Scripture referenced 13 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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John 12 primary text for Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry
1 Then six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
2 So they made him a supper there. Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him.
3 Mary, therefore, took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.
4 Then Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, one of his disciples, who would betray him, said,
5 “Why wasn’t this ointment sold for three hundred denarii, and given to the poor?”
6 Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and having the money box, used to steal what was put into it.
7 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial.
8 For you always have the poor with you, but you don’t always have me.”
9 A large crowd therefore of the Jews learned that he was there, and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.
10 But the chief priests conspired to put Lazarus to death also,
11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.
12 On the next day a great multitude had come to the feast. When they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
13 they took the branches of the palm trees, and went out to meet him, and cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!”
14 Jesus, having found a young donkey, sat on it. As it is written,
15 “Don’t be afraid, daughter of Zion. Behold, your King comes, sitting on a donkey’s colt.”
16 His disciples didn’t understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about him, and that they had done these things to him.
17 The multitude therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, was testifying about it.
18 For this cause also the multitude went and met him, because they heard that he had done this sign.
19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “See how you accomplish nothing. Behold, the world has gone after him.”
20 Now there were certain Greeks among those that went up to worship at the feast.
21 These, therefore, came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”
22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn, Andrew came with Philip, and they told Jesus.
23 Jesus answered them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
24 Most certainly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.
25 He who loves his life will lose it. He who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life.
26 If anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, there will my servant also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
27 “Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this time?’ But for this cause I came to this time.
28 Father, glorify your name!” Then there came a voice out of the sky, saying, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
29 The multitude therefore, who stood by and heard it, said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
30 Jesus answered, “This voice hasn’t come for my sake, but for your sakes.
31 Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out.
32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
33 But he said this, signifying by what kind of death he should die.
34 The multitude answered him, “We have heard out of the law that the Christ remains forever. How do you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up?’ Who is this Son of Man?”
35 Jesus therefore said to them, “Yet a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, that darkness doesn’t overtake you. He who walks in the darkness doesn’t know where he is going.
36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become children of light.” Jesus said these things, and he departed and hid himself from them.
37 But though he had done so many signs before them, yet they didn’t believe in him,
38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, “Lord, who has believed our report? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 For this cause they couldn’t believe, for Isaiah said again,
40 “He has blinded their eyes and he hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and would turn, and I would heal them.”
41 Isaiah said these things when he saw his glory, and spoke of him.
42 Nevertheless even of the rulers many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they didn’t confess it, so that they wouldn’t be put out of the synagogue,
43 for they loved men’s praise more than God’s praise.
44 Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me, but in him who sent me.
45 He who sees me sees him who sent me.
46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in the darkness.
47 If anyone listens to my sayings, and doesn’t believe, I don’t judge him. For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
48 He who rejects me, and doesn’t receive my sayings, has one who judges him. The word that I spoke, the same will judge him in the last day.
49 For I spoke not from myself, but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
50 I know that his commandment is eternal life. The things therefore which I speak, even as the Father has said to me, so I speak.”
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Keep this verse
Psalm 118
source of the Hosanna cry, a psalm of ascent sung going up to Jerusalem for Passover
1 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
2 Let Israel now say that his loving kindness endures forever.
3 Let the house of Aaron now say that his loving kindness endures forever.
4 Now let those who fear Yahweh say that his loving kindness endures forever.
5 Out of my distress, I called on Yah. Yah answered me with freedom.
6 Yahweh is on my side. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
7 Yahweh is on my side among those who help me. Therefore I will look in triumph at those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in Yahweh, than to put confidence in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in Yahweh, than to put confidence in princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me, but in Yahweh’s name, I cut them off.
11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me. In Yahweh’s name I indeed cut them off.
12 They surrounded me like bees. They are quenched like the burning thorns. In Yahweh’s name I cut them off.
13 You pushed me back hard, to make me fall, but Yahweh helped me.
14 Yah is my strength and song. He has become my salvation.
15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous. “The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly.
16 The right hand of Yahweh is exalted! The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly!”
17 I will not die, but live, and declare Yah’s works.
18 Yah has punished me severely, but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness. I will enter into them. I will give thanks to Yah.
20 This is the gate of Yahweh; the righteous will enter into it.
21 I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me, and have become my salvation.
22 The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
23 This is Yahweh’s doing. It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that Yahweh has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it!
25 Save us now, we beg you, Yahweh! Yahweh, we beg you, send prosperity now.
26 Blessed is he who comes in Yahweh’s name! We have blessed you out of Yahweh’s house.
27 Yahweh is God, and he has given us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords, even to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you. You are my God, I will exalt you.
29 Oh give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
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Zechariah 9:9
prophecy of the king coming humble and mounted on a donkey, quoted in John
9 Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you! He is righteous, and having salvation; lowly, and riding on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
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Amos 3:3
can two walk together unless they be agreed, used in the context of walking with God
3 Do two walk together, unless they have agreed?
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1 Kings 1
Solomon's coronation on David's mule, compared to Jesus riding a donkey
1 Now king David was old and advanced in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he couldn’t keep warm.
2 Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young virgin be sought for my lord the king. Let her stand before the king, and cherish him; and let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may keep warm.”
3 So they sought for a beautiful young lady throughout all the borders of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
4 The young lady was very beautiful; and she cherished the king, and served him; but the king didn’t know her intimately.
5 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” Then he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
6 His father had not displeased him at any time in saying, “Why have you done so?” and he was also a very handsome man; and he was born after Absalom.
7 He conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest; and they followed Adonijah and helped him.
8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.
9 Adonijah killed sheep, cattle, and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En Rogel; and he called all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants;
10 but he didn’t call Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother.
11 Then Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Haven’t you heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith reigns, and David our lord doesn’t know it?
12 Now therefore come, please let me give you counsel, that you may save your own life, and your son Solomon’s life.
13 Go in to king David, and tell him, ‘Didn’t you, my lord, king, swear to your servant, saying, “Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne?” Why then does Adonijah reign?’
14 Behold, while you are still talking there with the king, I will also come in after you and confirm your words.”
15 Bathsheba went in to the king in his room. The king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.
16 Bathsheba bowed, and showed respect to the king. The king said, “What would you like?”
17 She said to him, “My lord, you swore by Yahweh your God to your servant, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’
18 Now, behold, Adonijah reigns; and you, my lord the king, don’t know it.
19 He has slain cattle and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has called all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the army; but he hasn’t called Solomon your servant.
20 You, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
21 Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be considered criminals.”
22 Behold, while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in.
23 They told the king, saying, “Behold, Nathan the prophet!” When he had come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.
24 Nathan said, “My lord, king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne?’
25 For he has gone down today, and has slain cattle, fatlings, and sheep in abundance, and has called all the king’s sons, the captains of the army, and Abiathar the priest. Behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and saying, ‘Long live king Adonijah!’
26 But he hasn’t called me, even me your servant, Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon.
27 Was this thing done by my lord the king, and you haven’t shown to your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”
28 Then king David answered, “Call Bathsheba in to me.” She came into the king’s presence and stood before the king.
29 The king swore, and said, “As Yahweh lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all adversity,
30 most certainly as I swore to you by Yahweh, the God of Israel, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place;’ I will most certainly do this today.”
31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and showed respect to the king, and said, “Let my lord king David live forever!”
32 King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” They came before the king.
33 The king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon.
34 Let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel. Blow the trumpet, and say, ‘Long live king Solomon!’
35 Then come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne; for he shall be king in my place. I have appointed him to be prince over Israel and over Judah.”
36 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, “Amen. May Yahweh, the God of my lord the king, say so.
37 As Yahweh has been with my lord the king, even so may he be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.”
38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on king David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon.
39 Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the Tent, and anointed Solomon. They blew the trumpet; and all the people said, “Long live king Solomon!”
40 All the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth shook with their sound.
41 Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they had finished eating. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “Why is this noise of the city being in an uproar?”
42 While he yet spoke, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came; and…
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Judges 5:10
reference to riding on white donkeys, connected to Jesus riding a white donkey
10 “Speak, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets, and you who walk by the way.
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Luke 19
Jesus weeping over Jerusalem as he came over the ridge before the triumphal entry
1 He entered and was passing through Jericho.
2 There was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.
3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, and couldn’t because of the crowd, because he was short.
4 He ran on ahead, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was going to pass that way.
5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”
6 He hurried, came down, and received him joyfully.
7 When they saw it, they all murmured, saying, “He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a sinner.”
8 Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham.
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”
11 As they heard these things, he went on and told a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that God’s Kingdom would be revealed immediately.
12 He said therefore, “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
13 He called ten servants of his, and gave them ten mina coins, and told them, ‘Conduct business until I come.’
14 But his citizens hated him, and sent an envoy after him, saying, ‘We don’t want this man to reign over us.’
15 “When he had come back again, having received the kingdom, he commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by conducting business.
16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten more minas.’
17 “He said to him, ‘Well done, you good servant! Because you were found faithful with very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’
18 “The second came, saying, ‘Your mina, Lord, has made five minas.’
19 “So he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’
20 Another came, saying, ‘Lord, behold, your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief,
21 for I feared you, because you are an exacting man. You take up that which you didn’t lay down, and reap that which you didn’t sow.’
22 “He said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth will I judge you, you wicked servant! You knew that I am an exacting man, taking up that which I didn’t lay down, and reaping that which I didn’t sow.
23 Then why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank, and at my coming, I might have earned interest on it?’
24 He said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina away from him, and give it to him who has the ten minas.’
25 “They said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’
26 ‘For I tell you that to everyone who has, will more be given; but from him who doesn’t have, even that which he has will be taken away from him.
27 But bring those enemies of mine who didn’t want me to reign over them here, and kill them before me.’”
28 Having said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29 When he came near to Bethsphage and Bethany, at the mountain that is called Olivet, he sent two of his disciples,
30 saying, “Go your way into the village on the other side, in which, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, which no man had ever sat upon. Untie it, and bring it.
31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say to him: ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32 Those who were sent went away, and found things just as he had told them.
33 As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They said, “The Lord needs it.”
35 They brought it to Jesus. They threw their cloaks on the colt, and set Jesus on them.
36 As he went, they spread their cloaks on the road.
37 As he was now getting near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen,
38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees from the multitude said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 He answered them, “I tell you that if these were silent, the stones would cry out.”
41 When he came near, he saw the city and wept over it,
42 saying, “If you, even you, had known today the things which belong to your peace! But now, they are hidden from your eyes.
43 For the days will come on you, when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, surround you, hem you in on every side,
44 and will dash you and your children within you to the ground. They will not leave in you one stone on another, because you didn’t know the time of your visitation.”
45 He entered into the temple, and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it,
46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of robbers’!”
47 He was teaching daily in the temple, but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people sought to destroy him.
48 They couldn’t find what they might do, for all the people hung on to every word that he said.
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John 19
Pilate scourging Jesus, the crown of thorns, crucify him cries, and Pilate declaring Jesus innocent seven times
1 So Pilate then took Jesus, and flogged him.
2 The soldiers twisted thorns into a crown, and put it on his head, and dressed him in a purple garment.
3 They kept saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and they kept slapping him.
4 Then Pilate went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I bring him out to you, that you may know that I find no basis for a charge against him.”
5 Jesus therefore came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment. Pilate said to them, “Behold, the man!”
6 When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him, they shouted, saying, “Crucify! Crucify!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves, and crucify him, for I find no basis for a charge against him.”
7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.”
8 When therefore Pilate heard this saying, he was more afraid.
9 He entered into the Praetorium again, and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer.
10 Pilate therefore said to him, “Aren’t you speaking to me? Don’t you know that I have power to release you, and have power to crucify you?”
11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power at all against me, unless it were given to you from above. Therefore he who delivered me to you has greater sin.”
12 At this, Pilate was seeking to release him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you release this man, you aren’t Caesar’s friend! Everyone who makes himself a king speaks against Caesar!”
13 When Pilate therefore heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called “The Pavement”, but in Hebrew, “Gabbatha.”
14 Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, at about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!”
15 They cried out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”
16 So then he delivered him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led him away.
17 He went out, bearing his cross, to the place called “The Place of a Skull”, which is called in Hebrew, “Golgotha”,
18 where they crucified him, and with him two others, on either side one, and Jesus in the middle.
19 Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross. There was written, “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
20 Therefore many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.
21 The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘he said, “I am King of the Jews.”’”
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also the coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.
24 Then they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to decide whose it will be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which says, “They parted my garments among them. For my cloak they cast lots.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.
25 But there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 Therefore when Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!”
27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour, the disciple took her to his own home.
28 After this, Jesus, seeing that all things were now finished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I am thirsty.”
29 Now a vessel full of vinegar was set there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop, and held it at his mouth.
30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished.” He bowed his head, and gave up his spirit.
31 Therefore the Jews, because it was the Preparation Day, so that the bodies wouldn’t remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a special one), asked of Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
32 Therefore the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who was crucified with him;
33 but when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was already dead, they didn’t break his legs.
34 However one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
35 He who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, that you may believe.
36 For these things happened, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, “A bone of him will not be broken.”
37 Again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they pierced.”
38 After these things, Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked of Pilate that he might take away Jesus’ body. Pilate gave him permission. He came therefore and took away his body.
39 Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred Roman pounds.
40 So they took Jesus’ body, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.
41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden. In the garden was a new tomb in which no man had ever yet been laid.
42 Then because of the Jews’ Preparation Day (for the tomb was near at hand) they laid Jesus there.
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Psalm 136
the greater Hallel, read responsively as a closing meditation on the steadfast love of the Lord
1 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good; for his loving kindness endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods; for his loving kindness endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords; for his loving kindness endures forever:
4 To him who alone does great wonders; for his loving kindness endures forever:
5 To him who by understanding made the heavens; for his loving kindness endures forever:
6 To him who spread out the earth above the waters; for his loving kindness endures forever:
7 To him who made the great lights; for his loving kindness endures forever:
8 The sun to rule by day; for his loving kindness endures forever;
9 The moon and stars to rule by night; for his loving kindness endures forever:
10 To him who struck down the Egyptian firstborn; for his loving kindness endures forever;
11 And brought out Israel from among them; for his loving kindness endures forever;
12 With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm; for his loving kindness endures forever:
13 To him who divided the Red Sea apart; for his loving kindness endures forever;
14 And made Israel to pass through the middle of it; for his loving kindness endures forever;
15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea; for his loving kindness endures forever:
16 To him who led his people through the wilderness; for his loving kindness endures forever:
17 To him who struck great kings; for his loving kindness endures forever;
18 And killed mighty kings; for his loving kindness endures forever:
19 Sihon king of the Amorites; for his loving kindness endures forever;
20 Og king of Bashan; for his loving kindness endures forever;
21 And gave their land as an inheritance; for his loving kindness endures forever;
22 Even a heritage to Israel his servant; for his loving kindness endures forever:
23 Who remembered us in our low estate; for his loving kindness endures forever;
24 And has delivered us from our adversaries; for his loving kindness endures forever:
25 Who gives food to every creature; for his loving kindness endures forever.
26 Oh give thanks to the God of heaven; for his loving kindness endures forever.
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Psalm 106
begins with the same verse as Psalm 136 about the steadfast love of the Lord
1 Praise Yahweh! Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
2 Who can utter the mighty acts of Yahweh, or fully declare all his praise?
3 Blessed are those who keep justice. Blessed is one who does what is right at all times.
4 Remember me, Yahweh, with the favor that you show to your people. Visit me with your salvation,
5 that I may see the prosperity of your chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance.
6 We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly.
7 Our fathers didn’t understand your wonders in Egypt. They didn’t remember the multitude of your loving kindnesses, but were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea.
8 Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power known.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up; so he led them through the depths, as through a desert.
10 He saved them from the hand of him who hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11 The waters covered their adversaries. There was not one of them left.
12 Then they believed his words. They sang his praise.
13 They soon forgot his works. They didn’t wait for his counsel,
14 but gave in to craving in the desert, and tested God in the wasteland.
15 He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.
16 They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron, Yahweh’s saint.
17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.
18 A fire was kindled in their company. The flame burned up the wicked.
19 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped a molten image.
20 Thus they exchanged their glory for an image of a bull that eats grass.
21 They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,
22 Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome things by the Red Sea.
23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had Moses, his chosen, not stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, so that he wouldn’t destroy them.
24 Yes, they despised the pleasant land. They didn’t believe his word,
25 but murmured in their tents, and didn’t listen to Yahweh’s voice.
26 Therefore he swore to them that he would overthrow them in the wilderness,
27 that he would overthrow their offspring among the nations, and scatter them in the lands.
28 They joined themselves also to Baal Peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their deeds. The plague broke in on them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up, and executed judgment, so the plague was stopped.
31 That was credited to him for righteousness, for all generations to come.
32 They angered him also at the waters of Meribah, so that Moses was troubled for their sakes;
33 because they were rebellious against his spirit, he spoke rashly with his lips.
34 They didn’t destroy the peoples, as Yahweh commanded them,
35 but mixed themselves with the nations, and learned their works.
36 They served their idols, which became a snare to them.
37 Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
38 They shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan. The land was polluted with blood.
39 Thus were they defiled with their works, and prostituted themselves in their deeds.
40 Therefore Yahweh burned with anger against his people. He abhorred his inheritance.
41 He gave them into the hand of the nations. Those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies also oppressed them. They were brought into subjection under their hand.
43 He rescued them many times, but they were rebellious in their counsel, and were brought low in their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless he regarded their distress, when he heard their cry.
45 He remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses.
46 He made them also to be pitied by all those who carried them captive.
47 Save us, Yahweh, our God, gather us from among the nations, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise!
48 Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting! Let all the people say, “Amen.” Praise Yah!
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Psalm 107
begins with the same verse as Psalm 136 about the steadfast love of the Lord
1 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed by Yahweh say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary,
3 And gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way. They found no city to live in.
5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
6 Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses,
7 he led them also by a straight way, that they might go to a city to live in.
8 Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
9 For he satisfies the longing soul. He fills the hungry soul with good.
10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron,
11 because they rebelled against the words of God, and condemned the counsel of the Most High.
12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labor. They fell down, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke away their chains.
15 Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
16 For he has broken the gates of brass, and cut through bars of iron.
17 Fools are afflicted because of their disobedience, and because of their iniquities.
18 Their soul abhors all kinds of food. They draw near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble, he saves them out of their distresses.
20 He sends his word, and heals them, and delivers them from their graves.
21 Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
22 Let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his deeds with singing.
23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business in great waters;
24 These see Yahweh’s deeds, and his wonders in the deep.
25 For he commands, and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up its waves.
26 They mount up to the sky; they go down again to the depths. Their soul melts away because of trouble.
27 They reel back and forth, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble, and he brings them out of their distress.
29 He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still.
30 Then they are glad because it is calm, so he brings them to their desired haven.
31 Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds for the children of men!
32 Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people, and praise him in the seat of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into a desert, water springs into a thirsty ground,
34 and a fruitful land into a salt waste, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
35 He turns a desert into a pool of water, and a dry land into water springs.
36 There he makes the hungry live, that they may prepare a city to live in,
37 sow fields, plant vineyards, and reap the fruits of increase.
38 He blesses them also, so that they are multiplied greatly. He doesn’t allow their livestock to decrease.
39 Again, they are diminished and bowed down through oppression, trouble, and sorrow.
40 He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in a trackless waste.
41 Yet he lifts the needy out of their affliction, and increases their families like a flock.
42 The upright will see it, and be glad. All the wicked will shut their mouths.
43 Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things. They will consider the loving kindnesses of Yahweh.
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Joshua 2
Rahab the harlot's speech about hearing of the Red Sea and the defeat of Sihon and Og
1 Joshua the son of Nun secretly sent two men out of Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, including Jericho.” They went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and slept there.
2 The king of Jericho was told, “Behold, men of the children of Israel came in here tonight to spy out the land.”
3 Jericho’s king sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered into your house; for they have come to spy out all the land.”
4 The woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I didn’t know where they came from.
5 About the time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, the men went out. Where the men went, I don’t know. Pursue them quickly. You may catch up with them.”
6 But she had brought them up to the roof, and hidden them under the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof.
7 The men pursued them along the way to the fords of the Jordan River. As soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.
8 Before they had lain down, she came up to them on the roof.
9 She said to the men, “I know that Yahweh has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.
10 For we have heard how Yahweh dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
11 As soon as we had heard it, our hearts melted, and there wasn’t any more spirit in any man, because of you: for Yahweh your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath.
12 Now therefore, please swear to me by Yahweh, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a true sign;
13 and that you will save alive my father, my mother, my brothers, and my sisters, and all that they have, and will deliver our lives from death.”
14 The men said to her, “Our life for yours, if you don’t talk about this business of ours; and it shall be, when Yahweh gives us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.”
15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window; for her house was on the side of the wall, and she lived on the wall.
16 She said to them, “Go to the mountain, lest the pursuers find you. Hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward, you may go your way.”
17 The men said to her, “We will be guiltless of this your oath which you’ve made us to swear.
18 Behold, when we come into the land, tie this line of scarlet thread in the window which you used to let us down. Gather to yourself into the house your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household.
19 It shall be that whoever goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood will be on his head, and we will be guiltless. Whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand is on him.
20 But if you talk about this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless of your oath which you’ve made us to swear.”
21 She said, “Let it be as you have said.” She sent them away, and they departed. Then she tied the scarlet line in the window.
22 They went, and came to the mountain, and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had returned. The pursuers sought them all along the way, but didn’t find them.
23 Then the two men returned, descended from the mountain, crossed the river, and came to Joshua the son of Nun. They told him all that had happened to them.
24 They said to Joshua, “Truly Yahweh has delivered all the land into our hands. Moreover, all the inhabitants of the land melt away before us.”
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1 John 4:16
closing benediction, God is love, whoever lives in love lives in God
16 We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Palm Sunday lands differently when you sit with the whole week instead of just the parade. Pastor Carl worked through what the crowd was really shouting, what they expected, and how quickly that crowd turned, and he asked us to be honest about our own fickleness before the Lord.
What was said
The shout of "Hosanna" carries more weight than a Sunday school answer. In Hebrew it means "save us now," and it was a cry loaded with political desperation. The crowd that came out to meet Jesus had just heard about the raising of Lazarus, which happened practically within sight of the temple mount, and they were hoping this miracle-worker might finally be the one to break Roman occupation for good.
The palm branches they waved were not decoration. Pastor Carl traced the palm branch through coins struck during the Hasmonean revolt, coins in circulation under Herod Antipas, and coins minted during the Bar Kokhba revolt, all of them reading "for the freedom of Jerusalem." Waving palms was a political signal that everyone present would have read clearly. The crowd was not just worshiping; they were rallying.
The entry on a donkey answered that expectation in a way nobody in the crowd fully understood at the time. Zechariah had written it out ahead of time, humble and mounted on a donkey, and John records that even the disciples did not understand until after Jesus was glorified. The connection to Solomon's coronation, also on a humble beast of burden, was there in the background, and Jesus himself had said that something greater than Solomon was present.
What makes Palm Sunday hard is what follows it. The same people who shouted "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" were shouting "Crucify him" before the week was over. The chief priests, who should have been keepers of the house of God, told Pilate they had no king but Caesar. Pastor Carl used the word "fickle" without apology, quoting Machiavelli on human nature and reading Emerson's line that avarice, hesitation, and following are our diseases.
Rather than softening that, Pastor Carl read a written prayer that asked God to show us the gap between what we say on a Sunday and how we live the rest of the week. The prayer named the temptation to listen to someone else whenever the truth makes us uncomfortable, and it asked directly for the kind of steadfast trust that does not depend on circumstances going our way.
The sermon closed by working through Psalm 136 responsively, the congregation repeating "for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever" after each verse. Pastor Carl pointed out that the psalm moves from God's provision for Israel to "who gives food to all flesh," a reminder that steadfast love is not the exclusive property of those already inside. He connected that to Rahab, who recognized the God of Israel because Israel kept telling the story of what God had done, and suggested that sincere praise of God has a way of reaching people we might never expect.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Pastor Carl described the crowd on Palm Sunday as people crying 'Hosanna,' which means 'save us now,' but with expectations of political and military deliverance from Rome. How do you think unmet expectations shape the way people respond to Jesus, then and now?
- The disciples did not understand the significance of Jesus riding on a donkey until after he was glorified. Can you think of a time when you looked back on something and only then recognized what God was doing in it?
and 3 more questions in the guide
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