April 9, 2017 – Palm Sunday Text: Matthew 21:12-17
Dear Friends in Christ,
The Pastor of a large family likes to tell the story of one hectic Sunday when his son couldn’t find his belt. Everyone was looking for it, no one could find it, and the Pastor was going to be late for church. Then the son, seven years old asked a simple question, “Dad, have you prayed about it?” The Pastor had been teaching the boy this lesson since he was born but did he remember to apply that lesson in a moment of frustration?
During the season of Lent, in our midweek services, we’ve been considering the ironies of the passion. Irony is an outcome that’s the opposite of what you might expect. You wouldn’t expect a child to take a minister to school on such a basic matter of faith. But that’s what the Scriptures say about children and their faith. Today is Palm Sunday. We just sang “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna.” This morning, we want to consider the incident that inspired that stirring hymn. We want to see the irony in the question Jesus’ enemies asked:
“DO YOU HEAR WHAT THESE CHILDREN ARE SAYING?”
Matthew writes in our text, “But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He did…” What does wonderful mean here? In this instance it caused the people to wonder – to be amazed. Jesus did things on this day that caused people’s mouths to hang open in surprise.
What things were so wonderful? Certainly the triumphal entry into Jerusalem caused people to sit up and wonder. But the incident in our text happened after that. It’s Monday of Holy Week. Jesus goes to the temple and what does He find? Moneychangers and merchants. But these sellers of goods were over charging to make more money and the priests were getting a cut of it. It’s like buying a hot dog at a ballgame; it costs a lot more than it does at the grocery store. People were being cheated so Jesus drives them out.
The second thing happening is “the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.” This then caused the third wonderful thing. He called forth a response of faith. Children were shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” The children were still singing the praises that had excited them the day before.
The children understood it was Messiah, the Christ. Hosanna means, “to save.” This is what the children shouted. The Holy Spirit was working and that’s not ironic because we expect God to work through His Word to change hearts and minds. The reaction of the Jewish leaders – “they were indignant.” These men who spent their days reading the Bible did not recognize the Messiah. They were angry that other people were claiming He was the Savior. We must catch the irony in this action as Matthew presents it. The most awful disorder of the buyers and sellers, the stench of cattle, the haggling and dickering were quite acceptable to these priests – there was money in it for them, but these innocent children who were voicing the praise of Jesus and giving Him the title which His great deeds demonstrated was his due, were intolerable to these men.
Children knew their Savior while the theologians didn’t. My friends, it’s no different today. People who don’t believe in Jesus think we’re just stupid or misinformed. One of the saddest realities of the Christian Church in the 21st Century is the large number of Pastors and professors who do not believe in Jesus anymore – at least not the way these children did. They don’t accept a Savior who died and rose to give us eternal life. They don’t claim God in the flesh who paid for our sins. They deny the prophecies of the Old Testament that tell of the coming Savior. Why do they refuse to see the truth?
Because they don’t want to believe it. People will believe in a past life you were Napoleon or Joan of Ark. They will believe in God talking to us through feelings. God coming down to earth to pay for our sins with his own blood so we won’t go to hell – well, not that! Why not? Because that would mean God is a judge and that there is an absolute standard of right and wrong that every person on earth must submit to or suffer the consequences. People don’t buy into that. They think right and wrong mean’s what is best for them in any situation. Eternal standards, absolute rules – people today just won’t swallow that because it would finally mean that some people are, in fact, wrong.
Simple Christians the world over see Jesus with the faith of a child. They recognize the only answer for the guilt we feel over our sin and for the hurt and sadness that sin causes in our lives is Jesus. Yes, that does mean there is absolute right and wrong. But the Christian, in childlike faith has no problem saying, “I have done wrong, I have hurt others, said things I shouldn’t.” The forgiveness we receive rode into Jerusalem to begin a week of redemption for all mankind. God has forgiven us and given us eternal life. Do you understand what these children are saying?
Jesus did. “Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise.” God ordains praise from the children’s lips. He does this through Baptism and the gospel message they hear at church. Through Lutheran elementary school and Sunday School. Through family devotions and prayer time. God reaches into these little ones hearts and fills them with joy in their Savior and confidence in His promises. So what is the problem with us as adults? We poison our faith with our reason or limit it with our assumptions. The child just believes.
Where can adults get the faith of a child? Only in one place – the gospel. The gospel in Word and Sacrament. The gospel that the Savior died and rose for us that we are forgiven. God gives us that faith and He calls forth our praise.
Do you hear what these children are saying? Join them in their song of praise!
Amen.