The Final Four

Introduction

A. Mean Nothing, Impact Zero

1. Final Four Season – Basketball season that is

a) Oklahoma Sooners won 1st bid

b) Last night Indiana Hoosiers sercured their spot

(1) 1st final four berth since 92

c) Today will decide whether it will be

(1) Maryland or Connecticut

(2) Kansas or Oregon

d) The FF will be played At Georgia Dome

(1) hosted by Georgia Tech

(2) starting next Sunday, March 30

(3) Tickets for the event are out

e) FF is Big – did you know

(1) First game in 1939 – 62 games

(2) Hundreds of thousand people have watched

(3) Millions of dollars

(4) Play by Dr. Naismith original rules of Basketball

(5) Betting and Gambling

(6) Who won in 1956 - San Francisco – nah me either

(7) REALLY BIG

(a) Some people center their whole lives around

(b) Some, if you can believe, will even choose not to got to church next week because of the games

f) Despite all of the hoopla - Little to no impact on our lives

(1) Doesn’t change how we live

(2) Doesn’t change who we are

(3) Just a fact of life that comes around every year whether we like it or not

2. Kind of like Easter

a) For many it is a holiday that just comes around every year

b) A time to get together for a family dinner

c) Some, if you can belkieve, will even choose not to got to church next week because of the family dinner

d) know the beginning and the end – events in between don’t matter

e) great story, a great holiday, but does impact our lives

(1) doesn’t change are lives

(2) doesn’t change who we are

(3) we have heard it all before

B. My Prayer for this week

1. Don’t hear the Story -

2. Experience the life of Christ

3. Walk in Jesus’ footsteps

4. That your experience this Easter will change your life

5. LET US PRAY

II. The Lessons from Jesus’ Final Four of Public Ministry

A. Turn with me if you will to Matthew 20:17-19

1. seven days has past since raising of Lazarus – no one before had raised someone from the dead who had been dead for four days

2. disciples hyped, the public was a buzz with news of the event

3. Jesus at the height of his popularity

4. Entering the Passover season

a) And people where everywhere

(1) every man within 20 miles of Jerusalem was required to go to Jerusalem for Passover

b) Jesus is the talk of the town, caravan, camel train

c) story of Lazarus spread

d) visions of the fulfillment of Passover’s promise of Messiah

5. READ Scripture Matthew 20:17-19

a) Just a few verses ago when Mary and Martha called for Jesus to come to Jerusalem – disciples argued it wasn’t safe

b) Now they ready to go

(1) Even though Jesus just said – look guys when I go to Jerusalem I am going to be mocked, insulted, spit upon flogged and killed

(2) Yeah Jesus okay, their high fivin’ and saying let’s go to Jerusalem

(3) Let’s show the world the Messiah has come

(4) Man, can’t wait Jesus will be king

(5) Kind of like when your husband is watching football

(a) Honey will you please take out the trash

(b) Honey your mother just called she and your day are going to vacation on Mars – okay honey that great

(c) Dear did you hear me I just said I am going to wa-too-see down Whitesburg main street in a pink tutu

(i) Okay honey have fun

(6) The disciples had missed the point

(a) They didn’t hear what Jesus had said

(b) yet it so clear, so straight forward

(c) but in their excitement

(i) in their eyes their plan

(ii) saw what they wanted, weren’t prepared for what was about to happend

6. And so they enter the season of the Final Four – the final four days of Jesus’ public ministry

a) Turn with me to Luke 19:28-40

b) A celebration is at hand

c) The public had heard the story about Lazarus

(1) want to see the man

(2) men, women and children flocked to the street just for a glimpse of this man, this prophet

(3) crowds have lined the road miles before Jerusalem

(4) heard Jesus is coming

d) And as if by divine appointment – as if prearranged

(1) Jesus ride through the throngs of people on a donkey

(2) Jesus is announcing to the world he was coming King

(3) Donkey significant

(a) donkey as opposed to steed/charger/horse

(b) spoke of peace

(c) jews would have understood this and so they laid their cloaks and palms in the street giving Jesus a kingly welcome