Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Good morning all,

I am glad to see you all today, here we are at Palm Sunday, it is the first moment of celebration, it sets the stage for the rest of the week.

Palm Sunday shares the triumphal entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem....

He is praised and received by many and some, well they scorn the events taking place.. their eyes are closed, they cannot see spiritually.

How sad is their condition....

Here we are at the last week of Jesus life, from his time in Bethany until is arrest and crucifixion outside the city ways....

So many things happened.... so many things to see and learn from, and I believe that as we look at them, I believe it will help prepare our hearts for Easter.

So this morning we will be looking at several passages this morning, I want to take a little bit of a different approach to Palm Sunday and look at a couple of things that happen around Palm Sunday.

We will begin with and , both of these passages parallel one another and share with us what is happening on the Sabbath and the first day of the week ( Saturday and Sunday) just 6 days before the crucifixion.

There are some special things happening right here at the beginning of these passages,

So lets look , for the sake of time this morning....

1. Jesus is Prepared....

1. Jesus is Prepared....

When we look at all that is happening here in these passages, we find some interesting events, they are beautiful and we should be so thankful the Lord has allowed us to see these events preserved in the Scriptures.

So we know that this is before the triumphal entry and just a few days before the passover.

Jesus has come to Bethany according to Matthew 26, which lay just a few miles south of the city of Jerusalem.

Now Bethany is a special place, it is where His friends live, Lazarus, whom Jesus has raised from the dead, Martha and Mary.

They were friends and yes, disciples.

Here is a family that loved Jesus, like so many.

Now the Bible tells us that Jesus is sharing a meal with his friends at the home of Simon the Leper..

Now Jesus has come there just prior to the

Now Simon here, he is known as that because of his previous condition.

Simon was a leper, and he is most likely one of the men that Jesus healed, we are not sure when, unless He was the leper healed in Mark chapter 1.

But regardless, he is whole now.

Now another interesting fact is that Simon appears to be the father, the head of the household where Lazarus, Mary and Martha live.

for they are all there in those two passages we examined in our text.

We also find him in .

And it is here that we find the meal taking place, there is love and fellowship here and the the spirit of the Lord moves upon the life of one woman.

These friends of Jesus prepare a meal, it is a time of fellowship and love.

Now the Bible tells us that during this meal, something wonderful happens, Mary comes to the room with a bottle of expensive, perfumed nard, a wonderful ointment....

Now alabaster is a fine type of marble that could be hewn into small viles to hold fine perfumes and other costly ointments

Now the Bible tells us that during this meal, something wonderful happens, Mary comes to the room with a bottle of expensive, perfumed nard, a wonderful ointment....

But she takes a beautiful bottle of perfumed ointment, something so precious and expensive, and she takes it and pours it on the head of Jesus.

But she takes a beautiful bottle of perfumed ointment, something so precious and expensive, and she takes it and pours it on the feet of Jesus.

It was so beautiful.... the house smells wonderful....

She is moved to do this for Jesus…

Now the disciples are upset, they see this act, but they cannot see the love, the devotion she has for Jesus… They see something expensive and sense it has been wasted.... it could have been sold to a dealer and the money used to feed the poor, to assist others..

See the ext...

But Jesus rebukes them...

Matthew 26:

Now consider this, Jesus rebukes them… Why?

A. Jesus says she has done a beautiful thing… Her faith has exploded this day, and she acts on her faith...

B. My friends as the Lord moves in your life, the worst thing you can do is ignore God or listen to others, Do as the Lord leads you....

C. Jesus says the poor you have with you always… Jesus is not putting them down, he is simply alluding to the truth that He will be with them only a little while more, there will always be time to take care of others...

D. Jesus finally says what she has done is to help prepare Him for his burial.

The wonderful odor that fills the house, symbolizes what the faithful do for God.

But She has anointed Jesus, what she does for Jesus is more than just a treatment for death, she is anointing him as the chief, the Lord, the King who is laying down his life for the church.

He is the King of Israel.

What application does this have for us my friends...

First off, remember Jesus willingly laid down his life for us, that we might have life.

Secondly, Take that life and live it for his glory and honor!

Now lets consider our second thought...

2. His Praise.....

Now as we move forward the Bible tells us that on the next day, which would indicate Monday, Jesus was preparing to enter the city of Jerusalem… and this day would be far different than all the rest...

Now as Jesus was preparing to enter the city, He instructed His disciples to get a donkey for him to ride upon from a man in the next city.

Let me share it with you from , verses 1-5

And so Jesus rides on the back of a beautiful donkey… I’ve always wondered if that is why there is a cross in the fur of donkeys, back.

Regardless, what we see is this .. as Jesus comes into the city, people begin to lay palm branches and their coats down the road for him to tread upon…

Look with me at

matthew 21:56

Can you imagine the scene my friends...

As Jesus comes into the city, people are praising Him, they are crying out… Hosanna to the Son of David.... Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord...

Who what praise… this is an echo of what the Psalmist said in Pslams 118:25

It is a cry for the Messiah to come and save them… the Hosanna, the praise the are calling it is more real than they ever imagined...

In a few days… Jesus would lay down his life, He would indeed save the people from their sin… he would bring them from the point of death and they would indeed find life...

Life abundantly… God had remembered his people and He had sent his deliver, not Moses, but the one Moses stood with and upon as God passed by Him as He as hid in the cleft of the rock in the Old Testament....

They had called out to God for help and He had answered… wow...

Now this is a special time...It was Nisan 10, when the Passover lambs were selected.

Likewise, His entry into Jerusalem was the day when Jesus presented himself as Israel’s Paschal Lamb.

Wow my friends.....

For He has done for us, He my friends is worthy of all our praise.

Let me ask you a question,......

Is there 1 thing you can praise God for?

What about 2.... or 3

Listen we have so much!

Praise him people, Praise the name of Jesus....

Now just one last thought my friends...

3. A Symbol of Death

The next day, which is Tuesday Jesus is headed back into the city… He has cleared the temple and drove out the money changers the day before..

But this day he is headed back....

He has his disciples...

And the Bible says that Jesus was hungry… and coming to a fig tree he wants to eat a piece of its fruit...

Look with me at :18-22

This passage is one of death, of warning and a reminder to live...

Jesus comes to this tree hoping to find breakfast… to find something to eat.. and after searching the tree he found a tree that looked really nice, tall, healthy, leafy… but Jesus found no fruit… it wasn’t producing what it was there for...

Friends, that is how Israel was., they looked good on the outside, but death lurked on the inside...

There is a warning there, we cannot only look good on the outside, there must be life on the inside as well.. is not judgement can come..

The Bible says here that Jesus cursed the tree...

“...And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!”

And the fig tree withered at once.”

“...And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!”

And the fig tree withered at once.”

And the tree died… it was dead, there was no life… friends our faith is more than words, there is actions as well.

James 2:

My friends if there is anything we must take away from the miracle of destruction is to remember that God has placed us here for a purpose, and that purpose always relates to him, for him and for his glory!

Just has he came into the world to die for the sins of the world, to redeem us from the death that was at life in us...

We must die to self.. and take His life upon us...

Have you died to self and are you living for self?

Which area are you liveing...