Palms That Mattered.

Palms That Mattered. Matthew 26:36-38

A little boy was sick on Palm Sunday and stayed home from church with his mother. His father returned from church holding a palm branch. The little boy was curious and asked, “Why do you have that palm branch, dad?” “You see, when Jesus came into town, everyone waved Palm Branches to honor him, so we got Palm Branches today.” The little boy replied, “Aw Shucks The one Sunday I miss is the Sunday that Jesus shows up”

Here on Palm Sunday, churches across the globe wave Palm branches to remember, worship of a King.

However, the only palms that really mattered eternally during passion week were Jesus’ palms. This is a study of all His hands touched and accomplished, and what they were about to do!

Just outside Jerusalem was a little garden…the Garden Of Gethsemane. Jerusalem has always been a very crowded city, property hard to come by. The wealthy would purchase private garden spots on the slopes of the Mount of Olives…This is the place of the olive press, a place to press olives into oil. Again, Gethsemane, a place of total surrender. -Let’s look at the text together:

Matthew 26:36-38NIV  Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Again, Palm Sunday is a time of celebrating with Palm branches worshiping our Lord while singing, Hosanna! -Save us now!

However this morning, I want to show you the palms that really mattered. There are several palms we’ll notice along the path:

First, is the Palms in the Garden.

These palms that were in the garden were the palms of Jesus, surrendering to His Fathers will.

Psalm 143:6NIV I spread out my hands to you;?    I thirst for you like a parched land.

You see, Jesus’ DNA could be found in the garden. His prayers, His cry, His sweat, His surrender, and even His blood.

Song: I come to the garden alone, While the dew is still on the roses; And the voice I hear, falling on my ear, The Son of God discloses. And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own, And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known. He speaks, and the sound of His voice Is so sweet the birds hush their singing; And the melody that He gave to me within my heart is ringing. And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own, And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known.

Again, Gethsemane means “oil press.” Evidently, it was a place where people would harvest the olives from the trees, press and crush them to remove the oil.

Isaiah 10:27NKJV It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck,?And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.

All of Israels enemies will lose their grip on Israel because of Israel trust in the God of the anointing.

Please remember this, the Gethsemane you go through is created to draw the anointing oil to the top. -Oil floats.

This is significant because Jesus was about to be crushed and pressed; Jesus’ pressing and crushing prepares us for the oil of salvation, that could flow freely to the world.

Matthew 26:39NKJV He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.

3 times our Lord prayed in Gethsemane, He fully surrendered His will. He was now ready for the cross. P.H

Therefore, It was in the Garden that victory on the cross was actually won.

* Your victory is won in the Garden.

* The Garden is God’s practice field.

* In the Garden you practice with full pads. It’s not flag football, it full contact.

* In the Garden is where everything is fleshed out or fixed.

* In the Garden is where you get sweaty and dirty.

* The Garden prepares us for the real game, in the garden you’re all alone.

This side of heaven, we may never understand what Jesus went through that night in this garden…our vocabulary couldn’t express the depth of His experience.

Here is where Jesus surrendered to go to the cross…so it was here in the garden, the garden in which Jesus surrendered His Palms that the victory of the cross was actually won!