Sermon for Sunday, March 29th, 2026 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC)
Old Testament Reading:
[Psalm 33:18-22 ESV] 18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. 22 Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
New Testament Reading:
[Philippians 2:5-11 ESV] 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Gospel Reading:
[Matthew 21:1-11 ESV] 1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Sermon Text:
[Acts 4:10-12 ESV] 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead–by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Introduction
I think once a few years ago we had a Good Friday service. And, its good to have a service at any time; the Westminster Confession allowing for services on special occasions. But usually we haven’t given specific attention to Holy Week except for today (Palm Sunday) and next Sunday which is Easter Sunday.
So I want to attempt, in this sermon, to look at a subject that stretches over Holy Week, especially from Palm Sunday to Good Friday. That subject is the Holy Name of Christ. So the title of the sermon is “Christ’s Holy Name, Recognized and Rejected”
And what I want to look at is His Holy Name and how it so quickly goes from being recognized (even respected) at the Triumphal Entry of Palm Sunday to being despised and rejected on the cross on Good Friday.
I. The Holy Name of Jesus
The “holy name” of Jesus is something that is, honestly, more emphasized in Roman Catholicism. If you search by that term, you’ll find mostly Catholic websites. But, Protestants may certainly use the term as well.
“The Holy Name of Jesus.”
When you look up “Holy Name” in a Biblical Dictionary or Concordance, you’ll find that it mostly applies to God the Father.
In Leviticus, God warns not to profane his holy name. (Leviticus 22:32)
In 1 Chronicles, we are told to “Glory in his holy name.” (1 Chronicles 16:10). Then the next clause says “let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!” So the common Hebrew parallelism points to those lines have similar meaning. To “glory in his holy name” is to “rejoice in the Lord.”
The Psalms say numerous times to “give thanks to his holy name,” “to bless his holy name,” and to “glory in his holy name.”
Similar statements are found in Ezekiel and Amos.
Ultimately “His holy name” is a synonym for God’s being, his essence and truth.
His “holy name” is not specifically one word, like Yahweh, or Jehovah, or Adonai. His “holy name” is his honor and reputation, his glory and presence and might.
So it is silly when the Jews avoid saying the name Yawheh or people write G–d. You are not profaning God’s name when you mispronounce it or spell it out or misspell it; you profane it when you don’t give Him the glory.
It is helpful to think of one’s name as one’s reputation. So if you are considering doing business with someone and find out there last name is one you are familiar with; they are the son or nephew of a respectable family in the area. You know their family and have had excellent dealigns with them in the past. So you trust in their name and decide to do business with them.
The Name of God is similar; we trust in Him because he is trustworthy.
But there is something different. His is “the HOLY name.” And, to be holy is to be separate. The name of God is the “name above all names.” It is separate from all the rest, for he never lies, never changes, and is good in all his ways.
Now, that name, in the Old Testament is the Name of God.
Again then in the New Testament is “the holy name” understood as God’s name.
In Luke 1:49, Mary speaks saying OF GOD, “for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and HOLY is his name.”
Jesus even teaches us to pray to “our Father” saying “Hallowed (Holy) be thy name.”
So how can we speak of the Holy Name of JESUS? Is it just because of the doctrine of the Trinity; we knowing that Jesus is divine?
That’s indeed true.
But there is more,
In Matthew 28:19 Jesus says “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” That is, he says just ONE NAME. The name (not NAMES) of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. ONE GOD, ONE HOLY NAME.
Then, in Philippians chapter 2, Paul says:
[Philippians 2:8-11 ESV] 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
If Jesus’s name is above EVERY name, is it above the Holy Name of God? No, IT IS the Holy Name of God. One and the same. I grant that the doctrine of the Trinity is complex and hard to understand, but what we can learn from all this is that it is indeed proper to speak of “Christ’s Holy Name.” It is indeed proper to give glory to Christ, to honor and worship Him (as is seen in the Scriptures) because He indeed is God, and Holy IS His name.
II. The Holy Name of Jesus honored at the Triumphal Entry
So it is good and right (even grand and wonderful) that at the Triumphal Entry, the Name – the Holy Name – of Jesus is glorified.
The people recognize WHO Jesus is. This is a high point in the ministry of Christ, where His true identity is finally seen and understood and the people cry out, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And they recognize that he is a prophet.
Maybe they don’t fully recognize the truth of Jesus. It is not clear if they know he is Very God of Very God. But they do say “he who comes in the name of the Lord!” That might indicate that they know he is the messiah, the promised one.
But many obviously do not believe, for they fall away so quickly.
What are we to make of this brief time where the Holy Name of Jesus is given honor?
They seemed to have known he was the messiah, but perhaps their idea of the messiah was warped. They were looking for a political leader, but Jesus was far more than that.
So they honored Jesus largely (you might say) by mistake. The honor was due, and they honored him, but they didn’t honor him for what he actually was; they honored him for what they thought he was. Many if not most of the people were not true believers. This explains how the whole scene can shift so quickly, even unto the crucifixion of Christ.
And shift it does.
III. The Holy Name of Jesus rejected on Good Friday
There, on Good Friday, at the crucifixion we see the Holy Name of Jesus not honored and gloried, but ridiculed and rejected.
What a profoundly terrible transition from “Hosanna” meaning “Save us!” on Palm Sunday to the crowd on Good Friday yelling “Crucify Him.”
The same people, just a few days later, with a totally changed attitude, dishonoring the Holy Name of Christ.
This is notable because it adds to the already immense pains that Jesus was going through.
Some years ago I gave a sermon about the crucifixion wherein I noted the non-physical pains that Jesus endured on the cross. We all know of the physical pains – the thorns on the crown, the spear, the nails, the difficulty breathing, the whips. And so I spoke about the other pains. Specifically that Jesus was betrayed by Judas, and how that feeling is perhaps worse than physical pain.
But now we realize there was something else he had to suffer: the dishonoring of his name!
I found that point recently in reading a sermon of Gilbert Tennent. Speaking of Christ, Tennent says:
“[on Good Friday] his name was treated with the greatest ignominy and scorn.” – Gilbert Tennent. Sermons of the Log College, p. 19.
That adds to the pains of Christ; that fact that he was being dishonored, that his name was being scorned.
There were the physical pains. There was the betrayal of Judas. Then there were the insults: “Look the King of Jews.” The were jeers of “why can’t he save himself.” The Name of Christ being “dragged through the mud.”
Just a few days before, on Palm Sunday, his name had been glorified. Then on Good Friday his name was scorned. How quickly things changed.
Why the change? How do we go from the pinnacle to the depths in the people’s view of Jesus? How can a man who they’ve just cheered into town, then be sent to the cross? Dying the criminals death.
In between the Triumphal Entry and the Crucifixion we find:
-Jesus cleanses the temple! That won’t win fans.
-Then he curses the fig tree.
-He speaks about paying taxes to Caesar.
-He speaks woes against the Scribes and Pharisees.
-And then declares himself to be the Son of Man, the messiah, and God himself. (Matthew 26:64).
These cause the people to go against Jesus.
Ultimately, the reason for their changed view of Jesus, is that they misunderstood who he was. They UNDERestimate him. A leader to fight the Romans is nothing compared to a leader to fight against Sin once and for all. Jesus fought against Rome, but not in the normal or expected way. His was not physical warfare, but spiritual. And it was not against just Rome, but against all “principalities and powers.” It was against all sin, all evil, and death itself.
What a change indeed.
And this is a warning to all Christians:
Application 1: Be true to your profession.
“Be true to your profession.” You profess Christ. And with hope you say “Hosanna in the highest.” Stay true to that profession.
The other day I was listening to Jim Croce. A song of his from 1972. And I never expected to quote him in a sermon. But this is an amazing line: “You say you love the baby, but you crucify the man.” [REPEAT: You say you love the baby, but you crucify the man] Some people love “baby Jesus”; they love certain things about Jesus, but they don’t follow through making good on that profession. So this call to “be true to your profession” is a call for your actions to match your profession. You say “Hosanna” and then you crucified the man. And that’s correct theological – YOU crucified the man in YOUR SIN.
Application 2: Honor the Holy Name of Christ
Now, we come to a second application: Honor the Holy Name of Christ.
And, because this is a topical sermon, I haven’t even gotten to the specific text yet. Acts 4:10-12. It speaks of the holy name of Christ and why His holy name should be honored:
[Acts 4:10-12 ESV] 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead–by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
There is no other name. His name is Holy; one of a kind.
And it is powerful. It is the only name WITH THE POWER TO SAVE.
So it should be natural for us to honor the Holy Name of Christ.
What does that look like?
John Calvin, it is said, “believe in reverence for the Holy Name and encourage Christians ‘to glorify His holy name WITH OUR WHOLE LIFE.” So “honoring the holy name of Christ” isn’t just something we do in church; it is what we do with our lives. We give honor to Christ in all things.
We are to honor the holy name of Christ not as they did on Psalm Sunday – with a false temporary faith in the case of many – nor certainly not how they treated Christ on Good Friday as a murderous mob. We know fully now that Jesus was the Christ, the son of the living God, and therefore we ought to honor his name to the utmost. We ought not to blaspheme His name; but rather we ought, as Christ’s followers, to only do things that are honoring to Christ. Too often do people say, “I like Christ, I don’t Christians.” Let us not contribute to that, but be representative of Christ in all we do. That is a call to honest living; follow through, love, and patience, peacefulness, and all the virtues of the Christian life. All so that we may honor Christ, and in this be saved, for there is no other name under heave given among men by which we must be saved. The Holy Name of Jesus Christ.