He Knew The Price Of The Trip

TODAY WE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT

· People going on trips

WHEN SOME PEOPLE TRAVEL

· They get to the motel

· And unpack everything

· And put them in the drawers

AND WHEN THEY GET READY TO LEAVE

· They have to pack it all up again

· They say that while they are there

· They want to make it their home

WHEN WE GO SOMEWHERE

· And stay in a motel

· We never unpack

· And when we get ready to go

· We are already -- ready

YOU MIGHT AGREE OR DISAGREE

· But I am not going to overly focus

· On something that is just

· A short weekend trip

AND WHETHER I AM ALIVE

· For 60 – 80 – 100 years

· Compared to eternity

· It’s nothing more than a weekend trip

YOU MUST REMEMBER

· I don’t overly focus on short stays

· No matter where they are

THERE IS A SPECIAL TRIP

· That I want to focus on today

· It started out as a celebration

· And ended up with a death

IT WAS A TRIP

· That Jesus took

· A trip into the city

JESUS WAS FINALLY GOING TO JERUSALEM

· As he approached Bethpage and Bethany

· He sent two of His disciples ahead

· He said they would find a donkey

AND THEY WERE TO BRING IT BACK

· So he could ride it into Jerusalem

· It would be a trip

· that would alter the world

THEY WENT ON AND GOT THE DONKEY

· Jesus mounted it and started his trip

· Many disciples followed him

JESUS KNEW WHERE HE WAS GOING

· He knew the directions

· And he knew the price

· It would cost him to get there

Let’s pick this up by reading –

LUKE 19:36-38

‘As He went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When He came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowed of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

TODAY IS PALM SUNDAY

· It is also called Passion Sunday

· What is the difference?

PALM SUNDAY FOCUSES ON

· The celebration of his followers

· Because they were showing

· That Jesus was the King

THEY THOUGHT HE WAS AN EARTHLY KING

· But Jesus was the Godly King

PASSION SUNDAY FOCUSES ON

· What Jesus went thru

· During that last week

WHEN WE HEAR THE WORD “PASSION”

· We think of an extreme feeling

· Like the passion of young love

BUT THE LATIN MEANING OF “PASSION”

· Means “passio”

· It means “extreme suffering”

· the Passion of the Christ

· would be translated, “The Suffering of the Christ”

NEXT SUNDAY IS EASTER

· A time we take every year

· To acknowledge what Jesus did for us

· His taking the punishment of our sins

AT EASTER, MOST PEOPLE FOCUS

· On Easter Egg hunts

· Or making their twice yearly trip

· To attend a church

AND AS SOON AS EASTER IS OVER

· We quickly forget about it

· Until the same time next year

MANY PEOPLE LOOK AT THIS TRIP

· Jesus made into Israel

· It is called the Triumphal Entry

· Because for the first time -

· Jesus is being hailed as a king

· even if it was the wrong kind of king

AND AS SOON AS THEY

· Look at this trip

· They barely gloss over the cross

· And start looking at

· The resurrection of Easter

THIS IS CALLED

· Seeing the facts

· Without taking the time

· To understand any of them

IT IS IMPORTANT TO SEE THIS TRIP

· For without this trip

· The cross would not have happened

BUT WE MUST LOOK AT THE CROSS, TOO

· For it is at the cross

· That our sins were taken away from us

IT WAS AT THE CROSS

· Where we find the real meaning

· Of why Jesus came to earth

· In the first place

EASTER INCLUDES EVERYTHING

· that happened to Jesus

· From this journey – to the cross – to the empty tomb

“E” STANDS FOR ENCOURAGEMENT

In ROMANS 15:4, Paul states,

‘For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.’

1 TIMOTHY 6:17 tells us,

‘Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.’