The Jesus Parade – 04.05.09
Introduction – Have you ever been in a parade? It’s a fun thing to do. When I was a boy scout I was in several parades. These days Mary Kay is much more likely to be in a parade than I am. Today I want to talk about one of the most famous parades in history - Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
READ – Mark 11:1-11
Outline - This story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is much like our own Christian walk. We have PREPARATION, which moves to FASCINATION, and ultimately our DESTINATION. Let’s look at each.
I. __PREPARATION___ of the Parade.
Illustration: A parade takes some preparation. Every year we love to watch the tournament of roses parade. Did you know that it takes 60 volunteers working 10 hours a day for 10 days just to decorate one float? (If you’re trying to do the math - that’s 6,000 man hours - 3 years’ work per float!)
There is preparation for the Christ journey as well. At the very beginning of our journey with Christ we have an initial decision of obedience. Will we follow Him or not? We don’t know exactly what that will involve. Sometimes Christ will ask us to take some kind of step of faith - to show our belief in him. It might be baptism. It might be sharing our new found faith with a friend or family member.
This is preparation for the journey. It begins with obedience. Christ asks us to do something that it would seem he is entirely capable of doing himself, but he decides to use us. This doesn’t only happen at the beginning of our journey. It can happen along the way as well. It’s like a check up. Are we still engaged? Are we still obedient? Do we still trust?
READ: “And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it.” Mark 11:4
Jesus asked two of his disciples to do something that seemed strange. Go take a colt. Untie it and bring it. If asked, say this. That takes some gumption, doesn’t it? The journey with Christ is like that. Sometimes he asks us to do things that don’t, at first, make a lot of sense. But in time we can look back and see how what Jesus has asked of us has brought us into a closer understanding of him.
READ: “His disciples did not understand these things at first...” John 12:16
Later, after Jesus was glorified, and they had time to think about it, they found the verse in Zechariah 9:9 that talked about how the king would enter Jerusalem riding on a colt, the foal of a donkey!
Are you going through something right now that you don’t fully understand? Maybe this is preparation for the journey! Maybe, right now, you don’t have to understand everything, you just need to be faithful and obedient, you just need to do the one thing Jesus has asked you to do today and not worry too much about the why or the where or the how.
II. ______FASCINATION______ of the Parade.
I love watching a good parade. Don’t you? There’s something surprising that happens when people are in a parade. It’s fun to watch.
Jesus invites us into the parade with him. We can be fascinated by what he does. One thing about the journey with Christ is that it will never be boring! More times than we would ever know, we are surprised by Jesus!
READ: “And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Mark 11:9
WORD STUDY: Do you know how to say “Hosanna” is the Greek? Hosanna! (Same for Aramaic and Hebrew.) It originally meant, “save us” and was always used in association with God or with a king.
Examples: When the woman of Tekoa came to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and paid homage and said, “Save me, O king.” 2 Samuel 14:4
No as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!” 2 Kings 6:26
O LORD, save the king! May he answer us when we call. Ps 20:9
Hosanna, originally meant “save us” turned into “Praise the Lord!” as in Psalm 117 2
BACKGROUND: The word “Hosanna” became a part of the liturgy during the Passover. The “Halle Psalms (113-118) comes into liturgical use: (1) accompanied by the waving of branches at Tabernacles, then (2) becomes a shout of jubilation in the solemn procession around the altar of burnt offering and (3) a recitation of Psalm 118.
READ: Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!” Psalm 118:25-26a
Do you see what is happening? The crowds are gathering at the temple, coming from everywhere, for the Passover. They are reciting the Halle Psalms as part of the liturgy of the Temple. And they hear that Jesus is coming into Jerusalem. They have heard that he raised the dead man Lazarus. En mass, they bring their palm branches and with shouts of jubilation begin quoting the Halle Psalms to Jesus. Hosanna is only used 6 times in the NT and all six times it is only for THIS story!
Our FASCINATION with Jesus ultimately leads us to 1 of 2 choices:
A. ___CORONATION______
“Blessed is the KING who comes in the name of the Lord!” Luke 19:38 (Writing to Greek audience who don’t get “Hosanna”)
B. ____CONDEMNATION______
And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” Luke 19:39
There really is no neutral ground. When we follow Jesus we will be compelled to make him the LORD of our life. We crown him as our king. Or, like the Pharisees, we become distinctly uncomfortable with the concept that any real God could be so close to us, so human in addition to being so Godly.
We should be prepared that when we have crowned Jesus as king in our life, it will make those around us distinctly uncomfortable. Because of the coronation of Jesus in our lives, we may be subject to condemnation.
TRANSITION - STORY OF END OF PARADE. If you’ve ever been in a parade, then you know that the end of the parade is sort of a let down. When you get to the end, it justs... ends. No fanfare. No celebration. Everything that had been so choreographed during the parade just sort of goes its own way. The end seems surprising.
We have that sort of ending in Mark 11:11 -
And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. Mark 11:11
Matthew and Luke skip this detail. They take us right to the temple cleansing. But Mark tells us something the other Gospels don’t. After the parade, Jesus goes into the temple, looks around, decides it’s already late in the day, leaves Jerusalem, and goes out into Bethany with the twelve closest disciples. This leads us to our final point...
III. ___DESTINATION_____ of the Parade.
At the end of the day, a day when people were willing to crown him a king, or condemn him a heretic, he wanted to spend the evening in fellowship with his closest friends. His disciples, his students, his followers - that would be you and me if we are his disciples - are the ones he wants to hang out with! We are his destination! And, ultimately He is our destination!
CONCLUSION: Where are you at in the Jesus parade?
Has Jesus asked you to do something and right now what you need to do is be be obedient? Has he called you into relationship with him and you need to step across the line and let others know of your decision? Are you watching from the sidelines, but now need to get into the parade? OR Have you been walking with him for awhile, but there is something you know he wants you to do and you haven’t done it yet... and it’s affecting your relationship? Today could be your day to make your PREPARATION for Christ!
Are you FASCINATED by Jesus and his whole story... but now it’s your turn to decide the issue of CORONATION? Who will be the king of your life? Do you trust Jesus enough to lead you? Or have you already made that decision and, as a result, you might be experiencing CONDEMNATION. Do you need to realize that it’s really Jesus people are condemning and you just happen to be in the way? Jesus can comfort you if you will allow him.
Do you need to rest in Jesus’ DESTINATION? Do you just need to have some fellowship time with Christ? Have you been working so hard, doing so much, that you have forgotten how great it is just to hang out with Jesus? He’s wanting to hang out with you.
PRAY / COMMUNION
