Beyond words that describe or stories that portray, nothing can compare to what God has done for us in His only Son. If I was to describe a legacy that God left with us, one of them most profoundly would be Christ’s Legacy of Faith. The unified principle for a Legacy of Faith is correlated with what we are remembering today on this Palm Sunday. Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem—knowing the cross awaited yet riding to eternal victory. Then we learn in this life that our choices—fleeting like Palm Sunday cheers or steadfast like Joshua's vow—shape our own eternal legacy. Then as we hear Joshua's Shechem renewal echoes the crowd's "Hosanna!", calling us to choose Christ's lordship, reject rivals, and build generational fidelity to Yahweh, fulfilled in the Messiah. Our choices, great and small, define tomorrow! Yesterday is done, tomorrow has no guarantee, but today, what God has given us, is enough. With this Palm Sunday and Christ’s triumphal entry, where Israel's initial choice to hail Jesus as King prefigures the enduring decision demanded by Joshua: "Choose this day whom you will serve" (Joshua 24:15).
On this journey with Joshua, we started with seeing who Joshua was and what God called Joshua to do while identifying what a true servant is.
Then realizing Joshua’s exemplified Faith in Action and how we can also fulfill God’s purpose in our lives with Faith.
Then we dived into his life at one of the first real test, trial even, with not only Rahab’s obedience to God but Joshua and the people of Israel being Obedient to God and His words, all the while discovering what Victory in Obedience means and is shown to all who know Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Now concluding on this Palm Sunday, Legacy of Faith, we will trove into the realms of our faith and life as Christians. Dale Davis one wrote “Joshua is no mere military chronicle; it traces God’s gift of rest through conquest to commitment.” So true! Throughout Joshua, from chapter 1 all the way to chapter 21, we see all the battles won through obedience to God; dividing the promised land where God promised and how; all the way to the bridge of Joshua, where we are looking at today with a lasting legacy.
For us all, amid our own history with God, we need to remember faithfulness, heed consequences, commit publicly to what God calls us to do. Unlike the crowd's betrayal ("Crucify Him!").
This mirrors Palm Sunday, when the multitude chose to acclaim Jesus as "Son of David" and "King", waving palm branches in messianic anticipation. Yet, their choice proved unstable, culminating in "Crucify him!" The people of God that witnessed Jesus enter Jerusalem had much anticipation of the coming king, were spreading their cloaks on the road, and the crowds... were crying out, "Hosanna [Save Us] to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" God is with us always! On this blessed day, people had a choice, a legacy to make, as Joshua vividly said in chapter 24,”And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve... But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” These words of Joshua should be stamped in our minds and engraved on our mantle, always remembering what God has done for His people, which includes you and me, because beloved, God has left us all with a Legacy of Faith!
Here’s the hook. The crowds waved their palm branches, hoping and praising God for His coming, but behind all of that, choices had to be made; choices that defined a legacy. This is what we hear from Joshua’s farewell address that indeed a legacy has been left; Christ’s legacy remains forever.
Let me ask you today, are we saying Hosanna [Save Us] to God, or are we betraying Him by being defiant, disobedient lacking faith? Are we committed and faithful to God, or are we rebellious behind the scenes, thinking God understands my disobedience? We are all called to choose today whom do we serve.
Do we find ourselves looking at our consequences as if they have no bearing on our future? Then we read Hebrews 6 “ For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.” Plainly friends, this is a sore subject for some, but once we taste the heavenly gift of God, and then we choose to fall away, we put God to open shame! We are to blame for our choices! The devil did NOT make you do anything, we chose! If you read Joshua 21:45 tells us “Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; everything came to pass.” Why? God’s faithfulness never faltered. Like Joshua, our decisions to live a legacy of faith will prove in the end to be all and more of what God promised as Joshua and Israel was obedient.
Like Joshua, we all need to commit ourselves to Gods higher calling, yelling to the top of our lungs as the people did with Jesus saying, “Hosanna [Save Us]” which we see what God indeed did to Ninevah with Jonah. Paraphrasing, recommit ourselves to God and you will be saved. We cannot save ourselves!
Like faithful Joshua, 110 years undimmed, we too can be committed if we choose Christ! Consider Billy Graham—his ‘Yes” to God in his ministry spanned the globe for decades, influencing millions. One decision: eternal ripples in the pond.
One thing we do not want to do, but has happened, is turning the Palms on this Palm Sunday into thorns.
An example would be In 1969, the crowd at Woodstock waved peace signs and flowers for three days of "love," but the event devolved into chaos—mud, drugs, sex and violence—leaving a legacy of disillusionment rather than utopia. Organizers promised harmony, yet poor choices spiraled into regret, with one attendee later lamenting, "We thought we were building a new world, but we tore down the old one without a blueprint." This is exactly what we do today with our very families, our lives, without a choice that is both in tuned with God and being disobedient in the background where you think no one sees us. Good intentions cannot save. Only in Christ can we find true peace, joy, love, harmony and faith.
On this palm Sunday, let us reflect upon four points that should spearhead our life in seeing the Legacy of Faith that was left to each of us, but also what we can leave for the world. First, The power of choice. Deut. 30:19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have placed before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants. Our decision will indeed affect our family for today and the future.
Second, the influence of Legacy. Joshua's 110-year fidelity bridged conquest to covenant, modeling generational rest "Not one of all the good promises... failed". One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.
Third, the call to commitment. Joshua's public charge "Put away the gods... incline your heart" prefigures Christ's kingship. Choose this day whom you will serve, and commit to it for it is the will of God in your life. Choosing God means you are rejecting other influences.
Fourth, The role of community in Legacy. The preacher said in Ecclesiastes Two are better than one... For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. Galatians 6 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Iron, sharpens Iron! Together, we can build a stronger legacy for all to see and share. This is church.
As we conclude this series on Joshua, may Palm Sunday seal our choice: Not fleeting cheers, but Joshua's vow echoing in Christ's victory. "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Choose Him today—wave your palms in eternal commitment, and leave a Legacy of Faith that outlives the thorns. Hosanna in the highest! Amen.