Pardon the Interruption

“Next Day” — This was the day after a dinner party in honor of Jesus at the house of Mary and Martha. He had raised Lazarus from the dead and both Lazarus, his sisters and the community had a dinner in His honor.

Word spread that Jesus was in town and a large crowd of Jews came to see both He as well as Lazarus. A story of someone being raised from the dead tends to draw a crowd.

“Crowd that had come for the Feast” — This is a reference to the crowd which had come to Jerusalem for the celebration of the Passover. Jerusalem would have over 2 million Jews for such a celebration. Word spread among them that Jesus, the miracle worker who raised Lazarus from the dead, was on His way to Jerusalem and they went out to meet Him.

“They Took Palm Branches” — This is a very important part of understanding the crowd and what was happening here. About 200 years prior to this event Palm branches had become a national symbol for the Jewish people. They were a nationalist symbol…that is…it was a symbol of national independence.

The hope of the people was simply this…they hoped Jesus was the long awaited Militaristic Messiah, a warrior Lamb who would lead them to independence from Rome and the restoration of an independent Jewish nation.

The hope of the people — they hoped Jesus was the long awaited Military/political Messiah, a warrior Lamb who would lead them to independence from Rome and the restoration of an independent Jewish nation.

“Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” — This crowd was a political rally. This was their political slogan just as MAGA was for Trump or Yes We Can was for Obama.

“Hosanna” means “salvation now.” The crowd was shouting, “Salvation from Rome now! Blessings upon the one who comes in the name of the Lord…our new King!”

“Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it” — Here we see the Messiah’s interest in first century politics...Jesus hears the crowd. He knows their heart. He knows their intention. He knows they are having a political rally and looking for Him to start an insurrection for the overthrow of Roman rule. SO…He finds a donkey and sits upon it. No warhorse here! The Messiah humbly rides in on a donkey and in so doing fulfills the prophecy written about Him in .

“Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it” — Here we see the Messiah’s interest in first century politics...Jesus hears the crowd. He knows their heart. He knows their intention. He knows they are having a political rally and looking for Him to start an insurrection for the overthrow of Roman rule. SO…He finds a donkey and sits upon it. No warhorse here! The Messiah humbly rides in on a donkey and in so doing fulfills the prophecy written about Him in

Definitions of Political Systems

Zechariah 9:9 NASB95

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Communism: You have two cows. The government takes both of them and gives you part of the milk.

Socialism: You have two cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.

We in the church sure can be politically minded…at times to a fault. We take the “We the people” responsibility to the point it takes on Biblical proportions

Fascism: You have two cows. The government takes both cows and sells you the milk.

93% of Americans are upset at how divided we are as a nation right now. 1 in 6 people have a broken relationship with a family member or friend due to political differences. Politics are very divisive…we have to ask ourself the question…is it worth dividing over? Would Jesus make it a point of division? An occasion for separation?

Jesus was not interested in politics. It is fascinating that we think He is so interested in it now.

93% of Americans are upset at how divided we are as a nation right now. 1 in 6 people have a broken relationship with a family member or friend due to political differences. Politics are very divisive…we have to ask ourself the question…is it worth dividing over? Would Jesus make it a point of division? An occasion for separation?

Capitalism: You have two cows. You sell one of them and buy a bull.

Jesus lets the crowd know that His ambitions had little to do with Rome and everything to do with the whole world for all time and everywhere.

His answer is to point the crowd to this passage of scripture so they might understand His true purpose in coming…to deflate their immediate political aspirations and assure them of His long term plans

We in the church sure can be politically minded…at times to a fault. We take the “We the people” responsibility to the point it takes on Biblical proportions.

Daughter of Jerusalem — Common way of referring to the people of Jerusalem.

Jesus was not interested in politics. It is fascinating that we think He is so interested in it now. Jesus lets the crowd know that His ambitions had little to do with Rome and everything to do with the whole world for all time and everywhere.

Fear Not — Not in the Zechariah passage but a reference to Just like we often combine several passages of scripture to make a point John the Apostle is doing the same thing. In retrospect, after the glorification of Christ they understood exactly what Jesus was doing here and He intends that we fully grasp what the actions of Jesus were meant to teach the crowd…and us.

Isaiah 40:9 NASB95

Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, Lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; Lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”

We are prone to fear when God does not move in the way we want Him to move. We fear circumstances and the political climate of our day just as the people did in Jesus’ day. The crowd wanted a warrior king and freedom from Rome. This was not the reason Jesus came! He did not come to defeat Rome but sin and death…our real enemies

We are prone to fear when God does not move in the way we want Him to move. The crowd wanted a warrior king and freedom from Rome. This was not the reason Jesus came! He did not come to defeat Rome but sin and death…our real enemies

The World Has Gone After Him — The pharisees make an incredibly ironic statement in light of the testimony of Jesus…The Passover brought people from all over the Mediterranean world to Jerusalem…The pharisees looked out upon the masses and said the whole world is going after Him!

This entire scene represents one of the most common occurrences among all of us as fellow members of the human race. Time and time again God moves in ways we do not expect...or in ways other than what we wanted.

When we don’t get what we expect or don’t get what we want it elicits an emotional response…Sometimes that response is fear and other times it is anger. We see over the course of holy week Jesus is met with both types of emotional response.

John is telling the people, fear not! Your king is coming. Not as you expected Him but He is here nonetheless. And what He is bringing to you will far surpass anything you could have ever hoped in your own plans.

AND HERE IS THE KEY POINT! Our plans are always smaller than God’s plans.

Senator Matthew Stanley Quay, was a Pennsylvania political boss once dubbed a "kingmaker" by President Benjamin Harrison—and was one of the most powerful politicians that the American system has produced, he was a man of genius—shortly before his death he was visited by Senator Beveridge from Indiana, a much younger man, opposed to many of the policies of Quay, but with great admiration for Quay's personality and the brilliancy of his intellect.

Frail and haggard, Quay sat by the window in his apartment. As Beveridge rose to go, Quay, looking out of the window, said to him, "In a few months I shall be dead, and the papers will say, 'Matt Quay, boss, is dead.' Had I lived my life differently they would say, 'Death of Matthew Stanley Quay, statesman.' Take warning by me, young man." He left the young man with these words, "Dream true.”

Then, taking up a copy of Peter Ibbetson, he wrote upon the flyleaf the enigmatic words "Dream true," and gave it to Beveridge as a parting gift.

You often hear the challenge or encouragement, “Dream big!” So we try to dream big. But it is much more important to dream true. To dream true is to dream God’s dreams for us.

There are always limits to our dreams, no matter how big they become. We are always limited to what we know, understand and can see. We cannot dream something that we cannot imagine.

This is our great limitation as human beings..our imagination is infinitely smaller than God’s. He can dream bigger, bolder and more intelligently than we ever could.

Isaiah 55:8–9 KJV 1900

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts.

So our dreams, no matter how good they may appear to be, no matter how big they may seem…are no match for God’s dreams for us.

We think we have it figured out but in reality all we have is our own understanding and what we have concluded in light of it. God is not limited to our understanding and He makes clear that He never intends that we be limited by it either.

Proverbs 3:5–6 NASB95

Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

Every single man, woman and child on the road with palm branches in their hands, chanting political slogans, were embracing what they understood to be the purpose and plan of the Messiah. He would be a military and political ruler who would rescue them from Rome and reestablish the Kingdom of Israel.

God tells us not to lean on our understanding. This does not mean we are to walk around as imbeciles, checking our mind at the door and never having a thought of our own. But it means that every thought of our own should be submitted to the Lord.

We are meant to submit our understanding to the Lord and recognize He is God, He is Sovereign, He is Lord. He has the right to move in ways which will defy our understanding. In ways that we will never comprehend or even be able to explain. And that is ok!

The reason it is ok is a simple one…God’s plans are always best. His ideas for us always exceed anything we could ever have for us. We see this so clearly in our passage today...

We trust…rely and rest in Him with all of our heart — our mind, will and emotion…that which makes up our volition…the part of us which moves us to decision and action.

So I have thoughts and ideas but I am to take those to the Lord who directs my steps and leads me to action.

Jesus was leading anyone who would hear to action…to believe and trust and follow Him as the suffering servant. Some did so but most wouldn’t and the reason they did not was that He did not meet their expectations and live up to their understanding of what Messiah was meant to be.

It seemed reasonable to expect and want the Messiah to be a military and political deliverer. But the greater deliverance was one from sin, death and damnation. God’s plan was best

What are your expectations? What expectations do you have for your life right now? How do you see things? Where do you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years? What are your plans?

Saturday night, of Thanksgiving weekend, and the Coconut Grove was packed. Waiters were setting up extra tables to handle the diners. The overflow from the dining room surged down a narrow stairway to the Melody Lounge. This dimly lit basement of the restaurant offered a South Seas ambiance, with artificial palm trees, driftwood, rattan and a ceiling draped in blue satin. It was 1942; the U.S. had been fighting WWII for nearly a year. Dr. Vincent Senna was having dinner that night in the Grove and was paged because one of his patients had gone into labor. Grumbling, Senna rushed to the hospital in time to deliver the baby...and save his own life. After he left, for still unknown reasons, the Cocoanut Grove burst into flames, and over 490 people died in the smoke and flames. The interruption that ruined his evening also saved his life!

Unlike usual, Jimmy went straight upstairs to his room. An hour or so later his mother came up to check if all was well, and to her astonishment found that her son was staring quietly out of his window at the moonlit scenery. "What are you doing, Jimmy?" "I'm looking at the moon, Mommy." "Well, it's time to go to bed now." As one reluctant boy settled down, he said, "Mommy, you know one day I'm going to walk on the moon."

Who could have known that the boy in whom the dream was planted that night would survive a near fatal motorbike crash which broke almost every bone in his body, and would bring to fruition this dream 32 years later when James Irwin stepped on the moon's surface, just one of the 12 representatives of the human race to have done so?

Does God have the right to interrupt your plans? Does He have the right to completely derail the understanding you have for your future? Should he choose to do so will you fight or trust Him?

We see over the story of Holy Week that the people of Jesus’ day chose to fight God’s plan for their Messiah. The result was the damnation of many who refused to believe and trust Jesus as their Savior.

If you fight God’s plans for your life, you will always lose. You lose out on His blessing, goodness and perhaps even His salvation.

Are you willing to have faith and fear not. Have faith and be saved? Have faith and enjoy the benefits of your salvation?

Sometimes we understand what God is doing…sometimes we haven’t a clue. But in every circumstance we CAN have faith and say, “I trust you.” Those who do guard their hearts from the most tragic of all things…missing God.

The people on the road that day with palm branches…most of them, perhaps all of them…missed God. They missed God’s Messiah…missed His plan for their salvation…all because they leaned on their own understanding…rejected the idea that God’s ways were higher than anything they could ever know. His imagination bigger than any they could muster…they refused to recognize God’s sovereignty in their life…that He could interrupt their plans for His own.

His imagination bigger than any they could muster…refused to recognize God’s sovereignty in their life…that He could interrupt their plans for His own.

Pardon the Interruption

Introduction

Not What We Expected

Conclusion