Palm Sunday

Making Preparation...

As we come to Passion week and resurrection morning, so many thoughts about what to speak about come to mind.

The Triumphal Entry, Jesus cleansing the temple, the cursing of the fig tree, and all that leads to Jesus’ crucifixion.

One phrase keeps coming to me, when Jesus turned the water into wine, and it’s this,

John 2:4 (NLT)

4 “...Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”

They had ran out of wine, and Mary came to Jesus and asked Him do something about it. Jesus wasn’t really looking to get involved, but at His mother’s request, Jesus did His first miracle.

This happened three years before the cross. So much had taken place in Jesus’ ministry, and now He was coming to the end of His earthly journey.

His time was drawing near. We don’t know the journey that’s ahead of us, and that’s ok, but Jesus knew why He had left heaven to come to earth. It was to do the will of the Father.

One day Jesus was in Jericho, and He went to Zacchaeus’ house, and the Scripture says that all the people began to mutter, but let’s listen to Jesus’ words.

Luke 19:9–10 NIV

9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Jesus came to pay for sin.

1 John 2:1–2 NIV

1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Jesus , who was fully God, did not use this to His advantage, but He emptied Himself and became a servant. The Greek word is

doulos which means slave...

Does that sound like the King of glory? That’s what the King of kings was willing to do for us.

He knew that His time to be crucified was coming. How hard it must have been to make that final trip to Jerusalem, knowing the agony that He would endure for humanity.

This morning, I’d like to invite you to walk through some of this story which unveils Jesus journey as God made preparation to sacrifice the Lamb of God.

Let’s look at John’s perspective of some of the events leading to the cross.

In John 11, Lazarus had died. Jesus had seen Mary and Martha’s broken hearts. He, too, had lost a close friend, and understood how tragic death is.

He came to the tomb, and after the stone had been rolled away, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, Come out?”

Can you imagine, what it must have been like in the place of the dead to hear Jesus cry out? Death obeyed Him as Jesus commanded it to let His friend go.

When Lazarus came out, his hands and feet were tied up and there was a cloth over his face. Can you imagine being there? What would it be like to see the dead raised?

I think the people must have been standing there stunned, not really sure what to do. So Jesus commanded,

“Take off the grave clothes, and let him go.”

After Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, many believed. There were some that went to the religious leaders and told them, so they called the Sanhedrin to come and convene so they could come up with a plan to kill Jesus.

Isn’t it

Hard to believe...

that after Jesus had done so much good, that the response of the Sanhedrin was to put Him to death. They were so offended and disturbed by what He was doing, that they wanted Him dead. Not only that, they wanted Lazarus dead too. Why? Because so many people started to follow Jesus because of Lazarus.

Because of all this, Jesus withdrew until Passover was nearing. Let’s pick up the story in John 12.

John 12:1–8 NLT

1 Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. 2 A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. 3 Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. 4 But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, 5 “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” 6 Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself. 7 Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

We have a very similar story in Mark 14, where Jesus was in Bethany at Simon the Leper’s. Was it Mary? According to John it was Mary who came and poured this expensive perfume on Jesus.

I’m sure her love for Jesus was deep because of what Jesus had done in raising her brother from the dead. He was a close family friend, so to show her love, she gave something that was very precious to her. Once the bottle was broken, the nard could not be put back inside. It weighed somewhere between 12-16 ounces, or 3/4’s of a pound to a pound.

This is no small potatoes, a year’s wages. If you look on your T4 slip, you’ll have an idea how much that is.

What can we give Jesus?

I don’t think that it was the amount of the perfume that spoke to Jesus. I believe that it was Mary’s heart. Jesus wants our heart. He wants us to hold nothing back. I’m sure for many of us, it would be hard to give something so precious as this perfume,

and yet

Romans 12:1 NLT

1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

What am I willing to give Him?

He has given us everything, will we give Him anything less?

Not everyone will be for you when you give your all to Christ.

Judas Iscariot...

John 12:4–5 NIV

4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.”

Judas objected. Don’t be surprised when you decide to do something for God that there will be people that are opposed.

In this case, it wasn’t the Pharisees. It wasn’t somebody who was from the world. It was an insider. It was one of Jesus’ disciples. Judas had spent three years with Jesus, and he was coming against the will of God.

Judas. Simon Iscariot’s son, betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. He was somebody’s son. God never forced him to do this. He did it of his own volition, his own free will.

What about us? We make choices every day. Peter chose to deny Jesus three times. Judas betrayed his own friend for 30 pieces of silver.

Our choices shape our destiny. Judas chose to betray Christ, and at this, he was remorseful, but his remorse led to suicide.

Peter denied Christ, and had bitter shame. He planned to go back to his old way of life, but Jesus’ plan was to bring restoration, and God used Peter to preach the Good News.

Let’s take a few minutes and look at

The Triumphant Entry...

John 12:12–19 NIV

12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!” 14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: 15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” 16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him. 17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

So much happens around the Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem: Jesus curses the fig tree that had no fruit and once in Jerusalem, He cleanses the temple. People were making enormous amounts of money on travellers that were coming into Jerusalem for the Passover festival.

but there is this holy moment when Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey. The disciples had gone and found this donkey. They placed cloaks on it and Jesus fulfilled the prophecy from Zechariah 9:9.

Let’s pay attention to the timing. It was the day that the people of Israel were to select their passover lambs. They were to examine them to make sure that there was no flaw, or blemish, or deformity.

That same day, God had selected His Lamb. John the Baptist had prophesied,

John 1:29 (NLT)

29 ...“Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

This Lamb was rejected by men but chosen by God. He would be examined. He would be beaten. He would be crucified to take away our sins. This is what we remember.

This day we call Palm Sunday, the crowds took palm branches and waved them. They laid their cloaks on the ground, and shouted from,

Psalm 118:25–26 NLT

25 Please, Lord, please save us. Please, Lord, please give us success. 26 Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.

As they cried out “Hosanna!” Please Lord, Save us!

Jesus came into Jerusalem humbly, riding on a donkey, and He would soon humble Himself to death, even a criminal’s death on a cross. By doing this He paid for our sins.

One day He will come as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In Revelation 19 John wrote this,

Revelation 19:11–16 NIV

11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.

We as Christians look forward to this day, but looking back to the day that Jesus came into the city, and this huge crowd was worshipping Him.

Some Pharisees commanded Him to rebuke His disciples for this festival of praise.

Luke 19:40 NIV

40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

This Palm Sunday, I want to encourage each of us to praise Him. Sometimes I wonder if we realize that God was not created for our beck and call, but we were created for His will and pleasure.

Let’s read from Revelation 4, to see how John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, described God’s throne room.

Revelation 4:1–11 NLT

1 Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” 2 And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it. 3 The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. 4 Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God. 6 In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal. In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. 7 The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight. 8 Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” 9 Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), 10 the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, 11 “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”

God is pleased with you when you worship Him.

Not everyone that you meet will be happy when you praise the Lord. In fact, some may be indignant.

Matthew 21:15–16 NIV

15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. 16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “ ‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?”

I believe that if God calls children and infants to praise Him, He calls us to praise Him.

Psalm 150:6 NIV

6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.

As we make preparatins for His coming, Let’s make sure that we include praIse and worship as part of day, each and every day! For He is worthy of our praise!

Let’s pray!