Today we re-enact Jesus triumphant walk into Jerusalem. as well as His arrest and final hours. Over this coming week,

Transcription

1 Today we re-enact Jesus triumphant walk into Jerusalem as well as His arrest and final hours. Over this coming week, we will be looking more closely at His final hours through Christ s Last Supper, His trial and walk to the cross, the Vigil and then the wonder of His glorious resurrection next Sunday. So today, let s take some time to understand more fully what happened as Jesus rode into Jerusalem. Few of the adults in the room will have difficulty picturing this scene. We may have made donkeys in Sunday school and pretended to ride on them like Jesus. Or we may have made construction paper palm leaves to wave as we processed into church. We may picture Jesus as humbly riding on a donkey. We will each have our own vision of Jesus triumphant ride into Jerusalem. 1

2 But let s go back to the time just before Jesus rides into Jerusalem. The events leading up to this day vary according to which Gospel we read. However, in John s Gospel, while Jesus was at supper with Mary, Martha and Lazarus, Mary breaks open a very costly jar of oil and anoints Jesus with it. This oil would cost the equivalent of a year s wages so it truly was precious. Now anointing a guest s head with oil was a sign of respect. Mary went even further and anointed the feet of Jesus. This displayed her devotion. However, there are much deeper meanings to this anointing. By using such precious oil, Mary may well have been making a statement about who she believes Jesus is. She would be proclaiming Jesus as the Anointed One, or in Greek 2

3 Christos, the Christ, the Messiah. The word Messiah alludes to the ceremony used to set someone apart as a person chosen by God, such as a priest or a king. Hebrew kings were anointed with sacred oil perfumed with extremely expensive spices. This sacred oil would have been more valuable than diamonds. The marvellous scent that it left behind acted like an invisible crown conferring an aura of holiness on its recipients. Everything and everyone with that unique scent was recognised as belonging to God in a special way. Kings would perfume their robes with this oil for special occasions. We hear about this in David s wedding song, psalm 45:7-8: Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions; your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. 3

4 And this passage about King Solomon in the Song of Songs 3:6-7: What is that coming up from the wilderness, like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the fragrant powders of the merchant? Look, it is the litter of Solomon! During a royal procession, the fragrance of expensive oils would inform the crowd that a king was passing by. Let me remind you of another scene from the Old Testament when Solomon was declared King....the priest Zadok,... went down and had Solomon ride on King David s mule, and led him to Gihon. There the priest Zadok took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, Long live King Solomon! 1 Kings 1:38,39 So, Jesus, anointed with the scents that declared him a king, rides into Jerusalem on a donkey. The people would 4

5 notice the scent of a king. They would remember Solomon, Son of David, riding through their streets on a donkey, and now they were proclaiming that Jesus was the promised Son of David whom God had sent to redeem His people. And they were shouting the declaration, Hosannah! Blessed be the king of Israel. But the significance of the scent does not end there. In the days that followed, it would linger on Jesus. As the soldiers were led by Judas to arrest Jesus, they would be aware that this man smelt like a king and they would wonder. When Jesus came before Pilate and Herod, he would have the scent of a king. When he was beaten, whipped and stripped of his clothes, the aroma of a king would surround him. What a powerful message it would have sent. 5

6 In 2 nd Corinthians we hear: But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Yes, Mary was preparing Jesus for His coming burial but she was also preparing Him for His triumphant ride into Jerusalem as King and Messiah. And it is this anointing that lasts. Although He is prepared for burial, Christ does not stay buried. He rises triumphant as our Lord, our King, our Saviour. So breathe in the breath of God and smell the sweet aroma of Christ, the aroma of a true king. 6