What a beautiful scene we see depicted in the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into the Holy City, Jerusalem! It’s a lovely story, a magnificent story, a story so well-told that we preachers have a tough time coming up with a sermon about it. After the story is read, there really isn’t much else left to say. Plot, movement, atmosphere, emotion – they’re all here in the biblical account. Here is high drama at it’s best.

But once you’ve said all of this, you have to add that Palm Sunday is a terrifying day. We cannot escape the terror of this text, we cannot avoid the dark and sinister events that follow Palm Sunday. An innocent man is about to be murdered! And it’s even more shocking because we know that God is involved in the murder plot! God knows it’s going to happen and does nothing to st…