The Bible: The Triumphal Entry
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 3/24/2013
Michael Hauge knows all about storytelling.
Michael is a story and script consultant who works with writers and filmmakers on their screenplays, novels, movies and television projects. He’s also written a number of books about the art of storytelling and script-writing. According to Michael Hauge, there are five key elements that go into creating a good story. The first and most important element is this—it’s got to have a hero.
Every story needs a hero.
The story of Scripture is no different.
For the past three weeks, we have been rediscovering some of the most gripping and fascinating stories from the Bible––stories that are more than just stories; stories that tell us something about ourselves, our lives, and God’s hopes and plans for us. We’ve been doing this, of course, in concert with History Channel’s epic ten-hour miniseries appropriately titled, The Bible.
Last Sunday night, I hope you were watching as we were introduced to the hero of the story, the hero of history—Jesus.
After decades of captivity in Babylon, King Cyrus of Persia issues a decree that frees the people of Israel to return home and begin rebuilding their temple as well as their lives. Prophets like Daniel, Zechariah, and others began to foretell of a Messiah—a hero—who would one day emerge to establish a new kingdom, God’s Kingdom, that would be the embodiment of peace and righteousness.
Centuries later, in the quiet little town of Bethlehem, that hero was born.
Fast-forward roughly thirty-three years and that brings us to today—Palm Sunday—and the last week of Jesus’ life on earth. After a three year ministry of unprecedented divine authority, miracles, and exorcisms, Jesus’ fame has finally reached a crescendo. Hundreds of thousands of Jews descend upon Jerusalem for the annual Passover celebration and Jesus’ presences cause quite a stir, which is where our clip picks up. Let’s watch and see what happens.
NEXT SLIDE—CLIP WILL PLAY AUTOMATICALLY
This chapter in Jesus’ story is often referred to as the Triumphal Entry and, I think, it reflects our own stories in at least three ways. The first way that this story is like ours is that it’s a story of hysteria!
• A STORY OF HYSTERIA
Everyone likes a parade, right? We love the pomp, the colorful costumes, the loud music, the disciplined marching, the imaginative floats, and of course the smiles and the waves. Some parades are greater productions than others. I spent several years living in a suburb outside New Orleans so I’ve experienced some spectacular parades. But serving a majority of my ministry is small town America, I’ve grown more accustom to the homecoming parade with four floats—one for each class, the marching band, the homecoming court sitting in donated convertibles, and the town fire engine and squad car with flashing lights.
The parade that formed around Jesus as he entered Jerusalem may have been more like our small town parades, but the excitement and energy just surged through the streets like Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
The Bible describes it like this: “Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’” (Matthew 21:8-9 NLT/NIV).
How electric it must been to be standing on the streets of Jerusalem that day.
I remember when President Bush came to speak at my university’s annual benefit dinner. I never got to see him, myself (I was poor college student and nose-bleed seats started at $100). But I remember the hysteria, the hype, the excitement. We’d had important speakers before—senators, star athletes, celebrities. The event is typically Tennessee’s largest one-night fundraiser, generating in excess of $1 million for student scholarships every year. But this year, the President was coming. I remember students and townies lining the streets and peering over one another’s shoulders as this precession of black SUVs pulled up to the gymnasium. That’s the kind of excitement these people felt when Jesus rode into the city.
Do you remember when Jesus first came into your life?
You were excited, weren’t you? Your heart was on fire. You wanted to tell everyone about the hero who saved your soul. That’s how we should feel about Jesus. He deserves all the praise and applause we can muster. He’s the star of the show, the center of the celebration, the hero of history. If we can’t get excited about Jesus, what is there to be excited about!?
Unfortunately, our excitement often fizzles when our expectations aren’t met; which brings us to the second way that this story is like ours. It’s a story of hope.
• A STORY OF HOPE
Unfulfilled hope, to be specific.
In the video clip we watch, Jesus has an interesting encounter. As he enters the city this heckler, whom one of the disciples identifies as Barabbas, starts shouting, “King of Israel, why don’t you make us free? Save us, from the Romans, Lord!” Of course, Jesus just quietly backs him down and the parade resumes.
Now that story isn’t in the Bible. It doesn’t matter what translation you use, you won’t find it. But the screenwriters were brilliant when they wrote this scene, because it helps us to understand the hopes and expectations of the people. We know that Barabbas will later be arrested for murder and insurrection. In other words, he kills Roman soldiers in an attempt to rebel against Rome’s oppressive rule. And that’s what so many of these people wanted Jesus to do.
They were expecting a Messiah King who would lead Israel into a new golden-age, throwing off the shackles of Roman suppression. In another instance earlier in his ministry, the Bible says, “When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, ‘Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!’ When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself” (John 6:14-15 NLT). As they would soon discover, Jesus wasn’t what they were expecting.
Yes, Jesus had come to be King, but Jesus had a spiritual kingdom in mind—a kingdom without boarders or boundaries that would expand without swords or shields. When Jesus was nailed to the cross, countless Jews saw their hopes die with him because he didn’t live up their expectations.
But I don’t think their story is that different from ours.
Let me ask you, has Jesus ever failed to meet your expectations?
Some of us welcome Jesus into our lives, but with naïve hopes. Maybe you thought that once you decided to follow Jesus that everything would be sunshine and roses, but then life happens. Maybe you thought that accepting Jesus would instantly change your outlook on life, set you free from your old habits and ugly attitude, but months later you’re still looking at that same grumpy face in the mirror. Maybe you hope that if you pray about something hard enough or often enough that Jesus is obligated to grant your request, and when he doesn’t it can shake your faith to core and this picture we’ve painted in our minds of who Jesus ought to be falls apart.
Many of the Jews’ hopes went unfulfilled because they tried to force Jesus into their own preconceived notions—like a puzzle piece that just doesn’t belong. If we want our stories to be different, instead of trying to change Jesus we need to let Jesus change us—which bring us to the last parallel between our stories and this one.
• A STORY OF HYPOCRISY
Final, this is a story of hypocrisy.
As Jesus entered the temple, he immediately recognized the deceit and duplicity of the Pharisees and money changers. The Bible says, “Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. He said to them, ‘The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!’” (Matthew 21:12-13 NLT).
These people claimed to serve God, but they really just served their own greed. Jesus had a word for religious people whose character wasn’t consistent with their creed. Over and over throughout the gospels, He called them hypocrites. The word hypocrite actually comes from the Greek theatre. Hypocrite was the Greek word for actors who wore masks and performed on stage.
It reminds me of a story about Theodore Roosevelt. During one of his political campaigns, a delegation stopped by his home in Oyster Bay, Long Island. The President met them with his coat off and his sleeves rolled up. “Ah, gentlemen,” he said, “come down to the barn and we will talk while I do some work.” At the barn, Roosevelt picked up a pitchfork and looked around for the hay. Then he called out, “John, where’s all the hay?” John called down from the hayloft, “Sorry, sir, I ain’t had time to toss it back down again after you pitched it up while the last group of reporters was here.”
Jesus sees right through that sort of show. And he’s not the only one.
If you are a Christian, you ought to know that your neighbors and co-workers have their “hypocrisy-radar” scanning your lives 24/7. What are they looking for? False piety. A holier-than-thou attitude. Saying one thing, but doing another. When God-hungry souls walk into a congregation of wannabe pretenders, they know it. Few things can repel a person from God as efficiently as a hypocritical Christian or a money-hungry church. Bottom line: don’t make a theater production out of your faith.
When Jesus walked into that Temple he was heartbroken by the hypocrisy and greed that he saw, so he cleared the Temple—turning over tables and driving out both sinners and salesmen. What he did in the Temple, he wants to do in your heart.
When Jesus walks into your life, he starts cleaning house. We can fight him tooth and nail and it’ll be a painful process; or, we can let him have his way with us. As God said long ago through the prophet Ezekiel, “I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you” (Ezekiel 36:26-27 NLT).
Conclusion:
So whose story do you relate to most? The hysteria of the crowd, who joyfully and excited praised Jesus and ushered him into their city as well as their hearts? The hopeful Barabbas and others, who wanted Jesus to be a King of their own making but were eventually left disillusioned when Jesus didn’t meet their expectations? Or the hypocritical and money-hungry Pharisees who weren’t really all they pretended to be?
Truth is—we can probably relate to each of them at times. But if we want our story to have a happy ending, then we need to be honest with Jesus, allow him to define his own role in our lives, and embrace him as the hero of our own story.
Once again, I hope that you continue to watch The Bible on the History Channel tonight and next Sunday. And keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities to spark spiritual conversations. Remind people that the book is always better than the movie.
Invitation:
In the meantime, if you’re ready to welcome Jesus into your life or if you’ve been struggling with insincerity or unfulfilled expectations and you’re ready to come clean with Jesus, to accept him as your Savior and the hero of your story, then please come talk with me while we stand and sing.
