The One Who is Marvelous in Our Eyes (Palm Sunday)

Jerusalem was buzzing. Crowds were arriving for the annual festival of Passover. But this year was different. Excitement, controversy, and triumph were in the air. Jesus from Nazareth was making headlines! Teaching controversial things, calling out the Jewish leaders, doing signs and wonders! The latest rumor was that He had raised this guy, Lazarus, from the dead! Word on the street was that He was on His way to Jerusalem! That would make things spicy! If He really was who He claimed to be, and He comes in the Name of the Lord, and He really can do things like raise the dead, perhaps He is the King who was promised! Crowds were gathering at the city gate like they would for a parade of a king returning triumphant from war. But there were no firetrucks, marching bands, or floats. Just a man on a donkey followed by His disciples. And the crowd went nuts: cheering, waving palm branches, taking the shirts off their backs and laying them before Jesus.

Palm Sunday is Psalm 118 come to life: (19) “Open to me the gates of righteousness!” and Jesus enters through gates of Jerusalem; (22) “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” and Pharisees watch from afar, scheming; the crowd even quotes Psalm 118:25 “Hosanna! Save us!” “Hosanna” means “save us” and the crowds cry out to the one who’s name means “Savior”. Jesus arrives to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to act in power and mercy, and as Psalm 118:23 says, “This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.”

What’s so marvelous about Palm Sunday? It’s what Jesus comes to do. We want the world to be better, we want our lives to be better, and we feel guilty when we do wrong. But despite us doing everything in our power to make things better, we are utterly incapable of achieving it. Every other religion is about you becoming a better person to achieve salvation. But Psalm 118 prays something marvelous: “Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD.” The primary function of a gate is to open to provide entry. The gate of righteousness is the way someone who is not righteous enters into righteousness. Righteousness is when things are right, when things are what they should be, when we are who we should be, when we do the things we should do. Jesus comes to work the miracle of making all things righteous. On Palm Sunday we cry, “Hosanna, Save us!” Jesus comes in the Name of the Lord to make us righteous, and it is marvelous in our eyes!

How does Jesus make us righteous? Psalm 118:22 says, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” In construction, the cornerstone is the focal point for the building: every wall, window, and door aligns to the cornerstone. The blueprint starts with the cornerstone and the plans are drawn in relation to its precise placement, ensuring the entire structure stands true and according to design. Jesus is the cornerstone of the gate of righteousness. The fullness of God’s plan of creation and redemption begin and end and converge on Jesus. All things are from Jesus, for Jesus, find their end and purpose in Jesus, and all things hold together in Jesus. He is the Cornerstone. Ironically, the builders, the Pharisees and teachers, reject the One they should have been pointing to. And paradoxically, their rejection makes Jesus the Cornerstone. His rejection was the plan all along. His rejection makes you righteous. Jesus’ greatest act, the whole plan of salvation, the redemption of the cosmos, on which all things depend, was his rejection on the cross. Jesus comes to be rejected. He marches into Jerusalem to be rejected. And the Father raises Him from the dead as the Chief Cornerstone. On Palm Sunday we cry, “Hosanna, Save us!” Jesus comes in the Name of the Lord, the Cornerstone of our salvation, and it is marvelous in our eyes!

And when does that salvation happen? Your salvation doesn’t happen behind the scenes, but in the open for all to see. Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” God created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th, but this day, on this day He does His greatest work. And Palm Sunday means the day has come: the day when the gate of righteousness opens, the day when the Cornerstone is rejected, the day when the Son of God hangs on the cross, the day when that same Jesus rises from the dead, the day that expands into eternity. All days are of the Lord’s making, but this day is His Magnum Opus, His greatest work. But Jesus rides into Jerusalem not to show off His power but to show you His powerful mercy. This day means that you no longer strive for righteousness or wonder if you’re saved! Jesus completes your salvation where you can see it and be confident in it: the crowds witnessed Jesus march into Jerusalem; the people saw Jesus’ lifeless body on the cross; over 500 people saw Jesus risen from the dead; you get to read the Word of the apostles handed down to you; you were baptized into Jesus because He commanded the Church to do that for you; you take and eat and take and drink of the same Body and Blood that was on the cross. On Palm Sunday we cry, “Hosanna, Save us!” Jesus comes in the Name of the Lord and this is the day the Lord has made, and it is marvelous in our eyes!

But it’s only Palm Sunday; Jesus hasn’t broken bread, washed feat, been betrayed, arrested, beaten, crucified, buried, or risen from the dead yet. On Palm Sunday, Jesus simply enters Jerusalem. But it’s a triumphant entry because it is Jesus, who marches through those gates; Jesus, the One who comes in the Name of the Lord; Jesus, the One who’s very name means “saves”; Jesus, the One who is marvelous in our eyes. Jesus marches to Jerusalem and Psalm 118 bursts into life: Jesus opens righteousness to us, He is rejected for us, and He arrives this day to save us. “This is the LORD’s doing; and it is marvelous in our eyes.”