Palm Sunday

From Sorrow to SHOUTING!

SORROW

Lazarus dies

John 11:32 CSB

As soon as Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and told him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died!”

John 11:33 CSB

When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled.

John 11:34 CSB

“Where have you put him?” he asked. “Lord,” they told him, “come and see.”

John 11:35 CSB

Jesus wept.

John 11:38–44 CSB

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. “Remove the stone,” Jesus said. Martha, the dead man’s sister, told him, “Lord, there is already a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. I know that you always hear me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so that they may believe you sent me.” After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.”

LAZARUS LIVES!

John 11:45 CSB

Therefore, many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what he did believed in him.

But it isn’t over yet! Yes there is shouting, but the shouting is for the MIRACLE, not the MIRACLE WORKER!

The Shouting is for the GIFT, not the GIFT GIVER!

The Shouting is for the BLESSING, not the BLESSED!

Interest

We JUMP forward a little bit, to 6 days before Passover!

We come to another amazing story, this one of sacrifice.

John 12:1–3 CSB

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was, the one Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there; Martha was serving them, and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took a pound of perfume, pure and expensive nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped his feet with her hair. So the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

This is PERSONAL, Mary sacrificing something dear to her. But this is not our message today.

Lazarus and Jesus having a meal. Mary sacrificing her EXPENSIVE Perfume. Something that would be seen as a treasure.

And people find out that Jesus is there.

John 12:9 CSB

Then a large crowd of the Jews learned he was there. They came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, the one he had raised from the dead.

Now there is INTEREST!

There is INTEREST because Jesus is there, and the one whom was dead but is no longer, the man named Lazarus is there. The one who was dead, but is now alive. Oh this would bring a crowd wouldn’t it. Something amazing has happened and you can see!

LAZARUS!

The one who TESTIFIES just by breathing!

man that right there preaches!

Sometimes God disrupts our sorrow, and turns sorrow into joy! Which is unusual and can create some unique interest.

And this can lead to amazing Joy! Which leads to shouting for the right reasons.

Shouting

THE NEXT DAY!

John 12:12–13 CSB

The next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took palm branches and went out to meet him. They kept shouting: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel!”

Psalm 118:25–26 CSB

Lord, save us! Lord, please grant us success! He who comes in the name of the Lord is blessed. From the house of the Lord we bless you.

John 12:14–15 CSB

Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written: Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion. Look, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt.

Prophecy fulfilled!

Zechariah 9:9 CSB

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

John 12:16 CSB

His disciples did not understand these things at first. However, when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.

I love that this is in the Bible. The honesty and openness that God allows with us. He does not rebuke the disciples because of their lack of understanding. Instead God shows that even those who were with Jesus for 3 years still had a struggle. They still didn’t get it all; but it did not stop them from walking with Jesus. It did not stop them from talking about Jesus. It did not stop them from following Jesus.

So often we let the little things that we cannot quite rectify stop us from walking with Jesus. We think that if we jsut had a little more knowledge, if we just grasped a little more, then we would be able to take the steps that we are to take.

The disciples show that we do not have to have all the answers to walk with Jesus. Because just as it says, When Jesus was glorified, they remembered!

Quite often in our walk with Jesus, we will grasp things later that happened previously. As we walk with Him, He reveals things to us. It is not blind faith, it is well reasoned faith; that we can trust in Jesus, and that He will reveal things to us at the proper time.

WE MUST TESTIFY!

John 12:17–18 CSB

Meanwhile, the crowd, which had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify. This is also why the crowd met him, because they heard he had done this sign.

The crowd had witnessed the risen Lazarus, they had experienced him with their own eyes. It was no longer just that they had heard! They had heard and they have seen, and their shouting was now about JESUS, the promised blessed one!

Luke 19:39 CSB

Some of the Pharisees from the crowd told him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”

Luke 19:40 CSB

He answered, “I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out.”

People MUST hear, they MUST be told!

But how can they hear?

Romans 10:14–15 CSB

How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.

Are your feet beautiful?

Are you, this Palm Sunday, going to be so inspired by the WORD OF GOD that you cannot help but to spread the GOSPEL Message that Jesus is real, Jesus is alive, Jesus is coming back

and

Romans 10:13 CSB

For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

This week will you testify?