Palm Sunday 2021
FOMO: Fear of Missing Out
Scripture: Mark 11:1-10; Mark 15:7-15
Welcome back New Light – it’s a blessing to be able to worship in this place together once again! Today is Palm Sunday, the day we remember Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem before His crucifixion and death. It is the Sunday before Easter Sunday when we celebrate His resurrection from the dead. The title of my message this morning “FOMO: The Fear of Missing Out.” The title of this message was given to me during a conversation I was having with a friend of mine and, when he mentioned it to me, it struck a chord. I want to read two selections of Scripture to you from the book of Mark and I want you to pay close attention to what the crowd was doing in each of these references as we will be focusing on them throughout this message. Let’s begin with Mark 11:1-10.
“And when they came near to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent forth two of His disciples. 2And said unto them, ‘Go your way into the village opposite you: and as soon as you are entered into it, you shall find a colt tied, on which never man sat; loose him, and bring him. 3And if any man say unto you, ‘Why do you this?’ say that the Lord has need of him; and immediately he will send him here.’ 4And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside in a place where two ways met; and they loosed him. 5And certain of them that stood there said unto them, ‘What are you doing, loosing the colt?’ 6And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go. 7And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and He sat upon him. 8And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and spread them in the way. 9And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, ‘Hosanna; Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord. 10Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that came in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.’” (Mark 11:1-10)
Now turn to Mark chapter fifteen and we will begin reading at verse seven. This reference pertains to when Pilate sought to release Jesus and the crowd called for Him to be crucified. “And there was one named Barabbas, who lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. 8And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had always done unto them. 9But Pilate answered them, saying, ‘Will you that I release unto you the King of the Jews?’ 10For he knew that the chief priests had delivered Him out of envy. 11But the chief priests stirred up the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them. 12And Pilate answered and said again unto them, ‘What will you then that I shall do unto Him whom you call the King of the Jews?’ 13And they cried out again, ‘Crucify him.’ 14Then Pilate said unto them, ‘Why, what evil has He done?’ And they cried out the more exceedingly, ‘Crucify him.’ 15And so Pilate, willing to satisfy the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged Him, to be crucified.” (Mark 15:7-15)
On January 6, 2021, we witnessed something in the United States that no one could have possibly ever thought they would see in this country – the attack on the United States Capitol by American citizens. This attack on the U.S. Capitol stemmed from our former President and a group of his supporters believing that the election had been stolen from him and they were going to the Capitol to “Stop the Steal” which was their rallying cry. The crowd had a mixture of people – some were peaceful while others were prepared for the violence which later erupted. Some, who attended the “Save America” rally where the former President spoke before the attack on the Capitol, stated that they got “fired up” at that rally. What I want you to see is how the state of mind shifted in the crowd that even though some went there to peacefully protest, they ended up doing something they had not planned to do because they participated with the crowd. In other words, they joined the crowd because they did not want to miss out on what they believed would be a historical moment/event.
Crowd psychology, also known as mob psychology, is a branch of social psychology. Social psychologists have developed several theories for explaining the ways in which the psychology of a crowd differs from and interacts with that of the individuals within it. This field relates to the behaviors and thought processes of both the individual crowd members and the crowd as an entity. Crowd behavior is heavily influenced by the loss of responsibility of the individual and the impression of universality of behavior (behavior is understood and agreed with by everyone), both of which increase with crowd size. Now following the attack on the U.S. Capitol, the New York Times published an article titled, “Making Sense of ‘Mob’ Mentality.” The article included the following: “Crowds do not act with one irrational mind,” James Jasper, a sociologist at the City University of New York and author of “The Emotions of Protest,” said, “There are many groups, doing different things, for different reasons. That is crucial to understanding how they ultimately behave.”
Now why did I share all of this with you? We are going to look at the crowd of people who cheered for Jesus as their Savior when He entered Jerusalem and then a few days later cheered and cried out for Him to be crucified. How could some of the same people who cheered, laid down palm leaves and their own clothes for His donkey to walk on when He entered Jerusalem now cry for his crucifixion? I believe it was because at both times they were participating as part of the crowd in something they believed was bigger than themselves. They were afraid of missing out without realizing the cost they were paying to be a part of the second crowd. As Christians, are we also paying a price because we have a fear of missing out? What part of the crowd do we have because we have a fear of missing out on something?
Let’s go back and look at both Mark 11 and Mark 15. Let’s examine what the people might have been thinking when He entered Jerusalem versus a few days later when they cried out for his crucifixion.
Mark 11:1-10
We are not going to read the whole passage in Mark 11 again. Instead, we’re going to focus on verses 8, 9 and 10 because I want to draw your attention to some things. Jesus and His disciples are on their way to Jerusalem and had gotten as far as Bethphage and Bethany, which were part of the suburbs of Jerusalem. Jesus tells the disciples to go into a village where they will find a colt that has never been used. The word “colt” in the Greek is “young ass.” Why is this important? In the East, the ass is held in high esteem to this day and whoever is riding an ass is treated with the highest honors. When the Jews saw a young ass that had never been used, they would think about Moses leading his wife, who was seated on an ass. They would think about the judges who went from city to city riding white asses. Every Jew expected the Messiah to enter Jerusalem riding an ass that no one had ever ridden on before. For the Jews, no act could be more perfectly in keeping with the conception of a king of Israel and his claim to be the Messiah. Now with this in mind, let’s read verses 8 through 10 again.
8And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and spread them in the way. 9And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, ‘Hosanna; Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord. 10Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that came in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.’”
As Jesus was riding the young ass toward Jerusalem, He would have slowly begun to attract people’s attention. They would have noticed Him riding the young ass and His disciples walking behind Him slightly to His right and His left, as a king’s soldiers would do to protect the king. This is what people would have expected to see when a person of high status and rank was approaching their city. And for many Jews, what they saw was the king who would release them and free them from the grips of Rome. You see, every Jewish person knew of the promised Messiah who would one day return the Jewish nation to its rightful place of authority and power. They knew that the sign of the promised Messiah would be his triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem on an ass. I want you to close your eyes. I want you to picture the people in awe as they see Jesus approaching and hearing the disciples proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah. I want you to see the looks of shock and unbelief turn into looks of excitement and joy. I want you to see people taking off their outer garments and spreading them on the ground to honor their deliverer. Others cut branches from the public palm trees along the road and spread them to honor their Messiah. See them join the disciples and shouting “Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna! The one coming in the name of the Lord – He is blessed! He is blessed.” Then someone says “Blessed be the kingdom of our father David!” This really sent the crowd into an uproar. When they heard this, they heard “May the kingdom of the Messiah, promised to our father David, be speedily established, and may it long flourish!” Can you hear it New Light? David’s earthly kingdom is about to be restored! Rome will no longer dictate our lives! People are singing and congratulating each other. Strangers are hugging each other in joy. Fathers toss their laughing children in the air. The sounds of jubilation fill the countryside. Can you hear it? Can you see it? Can you see the older people with tears running down their cheeks because they lived to see the prophecy about the promised Messiah coming to pass? New Light, what we see in Mark chapter eleven, verses eight, nine and ten is a celebration like none before it. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was following Jesus, the promised Messiah.
Mark 15:7-15
But all of the jubilation and celebration became a thing of the past in a few short days. When we pick the record up in Mark 15, Judas has betrayed Jesus and He has been delivered into the hands of the religious leaders. We need to read Mark 15 and verse one to help us understand why what we read earlier in verses seven through fifteen happened. “Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.” I want to point out the players responsible for taking Jesus to Pilate. The chief priests. The elders. The scribes. The whole council. Keep them in mind as we look at the mob’s response to Pilate. In the first six verses of this chapter, every one listed in verse one played a role in delivering Jesus to Pilate as someone who was plotting to overthrow Rome and, if found guilty, would be sentenced to death. After questioning Jesus, Pilate knew that Jesus was being set up for a Roman death by the chief priests as we see in verse 10: “For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.” In the past, Pilate would allow the Jews to save someone from the death sentence. In this passage, he offers the Jews a choice between two men – one was a murderer and the other was a Savior. Look again at verse 11. “But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barnabas to them.” The Jewish religious leaders chose to “save” the murderer. Think about that New Light. The religious leaders were so full of envy and hated Jesus so much that, with one voice, they told Pilate to free a person who committed murder in his open rebellion against Rome. When Pilate asked the people what they wanted him to do to Jesus, the crowd that the chief priests had whipped into a frenzy cried “Crucify Him!” And no matter how many times Pilate tried to free Jesus, the crowd shouted “Crucify Him!”
New Light, I want you to again see a picture. A few days earlier, the Jews are singing, dancing and celebrating because the Messiah had finally come. The promise that God had made to David was being fulfilled before their very eyes. But something happened to many of them after the religious leaders hand delivered “their Messiah” to Pilate to pronounce His death sentence. Again, I want you to close your eyes. Jesus is now in Jerusalem and, Mark 14:1 says “After two days, it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death.” In verse 42 of the chapter, we see that Judas, one of Jesus’ disciples, provided the religious leaders the opportunity they needed to arrest Jesus without the people knowing it. I want you to see Jesus being questioned by the religious leaders and beaten by the temple guards all night long. I want you to see the anger on the faces of the temple guards as they beat him. And I want you see the looks of satisfaction on the faces of the religious leaders as they watched. New Light, heaven was in tears that night. Word had gotten out that the religious leaders had put Jesus on trial, condemned Him and then delivered Him to Pilate. When Pilate found no fault in Jesus, the chief priests started chanting “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” Can you see them walking through the crowd to see if there was anyone not chanting with them? Can you see them looking at those who were not chanting and then suddenly they begin to chant too? Remember the title of the message is “The Fear Of Missing Out.” And remember I pointed out the key players responsible for taking Jesus to Pilate and that they were the leaders of the Jewish religion? The religious leaders had so much power in the Jewish culture that one word from them could cost you your job, your home and your friends. All they had to do was excommunicate you and when they did that you were no longer considered a Jew, which meant any claims to an inheritance was forfeited. Any standing in the community was forfeited. You would be shunned by everyone, including your family. Knowing the repercussions that could follow as a result of not loudly and passionately shouting the chant with the chief priests to crucify Jesus is an example of what the Fear Of Missing Out looks like.
The person who is afraid of missing out will do things that, in any other situation, they would not normally do. How many of you have had coworkers who would do anything to gain the supervisor’s favor because of the potential benefits for doing so? That’s an example of “The Fear of Missing Out.” And what about the person who secretly listens to your conversations with another coworker? That’s an example of “The Fear of Missing Out.”
Today we celebrate Palm Sunday – the day of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem to be crucified. As He entered, people praised God for their King. A few days later, with the same loud voices, they shouted to Pilate to crucify Him. In both cases they were participants of the crowd. In both cases they refused to be named as one who did not participate in these historical moments. In both cases they feared missing out on being a part of something big. So the question that I have for you is this: what do you fear missing out on? Do you fear missing out on a promotion if you do not sacrifice your family for your job in order to show you are committed? Do you fear missing out on your prime seat at the game or the tailgate party if you go to Church first and arrive at the Sunday game a few minutes before the game starts? Do you fear missing out on that special boy or girl if you do not give them the desires of their heart? Do you fear missing out on being accepted if you stand for righteousness while refusing to give in to the ways of the world? And finally, do you fear missing out on heaven in order to be accepted by the world?
The last question is most important because if you answer “yes” to that last question, your answers to all of the other questions no longer matter. If we do not fear missing out on God’s blessings in order to be a part of this world, we have already lost. Next week is Easter. Please think about what Jesus did for you on the cross and what He continues to do after He was resurrected and seated on the right hand of the Father. May God bless and keep you New Light!
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
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