The road Jesus took to the cross
Selected Scriptures
Good Morning everyone again, glad for those who are joining us by internet.
Today we look at what the church calls Palm Sunday.
A day we look at the final week of Jesus ministry before He goes to the cross and then the celebration of the empty tomb on Easter Sunday.
To race to the cross and the resurrection without seeing the final week of Jesus would be like getting to the end of a movie or a book and not seeing how it turns out.
Holy week is a time of reflection. Every one of us needs to remember what Jesus has done for us.
They were looking forward to what He was going to do and we are remembering what He has already done.
The gospels all record the account of Jesus coming into Jerusalem and the final week of Jesus ministry.
John 12:12-
“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 Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel.”
Jesus knew that the same crowd was going to condemn him and turn against him.
He knew that they had the wrong idea of who he was and why he was there.
He predicts his death and explains his intentions.
“The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it produces only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”
The conspiracy against Jesus had been building for years. They attempted to arrest him early, they tried to kill him before he gets to the cross, and they lied, conspired to use him as a political tool to the people, but they could not stop His plan of redemption for mankind.
Religiously, He was a big threat to several sects of people. The Pharisees did not know what to do with him because the people claimed him to be more than a man and Jesus never denied it. He openly claimed to be the Son of God.
He upset the business world by going after the moneychangers for corrupt business practices.
He called the religious big shots vipers, white-wash tombs, and won debates on the Word of God.
Some loved him, some hated him, and when the ones that loved him understood that he did not come to destroy the evil Romans, they went after him too.
Let me tell you something… if Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday are only stories you read about, you have not meet Christ Jesus, you have no celebration!
A lot of people know about the cross and know about Jesus Christ, but few have experienced the cross and have allowed Jesus Christ to change their life forever!
I am concerned at specialized holidays of the Christian calendar. Because we think we know the story so well that we tune out the fact that every time Jesus gathers us He wants to speak to us and challenge us.
We are so prone to listening to the so called experts of this world that we forget that the words of Jesus need no higher authority. (quote me if you want too)
Quote-
I preach as though Christ was crucified yesterday, rose from the dead today, and is coming back tomorrow.
Martin Luther
We forget that this rag-tag group of disciples that Jesus put together was as dysfunctional, confused, scared, and disorganized as the church people today.
Christians today say that it would be easier to serve God if we could see Him, If He made Himself more real in our lives.
It was not true then and it is not true today.
Most every one of us sitting here has had some sort of an encounter with God where He made Himself real to us.
We have decided or we are still deciding wither we are going to respond to that encounter with Him.
The Bible is full of examples of the apostles falling short, having doubt, and making bad choices.
That gives me hope! He did not give up on them and He will not give up on us.
Peter was always getting ahead of Jesus and putting his foot in his mouth and doing things that he said he would never do….
“Lord, where are you going? Jesus replied, where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later. Peter asked, Lord, why can’t I follow now, I will lay down my life for you. Then Jesus answered, will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”
Do you want to know what the problem with Peter was and what the same problem most people still suffer today? They follow Jesus from a distance!
They don’t walk with Him.
They just are satisfied if they are close, following too close would mean that we would have to change some things…we would have to be battle ready.
It would mean that we have to purposely be listening to His voice directing our lives instead of living our own lives and hoping that Jesus would fix things as we need Him too.
Check this out
Matthew 26:57-58
“Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the teacher of the law and the elders has assembled. But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.”
Where was Peter? Mixed in with the guards- not where he was supposed to be.
At a distance- safe distance away as to not be thought as one of them.
After all, he did not want to get in trouble from the world for serving Jesus.
He did not want to be labeled a Jesus freak.
That is why he denied Jesus three times- he did not set out to, but he was too far from him. He tried to serve him from a distance and it does not work. It is impossible to serve God from a distance.
It is why he denied him three times
It is why he wanted to cut the ear of the soldier and Jesus had to fix it.
It was why none of them could pray and be effective for the kingdom of God at the garden of Gethsemene.
When we realize that we are more like Peter than we want to admit, we will be able to bridge the gap from distant seeing him to walking with Him. (Repeat)
Each one of us who has been a believer for awhile had to lose some friends because of our faith, lost some family members who do not look at us the same as they once did.
If you have not experienced that, I wonder if there has been transformation in your life yet.
If we are not careful, we let the world dictate our behavior instead of following Jesus.
I will go as far to say that if you have not lost some, you are too far away from Jesus.
If you only hang around people just like you, you are too far from Jesus. (Repeat)
Beth Moore
“There are few things more useless to the gospel cause than a mess of Christians who only build relationships with others just like them.”
Faith that does not affect your life is not really faith that will change your life.
Your faith can move mountains, but it also can create mountains too.
The world is watching us- you and me! We have a choice to follow Jesus closely or from a distance. We will not make an impact from a distance, they won’t see Jesus- they will see us! And we don’t look so good without Jesus!
I want to share some Scriptures with you this morning, I would like you to write them down and meditate on them this week during your time with God.
Joshua 24:15-
“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, weather the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
From a distant, we will make many mistakes and do things in our own strength and power.
You have got to make a diligent decision to follow Jesus. Intentional. On purpose.
None of us are perfect, but walking in Jesus is a whole lot safer.
Galatians 1:10-
“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God, or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
Paul was once slave to sin, and by choice walked in the redemption of Christ.
If walking with Jesus doesn’t change you, you are too far away.
The gospel is all about Jesus and not us- if Jesus is not leading change spots.
One more
1 Peter 3:15-16
“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to every one who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. Keeping a clear conscious, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”
Winding this down,
Palm Sunday is all about Jesus coming in our lives to accomplish what we could not do in ourselves.
It is about a God that would not give up on us- I don’t know where your at this morning, but if you are too far from Jesus, move up. Don’t be at a distance. Don’t let the world dictate how you walk with Jesus.
There are critics-
There are the curious-
There are a core group of people that are His followers.
All this time, people thought they controlled Jesus, He knew what was to happen and by choice loved us.
No more hiding!
No more thinking that you are not good enough- none of us are! He loves us anyway!
To those that thought they would put Jesus away- they were wrong.
To those that keep putting it off, it is a dangerous place to be.
Years ago, before Pastor Kerry Willis was our District Superintendent, District Superintendent Newell Smith daughter Trisha had become deathly ill. She had caught a virus they thought was going to kill her. She was only about 38 years old. She had pneumonia that brought infection that they could not identify and she could not breathe. She had to be placed in an induced coma and put on a ventilator. They were afraid that she would die on this ventilator. I think of those who went through Covid-19 years later and wondered if they would get off the ventilator. She had made a commitment to God at an early age but was by her own words distant of Jesus in her life. I believe many people had been praying for her and God graciously answered prayer. They took her off the ventilator and her oxygen levels improved and she was healed. Trisha’s first words when she got off the ventilator and could speak was concern for her three-year old son. The second thing said to her parents was “God has given me more time hasn’t he?”
As we move to the most holy time of Christian faith, take time to do an inventory of where Jesus is in your life.
We do not know how much time we have left.
Jesus knows our heart, he knows everything about us.
Time can have a way of changing things but time also can slip away from us- Jesus weep over Jerusalem because they did not know or understand who Jesus was and what He was accomplishing.
They though they need a king to set them free- that was right but they did not understand to full extent.
They wanted a king- Jesus wanted to be their savior
They wanted him to change Rome- He wanted to change their hearts
They wanted power given back to them- Jesus wanted peace and a right relationship with God
They saw the Romans as the problem- He said that we are the problem.
Jesus has a plan and each of us are in it. Jesus wants to see a change of attitude.
“Rejoice greatly O daughter of Jerusalem, see your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey.”
Illustration
A person tells the story of what he thinks of his pastor.
He will take you up to the mountains and down to the valley.
He will bring you to laughter and to tears.
He will have you jumping for joy and then falling to your knees
But by the time he is finished, he will always bring you to the foot of the cross.
What a nice thing to say about your pastor- I am praying that Jesus has brought you to the foot of the cross.
Hebrews 11:6- “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because he who comes to him must believe that he exists, and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
I know that he is real! I have a personal relationship with Him
My spirit bears witness with his spirit
I am praying that you settle your relationship with Him this morning.
Amen.
