A Preview of Things to Come

Isaiah 52:13-15 is to Isaiah 53 what Palm Sunday is to Easter. It’s a preview; a hint at coming salvation. When you go to the movies, before the feature presentation you usually hear "and now, for a preview of coming attractions". They give you a bit of what the movie is about without giving you everything because they want you to go and see the movie when it comes out. Why is God giving us a preview of Is. 53 in Is. 52? Because He wants us to buy the Book! He wants us to be ready to fully enter into His story & the reality of what Jesus came to do. Our culture tries to sell us lots of stuff, wants us to believe many things - they they want your money. God wants to save your soul. God, because of His great love for you, out of His pure, holy, perfect motives and plans, wants you to know the truth that sets you free to serve Him. He wants you to want Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Life; the only name by which you can be saved.

What is the Significance of Palm Sunday?
I grew up going to church, and I remember as a kid that on Palm Sunday they’d give us kids palm branches to wave. That was the wrong thing to give me. You put a palm branch in my hands as a kid and I’d use it as a sword or a gun or bug someone with it. I always found something to do with it that I wasn’t supposed to. I didn’t get what Palm Sunday was all about. I knew it had to do with Jesus and the cross and the empty tomb. Everyone knew that. But in terms of real significance that mattered in my life, not so much. It was like watching someone else’s home movies. I didn’t get it; it didn’t fully register, I didn’t understand. I was in good company, Jesus’ disciples didn’t either! John 12:16.

Is. 52:13-15 reveals the significance of Palm Sunday.

It is rooted in the purpose of God. Is. 52:13-53:12 is the 4th and final Servant Song in Isaiah. [42:1-4, 49:1-6 deals with His task, 50:4-9 deals with His commitment, 52:13-53:12 deals with the completion of His task.] It begins, My Servant will act wisely, prosper – means will accomplish his purpose. Act wisely carries with it the idea of act successfully. He’ll do what He came to do. The triumphal entry into Jerusalem gets all its significance from the reason Jesus came to Jerusalem; He came to die. Mark 10:33-34, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again”. Jesus had left Jericho for the final approach to Jerusalem, 6-8 hours of uphill walking, 15 miles up a winding road, an ascent of 3000 feet through dry desert. They make the trek to Jerusalem, the center of Israel’s religious life and messianic hope. It is on a Sunday. It starts off Holy Week, or Passion Week (passion coming from the Latin passio meaning “suffering”). Jesus came to Jerusalem to pay our ransom. God’s Word explains to us why we need a ransom, why it had to be Jesus the Son of God, His life and death demonstrating the righteousness of God, setting us free from bondage to the guilt and power of sin through the Spirit.

It’s based on the character of God. There was an implied promise when Jesus rode into town that day that He would accomplish what was spoken of Him. The assurance of the fulfillment of that promise lies in the character of God. Behold brings to a conclusion the revealing of the Servant begun in 42:1. He is the answer, the awaited explanation of the predicted salvation and its related blessings. 52:6 God promised to act on behalf of His people in a way where He was personally present, followed by His personal coming to Zion 52:8 and Him baring His arm of salvation 52:10. It is in the Servant God fulfills the promises. There is a 3-fold exaltation of the Servant in Isaiah 52:13. He will be high and lifted up Used in combo 4x in Is. And nowhere else in OT – each time of God. The faithful One will be exalted Phil. 2:5-11. He is greater than all the earth’s great ones with whom He is brought into contact kings 52:15, the strong 53:12. He is God. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem God was keeping His Word. He said in Zech. 9:9 that Israel’s King would come humbly riding on a donkey. We believe it & receive it because of who we know God to be from His Word and from our own lives, how we have experienced Him being true to His Word. We count on Him. We listen when He speaks because He is good. When He promises we believe because He is trustworthy. He always comes through. Always delivers. Always Sovereign, holy, righteous, loving, kind, unchangeable.

It is for the glory of God. The 3-fold exaltation of the Servant in Isaiah 52:13 is followed by a huge contrast in Isaiah 52:14-15. People are repulsed by Jesus due to His suffering which consumed His humanity. People will find that due to His suffering the Servant has brought their greatest good; their highest benefit. The suffering has world-wide ramifications, Many nations will be affected. They will see and understand Is. 6:10 deaf and blind will believe. It points to the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Since the beginning of time God had planned it and it was almost time. This salvation He purposed would result in God being glorified. The nations will be in awe because they have never before heard of a deliverer who would stoop to such a low position in order to deliver them. And as a result they will glorify Him.

What is the Response to Palm Sunday?

Praise to God. Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord. In Luke 19:37-38, we see that Christ’s followers worshipped Him on account of the mighty works they had seen. If they hadn’t the rocks would have! We are in awe as well. Read Eph. 1:3-10. What else can we do in the presence of God? We were made to worship God.

Reliance on God. They cried Hosanna, Save now! Connected to Ps. 113-118 sung during Passover season, expresses hope of Israel for the Messiah. Linked with Hosanna, Son of David points to Jesus as the promised One. The crowd acknowledges Jesus fulfilling Zech. 9:9. It was obvious they were treating Him like the King. Throwing clothes in the path of he king to walk on was a symbol of submission. Palms symbolized victory. They were saying, we need you Jesus! That is what I need to say every day. God wants us to fully rely on Him.

Misunderstanding God. Many did not understand. In Matt. 21:10-11 the crowds were stirred; some did not know who Jesus was, asked who is this? The crowds said this is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth. They may have been throwing Him under the bus – this is the one who has caused such a ruckus. Others cried out Hosanna in hope of Him bringing political liberation, as former kings had done. In Luke 19:39 Pharisees told Jesus to make His disciples stop praising Him. They did not understand. Highlights man's universal inability and unwillingness to come to God. Some receive Him, some reject Him.

As we see Jesus ride into Jerusalem on a donkey and allow the people to praise Him as king, there are many things we learn. But there is one aspect as it deals with Passover that needs to be pointed out. Passover was only 4 days away which made the day of the Triumphal Entry the 10th day of the month. We see the significance when we read Ex. 12:3, 5-6. As Jesus was riding in and the people were crying Hosanna in the highest, they didn’t realize it but they were selecting the Passover lamb for sacrifice; the only sacrifice that can take away sin & cause death to pass over us.

Soli Deo Gloria