THE DAY THE CHEERING STOPPED
Mark 11:1-11
Palm Sunday
Introduction:
How many of you have been "April Fooled" already today? There have been some memorable April Fools pranks pulled over the years. Here are a few of the all time favorites.
In 2005, the media reported that NASA had discovered water on Mars, and had actual pictures on the official NASA website. Those who went to the NASA website to check it out, found a picture of a glass of water sitting on a Mars candy bar.
On April Fools Day in 1996, Taco Bell announced that they had purchased the Liberty Bell, and that they would be renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Man, people were calling the national parks department, all in an uproar. Later in the Day, the press secretary for the white house announced that they would also be selling the Lincoln Memorial and renaming it the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.
One of the best April Fools joke ever reported was when the BBC news program “Panorama” reported in 1957 that due to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. Many people called in wanting to know how to grow their own spaghetti tree.
But my absolute favorite was, On 1st April 1998 Burger King published a full page advertisement in an American newspaper announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper" especially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger, etc.), but all the items were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. The next day, Burger King issued a follow-up.
The follow-up press release said that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich.
Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others [had] requested their own 'right handed' version."
Have you ever wondered, what if the greatest event in all history was just a cruel April Fool’s joke? What if Easter was a hoax that never really happened?
You might assume, ridiculous. Yet, the resurrection and Easter remains the number one historical event that is still attacked by the enemies of Christ today. A recent headline in the New York Times reads,
New Archaeological Discovery Questions Jesus' Bodily Resurrection
Scientists Say Bones Discovered in Tomb Supported by Biblical Accounts
NEW YORK – A new archaeological discovery on a Jerusalem site is causing controversy as it revives the debate over the "Jesus tomb" and presents what scientists claim is proof that a burial box was found containing the remains of Jesus, and possibly his family – a direct contradiction to the belief in Christ's bodily resurrection.
While most if not all archeologist discount the evidence as forgery, and the discoverers of the tomb have been shown to be imposters, people today are curious, What if Easter could be proven false? It would mean we were the biggest fools on the planet.
The Apostle Paul summarized that if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.( 1 Cor. 15:18-19 NLT)
We know that Easter is true. It did happen as the Bible testifies. There is more than enough evidence to prove Jesus is alive.
Yet the resurrection remains the singular Christian doctrine attacked by the enemies of Christ today.
Last Wednesday we began our journey of discovery that will be continued this coming Wednesday and conclude next Sunday, Easter Sunday.
Today we will be centering on the event which set things in motion for Jesus, and catapulted him to the cross.
Today is Palm or Passion Sunday. This day is recognized as the day Jesus entered into Jerusalem upon a donkeys colt. ( Show Video )
The streets of Jerusalem were buzzing and things would only get worse as the week went on. The city of Jerusalem whose population normally stood around 60,000 swelled as the Passover approached and this year would be no different. Rumors circulated that a young rabbi from Galilee would be there—the one who supposably raised a man named Lazarus from the dead.
This Jesus drew crowds wherever He went. Unbelievable things were said about Him—that He had fed 5000 men with 5 small loves of bread and two fish, that He could make the blind see, the deaf hear, and the lame walk. He was not only a healer but also a man who could command demons to come out of people and who claimed to have the authority to forgive sins. His teaching and ways were revolutionary to say the least—so much so that an unlikely alliance of the Scribes and Pharisees and even of Jew and Roman would be forged to rid the world of this young troublemaker.
While the establishment and the powers to be saw Jesus as a real threat, the crowds saw Him differently. Some perceived that a real live prophet of God was in their midst. They marveled that a compassionate man who did the miraculous things He did was not a man after personal gain. Here was a simple man who identified with them. He was not ignorant of their pain and suffering that disease, poverty, and oppression brought. He was a paradox to them as He spoke of God yet was a friend of the destitute, downcast, and the delinquent—so very different from the religious leaders who only engaged the masses to strut like peacocks before them to show their righteous standing with God. How very different was He from them.
Others saw Jesus as a potential deliverer. He had healed others of their infirmities and diseases—of this there was no doubt, but they wanted something grander than a person who worked on such a limited scale. If He could deliver one blind man, and ten lepers, and five-thousand hungry men from what afflicted them, why not deliver a whole nation from all its ills and troubles?
Others saw Him as a fake, a charlatan, a person who worked slight of hand magic before the ignorant and untrained—one who would eventually use the masses to achieve His own personal ambition and goals. Yes, He was subtle and no, He hadn’t given anyone proof of His sinister intentions yet. Jesus was a sly one they thought. But they knew it would only be a matter of time before Jesus would tip His hand, and then His pseudo-religious, caring, self-effacing act would be seen for what it really was—a ploy for ambition and power.
There were some who just didn’t know enough about Him to make any judgment. Sure, they had heard the stories and all, but it was so far fetched and unbelievable to be true they thought. It wasn’t that these people were necessarily cynical by nature like those who felt it was all a sham, but they just didn’t know because they had not been personally touched by Him. They didn’t question that He has made an impact on the lives of others—it was just that He hadn’t made any impact on their life. Maybe what they said about Him was true and maybe it wasn’t. Only time and personal experience would tell they thought.
In contrast to these, there were a few people who saw Jesus in a different light altogether. They saw Him as more than a miracle worker and reformer. They understood that He was called to be much more than a religious leader and teacher. He was preacher and prophet, sacrifice and priest, and servant as well as king. In short, He was the Messiah that God had promised Israel centuries ago. Surely the deliverance that the nation of Israel had longed hoped and prayed for was at hand for David’s Greater Son would lead the nation into world prominence again.
The crowd that watched Jesus that Sunday morning was made up of many types of people including believers, critics, curiosity seekers, cynics, skeptics, undecided, and those not interested—strangely not all that different from crowds today. But then as He approached from Bethpage, the excitement of the crowd grew especially as they saw Him riding on a colt of a donkey knowing that God’s Messiah would come in such a way as Zechariah had prophesied some five centuries earlier.
As He approaches Jerusalem, the city erupts with excitement and the crowd gets caught up in the moment. They start casting down their cloaks on the road as well as freshly cut palm branches symbolizing the peace and victory they hoped He would bring to them. They yelled out the words from Palm 118:26, a Messianic Psalm, which talked about the success and celebration God’s people, would experience when He visited them with His salvation. Yet on this happy joyous occasion when everything seemed to be going so right, Luke tells us in chapter 19 verse 41 of his Gospel that Jesus wept.
Why?
Because Jesus knew the clamoring and cheering of the crowd would not last. He knew He had to come to Jerusalem for one purpose and one purpose only and that was to be crucified. He understood then as now what really resides in the heart of humanity. He knew the devotion of the crowd was a fickle thing and would only last as long as He would please and serve them. The crowd was looking to be cared for and to be catered to—this was the price He had to pay if He were to continue to reap the accolades of the crowd. He knew the crowd expected Him to grant its every wish and whim. He knew as soon as He failed to meet their expectations the crowd would turn on Him as quickly as it turned to Him.
Why did the cheering stop?
I. They Didn’t Understand the Plan— In Lukes Gospel, we find in verses 37-38 one of the first reasons that people don’t keep cheering for Jesus, they don’t understand the plan and purpose of God.
• They liked the miracles and power---they liked that Jesus was strong and powerful and did many miracles among them. Many times we see this today, our relationship to God is based on experiences, emotions and desiring the blessings of God. But when Jesus was explaining that He would die, that those who enter into the Kingdom of God would face trials and suffering, they didn’t like the plan
• They wanted a King to take over the world—they wanted Jesus to overthrow the government, they hated Roman power and wanted Jesus to do away with Rome and set up heaven on earth. But that wasn’t God’s plan, Jesus told them that they should go the extra mile, give to Caesar what belong to Caesar, and give to God what belonged to God.
• The plan was too simple—Jesus was going to do the work, people just needed to accept His work, accept Him into their lives, and they would be born again. But man likes working his way to heaven, earning a spot in glory, so the whole plan became a stumblingblock to the Jews, foolishness to the Greeks. Today it is still the same, most religion is works based, not faith based.
We live in a world today that won’t cheer for Jesus because they don’t understand the plan of God. They don’t like the preaching of the cross, it is an offense to them.
II. They Didn’t Like the Price—you have to read the rest of the chapters on the teachings of Jesus during His passion. But up to this point most people only knew miracles, wonderful teachings on heaven, and Jesus loving the people that others rejected. But Jesus begins to share that you have to take up your cross, you have to die to the flesh, you have to love Him with all your heart, and the more they heard about a life of sacrifice the less they cheered. His disciples even came to Him and said, do you not realize that you are making the religious leaders mad with you.
• We stop cheering when it moves from feeling to sacrifice. We love Jesus when He tells us about all the good things of heaven, but when he tells us that we will pass through the fire, we will have winds and waves come against the house, we stop cheering.
• We stop cheering when serving the Lord is going to cost us more than we wanted to pay. We stop dancing and waving our palm branches when Jesus says, love your enemies, pray for those who hate you, blessed are the poor in Spirit.
• At one point many started walking away from Him and He asked the disciples are yougoing to leave me too? It is tough to go from the most popular group in town, to the most despised group in the same week. One of the things that some people don’t understand about ministry, as long as you are doing what someone wants you to do, they will cheer you, but start telling them things they don’t like to hear, and they will pick up stones.
III. The Didn’t Realize the Penalties—Luke 19 v.41-44 are some of the most sobering verses in the Bible. Jesus visualized A.D. 70 when Rome would destroy Jerusalem and kill nearly a million Jews. I am sure that if the people could see the consequences of rejecting Christ, they would have all gladly paid the price of following Him to the cross. But their eyes were blinded and probably most people thought, it is no big deal to reject Jesus.
• The cheering stops because we don’t realize the magnitude of the moment. When someone gets saved, for many it seems to be no big deal, but the Word of God says it is a snatching from the fire and saving a soul from hell. It is a big deal, it makes all the angels rejoice, it is so great that compared to the entire world, a soul is more valuable to God.
• Over the years we see people walk out and not receive Christ thinking, maybe some other time, maybe somewhere down the road. But you don’t need to miss the best time, which is today, today is the day of salvation.
• We see the consequences—the world makes it seem that being a Christian is the most boring, most terrible life anyone could ever endure. But in truth, it is the opposite, we see what the world does to people and we cry because we know what is down the road for someone who walks away from Christ.
Close: people stop cheering for Jesus because they don’t understand the plan, they don’t like the price and they don’t realize the penalties.
There are many who want to set the terms themselves. “Oh, I’m going to get to Heaven one day, but I’ll get there on my own terms.”
Listen, Jesus was clear when He said, ‘I am the way, and no man comes to the Father but by Him.” But, time and time again you have refused His terms. There is a way that seems right to man, but the end of it is destruction. Why? It is because you refuse to accept His terms. Jesus is the only way; the only provision for salvation has already been made. The blood that was shed on the cross of Calvary is the only means whereby you can be forgiven of sin, and it is the righteousness of Christ that must be applied to you if you desire to be in Heaven for eternity.
You cannot approach God on your own terms; you must come through Jesus. You cannot come to Him in your own time; No man comes to Me unless the Father draw them. When you come to Him you must accept His claims; Jesus is the Son of God, the sacrifice for sin, the Lord and Savior.
If you refuse these things, you may nail the coffin of your opportunity shut, and all that will be left for you to hear is, “it’s too late.” Your cheering will stop lost friend. All that will be left for you is destruction in a place called Hell. It is a place of eternal judgment. There is a “too late” in dealing with God.
Listen Christian friend. Maybe your desires have been self-centered instead of God-centered. You are saved, but perhaps you have never accepted His terms of service to Him, and you have been doing things on your own, and in your own strength. Shouldn’t you accept what He would have you do, and serve how He would have you serve?
RESOURCES
SERMONCENTRAL-
Don't Stop Cheering For Jesus
Stephen Funderburk
Why Did the Cheering Stop? by Jerry La Pere
Bible Exposition Cpommentary- W.Wiersbe
