MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(REVISED: 2017)
TEXT: John 19:25-27; Matthew 27:40-42
A. As you know, today is celebrated throughout the Christian world as "Palm Sunday" in remembrance of that day nearly 2,000 years ago when Jesus made what is called His "triumphal entry" into Jerusalem.
(PowerPoint of the crowd welcoming Jesus.)
So enthusiastic were the people in welcoming Him that crowds lined the streets, throwing flowers, & spreading their cloaks on the road as a carpet for Him. And following the traditional method of welcoming kings, they cut palm branches & waved them in the air before Him.
In the face of such a wild & tumultuous event, the Pharisees who had been plotting against Jesus cried out in despair, "Look how the whole world has gone after Him!" (John 12:19)
B. But you know how quickly everything changed. In just a few days the shouts of "Hosanna!" turned into "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" And crucify Him they did.
Crucifixion was a slow & horrible way to die. By Roman law it was reserved for only the worst of criminals, those whose death could serve as an example to the people of the uselessness of defying Roman might.
Most of the time, as we talk about the cross, we picture the dreadfulness of that scene. We speak of the nails being driven into His hands & feet. We see Him hanging there, suspended between heaven & earth, as the crowd passes by laughing & mocking Him.
"Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God! In the same way the chief priests... mocked him, 'He saved others, but he can't save himself... Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.'" (Matthew 27:40-42)
But as Jesus hung on the cross, He was not absolutely alone. We are told in the gospels that 4 women were there with Him. In John 19:25 the apostle John says, "Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, & Mary of Magdala."
C. Now I realize that some try to explain their presence by saying that in those days women were so unimportant that no one took any notice of them, & therefore these women were running no risk at all by being near the cross of Jesus.
But I think that is a pitiful explanation. It was always a dangerous thing to be associated with a man whom the Roman government declared to be so dangerous a criminal that he deserved crucifixion.
No, the presence of these women was not because they were so unimportant that no one would notice them. Instead, I'm convinced they were there because they loved Jesus so much that they were willing to risk their own lives to be near Him as He hung upon that cross.
They were bewildered, heart-broken, drenched in sorrow – but they were there. They were there because they loved Jesus, & for them, as for so many, perfect love had cast out all fear.
D. There is a beautiful old hymn that we often sing with deep feeling & reverence entitled, "Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross."
But I wonder, if you & I had been there, would we have wanted to be near the cross? Would we have dared to climb that hill & stand by Him as He died?
Or would we have been where most of the disciples were, hiding, fearful that we, too, might be arrested & crucified along with Him?
Well, besides the apostle John, 4 women were there, & they are a very diverse group. There is one, "Mary the wife of Clopas" of whom we know nothing. But we do know something about the others. So let's look at them & learn of their love for Jesus.
I. MARY, THE MOTHER OF JESUS
A. First of all, there was Mary, the mother of Jesus. We know her story well. We know the angel appeared unto her & told her that she would be the mother of God's Son, the promised Messiah.
We know of His miraculous birth & of the amazing events that accompanied it as God protected & provided for His Son. And we are told that Mary "treasured all these things in her heart." (Luke 2:51)
Oh, how long she must have looked forward to the day when her son would proclaim Himself to be the long awaited Messiah, the Savior of Israel, & then usher in the great & wonderful "Day of the Lord" that all Israelites longed for.
Then everything she had gone through the gossip in Nazareth, the flight into Egypt, the years of hardship after Joseph was gone, even the loneliness of Jesus leaving home to proclaim His message throughout Israel. One day it would be worth it all when Jesus became the divine "King of the Jews."
But suddenly her world collapsed. Had she been wrong all along? Was He really the Son of God? Why then was He hanging upon a cross? God, what is happening? Is this the way it is supposed to be?
B. Maybe Mary didn't understand it all, but Mary loved Jesus. Her presence there at the cross was the most natural thing in the world. Jesus might be a criminal in the eyes of the Jewish rulers, but He was her son. And the eternal love of a mother is seen in Mary at the cross.
SUM. Mary's presence there says to us, "If you dare to stand close to the cross, you'll find that even though there are times when things don't go the way you want; & times when your burdens seem too heavy to bear if you stay close to the cross, God will take care of you."
II. SALOME: SISTER TO MARY, THE MOTHER OF JESUS
A. Then John mentions another woman, but he doesn't mention her name. He simply says that she is the sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
But the Gospel of Mark make it quite clear that she was Salome, the wife of Zebedee, & the mother of two of the apostles - James & John. By the way, this tells us that Jesus & James & John were first cousins.
Now, we don't know a whole lot about Salome. But there is one brief event in Matthew 20, that shows that she once received a rebuke from Jesus.
Once, when Jesus was near the height of His popularity, Salome & her sons, James & John, came to Jesus to ask a favor - to give her sons the chief places in His new Kingdom.
APPL. It's hard to be too harsh on Salome, isn't it? Especially if you're a parent. I think we have all been in her shoes at one time or another.
ILL. Did you watch the National College Basketball playoffs on television?
And did you notice when the cameras zoomed in on the parents of the players? Sometimes the parents were smiling with pride, & at other times they were scowling as the referee made a call against their son.
There were all kinds of facial expressions as they made their feelings known. They were not hesitant in expressing them, either. Most of them have probably been doing it for a long, long time.
I wonder how many times when their sons were back in the 7th & 8th grades those parents spoke to the coaches? I wonder how many times they said, "Just give my boy a chance. I know he'll do great if you'll just give him a chance."
We have all felt that way, haven't we? And Salome did something about it. But Jesus rejected her request, & said to her, "You don't know what you are asking."
Then Jesus turned & asked James & John, "'Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?' 'We can,' they answered. Jesus said to them, 'You will indeed drink from my cup.'" (Matthew 20:22-23)
B. Now, as she stands at the foot of the cross, maybe for the very first time she is beginning to understand the bitter cup of which Jesus spoke.
It's the cup that Jesus asked for God to remove from Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. But Jesus ended his request by saying, "Nevertheless, not my will but Thine be done."
It's the cup that contains the sins & suffering of mankind & the sacrifice of Jesus. Every war that has ever been fought; every murder that has been committed; all the atrocities of human history were in that cup.
APPL. But in one way haven't we all been like Salome wanting the blessings without the burdens wanting a crown but not a cross? Like Salome we have wanted the benefits, without the responsibilities that come with them.
C. Jesus had denied her request & yet she was there at the cross. And her presence there shows that she had the loving humility to accept rebuke from Jesus & to continue loving Him.
It also shows that Jesus could rebuke someone in such a way that His love was evident even in the rebuke.
III. MARY MAGDALENE
A. Then there is Mary Magdalene. Her name is familiar to us, but we don't know much about her. Yet what we do know tells us a lot.
For example, we know that she was a follower of Jesus, & that on the resurrection morning she was at His tomb long before any of the apostles.
Mark 16:9 tells us, "When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had driven 7 demons."
Now there is an interesting statement. "...Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had driven 7 demons."
Folks, if we believe the Bible & we believe in God we must also believe in Satan. If we believe in angels we must also believe in demons, because they are the counterparts of angels - they are the servants of Satan in the realm of evil.
And here we're told that into Mary Magdalene's heart & soul & life they had come 7 of them.
Then one day Jesus commanded those demons to come out of her just as He had commanded the demons to come out of the man who was possessed with so many demons that they couldn't even be counted.
And at Jesus' command they must have come out of her just as they came out of that man. And for the first time she was free!
For the first time her burden of sin was lifted, & she was free to become the person God had created her to be - & to realize there is something beautiful & good & worthwhile in life.
So Mary Magdalene became a follower of Jesus. Jesus redeemed her, cleansed & saved her. And now, at the cross, she saw just how much her salvation was costing Him.
B. Do you think God just snaps His fingers & we're redeemed? Do you think God just waves a magic wand & all our sins are gone? No! It's not that easy.
It cost God everything that even God has to give to make it possible for you & me to be freed from our sins. And Mary Magdalene at the cross stands as an eternal testimony to the love of God, & His willingness to forgive.
ILL. A mother tells this story: My daughter was 4 years old & about to see her first Easter play. Like most little girls at Easter, she was all decked out in her flowered outfit, patent leather shoes, matching purse, white gloves, & a beautiful Easter hat.
As the play started, she saw the actors come on stage & screamed with excitement, “THERE’S JESUS!” He was playing with the children on the stage & she wanted to know why she couldn’t go up & play with Jesus too.
My response was, “Honey, this is only a play. He’s only an actor. This isn’t real.” “Okay,” she said, “but will you lift me up so that Jesus can see my hat?”
During the scene of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, soldiers came barging in yelling & screaming. My daughter became so frightened that she turned her face away, buried it into my chest & began to cry.
Again I told her, “It’s okay, honey. This is only a play. Those are only actors. It’s not real.” So she opened her eyes to watch some more.
Then came that dreadful scene. Down the middle isle of the church came Jesus dragging His cross – people yelling & cursing him. This was too much. She could not bear to watch. I held her tightly & tried to comfort her. “It’s okay, honey. This is only a play. Those are only actors. It isn’t real.”
Next, the soldiers grabbed Jesus, threw him down upon the cross, picked up their hammers & BAM! She screamed at the top of her lungs, “NOOOOO! THEY’RE KILLING MY JESUS!”
She cried so loud & so long that I had to rush her out of the auditorium. I took her into a room with a large TV screen where we could finish watching the play. And I assured her that Jesus would come back to life. But she would not be consoled until she could see Him herself.
Many people were in the auditorium that day. Like me, they had all gone to see a play – only actors – it wasn’t real. But when we saw the Gospel through the eyes of a child, the Gospel became real once again.
Has the Gospel become just another story to you? Has it lost its appeal? Then maybe you need a good dose of child-like faith this Easter.
CONCL. This morning we come to a time of decision. If you stand close enough to that cross, it will change you. That's the reason I asked at the very beginning of this message, "Are you sure you want to stand near the cross?"
Maybe you're comfortable with the way you are, & you would like to stay the same. But if you'll draw near to Jesus, He'll make you new inside & out.
I hope you want that this morning. I hope you want the grace & the forgive-ness & the mercy of God. And I hope that if you have never, ever reached out to receive that gift from Him, that you'll respond to His invitation, & give your heart & your life to Him.
If there is any decision in your heart that you need to make, will you come as we stand & as we sing?
