Please stand with me as we say together our newest memory Scripture ...
2 Timothy 2:11-13
“Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him. If we disown Him, He will also disown us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown
Himself.”
And our memory "refresher" Scripture is 1 Corinthians 10:13 ...
1 Corinthians 10:13 (ISV)
“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. But when you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.”
You may be seated.
Please open your Bibles to John 12:12-19 which we will read in a few minutes.
This, of course, is Palm Sunday; the day we remember Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem in preparation for the upcoming Passover Festival.
Jesus has acquired the colt of a donkey which has never been ridden to carry Him into Jerusalem. When He rides into Jerusalem there is a crowd with Him and many in this crowd had seen the raising of Lazarus from the dead.
Also, the Jewish religious leaders were on the lookout to see if Jesus would be coming to the festival or not.
With that in mind let’s go ahead and read John 12:12-19
John 12:12-19 (Jesus enters Jerusalem)
“The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting …”
Not only were people coming into the festival but people were going out to meet Him, to honor Him and to escort Him into Jerusalem.
In Matthew it says that, “… the whole city was stirred …”
The Amplified Bible translates it this way, the whole “… city became agitated and [trembling with excitement] ….”
We know that there were at least two groups of people:
Those who were excited about Jesus coming to the festival feast
Those who were wishing Jesus would just go away, or better yet, die
So, we know that many of those who were excited about Jesus coming to Jerusalem were not only rushing out to greet Him but were shouting praises of great honor for Him.
“Hosanna!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!” Psalm 118:25-26
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
Hosanna (Save us or Save us now)
Blessed is He who comes in the name (in the authority) of the LORD!
Blessed is the King of Israel.
Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the authority of God Himself, even the King of Israel!
"Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”
Some things Jesus seemed to do in order to fulfill ancient Prophecies.
Other things were clearly beyond the control of someone who was a mere human such as: being born to a virgin, being in the lineage of King David and of the tribe of Judah, being born in Bethlehem, being raised in Nazareth and many others.
"At first His disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about Him and that these things had been done to Him."
In some Bibles this sentence is in parenthesis because it is inserted here for explanation and not part of the ongoing series of events that are unraveling here.
“At first His disciples did not understand all this …”
Aren’t we all prone to this, especially as newer Christians?
Difficult situations and circumstances come into our lives and we wonder where the Lord is in all of it.
However, as we grow in holiness and in Christian maturity and in our personal relationship with the Lord we are more able to “weather the storm” without understanding what the Lord is doing. This give us time to see that the Lord was working in our lives to bring others to grow us in the Lord or perhaps to bring others to faith in Jesus.
There is a very important component to this verse and that is where it says, “Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize ….”
What does “glorified” in this verse mean?
It means that He was raised from the dead with a resurrected, immortal body.
It also speaks of Jesus’ return to glory at the right hand of God the Father.
We will understand very little of Jesus and His working in this world as long as He is not glorified in our hearts.
We will understand more when Jesus is glorified in our hearts.
We will understand even more when we receive our glorified bodies and are standing in the presence of our glorified Savior, the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the earth.
Now John returns to the action at hand …
"Now the crowd that was with Him when He called Lazarus from the tomb and raised Him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that He had performed this sign, went out to meet Him. So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after Him!”
The crowd who witnessed the raising of Lazarus from the dead is doing two things; they are following Jesus to the festival and they are telling others about what they saw.
And … I am certain that they are hoping to see more!!!
“This sign” … proof of God working in and through this Person.
Everyone in the city is there for the festival. Now people start flooding OUT of the city to meet Jesus because of what they have heard.
This frustrates the Pharisees and they start arguing and accusing each other.
John 12:19 NASB, “So the Pharisees said to one another, ‘You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.’”
In this whole event we basically see two groups and one group that is not mentioned.
First we see the pro-Jesus group; those who have been following Him through some or all of His three years of ministry. They have heard Him preach, they have heard Him debate with the Jewish authorities, they may have eaten some of the miraculous food when Jesus fed the 4,000 or 5,000 with just a few loaves and fish. They most certainly have heard of or witnessed some of Jesus’ miraculous healings the most breathtaking of which was His raising of Lazarus from the dead!
Someone like Him must certainly be the Messiah, the One who will deliver Israel from the humiliating Roman occupation!
“Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the LORD, even the King of Israel!”
The second group we see is the anti-Jesus group! These are the ones who are trying to protect what freedom they do have under the Roman domination.
They are allowed to have their temple.
They are allowed to hold their festivals and perform the ritual sacrifices.
They are not forced to bow down to other gods.
And, they are saying to one another, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” - John 11:50
The third group that is not mentioned is the “I don’t care either way” group.
Maybe He’s the Messiah, maybe He’s the devil; either way I don’t care; it makes no matter to me.
What is the common thread running through all of these three groups?
It’s all about now! It’s not about eternity!
On Friday, Karenlee, Marci and Matt went to see the movie Paul, Apostle of Christ.
The setting of the movie is in the time when Paul is in prison in Rome awaiting his execution.
Christians are being burned as human street lamps along to provide light.
Other Christians are being fed to lions and other beasts or being publicly executed.
In the movie Paul is telling Luke a parable. In the parable he says that this life is like a man going to the ocean scooping up a handful of water. The only problem is that the water runs through your fingers no matter how you try to hold onto it. Soon it is gone.
But, eternity is like the rest of the ocean in comparison.
The problem is that we live for the handful of water and ignore the ocean of eternity.
That is what the crowds of pro-Jesus, anti-Jesus and ignore-Jesus people were doing, they were living for this life, for the little handful of water and ignoring the ocean of eternity.
This is a deadly virus that has infected large portions of the church here in America!
This past week I was at our every other month prayer gathering for area pastors.
At that gathering one of the pastors who is from a church that is fairly liberal in its theology made the statement that he wished that people would take the Bible at least as seriously as they take the US constitution.
The US constitution, the constitution of Zimbabwe, the constitution of Indonesia, the constitution of North Korea and others are all temporal; they all belong to the “handful of water”.
The Bible and the teachings of Christ are all eternal, they belong to the ocean of eternity.
You may think I’m a traitor to the cause of democracy in the US, but this past week I have started something on Face Book. Whenever I see a political post I click on it and check the box that says, “hide all posts from” whatever political or news site is involved.
Does that mean that I am not concerned about our society and about the constitution of the United States? Absolutely not!
What it says is that I want to live in the ocean of eternity starting right now.
The problem is not with the Democrats or the Republicans or the Libertarians or the Socialists; the problem is that too many Christians of every political persuasion are living in the handful of water and ignoring the ocean.
This is EXACTLY the same situation that took place on what we call Palm Sunday 2,000 year ago.
Mark 8:36 NIV
“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
One more thought from the Paul, Apostle of Christ Movie …
Luke was speaking to a group of Christians who would be killed the very next day by being torn about by wild beasts and he says …
“There will be a moment of pain and then you will be in the presence of Jesus.”
That is living in the ocean of eternity …
The Nation of Israel had lived predominately in the “handful of water” for most of their existence. One part of Jesus’ journey into Jerusalem on that day is found in …
Luke 13:34-35 NIV
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD.’”
Luke 19:41-44 NIV
“As (Jesus) approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.’”
As we walk through this “handful of water” we call life we must realize that Jesus is looking over us as He was looking over Jerusalem that day 2,000 years ago.
The Lord has faithfully called us to live in the ocean of eternity, casting aside the handful of water of this life.
Have we? Will we?
Does the Lord weep over your life?
Is the Lord saying to you, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace ….”
There is no peace in the “handful of water” there is only peace in the “ocean of eternity” where Jesus is exalted as King of Glory and where we can start living right now.
Closing comments and prayer
Dismissal to dinner after church
