In 1863 the United States government commissioned the first all black regiment to fight in the Civil War.  The 54^th Massachusetts infantry comprised of a combination of freed slaves and educated African Americans who were given an opportunity for the first time in the history of the nation to fight in the union uniform.  It was a milestone to say the least.  The man in charge; Colonel Robert Gould Shaw who was the 27 year old son of an abolitionist family who not only had the great responsibility to train these men, but to prove to a very skeptic nation that these men could fight for their country as good as any white soldier.

            After months of manual labor and frustration that came from idleness, the 54^th Massachusetts infantry was put to fight.  After a very successful battle, the opportunity was presented to them on July 18, 1863 to storm Fort Wagner, a southern fortification near Charleston South Carolina.  This fort had not been taken before and in the opinion of many of the military commanders, it was a long shot.  History tells us that Colonel Shaw and his Regiment accepted the mission with honor.

            When the time came, the 54^th prepared itself and marched toward Fort Wagner under a barrage of gunfire and canon fire.  They did not waiver, they stormed the fort with a bravery that could not be surpassed.  They scaled level after level of defense until they reached the end of their abilities and could not take the fort.  The 54^th Massachusetts lost that battle, their Colonel was killed and they ended losing a substantial number of men, but the regiment became a household name for their actions that day.  In 1989, a documentary movie was made reenacting the story of the 54^th.  The title of the movie; Glory. 

            The word glory is a curious word because its meaning comes to life through death.  The 54^th though they lost, were truly victorious.  They were glorious because of the principle behind their actions, because of the great honor that they brought to their cause.  The definition of glory is to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become manifest and acknowledged.  It doesn’t matter when that is, but the importance is the fact that this worth is acknowledged. 

            Jesus is glorious.  Let’s turn our Bibles to John chapter 12:12-20.  Here is the story of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  The Bible tells us that Jesus came to Jerusalem after being in Bethpage and asked the disciples to find a young donkey that was tied up and bring it to Him so that He could ride it into the city.  As soon as Jesus entered the city, a multitude of people, the people who had witnessed Him do great miracles before, such as raise Lazarus from the dead, came and followed Him proclaiming “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!

            To this I would say if I were there, finally!  Finally Jesus receives the honor and praise that He truly deserves.  Finally the people have acknowledged Him for who He is.  My friend, if Jesus came today and began to preach and everyone gave their lives over to Him, it would be a joyous occasion, and it would mean that finally people are listening to Jesus and His message.  But is this what was happening during the triumphant entry? What we are seeing here is prophecy coming true.  The most important question here is; did the massive show of praises and thanksgiving shown to Jesus prepare the people to enter their lives into His. 

            We begin now then with the issue of glory, notice what John says in chapter 12:16.  “At first His disciples did not understand all this.  Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.”  The disciples noticed that Jesus had been glorified, but were they ready for what that glorification was all about? Let’s skip over to verse 23 of the same chapter of John.  Under the prediction of His death, again Jesus states, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”  When Jesus marched into the city with a throng of people shouting and praising His name and works, this was not glorification, but the rise to the climax that would fulfill His true glorification.  The people knew the prophecy of Zechariah 9 but were they ready to die with and for Him? That my friend is the most important question here. 

            The disciples must have been so ecstatic to witness the fulfillment of their toil to make Jesus into a hero and celebrity.  The people must have been out of their minds with excitement that this king that that they have just crowned would take Caesars place in Rome.  But notice that the same people, both disciples and the throng who witnessed so much of Jesus’ miracles and listened to his words, still abandoned and even yelled crucify Him at Pilot’s hall.  So could this time of celebration be glorious? I would say that the only glorious event is the death of Jesus.  All these are the events that led up to that great day of glory.

            I would like to examine the people that were present that day.  In our examination, I would like to classify these people into two groups.  The first group I would like to call the Donkeys.  The Donkeys are those who like the same donkey that Jesus rode; wait upon Him to become enthroned in their hearts.  These are those who are humble to God’s will and can be unmovable when Jesus is in their hearts.  The Donkeys are those that do not see God, yet act upon His commandments in their lives.  The Donkeys are those that enter into glory with Jesus in their hearts.  As a matter of facts the Donkey’s key mission statement is found in Matthew 11:28-30 that states, “come to me, all who are weary and burdened and I will give your rest, take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble at heart and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  The latter part of this text is what the Donkeys are all about.  They love to take upon themselves the yoke of Christ.

            True glory my friend is partaking of the yoke of Christ.  And we know that this glory will have it’s fruition in heaven with a crown of life.  These are the donkeys.

The second group that we have in this story are the Palm Branches.  The Palm Branches are those Christians that are green with energy, that when things are going well, when the bills are paid, when they are well fed, when the pastor preaches great sermons and when the church is growing they are there to reap the benefits and even praise the lord.  These people seem great at first, but when Jesus is out of their sight, they fall to the ground turn brown, and wither away.  You can almost say that these Christians are fair-weather friends.  When Jesus is popular, they are with Him, but when He is infamous, then they run away and turn against Him. 

            Lets remember that Jesus in our text is beginning His last role as Messiah this is the most important role; the role of glorification.  This glorification is the death in which Jesus is to die.  The Palm Branches teat Jesus as the British treat their royal family.  The royal family of England is a ceremonial monarchy that no longer has any power.  The British parliament is now the power of the nation, but they still revere their queen.  She cannot enact laws, she cannot legislate, but she is there to fulfill a ceremonial duty, in other words to project an image.   You see my friend, the Palm Branches look at Jesus Christ as a ceremonial Messiah, like the British Royals, Jesus because of the palm branches is just an image, a symbol that changes when men want it to change. 

            The process of glorification does not work that way.  Glorification is the heart of the gospel, and the gospel in our lives is summed up by Galatians 2:20 when it says, that “I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.  The life that I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  This is true glorification, this is our proverbial regiment of Christianity that takes over our life and has us dressed in the blood of the lamb. 

            My friend, we are all in the presence of God with the opportunity to claim Jesus as our Messiah.  If not today, but someday, we will have to make a decision as to were we are in the presence of God.  Are we the Donkeys, who are so willing to die with Christ and have him enthroned in their lives, or are we the Palm Branches that are tossed around by any wind of fad or emotion, but when it comes right down to it, we just simply fall to the ground when things get tough and Jesus is out of sight?

            Looks like we have a choice to make.  Jesus Christ our Messiah came to be glorified and now He is inviting us to be glorified in Him, but that is no easy road to take.  It is no easy road to take because glorification in Jesus Christ requires a death to our human nature and a life into Christ.  Which are you willing to adopt? Who are you; a Donkey, or a Palm Branch?