The Problem With the Pharisees Who Pouted and Whined About the People Who Praised With Palms
Luke 19:28-48
April 13, 2003
(Palm Sunday)
Intro:
A. [Enthusiastic Worship, Citation: Per Nilsen, Burnsville, Minnesota]
Per Nilson tells the story of Nisswa, Minnesota, where they hold the popular Nisswa Turtle Races.
Every Wednesday evening in the summer months, the people of Nisswa and the surrounding communities gather at a designated parking lot for the weekly races.
It’s big excitement and big business.
Vendors rent turtles; others sell "turtle products."
And the fans gather early, placing their chairs and blankets in the best viewing sites.
In one recent contest, 435 turtles raced in heats of fifteen over a six-foot-long course.
Bif, the announcer, calls the turtles to their mark, gives them the "Go!" . . . and the crowd goes wild.
People stand, jump, and wave their hands in the air, imploring their turtles to be unturtle-like.
The excitement grows and finally reaches a boiling point as the preliminary winners all gather for the championship race.
Amid unrestrained shouts and cheers, the first turtle crosses the finish line, and the winning "trainer" receives five dollars—along with a turtle necklace.
What an uncharacteristic frenzy of emotion for the normally reserved folks of Northern Minnesota!
And some people get upset when Christians worship "too expressively" in church on Sunday morning.
B. The Problem With the Pharisees Who Pouted and Whined About the People Who Praised With Palms.
1. Today is Palm Sunday and I want to look at Luke’s account in chapter Luke 19.
2. I want to read Luke’s entire account of that in 19:28-48.
3. Today I want to point our four things the Pharisees didn’t understand and see if we can understand their problem.
I. The Pharisees didn’t understand who Jesus was
Luke 19:39 (NIV), Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"
A. When the Pharisees heard the people praising Jesus, they said, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”
1. Now the reason the Pharisees were upset with Jesus was because they didn’t understand whom Jesus was.
2. Notice in verse 38 that the people were shouting, “Blessed is the KING who comes in the name of the Lord!”
3. And the Pharisees wanted Jesus to rebuke the people for saying that.
B. And the reason they wanted Jesus to do this was because they misunderstood the Scriptures.
1. Now these Pharisees were a sect of the Jews.
2. You’ve heard me speak of the Pharisees before.
3. They were the leaders and teachers of the Jewish people, but they didn’t understand they Scriptures very well themselves.
4. I like to describe them as the “Don’t bother confusing me with the facts, because I already know what I believe” crowd.
5. “I know what I believe, so don’t bother confusing me with the facts.”
6. The Pharisees had most of the OT memorized.
7. They knew it backwards and forwards--like the backs of their hands.
8. But although they had memorized the Scriptures, that didn’t mean they understood them.
9. In fact, they very rarely understood that what they were seeing before their very eyes was predicted in the Scriptures.
10.They didn’t know the truth when it stood right before them.
C. You see the Pharisees knew that the OT Scriptures predicted that the Son of God was to be born, but they didn’t recognize Him when He stood right in front of them.
1. Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah.
2. Jesus was indeed the Son of God.
3. Jesus was indeed the fulfillment of the OT prophecies.
4. Jesus was indeed the King of the Jews.
5. But the Pharisees didn’t recognize Him.
6. They knew all of the prophecies.
7. They watched them being fulfilled in Jesus right before their very eyes.
8. But they didn’t understand it.
9. They couldn’t put two and two together.
D. And I believe there is a reason why they couldn’t understand who Jesus was.
1. The Pharisees had a lust for power and recognition.
2. They wanted everyone to know how good of people they were.
3. They loved the attention they got from people when they taught them how to follow their rules.
4. They loved it so much that they put more rules and regulations on the people that God did.
5. They decided that teaching people God’s laws brought them so much power and recognition, that they decided that more rules and regulations would just give them more power and recognition.
6. They saw Jesus as a threat to their ability to rule over and control the people.
7. The religious leaders saw Jesus as a threat to their ability to lord their control over people.
E. So they said, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
1. “You’re not the Son of God, so quit fooling these people.”
2. “These people shouldn’t be acting like this, so tell them to stop it!”
F. But Jesus really was the Son of God whether the Pharisees understood it or not.
1. So Jesus said, “I tell you if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
2. “Since I really am the Son of God, I will not tell these people to quit.”
3. “And even if these people were to be quiet, the rocks would cry out.”
4. “I really am the Son of God, and so someone or something is going to praise Me.”
5. “I really am the Son of God, whether you believe it or not.”
G. You see, the religious leaders did not understand who Jesus was, so they complained about how emotional these people were getting about praising Him.
1. But Jesus said that His people should praise Him.
2. Jesus said that those who understand who Jesus is ought to get enthusiastic about praising Him.
3. Jesus said that those who understand who Jesus is ought to praise Him even if the religious people get upset with them.
4. Jesus said that if His people didn’t get a clue about who He is and praise Him the way they should, then the rocks will cry out to Him!
5. And I’m not about to be embarrassed by the rocks!
6. I’m not about to be humiliated by hearing the rocks cry out because I was unwilling to praise Jesus the way I should.
7. I’m not about to let stuffy religious people prevent me from doing what I was created to do.
8. I’m not about to worry about what someone else thinks if I take off my coat and wave it at Jesus.
9. I’m not about to worry about what someone else thinks if I get a tree branch and wave it at Jesus.
10. I’m not about to worry about what someone else thinks if I SHOUT to Jesus.
11. I’m not about to worry about what someone else thinks if I raise my hands to Jesus.
12. I’m not about to worry about what someone else thinks if I get down on my knees before Jesus.
13. I’m not about to worry about what someone else thinks if I cry in the presence of Jesus.
14. I DO understand whom Jesus is and I’m going to worship Him in the way He deserves to be worshipped.
15. I DO understand who Jesus is and therefore I MUST get enthusiastic about worshipping Him!
16. The Pharisees didn’t understand who Jesus was.
II. The Pharisees didn’t understand what would bring them peace
Luke 19:42 (NIV), 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.
A. Then Jesus goes on to accurately predict the end of peace in Jerusalem.
1. And Jesus wept.
2. He wept for His people.
3. He wept for His relatives.
4. He wept for His family.
5. They, of all the people on the earth, should have understood that He was the fulfillment of the Scriptures.
6. The apostle John explains in his first chapter why Jesus wept, “He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.” (John 1:11)
7. Even His own people didn’t really understand.
8. “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace.”
B. The only thing that would bring peace to Jerusalem, to the Jews and the Pharisees then, to the Jews and Palestinians and Islams today, to the Iraqis today, to you, to me, or anyone else is believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God!
1. You see, Jesus is the only one who can bring peace.
2. Jesus is the only one that can bring peace to nations.
3. Praise God the Iraqi’s are getting of taste of peace today!
4. Jesus is the only one that can bring peace between neighbors.
5. Jesus is the only one that can bring peace in families.
6. Jesus is the only one that can offer forgiveness.
7. Jesus is the only one that can remove guilt.
8. Jesus is the only one who can bring peace to nations and individuals.
9. The only way to experience peace is to believe that Jesus really is the Son of God.
C. You see Jesus wept because no one understood that He was going to die in less than a week.
1. Jesus wept because they didn’t understand that His death was the only thing that would bring them peace.
2. Jesus wept because they didn’t understand that His death was the only way they were going to be free from their burden of sin.
3. Since they didn’t understand who He was, there was no way that they were going to understand that the cross that lay ahead that week, was the only thing that was going to bring them peace.
4. And since no one understood it, Jesus wept.
5. Jesus wept because His own people didn’t understand that He is the Prince of Peace.
III. The Pharisees didn’t understand what Jesus’ house was for
Luke 19:46 (NIV), "It is written," he said to them, "’My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ’a den of robbers.’"
A. In verse 45 we notice that Jesus went into the temple area at Jerusalem and found some who were selling things.
1. And when he found them there, He drove them out.
2. John 2:15 says, "So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables."
B. And Jesus said, “My house will be a house of prayer; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.”
1. Now Jesus quoted Isaiah 56:7, which says, "these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations."
2. And Jeremiah 7:11 which says, "Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the LORD."
3. Again, Jesus was pointing out that although the Pharisee knew these Scriptures, they didn’t understand them.
4. Not only did the Pharisees not understand who Jesus was or what would bring them peace, they also didn’t understand what Jesus’ house was for.
5. Jesus said that His house should not be used to sell things.
6. But also notice that Jesus made an even deeper charge than that, He said there was criminal activity involved.
7. Its one thing to sell things in the house of God, but Jesus said that there was something criminal about what they were doing.
8. Jesus said His house had been made into “a den of robbers.”
9. Jesus said not only was it His house, but He also said that His house was being used improperly.
C. But one would think that someone with even a cursory knowledge of what the Bible says ought to know better than that.
1. Most people would say that they know that a church should not be used for robbery, even if they don’t know that much about the Bible.
2. It looks like someone who memorized large portions of the Bible ought to know that the church should be a place of prayer and not a place of robbery.
D. But herein lies the problem of Phariseeism.
1. The problem with the Pharisees obviously wasn’t a lack of effort.
a. God does ask that we work at our Christianity.
b. God does ask us to study the Scriptures.
c. God does ask that we put forth some effort into studying the Scriptures.
2. The problem with the Pharisees was that although they knew the Scriptures, they didn’t know God.
3. They knew the Scriptures, but they didn’t know God.
4. And I must say that there are too many religious people today who know the Scriptures but do not know God.
E. When a person tries only to keep the do’s and don’ts of Scripture, he misses the point.
1. The do’s and don’ts aren’t really what makes a person a Christian.
2. Living a moral life isn’t what makes a person a Christian.
3. Living by a list of do’s and don’ts is not what makes a person a Christian.
4. The Pharisee loved the do’s and don’ts.
a. They relished learning and keeping the regulations.
b. They loved it so much that they made more rules and regulations than God did.
c. God didn’t make enough rules to suit them so they made more, that were even stricter than the ones God had made.
d. They loved to discipline themselves to the point where they kept every little jot and tittle of the law.
e. They knew and lived (in their opinion) every dot of every i and the cross of every t.
f. And when they were tempted to do things that were against their rules, they found ways of getting around them.
g. Because not only did they live by the letter of the law, they also knew all of the loopholes in them as well.
h. They knew how to get around the rules that they didn’t want to keep.
i. They knew how to justify what they were doing, so no one would think they were breaking the rules.
5. And whatever it was that they were doing in the temple, I can tell you that they had a justification for it.
a. If Jesus had asked them why they were allowing this stuff to happen in the temple, they would have had some type of religious sounding explanation.
b. They would have had some kind of half-truth to justify their behavior.
c. But Jesus didn’t give them that opportunity and just very directly pointed out that whatever it was that they were doing was robbery.
d. And I can tell you this was a very hard slap in the face for people who thought they were the most religious people there were.
e. When Jesus started slapping that bullwhip and turning over their tables, I can tell you that they were severely publicly embarrassed!
f. They thrived on the attention they got for being such good people, but Jesus made it very clear that they were not good people.
6. And that’s why they didn’t understand that God’s house was to be a house of prayer.
F. And the sad truth today is that there are too many religious people who think that God’s house is simply a place to get to know the Bible, but spend very little time getting to know God.
1. Yes, we should study and know the Bible, but knowing the Bible is not the end in and of itself.
2. The purpose of studying the Scripture is to get to know God.
3. The purpose of knowing the Scripture is to learn to love God.
4. The purpose of knowing the Scriptures is to learn to experience God.
5. The purpose of knowing the Scriptures is to learn to worship God.
6. The purpose of coming together in God’s house is to have a relationship with God.
7. The purpose of coming together in this house is pray to a real God.
8. The purpose of coming together in this house is to worship the living God.
9. If we understand what this house is for, we will come here to meet with God.
10.The Pharisees didn’t understand what Jesus’ house was for.
IV. The Pharisees didn’t understand the power of Jesus’ words
Luke 19:48 (NIV), Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.
A. Since Jesus had publicly humiliated these Pharisees repeatedly, they were continually trying to find some reason to kill Him.
1. Because they were Pharisees they couldn’t do it personally, but they could do it publicly.
2. They could find a legal reason for the government to kill Him.
3. The only trouble was that the majority of the people hung on his words.
4. Now this is not the first time they had been publicly humiliated by Jesus, but it was the first time that He had swung a whip and turned over tables.
5. They couldn’t find a way to kill Him immediately, but they did by the end of the week.
B. And the reason they failed this time (and the times before) was because it wasn’t time.
1. Luke 4:28-30 says, "All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way."
2. And there is another occasion that explains why they weren’t able to kill Him, John 7:30 says, "At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come."
3. The Pharisees were unable to kill Jesus until He was ready.
4. And they never did take His life—He GAVE it.
5. They didn’t have the power to kill Him even when they finally succeeded!
6. The only reason they succeeded was because He let them!
7. No one took His life—He GAVE it!
C. And verse 48 tells they weren’t able to kill Him because of the power of His words.
1. “Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on His Words.”
2. They took one of those political polls and found out that a lot of people believed Jesus.
3. And the Pharisees, these so-called teachers of the law, knew that if the people knew they were trying to kill Jesus, the people would kill the Pharisees.
4. They say that in verse 6 of the next chapter.
5. Jesus was a threat to their greed for power and recognition, but they couldn’t do anything about it because “all the people hung on His words.”
6. But the Pharisees didn’t understand the power of His words.
7. The Pharisees didn’t understand, but I certainly hope that we understand the power of Jesus’ words.
Conclusion:
A. The Pharisees had some problems all right…
1. They didn’t understand who Jesus was.
2. They didn’t understand what would bring them peace.
3. They didn’t understand what Jesus’ house was for.
4. They didn’t understand the power of Jesus’ words.
5. The problem with the Pharisees who pouted and whined about the people who praised with palms was that they didn’t understand any of this and they therefore could not worship God appropriately as the other people did.
B. [Worship Is a Time to Celebrate, Citation: Rod Cooper, "Worship or Worry?" Preaching Today, Tape No. 108.]
I used to be the chaplain for the Astros and the Oilers when I was in Houston, Texas.
After I’d do a chapel, they’d give me tickets.
One time in the Astrodome I watched Earl Campbell run over everybody, his own men included, to get to the goal line.
When he got to the goal line, he put the ball down.
The place went crazy.
People were giving high fives and jumping around.
The scoreboard went off.
The same thing happened when the Astros hit a home run.
It was a ringing shout, because their man scored a touchdown.
I’m not saying that when you come to church you need to give each other high fives or do cartwheels down the aisle, but worship is a time of anticipation and expectation.
We come together because all week God has been knocking home runs and scoring touchdowns in our lives.
Worship is a time to celebrate what God has done for us.
C. [Worship Needs to Simmer, Citation: Rod Cooper, "Beholding the King," Preaching Today, Tape No. 150.]
When I was about 10 years old, I had the privilege of getting up at 4 a.m. to get the cows so we could milk them.
As we came in for breakfast, I would smell the beginnings of this soup my mom used to make. She would put in hunks of beef and carrots and peas and potatoes and all kinds of good stuff.
And you’d begin to smell it.
I remember coming in at lunch thinking that was what we’re going to have.
I’d go over to get some, and she’d say, "No, Son, you can’t have any yet. You’ll have to wait till tonight."
We would work hard all afternoon.
And as we came back for the evening meal (that’s the only time my dad beat me into the house), we would sit down, and my mom would set this huge cauldron of soup on the table.
She would put this ladle in the soup, and the steam would rise off of it.
And she would put it down into the bowl, and you could put your face over it and--can you smell it right now?--we would take our spoons and dip in there.
It was wonderful.
I remember asking my mother, "Why is it that we had to wait all day on this soup?"
She said, "Son, it needed to simmer so we get all the juices out of all the ingredients. And then they’re all mixed together; that’s what brings forth that good aroma. And when you taste it, you’re getting the best of what’s in each ingredient."
That’s the way I look at worship.
Sunday morning is a culmination of a people who’ve been simmering all week in the presence of God.
When we simmer every day in the presence of God and then come on Sunday morning and mix all of it together, there’s an aroma and a smell of the grace and the goodness of God that lifts up to heaven.
And God pulls off the lid and goes, "Mmm, that’s my people in Galilee Baptist Church."
That’s worship.
D. Psalm 100 describes worship in this way…
Psalms 100 (NIV), Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his ; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
E. Invitation
