Palm Sunday is when we remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
Can you imagine what it must have been like on that day almost 2000 years ago?
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, may have seemed to those who were there to be the high point of his ministry.
All of those people together to see and hear him preach.
They are shouting Hosanna, Hosanna
Lord Save us.
He looked to be the hero,
if not superstar of the day.
His name was on every one’s lips.
Thousands upon thousands spoke his praises.
Every one wanted to see him, to be near him, to be present, to see perhaps whether he would do another miracle, or heal the sick.
On Palm Sunday Jesus accepted their praises, knowing that before the end of the week they would all turn against him.
Within a week, these same people who were parading through the street,
waving palm branches and shouting Hosanna to our Saviour,
would stand before him and Pilate and yell…
Crucify him, Crucify him!
Why? How could this have happened?
What changed the hearts of these people?
Jesus, as he rode into Jerusalem,
wept for his beloved city,
as it says in Luke’s gospel, for he knew the dreams of this day would turn into the reality of pain, death, and suffering.
During the week that followed this great triumphant ride into the city, Jesus spoke of the realities of who he was.
Prior to this event, we have seen Jesus surrounded by people before.
We have seen the crowds at Capernaum,
and other places in his ministry.
Satan had tempted him in the Wilderness with fame, fortune, and power. But, Jesus did not yield.
Now after three and ½ years he is preparing to enter the city of Jerusalem, and the people are expecting a conquering hero.
Jesus was there for a specific purpose!
Jesus had come to Jerusalem with a purpose.
On Monday, Jesus sees the height of corruption in the temple area.
There merchants and moneychangers took up the whole of the court of the gentiles, for their businesses,
leaving no place for those outside of the covenant, those seekers who did not grow up knowing the law of Moses, leaving no place for them to come and pray.
Let me read from Mark 11v15-18
On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: “`My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it `a den of robbers.’ “The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.
Jesus overturns tables and chases money changers out of the temple - this is definitely not a picture of gentle Jesus, meek and mild.
With a handmade whip, he drove out the merchants, and over turned the moneychangers tables crying, “My Father’s house shall be called a house of prayer for all Nations…but you have made it a den of thieves”
No one could claim that he was non-confrontational or non-judgmental.
He told of the temple’s demise, he told of the coming of the Son of Man.
On Tuesday, the chief priests and teachers of the law start harassing him in earnest.
As he was giving to the people some final glimpses of the kingdom of God before his suffering, his enemies approached.
“Who do you think you are?
By what authority are you doing these things?”
It was a question easily answered,
but do you hear the animosity, the hatred,
the venom, evident in those who asked it.
The people who should have known,
those who by years of long study,
should have recognized him and welcomed him, sought to trip him up and trap him, and before the week was over would cast their vote to have him put to death.
On Wednesday, one of his close friends,
one who was with him for three years,
one who had access to the deepest longings of his heart, agreed to betray him to his enemies.
This betrayal was for money.
For 30 pieces of silver, the price of a common slave.
On Thursday, Jesus had one final meal with his disciples.
He had one last night,
one last time to try to teach his closest followers what was coming,
one last night to prepare thembecause He knew their love for him was weak.
He knew all of them would be scattered,
and even Peter, his closest friend,
would deny three times that he even knew the Lord
Jesus watched as Judas left the table,
and knew that in a few hours he would return with a band of soldiers to have Him arrested.
Jesus knew that in spite of all his efforts,
his disciples only just barely understood the significance of this night,
had only the barest perception of what he was going to do for them.
Jesus knew that in many ways, though they were with him bodily, he was very much alone.
It was in this way, that Jesus entered the Garden of Gethsemane.
For three years he had taught.
For three years he had healed.
For three years he had tried to make a difference in this world and to point people to His father
and now it had come down to this.
Jesus knew what He was going to face.
Others might guess what was going to happen,
Jesus knew.
From the very beginning he knew that the people would reject him and his message,
would reject his call to draw near to God.
Jesus knew that he would have to die,
would have to surrender his life.
He knew because he was God.
But he also knew that He had to make the offer,
He had to walk among the people and offer them the chance to embrace Him, even knowing they would reject Him, but He had to make the offer.
And so it had come to this.
And the worst part was the anticipation.
Jesus knew that before the day was done that He would die, and not just die, but die a very painful death.
Oh sure He was God He could make it so it wouldn’t hurt, but that wasn’t a part of the plan.
Jesus Christ, the son of God, knew that before the sun had set one more time that He would offer up the supreme sacrifice for the world,
not just for the world, for you, (and you and you).
Because before the day was done he would offer himself up to suffer and die.
And with those thoughts racing through his mind he fell to his knees and began to pray.
This is the prayer of Jesus. “Abba, Father,”
The first thing we discover in this prayer is Jesus knew who he was praying to.
God the Father, who loves and cares about his children.
Abba was an Aramaic word that meant father but more than simply father, Abba means Daddy or Dad, it is a term of endearment, signifying a relationship.
It’s used only three times in the New Testament.
This was the first. The other two times Paul uses it to describe the relationship we need to have with our heavenly Father.
Romans 8:15 For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption by which we cry, Abba, Father!
Galatians 4:6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
I understand that the concept of God as our Father is not a positive for everyone.
Some people were brought up by fathers who were cruel and vicious, others were simply ignored
A father is responsible for loving and caring for his children.
As Jesus reaches the most crucial time in his
thirty-three years on this earth, knowing what was about to happen Jesus cries out to father God, pouring out his heart.
There needs to be a relationship, and God can only become our Father when we become his children.
You are a child of God if you have believed in Jesus and accept him and you live obeying God’s command. Then you can call out to Him, Abba.
Jesus not only knew who he was praying to
He Knew the Father’s Power.
“Abba, Father,” He prayed everything is possible for you.
What’s the point of praying if you don’t believe that God has the power to answer your prayers?
Somehow we need to get our head around the concept that everything and anything is possible for God.
The Angel Gabriel summed it up in Luke 1:37
“For nothing is impossible with God.”
Time and time again in the Bible we hear the words everything is possible for God, anything is possible for God, all things are possible for God.
But understand there are things that God won’t do.
God has the power to answer all our prayers,
and we need to pray believing that He will answer those prayers,
but understand that if He doesn’t it’s not because he can’t and it’s not because he doesn’t want the best for us,
but we may have a different idea than God of what is best for us.
So Jesus prayed to His Father, believing that His Father had the power to answer his prayer and then
Jesus Prayed for Himself
Abba, Father, everything is possible for you.
Please take this cup of suffering away from me.
Do you feel like praying for something for yourself is wrong?
It’s like somewhere along the line we have been told that we should only pray for others.
That’s wrong.
When we pray the Lord’s Prayer – the family prayer, the one that Jesus taught the disciples,
we pray that God would give us our daily bread,
that God would forgive us,
that God would keep us from temptation.
Sometimes when we pray for ourselves we do pray for selfish things.
You can’t deny that, but for the most part it’s not wrong to ask God to be with us and to take care of us and to provide for us.
And He wants to do that, but you need to trust his will and purposes.
It’s easy to pray to God our Father,
it’s easy to acknowledge His power,
it’s easy to ask Him to take care of us.
It’s difficult to surrender to His will.
“Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.”
Jesus Prayed For God’s Will
Time and time again it is proved that God is smarter then we are.
It’s no contest, and yet time and time again we want to pray to God, Yet I want my will, not yours.
When Noah chose God’s will he was able to build an ark that saved him and his family,
When Joseph chose God’s will he was able to save his family from starvation.
When Moses chose God’s will he was able to deliver his people out of the slavery of Egypt.
When Gideon chose God’s will he was able to save the Israelites from the Midianites.
When David Chose God’s will he was able to defeat the giant.
And yet when Saul chose his will over God’s he lost his throne.
------------------------
It is constantly amazing to me that Jesus would find it necessary to spend time in prayer.
He was the Son of God, God in the flesh.
The question then arises, why would God need to pray.
It would be like talking to yourself; at least that is how it seemed.
Jesus did need to find time in prayer and he found comfort from spending time with his father.
This kind of a relationship was clearly good for Jesus.
If the relationship is good for Jesus then it must be much more important for you and I.
We need to know God better. That relationship will bring more comfort to us, when we face hard or even outrageous situations.
Most people experience hurt in their lives.
When that happens we feel betrayed, and alone.
I think that might have been what was going through Jesus head when he found the disciples sleeping.
He had told Peter, James and John of the agony he was experiencing.
He made a request of them.
He said, “stay here and keep watch.”
Jesus comes back to find the group of three asleep, and he says, “Could you not keep watch for one hour?”
I think he addressed Peter, because Peter was the one who had claimed he would not allow death to come to Jesus.
Now Peter can’t even keep his eyes open.
Jesus knew the human frailties of his friends.
He knew they had good intentions,
but they were physically unable to stay awake.
I believe Jesus really intended for his disciples to stay with him during those hours.
Instead we see them falling asleep.
Jesus knew the pain of disappointment.
He knows what it is to pour out your heart full of concerns and receive an apathetic response.
He knew what it was to place expectation on someone and have them fail.
He knew what it was to hurt and have no one to comfort him, except for the father of course.
I believe it is safe for us to say, Jesus knows and understands.
The crowds of Good Friday turned against Jesus because he didn’t fulfill the dreams they had of him on Palm Sunday.
Jesus was not the earthly king they expected,
Jesus was the heavenly king.
Jesus was not a warrior who would come to destroy the Romans but a warrior who would come to destroy death.
Jesus was the Messiah who would suffer for the sins of the all people.
And the people cried crucify him
because they could not understand that he was to be the suffering Messiah.
They cried crucify him because Jesus did not fulfill their expectations.
They cried crucify him because they though Jesus had let them down.
They cried crucify him because they wanted a warrior king who would lead them into battle.
They wanted another David, not another prophet.
Yet Jesus was the lamb who was to be sacrificed!
The people missed the point and they were angry.
They did not understand that they could be freed from the bondage to sin.
They only wanted their physical freedom,
not their spiritual freedom.
Because of this they rejected the one man who could truly save them.
Palm Sunday was the beginning of something greater.
One week later was Easter Sunday.
That day Jesus overcame death and rose from the grave.
Jesus the Saviour had paid the price for our sin. Jesus the Messiah conquered death.
Jesus has the power to save you.
Jesus has the power to set you free from your past.
It’s a power that looks you in the eye, forgives your sin, your fear, your anger, your resentment, your prejudice!
Jesus died for you and for me!
In His grace, in His mercy, in His love, he invites each of us to discover who He really is.
He seeks to be in relationship with you.
He wants to be your saviour, your king, your Lord and your friend.
2000 years ago Jesus sacrificed his life for our sins.
Everyday Jesus gives us hope and strength to carry on.
Jesus understands when we have disappointments.
He understands when we feel alone, but he also knows that God is always with us.
He will never leave us. He will never leave you.
God’s faithfulness will outlast anything we can imagine.
