Determined To Save

Christ was Determined to Save Us - Palm Sunday

Text: Luke 19:28-Luke 23:56

Date: March 28, 2010

Ron Baker, West Union Church of Christ

Leading People to Life’s True Purpose & Joy in Christ!

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to our Friend’s Day 2010! I love it when we can have our friends and family all together for church once a year on this special day. This Sunday is Palm Sunday, which of course is the Sunday before Easter. On this day we celebrate an event in history often called The Triumphal Entry. I want to share with you this morning how that took place and why it is important for all of us.

1. Christ entered Jerusalem determined to save us from our sins

Jesus entered Jerusalem with a determination to be obedient to the Father and save the world from their sins. Jesus knew why He was sent into the world to begin with. There was great purpose for His coming.

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

At Matthew 1:20 we read the account of Joseph and the angel of the Lord: But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" {23 Isaiah 7:14} --which means, "God with us."

At Mark 8:31 we read how Jesus spoke plainly about how He would be killed and that after three days He would rise again and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. So Jesus in turn rebuked Peter for not having in mind the things of God but rather the things of this world.

It was right after this that Jesus apparently felt it necessary to reveal His glory to His inner circle of followers (Peter, James, and John) by being transfigured before them.

2. Christ accepted God’s plan when nobody else would

Christ seemed to be the only one who had accepted the plan that God gave Him. It was obvious that Christ knew the plan because He told them plainly what it was several times.

In Mark’s gospel he records Jesus telling His disciples three different times what the plan was once they entered Jerusalem (8:31, 9:30-31, 10:32-34). But they could not grasp how Christ dying could truly be a part of the plan.

Mark 10:32-34 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 "We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise."

At Mark 14:3 we read of the account of Jesus in the house of Simon the leper and a woman there poured pure nard over Jesus’ head. The woman was rebuked and scolded for this display of compassion but Jesus said that she had anointed His body beforehand for His burial.

3. Christ would not become distracted by the world

It is obvious that there was a misunderstanding as to what the Christ was supposed to be and what He was supposed to do. The nation of Israel had the understanding that their Messiah would restore their nation to prosperity and freedom from Roman oppression.

They thought that He would establish a kingdom here on the earth that would dominate all the nations of the earth and their kingdom would never end.

To the contrary, Jesus Christ was on a much different mission than what they had expected. Christ was sent into the world to be the Savior of the world. He came to save us from our sins.

Many people in Israel wanted Jesus Christ to be their King. They could see from the miracles that He was a might man of God. But He would not be distracted by what they wanted. He was focused on the will of the Father and the purpose for His coming.