The Answer is Love (Slide 1)

Joke

“Mom are bugs good to eat?” asked a boy. “Lets not talk about such things at the dinner table, son,” his mother replied. After dinner the mom asked her son, “Now, kiddo, what did you want to ask me?” “Oh, nothing,” the boy said. “There was a bug in your soup, but now it’s gone.”

Open

Happy Holy Week!

(Slide 2)

This is such a great week for reflection. As a Christian the next 5 days will lead to the most important event in our Faith. That isn’t an opinion it is a fact. Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ nothing else matters. Not the water to wine. Not the feeding of the 5000. Not Lazarus being raised. Not Christmas. Not the Bible. Not even Christ dying on the cross. Nothing. Without the resurrection Jesus might as well be Muhammed or Buddha.

As we are about to see Jesus uses the triumphant entry to achieve his goal. And Jesus goal was His own Crucifixion and Resurrection and by doing that ensuring our Salvation. Jesus had been preparing for this week His entire ministry and the Triumphant Entry or Palm Sunday was God’s plan coming to pass. Imagine if you will that everything Jesus has done in His ministry to this point is setting up dominoes. If you are old enough to know what a domino is chances are you have tried this at least once. You set up some crazy domino course and then you knock the first one down and pray you separated them correctly so they all fall down. Up to this point Jesus was teaching and preparing the people , but while He was doing what only Jesus and the father knew was that He was setting up dominoes waiting for the right moment. The triumphant entry was Jesus pushing over the first domino.

Let’s start with verses 1-5

Fulfilling Prophecy (slide 3)

Matthew 21:1–5 ESV

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”

Tensions are at an all time high in Jesus life. On the one hand, Jesus has never been more popular. The people are coming to hear Him speak in the thousands. He has gone from the guy from little town Nazareth, to that great speaker, to possibly the king that we were told would come?

On the other hand you have the jewish leaders that see Jesus not as a king, not a prophet, but as a threat.

That brings us to todays scripture. Jesus is ready to go into Jerusalem. The passover celebration is going on so it is the busiest time of the year. If you were going to make a grand entrance you could not pick a better or a worse time.

An anonymous author wrote….

“Jesus and His disciples arrive at the city which is both His destination, and His destiny.” -anonymous

Jesus can just walk in like everyone else but He knows that isn’t the plan. Instead He tells his disciples to go and get him 2 donkeys. A mother and her Foal (baby)and her foal has never been ridden on. And if anyone gives you any flack for taking them you simply tell them the Lord needs them.

To a layman this is kind of an odd request. Why a donkey? Why a Foal? If the king of kings is going to make a grand entrance why not do it with some grandeur and style. Jesus knew that in order for people, not just the people of that time but people of all time to recognize that He is in fact the Savior. The son of God! God Himself! He would need to fulfill the prophecy given in Zechariah.

(slide 4)

Zechariah 9:9 (ESV)

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your king is coming to you;

righteous and having salvation is he,

humble and mounted on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Zechariah was written between 520 to 518 BC 500 years before this happened. Now over 500 years later Jesus fulfills this prophecy exactly! This cannot be seen as a coincidence.

Jesus goes from entering the city like a commoner to entering the city like a king.

Entering a King (slide 5)

Matthew 21:6–11 (ESV)

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Zechariah is not the only prophecy that will be filled by Jesus. Not by a long shot.

Up to this point the people were drawn to Jesus by His actions. His teaching. His miracles. Heal people and raise people from the dead and people want to se you. Go figure. They wanted to see the man in action. He was the hottest ticket in town. He was Taylor Swift!! Coming into Jerusalem like this was different. This time it was a planned entrance at the busiest time of the year and Jesus knew exactly what he was doing.

Jesus gets on the unridden donkey and begins his journey into the city. The people see him and once again they flock to Him. This time they don’t cheer him. They worship the literal ground he rides on. The normal street that most people have to walk on is not worthy of the donkey Jesus rides on let alone Jesus himself, so they take off their cloaks and lay down Palm branches in front of Him so the donkey’s hooves don’t have to touch the ground.

The people are acknowledging him as a king and more! Back in the old days when a king would make his return from war the people would do what they did for Jesus to the king as a way to honor his victory. Look at King Jehu in 2 Kings.

(slide 6)

2 Kings 9:13 (ESV)

Then in haste every man of them took his garment and put it under him on the bare steps, and they blew the trumpet and proclaimed, “Jehu is king.”

Even though they were treating Jesus like a king He appeared as anything but a king. He had no warhorse to enter in on he entered into the city on a donkey. He didn’t have an army trailing behind him he had a miss matched bunch of fishermen, tax collectors, laymen. He didn’t wear any golden armor that made him look regal, or a crown. He wore the garments that any Tom, Dick or Harry would. The only thing that Jesus wore that set him apart from anyone else was humility and peace.

AS he rode in. As he was being honored the people called out.

“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Hosanna here scholars believe means Save now. The people were acknowledging him as their king, the savior that was promised them. They were also quoting more scripture.

(slide 7)

Psalm 118:25–26 (ESV)

Save us, we pray, O Lord!

O Lord, we pray, give us success!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

We bless you from the house of the Lord.

The Bible then says Jesus entered into Jerusalem and the people were “STIRRED”

The greek word that is used here is ESEISTHE- ESEISTHE is used to describe earthquakes and apokolyptic upheaval. We next see it used after His death…

(slide 8)

Matthew 27:51 (ESV)

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

In terms anyone can understand He caused a huge ruckus! Remember Jerusalem was packed with Jews and Gentiles alike. Everyone either knew who Jesus was or they WANTED to know who Jesus was. He never asked for it but in this moment He was being treated like the king He was. He deserved all this and more.

Although the people may have been worshipping Jesus. The disciples were able to see their Lord honored in the way he deserved, but not everyone was happy. In fact this was the straw that broke the camels back for the Jewish leaders.

(slide 9)

John 12:19 (ESV)

So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”

Unlike the people. The Jewish leaders looked at Jesus not as a king, not as God. The Jewish leaders only saw Jesus as a threat. A threat that needed dealt with. This one act was all they needed to see to set a plan in motion to destroy Jesus. All that mattered to these men was power.

The Question (slide 10)

The title of this sermon is the answer is love. Well then what was the question. In my walk . My time on the planet the question that comes to my mind is…..

Why?

Did you ever ask yourself why?

Why this way. Why not an easier way?

I understand Jesus did this for us to have the opportunity to accept Him and His salvation. But when the plan was made, why this way.

This is the way that it had to be. Jesus knew this was the way that it had to be. God loves us. I honestly cannot imagine why sometimes but he loves us. My wife found a letter and shared it with me and I would like to share it with you now.

My Child,

You may not know me, but I know everything about you. I know when you sit down and when you rise up. I am familiar with all your ways. Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. For you were made in my image. In me you live and move and have your being. For you are my offspring. I knew you even before you were conceived. I chose you when I planned creation. You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. I knit you together in your mother's womb. And brought you forth on the day you were born. I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me. I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love. And it is my desire to lavish my love on you. Simply because you are my child and I am your Father. I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. For I am the perfect father. Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. Because I love you with an everlasting love. My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore. And I rejoice over you with singing. I will never stop doing good to you. For you are my treasured possession. I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul. And I want to show you great and marvelous things. If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart. For it is I who gave you those desires. I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. For I am your greatest encourager. I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus. For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. He is the exact representation of my being. He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you. And to tell you that I am not counting your sins. Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me. And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen. I have always been Father, and will always be Father. My question is… Will you be my child? I am waiting for you.

Love, Your Dad

Almighty God

Let me show you the actual letter. Everything I just read you comes straight from the Bible.

Before the world was, God was and he already knew everything. Jesus knew that Adam and Eve would pick that fruit. He knew that his beloved creation would fail him time after time after time. Jesus knew that Doing what he did that first palm Sunday would lead to things that we humans cannot comprehend. He knew that being honored in this way would start a chain reaction that would not just cost him his life, it would lead to torture, humiliation, pain beyond understanding, and then He would die and the perfect Lamb of God would take every sin of every sinner. Why? Because he loves us.

Every word that we read in the Bible God wrote in love. During the hard times He loves us. When we laugh He loves us. When we cry, He loves us. When He teaches us, He loves us. Jesus knew that He would sacrifice Himself for us and He never deviated from that plan and it was because He loves us. This Holy week take the time to remember His love. Take the time to thank Him for His love. If you haven’t excepted his gift of Love that is Salvation there is no better day. Oh how He loves you and me.

Let’s pray.