Plot Twist Week 1

[INTRODUCTION]

Being betrayed or deceived (especially by people we thought we could trust) is the kind of "plot twist" none of us like to experience.

Who has seen WandaVision?

It’s never fun to be confronted by an evil villain, but the plot twist in the show was made so much worse by the fact that Agatha had been pretending to be Wanda’s friend.

If you know a person for long enough, you'll eventually experience some sort of hurt or conflict. One disagreement isn't a reason to stop hanging out with someone, but some things can feel too painful to come back from.

In friendships, we know there are some dealbreakers that a relationship just can't come back from.

So when it comes to having a relationship with Jesus, maybe you have thought, “Does Jesus have any dealbreakers with me?” and, “Have I already messed it all up?” What could we do in our relationship with Jesus that would make it difficult, if not impossible, to come back from?

[TRANSITION]

Jesus' story is full of plot twists that shocked everyone. Sometimes Jesus was the cause of that twist, but sometimes it was other people.

One of the most well-known days of Jesus' life is what we now call Palm Sunday. It's the day Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey and was met by a cheering crowd.

Matthew 21:1–11 (CSB)

When they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives, Jesus then sent two disciples, telling them, “Go into the village ahead of you. At once you will find a donkey tied there with her colt. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them at once.”

This took place so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled:

Tell Daughter Zion,

“See, your King is coming to you,

gentle, and mounted on a donkey,

and on a colt,

the foal of a donkey.”

The disciples went and did just as Jesus directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt; then they laid their clothes on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their clothes on the road; others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. Then the crowds who went ahead of him and those who followed shouted:

Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessed is he who comes in the name

of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in an uproar, saying, “Who is this?” The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

When Jesus rode into town on a donkey he was making a powerful statement. Instead of riding in on a huge horse like a military commander or ruler might, Jesus arrived on the scene humbly.

Whether the crowd understood that message immediately or not is unclear. But what is clear is they were excited to see Jesus. They were thrilled by his teachings, eager to see him perform miracles, and ready to celebrate him.

With that kind of welcome, it would have been difficult for Jesus' followers to imagine anything other than a happy ending to this trip to Jerusalem.

But — plot twist. Only a few days later, people would be calling for Jesus to be killed.

If you've ever watched a movie with a major plot twist then you know there are several moments that lead up to the pivotal moment. Sometimes a plot twist does happen out of nowhere, but often the storyteller gives you clues. Jesus' story is no different.

Jesus told his friends and followers this trip would end in his death.

The religious and political leaders in the city had plans in place to trap Jesus.

And for centuries prophets had spoken about what was about to happen.

But the crowd turning on him wasn't the only betrayal Jesus would experience before his death. Judas was one of Jesus' disciples who had been with Jesus for three years. For all this time they had traveled, eaten meals, served people, and had countless conversations together. And yet . . .

Matthew 26:14–16 (CSB)

Then one of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they weighed out thirty pieces of silver for him. And from that time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray him.

Judas agreed to betray his teacher, all of his friends, and everything he believed in for 30 pieces of silver.

It's hard to know exactly what type of currency and value this bag of coins would've had – but most historians put the range anywhere from $90 to $500 in modern-day money.

It's easy to stand where we are today and judge Judas for selling out his friend for the price of a gaming console or a smartwatch. But maybe this was about just money for Judas.

Remember, Judas heard and saw the same plot twist spoilers we were talking about just a moment ago. He heard Jesus talking about how he was going to be executed and saw the leaders of the city put a warrant out for Jesus' arrest.

I wonder if Judas felt like his years of hard work and passion were all about to go to waste. After giving up so much to follow Jesus, maybe he wondered, "What if this was all for nothing? What if I was wrong?"

These 30 pieces of silver might not have been a fortune, but I wonder if they represented a chance to start fresh for Judas. After all, when we're afraid, we're all prone to do selfish things to protect ourselves, aren't we?

After Judas had turned Jesus over to the authorities, a long night began for Jesus. It would be a night full of accusations, beatings, interrogations — and betrayals.

As Jesus was on trial with one of the political leaders in the area, this leader, known as Pilate, decided he couldn't find any reason to have Jesus punished. So Pilate turned to the crowd, giving them a chance to do the right thing and have Jesus released. But this is where they turned on him.

Matthew 27:22–26 (CSB)

Pilate asked them, “What should I do then with Jesus, who is called Christ?”

They all answered, “Crucify him!”

Then he said, “Why? What has he done wrong?”

But they kept shouting all the more, “Crucify him!”

When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that a riot was starting instead, he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. See to it yourselves!”

All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Then he released Barabbas to them and, after having Jesus flogged, handed him over to be crucified.

At first there is a crowd that shouted and praised Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, and next there is a crowd shouting "crucify him!" In less than a week, people were worshipping him and then people were demanding his execution and humiliation.

Jesus faced betrayal after betrayal throughout his life, but especially in the days before his death. He saw strangers, his followers, and even his best friends turn their backs on him.

But every time Jesus was given an opportunity to give up on people, stop caring about people, or hate people, he instead continued to love them instead.

In this way, Jesus actually carried out the biggest plot twist in this story when he was hit with unimaginable levels of betrayal. Instead of doing the expected thing and choosing to give up on the people who hurt him, or even take revenge, Jesus chose love and forgiveness instead.

The apostle Paul described Jesus' response like this . . .

Colossians 1:13–14 (CSB)

He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

When people failed Jesus, betrayed him, and turned their backs on him, Jesus could have changed his mind. He could have given up on his whole mission to rescue us. But with Jesus, there's always one more plot twist in the works. Because when we turn away from Jesus, he doesn’t turn away from us.

[ILLUSTRATION]

Story of David not responding to my calls and texts for two years. I was not aware of the struggles he was going through.

[TRANSITION]

When just about everyone in Jesus' life (his friends, fans, peers, and government) had all turned their backs on him, Jesus continued to love them all.

None of us in this room turned our back on Jesus on the day of his public trial. We weren't in the crowd that cheered for Jesus' death and we didn't take any part in having Jesus arrested. But we've all had moments when we've turned away from Jesus — or maybe we've never turned toward him in the first place.

We might turn away from Jesus when we . . .

Make other things more important than our relationship with him.

Choose to ignore or disregard what he has said.

Hurt someone he created and loves.

Refuse to make things right when we've done something harmful.

Refuse to learn or change when we've done something unwise.

There are so many reasons we might feel stained, ruined, or unfixable. But that's exactly why Jesus came — to rescue us from darkness and death. There is nothing you can do to get Jesus to turn his back on you. But maybe today you need to turn back toward him.

Maybe there's something you need to make right with God so you can get back to growing in your relationship with Jesus.

Maybe you need to ask God's forgiveness for the first time (or the hundredth time). No matter which time it is, he's ready to listen.

Or maybe you just need to spend some time thanking Jesus for the ways he has already forgiven, loved, and rescued you.