In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed people of God,

This is a special day for many reasons. It is Palm Sunday. It is the day of a baptismal affirmation. It is confirmation day. It is exactly one week before Easter Sunday. On this special day, I encourage you to...

What a happy day that first Palm Sunday was! Jesus, our Savior and King, was riding into Jerusalem. Here, within the space of only one week, our Savior would pay for all of our sins and win the victory for us.

We read... {37} When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen... There were more than 12 disciples there. We know this because it says that there was a “whole crowd of disciples.” They were praising God “in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen.” They expressed their faith in public, with loud voices. Many of these people had seen Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead (Jn12:17f.). Jesus had done many miracles, and these people had seen plenty of them.

So, the people joyfully praised God, saying: {38} "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord." These words come from Psalm 118. They were saying: Jesus is the Messiah – the long-promised Savior. They were praising Jesus as the King who was sent by God.

But we read next, {39} Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” The Pharisees regarded the people’s praise as blasphemy! They did not want people to say that Jesus was the Messiah, the long promised Savior. They wanted Jesus to correct the people, to stop them from praising him as the Messiah, the King.

But Jesus wasn’t going to do that. {40} "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." This was the day our Savior would be praised. There would not be much praise for the rest of this week. But on this day, our Savior would be praised. And if these disciples didn’t do it, the very stones would cry out! This is another little reminder that Jesus is true God in the flesh.

There are times when worship is rather solemn. This Thursday and Friday will be examples of that. There are times when worship carries a joyful tone. Palm Sunday is one of those days. Next Sunday, Easter Sunday, will really be one of those days. On this Palm Sunday, it was God’s will that Jesus would be praised as the Messiah and that was going to happen, even if the stones had to do it. So, the people joyfully praised their Savior. And Jesus made no attempt to stop them or correct them at all.

There would be plenty of agony and suffering for Jesus in coming days. Jesus had plainly revealed to his disciples what would happen. He had said: "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. {32} He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. {33} On the third day he will rise again."

Knowing this clearly, Jesus nevertheless kept moving forward to the cross as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He had lived a perfect life. He was now on the road to the cross, where he would offer the one sacrifice for sin. He would die in our place, and save us from sin.

Join us this week to hear what Jesus did to win peace with God. Join us to remember what it cost Jesus to win free forgiveness of sin for all of us. Because he traveled the way of sorrows, through Gethsemane, Golgotha, and the empty tomb, whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life! But, on this day, let us praise Jesus. It is God’s will that we do this. If our hearts are too hard, God can even make the stones cry out in praise. May that never be necessary. JOYFULLY PRAISE YOUR SAVIOR – THIS PALM SUNDAY... and also...

We have been teaching God’s word to these teens for a long time. Today, they are ready to confess their faith in Jesus. Today, they are ready to promise that they will remain faithful to their Savior. Joyfully praise your Savior by confessing your faith in him. Joyfully praise your Savior by promising to continue to follow him by hearing his Word and receiving the Sacrament often. Maybe some of you can remember your Confirmation Day. Remember when you stood up here (or in some other Lutheran church) and confessed your faith, and promised to remain faithful to Jesus?

Well, take another good look at our Scripture lesson here. There were many disciples who were confessing loyalty to Jesus on that day. There were many who had seen the miracles, and had heard the teaching, and they wanted to be disciples of Jesus. There they all were. But, where were they only five days later? Where were they one week later?

They were praising Jesus on that Palm Sunday. They were saying, “Jesus, you are the Messiah. You are our King. We will follow You!” But then what happened? By Good Friday, how many of these same people were in that crowd that said, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”? And, you might say, “Well, some of them were just ‘fair-weather’ disciples.” And perhaps you are right. But what about the 12? What about Judas and Peter? Weren’t they there too? Weren’t they praising Jesus too, and doing it up close and personal? Then what happened?

Judas turned away from Jesus to make some money. But then he forfeited his soul. Peter denied Jesus three times. Why? Because he was afraid. Because it was no longer comfortable or convenient. And yet, Jesus had warned each of them specifically. He warned Judas. He warned Peter. And they both fell, miserably.

And, are we any different? On Palm Sunday, we join in the procession, praising Jesus loudly. But, where will you be the Sunday after Easter? And, I ask you confirmands to consider this day, where will you be in a month, in a year, in ten years, in forty years? Will you still be faithful then? Or will your words ring hollow, and will you fade away and fall away as so many others. May God keep us all from falling away. If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!

Ah, but remember where Jesus was going. He was going to the cross to pay for the sins of all people. He died for Judas, but Judas rejected that payment. He died for Peter, and Peter found forgiveness. He died for you. He died for me. He died for all, to pay for all sin. Believe in him, and you have forgiveness. Never forget why Jesus was riding into Jerusalem. He was going there to pay for our sins, because we have not always been faithful, perfect disciples. So then, JOYFULLY PRAISE YOUR SAVIOR! THIS PALM SUNDAY... THIS CONFIRMATION DAY...

We have so many reasons to joyfully praise our Savior. We praise him for saving us from sin. We praise him for giving us heaven as a free gift. We praise him for blessing us in so many ways. And we could go on and on, and today, we joyfully praise our Savior. But what about tomorrow? What about two weeks from today? What about a year from now? What about when you grow up? Dear believers, joyfully praise your Savior all through life! Praise him by the way that you obey his commands. Praise him by the way that you gather often for worship, to hear the Word and receive the Lord’s Supper. Praise him by the way that you serve Christ and serve others. Praise him by your stewardship of time and talent and treasure. Praise him by the way that you live your life every single day, not just here at church, but the way that you live each day as a student or an employee, as a parent or a child, as a neighbor or a friend. Praise him all through life.

2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 15 says, “He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” Let those words really sink in to your minds and influence the rest of your lives. Jesus died for all, that those who live (by faith in him) should not live selfish lives, but lives that are dedicated to our Savior, who died for us and was raised again.

I invite you to join us! Join us as we joyfully praise our Savior all through life. Amen.