray
so
work
to
compel
that
man
or
woman
or
young
person
who
does
not
know
Christ
to
call
upon
him
to
save
them
Lord
for
many
of us
in this
room
right
now
we
are
believers
we
do
trust
Jesus
but father
help us
to think
right
now
do
other
people
see
him
in my
life
and
am
I
taking
the
opportunity
that I
have
to share
this
good
news
with
family
members
or
friends
or
classmates
or people
I work
with
or live
near
help us
father
who
have
experienced
the
life
changing
work
that you
do
when you
save
us
help us
father
to
share
that
good
news
of how
that
change
can happen
in other
people's
lives
let's
just be
still
and quiet
in an
attitude
of prayer
heads
bowed
and eyes
closed
and you
listen to
the Lord
and you
respond as
he speaks
to you
right now
I'd be
happy to
pray with
you
here at
the front
right now
you'll come
down during
these next
few minutes
as our
instrumentalists
play
and we
pray