Our sermon for today is on Psalm 118, which was the psalm that was taken up on the lips of the Jews and applied to Jesus during the Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday. In our reading from Matthew we saw that the crowd of Jews exclaimed, “Hosanna,” meaning, “save” or “save now”. They exclaimed “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest!” And so as we celebrate Palm Sunday today, and remember the start of what is often called the Passion Week or the Holy Week, it is quite fitting that we consider this psalm today. This psalm was in the back of the minds of those who cried out to Jesus on that Palm Sunday some 2000 years ago. And so as we look at this psalm, we’ll learn a little bit more about what may have been in the mind of those Jews who welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday. But more importantly, as we analyze this psalm and understand its meaning, we’ll see how it ultimately finds its fulfillment in Christ and the cross.
Passage: Psalm 118
Author: Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
Sermon originally preached during the Morning Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 03/16/2008 in Novato, CA.
Other Scripture Readings: Matthew 21:1-17; 1 Peter 2:1-10
Click here for the manuscript.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
