What are the strongest days of the week?
An Episcopal priest was preaching in an unfamiliar church one Sunday morning. As he stood in the pulpit to begin the service, he tapped the microphone to make sure that it was on. He heard nothing even though it was working fine. He wanted to give the standard greeting “Peace be with you” to which the congregation should have said “and also with you”. . . So he leaned closer to the microphone and said, he thought, to himself; "There is something wrong with this thing." The congregation, being well trained church people immediately responded, "And also with you."
The programmer’s wife tells him: “Run to the store and pick up a loaf of bread. If they have eggs, get a dozen.”
The programmer comes home with 12 loaves of bread.
What’s the difference between a tuna and a piano? You can tun’a piano but you can’t piano a tuna.
Now . . . a joke you may not get unless you know a little bit about theoretical physics:
I was on a train with Einstein, and he turns to me and says “Does Delhi stop at this train?”
Now, that’s funny because according to Einstein’s theory of relativity, motion is a matter of perspective. . . if you’re moving parallel to another object moving the same direction at the same speed (say you go for a walk with a friend) you both appear to one another to be not moving . . . but if you stop and your friend keeps moving, your friend appears to be moving, though his speed and direction have not changed . . . now if you’re on a train and moving at 60 km per hour the land around you appears to be moving past very quickly, while everyone with you on the train appears to be stationary. . . and if you are on the platform at a station the train is approaching, the train appears to be moving-your perception of movement is relative to your perspective. . .
That’s why Einstein asks “Does Delhi stop at this train?”
Get it?
If you still don’t get it, then you should completely understand this message.
Today we’re looking at the events of Palm Sunday.
I’d like to suggest to you that it is a story of people who just don’t get it. To see this, it may be helpful to re-tell the story, to get it clear in our minds:
If you want to understand this message fully, you may want to get a Harmony of the Gospels – or just read the story of palm Sunday in Matthew 22:1-10, Mark 11:1-10, John 12, and Luke 19:28-44
The preparation:
The day before, Mary had poured out precious ointment, and anointed Jesus.
The Disciples complained-esp. Judas. Jesus rebuked them “she has anointed my body for burial”.
Jesus sends two unnamed disciples to fetch the donkey mommy & young donkey-one that’s never been ridden. Some disciples drape their coats on the donkey to make it more cushy for Jesus.
Bethany is about 3 km from Jerusalem. . . Jesus has a bit of distance to cover on the donkey. As he travels, a crowd forms, and people begin to throw down branches, and even their clothes, to pave His way.
The People, even the children, shout “Hosanna! (Save Now!) Blessed is the King of Israel, who comes in the Name of the Lord . . . Blessed is the Son of David!” They are quoting Psalm 118.
John tells us the disciples didn’t really understand this until later. Later they’ll see this fulfills the prophecy of Zechariah 9.
As they enter Jerusalem, Jesus Weeps. . . He mourns over the destruction that will come on the city. The adulation of the crowd was NOT something which kept Jesus excited. He understood the truth. The people in that enthusiastic throng would become a mad mob within only a few days.
They enter the Temple
And while He is there He heals the lame and the blind.
The Pharisees are angry-they complain that they’re getting nowhere . . .
(Yes. Everyone is rejoicing. Jesus is healing. The Pharisees are complaining-what does this say about complaining? Some people can always find an excuse to complain-to see in any good and great situation reason to be sad and angry.)
They complain to Jesus and He says “out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise” and, that if the kids stop shouting “the stones, the rocks themselves will start to sing” . . .
Greeks want to meet Jesus, but He says . . . the grain of wheat must fall to the ground, and those who serve the Master will be with him (falling to the ground and dying) . . .
Jesus says “what shall I say?” “Glorify Thy name” the Father answers with a voice like thunder . . .
Jesus says “If I am lifted up I will draw all men to me”. . . the crowd understand He speaks of His own death-
At the end of that exchange Jesus cries out
I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. John 12:46
So, Who is it that does not understand?
The Disciples: They did not understand the anointing at Bethany-that Mary was pouring out the ointment to prepare Jesus for His death. They did not understand what was happening with Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey.
The Crowd: They are rejoicing, and, I suppose, that’s good. Yet Jesus was not impressed. He wept and said “you do not know the time of your visitation”. They did not realize who Jesus really was, and once they did understand, they were not ready to receive Him. They wanted a Super Soldier. They were not ready to receive Him as the Suffering Servant.
The Pharisees: Even with all of the wondrous works Jesus had done, from turning water into wine, to healing the blind and lame to feeding thousands with food for one, to raising people from the dead-all of these indicators that Jesus was not merely mortal man-the Pharisees could only see their own power and position-they were blind to who Jesus was. John says ‘they would not believe . . . therefore they could not believe”
What did they not understand?
You may have heard of the phrase Tender Loving Care-TLC.
This may help you remember some of the misunderstandings of Palm Sunday.
T Timing. Jesus knew the time. It was Passover. I’ve sometimes wondered why Jesus was not crucified at Yom Kippur-the Day of Atonement-the day when a lamb is sacrificed to roll back the sins of the nation for a year. I think there are many reasons,
1. One is Jesus did not come only to die for the sins of Israel-He came to deliver all those who were under the sentence of death-the passing of the death angel-by shedding His blood. In Egypt every home that was covered by the blood was saved. The firstborn were not killed that night, whether they were Israeli, or Egyptian, or any from any other nationality or language or even any other creed-If they were covered by the blood they were saved.
2. The Passover is celebrated by Jews all over the world every year as a remembrance of deliverance from bondage-freedom from slavery. God has sent his One and Only Son to set all people free from bondage to sin. This is not a covering or rolling back of sin or guilt. It is FREEDOM.
3. The Lamb is central to the service of Passover. The family was to choose the lamb on the 10th of Nissan, take the lamb into their homes-treat the lamb as one of their own family for four days. The lamb was then to be slaughtered on the 14th of Nissan. Jesus entered Jerusalem on the 10th of Nissan-four days before the feast.
He knew the timing. He chose when His entry would be. The people around Him had no clue.
Second, the people were ignorant of God’s great Love (remember TLC?)
L Love. Have you noticed how often in the New Testament, when someone wants to prove God’s love, they point to Cross. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and gave His Son as a propitiation (sufficient sacrifice) for our sins” (1 John 4:10). “God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son” (John 3:16), “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8) . . . The crowd did not understand, Jesus loved the Romans who oppressed them. Jesus loved the thief who was crucified with Him. The Pharisees, the teachers of the Law did not understand that Jesus loved scribes, and the prostitutes, the tax collectors, and the sinners. Even His own Disciples did not understand the full extent of His love.
C Command. (TLC) At the end of this momentous day, Jesus says to the gathered multitude
For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” John 12:49-50
Almost no one there seemed to understand that Jesus came to fulfill the command given Him by His Father. He set his face toward Jerusalem, knowing that there He would meet His destiny-the destiny of death on a cruel cross, the destiny of rising again from the dead, and ascending to the right hand of the Father. Jesus knew what He was doing (John 13:1-3).
So we see the people around Jesus did not understand His TLC-His Timing, Love, and Command.
There were some there, however, that did seem to understand, at least a bit.
One is the donkey. Yes. The donkey. This was a donkey that had never carried a load. Have you ever ridden a horse? I’ve only ridden a few times, once on the shores of Southern California, and once in the rolling hills of Idaho. What was most stunning about the experience for me was that this creature beneath me had a mind of its own. It had the power, if it chose, to throw me off its back. It had a choice to obey or not obey my instructions-just because I wanted the horse to go faster or slower didn’t mean it was interested in cooperating. Horses & donkeys normally have to go through a system of training in order to get used to having a load or a rider. First you have to put a cloth on its back. Let it get used to the cloth . . . then, maybe, a saddle . . . later, carefully, slowly, a load or a person. Each step of the way if the beast does not cooperate the process can be very tricky. That donkey had had no training, no experience. Yet when the Disciples came to lead him away from his home, he did not argue. When they put their coats on his back, he did not squirm. When Jesus sat on him, he did not He-Haw and try to kick Him off. He knew his role.
Once Billy Graham was asked what he thought of his own ministry. He said he felt he was like the donkey, His job was to lift Jesus up and carry Him and His message wherever He chose to go . . . The donkey seemed to understand and respond to his purpose and calling better than some people.
Two was Mary. She seemed to understand the weight of what was happening. She had been listening at Jesus feet and, unlike some of Jesus’ big 12 men, she really listened. She seems to have understood that Jesus was on His way to death. She knew her time with him was short. She responded well.
And, of course
Jesus understood.
What was the response of those who understood?
The Donkey Worked-and his work was to walk, and carry Jesus to/through the crowd.
Mary Worshiped –and the fragrance of her worship filled all the room.
Jesus Wept. He also healed those who were brought to Him, and taught the truth.
What about us?
Do we understand and respond to the TLC of God? Do we get it?
How do we respond to God’s Timing, when it does not match our own?
How do we embrace (or reject) God’s Love, both the Love He gives us, and the Love he desires to show through us to others?
How do we obey God’s Command, even when it means our own suffering and loss?
Are we willing to work, to worship, and, even, to weep in order to accomplish God’s purposes for our lives?
I encourage you to meditate on these questions throughout this week, as we prepare our hearts for this week of seeking the Lord how we are to understand and respond to God’s Timing, Love, and Command to us, this Passover and Easter.
