Who Is Jesus? - Palm Sunday

Who is Jesus? . . . Journey to Easter and Beyond #5 Luke 19:28-44 April 5, 2020 Have you ever been skep/cal about someone’s iden/ty? A woman named Amanda was. The Oregonian, a daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon reported in December of 2019 that Amanda received a call from a gentleman claiming to be a police office who had found her previously stolen ID. Amanda didn’t believe the caller’s claim about his iden/ty and didn’t return the voice mail message leI on her phone. When the caller texted her a short /me later, she texted back, “There is no way a cop has my cell phone number. Nice try you creep.” Undeterred by Amanda’s response, the caller sent Amanda a selfie standing in full uniform in front of his official police cruiser, holding the ID card in ques/on. The caller was one Officer Fullington of the Portland Police Department. Amanda responded with a laughing/crying emoji saying she would contact him aIer work. In Amanda’s case, the caller’s supposed iden/ty proved to be true. Have you ever wondered if someone is who they claim to be? Our message today is a story from the Bible about someone’s iden/ty. It’s the story that John read a few moments ago. The story is called the Triumphal Entry. At the heart of this story is a cri/cal ques/on: “Who is Jesus? It’s a ques/on that was posed to the people of Jerusalem two millennia ago. And it’s a ques/on that con/nues to call for a response today. Today’s message is the fiIh in our current sermon series, Journey to Easter and Beyond. We’re exploring encounters Jesus had with different individuals in the last weeks of his life on his way to Jerusalem and the cross. In this passage, we’re going to explore how different groups at the Triumphal Entry responded to the ques/on, “Who is Jesus?” From their responses, we can gain insight that informs our own quest to understand Jesus’ iden/ty. Before we dig further into today’s passage, some context is important. For centuries before the Triumphal Entry, the Jewish people had been wai/ng for a Messiah, a saviour. The word Messiah (or in Greek, “Christ”) means “anointed one.” The term came from the Jewish prac/ce of anoin/ng a priest or a king with oil to signify God’s special calling on their life. But the word Messiah was applied in a unique sense to a future ruler whom God would send to sit on the throne of David. The theme of the coming Messiah is one of the central themes of the Old Testament. Over and over, the prophets prophesied of his future arrival. Some biblical scholars have itemized 127 Messianic predic/ons involving more than 3,000 Bible verses. Who is Jesus? 2 These are some of the OT predic/ons about the coming Messiah: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The Messiah would be the offspring of a woman and would crush the head of Satan (Genesis 3:15). He would come from the offspring of Abraham and would bless all the na/ons on earth (Genesis 12:3). He would be a “prophet like Moses” to whom God said we must listen (Deuteronomy 18:15). He would be born in Bethlehem of Judah (Micah 5:2). He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). He would have a throne, a kingdom and a dynasty star/ng with King David, that will last forever (2 Samuel 7:16). He would be called “Wonderful Counselor,” “Mighty God,” “Everlas/ng Father,” “Prince of Peace,” and would possess an everlas/ng kingdom (Isaiah 9:6-7). He would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, righteous and having salva/on, coming with gentleness (Zechariah 9:9-10). He would be pierced for our rebellion and crushed for our sins (Isaiah 53:5). He would die among the wicked ones but be buried with the rich (Isaiah 53:9). He would be resurrected from the grave (Psalm 16:10). He would come again from the clouds of heaven as the Son of Man (Daniel 7:13-14). He would be the “Sun of Righteousness” for all who revere Him and look for His coming again (Malachi 4:2). He is the One whom Israel will one day recognize as the One they pierced, causing bijer grief (Zechariah 12:10). Source: The Promise of Messiah, Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Decision Magazine, Sept. 10, 2006, cited online 04/02/20 - hTps://decisionmagazine.com/the-promise-of-the-messiah/ Though some prophecies told of the Messiah’s suffering, death, and resurrec/on (as we just saw) most Jews didn’t recognize these par/cular prophecies as per/nent. They were looking for a messiah who would be a military and poli/cal king who would rule Israel and conquer the na/ons, as King David had done. As Jesus approached Jerusalem with his disciples from about 2 miles away from Jerusalem, a crowd began to gather around him. As Jesus neared the city, the crowd grew. Jesus’ disciples began to cheer and celebrate almost like a parade. The crowd joined in. They waved palm branches in the air. (BTW - this is where we get the term Palm Sunday). Others spread their cloaks on the road in front of Jesus. Among this throng at the Triumphal Entry were four different groups. Each of these groups had a different take on Jesus’ iden/ty. The first group is Jesus’ disciples. Their response to the ques/on, “Who is Jesus?” was “The Messiah, God’s Son.” Jesus’ disciples had followed him for the past three years, listening and learning, hearing him teach and preach the good news, and watching him demonstrate the Kingdom of God through compassion, service, healing, and miracles. Who is Jesus? 3 Today they demonstrated their response to the ques/on of Jesus’ iden/ty in several ways. We see in v. 35 that they placed their cloaks on the young donkey Jesus was to ride. This was a sign they believed he was a king. They disciples were the ones who led the crowd in praising God with loud voices. Verses 38-39 say that they proclaimed, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” This first of these phrases comes from Psalm 118, the passage Claire read at the beginning of our service. By selec/ng these words, the disciples, again, declare their take on Jesus’ iden/ty. They believe him to be a king, the Messiah, sent by God and full of God’s authority. The second group at the Triumphal Entry are the crowds, the mul/tudes. Their response to the ques/on of “who is Jesus?” is “I’m not sure.” They are the people of Jerusalem who have come to get a glimpse of Jesus. They have heard about him and are taking a closer look. Could Jesus be the Messiah, the Son of God, they wonder? Perhaps. Maybe. It would sure be nice to be free from Roman rule. But it would be a lot safer to say that he’s a prophet (Maj 21:10-11), a great moral teacher with unique giIs. More and more people flock from the city and join the crowd as they hear by word of mouth of Jesus’ arrival. It’s easy for them to easily be swept up into the emo/on of celebra/on. As the disciples begin to praise God and cheer Jesus, many in the crowd choose to join the party. They choose to follow the lead of the disciples by throwing their cloaks on the road or by waving palm branches they have cut from nearby trees (Maj 21:8-9). We should note, however, that the crowd’s enthusias/c response was superficial. They were drawn in and influenced by the disciples’ example and exuberance (Luke 19:37-38). They had not sejled the ques/on of Jesus’ iden/ty. Only a few days later, some of these same members in the crowd were incited to jeer and demand Jesus’ death in front of Roman governor, Pon/us Pilate (Maj 27:20-25). The disciples believed Jesus to be the Messiah. The crowds weren’t sure about his iden/ty. They felt is safest to see him as a prophet, a great moral teacher. The third group present were the Pharisees, Jewish religious teachers. They were a part of Israel’s religious establishment. Their response to the ques/on of “Who is Jesus?” is . . . nobody special. They believed Jesus and his disciples to be gravely mistaken about Jesus’ iden/ty. The Pharisees absolutely knew the praises coming from Jesus’ disciples indicated they believed him to be the Messiah, God’s Son. They approached Jesus and said, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” In other words, “Jesus, tell your followers to stop the King talk. These are words appropriate for the future Messiah. Your disciples are mistaken. You’re no messiah. You’re a mere man. The Messiah, when he comes, will be a divine being.” Who is Jesus? 4 In v. 40, Jesus says in response, “I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out.” Jesus is saying, “even nature, itself, knows my true iden/ty and will praise me as God’s Messiah if my disciples fail to do so.” The religious leaders rejected the possibility that Jesus could be the Son of God. They refused to believe in him. In fact, they were already conspiring to kill him (John 11:45-54). Jesus’ disciples responded to the ques/on of Jesus’ iden/ty with, “He’s the Messiah!”, the crowd, with an “I’m not sure,” the religious leaders with a “nobody special”. The fourth group may be hard to spot in the passage, but they are there. They are the people of Jerusalem who didn’t join they crowd. Their response to the ques/on of “Who is Jesus?” is “Who cares?” These are the individuals in Jerusalem who chose to con/nue with their daily chores and business while Jesus made his entrance to the city. These individuals didn’t want to be bothered. They likely believed that all the hubbub would pass, that the hoopla was much to do about nothing. Where do we see these people in the passage? In vv. 41-44 we are told that when Jesus sees Jerusalem, he begins to weep over it and all its inhabitants, including those who had no interest in his arrival. He says between the tears, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the ]me of God’s coming to you. The people of Jerusalem missed the opportunity that God was giving to them. The Messiah, the Son of God, had come to town. They could have embraced and followed him. They could have escaped the judgment that was to come for their long-term apathy toward God’s Son. (By the way, the judgment Jesus predicted upon Jerusalem came to pass in AD 70 when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman army under Titus.) The people of Jerusalem could have embraced God’s Messiah, but instead, they chose to avoid the ques/on of Jesus’ iden/ty and con/nue with their daily rou/nes. Let me ask you an important ques/on. If you had been present at the Triumphal Entry which group would you have been in? Your response to the ques/on, “Who is Jesus?” is the most cri/cal response of your life. Whether you realize it or not, it’s a ques/on that you are already answering. But you can change your answer. Several days aIer Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, he was crucified on a Roman cross. The Bible tells us Jesus died for all the wrongs you’ve ever commijed or will commit. He paid the penalty for those wrongs: death. Who is Jesus? 5 Why? Because he loves you. Rom 5:8 (CSB) says, But God proves his own love for us in that while we were s]ll sinners, Christ died for us. Three days later Jesus rose from the dead to give you and me eternal life, to break the power of death, and to demonstrate that he truly is the Messiah, the Son of God. The Bible says that those who believe Jesus is God’s Son and submit to his control will rule and reign with him forever. But the Bible also says that those who reject Jesus as the Messiah and refuse to submit to his control will experience judgment and be separated from God forever in a place called hell, a place never intended for humans, but for the Devil and his angels. In the current Covid-19 pandemic, the thoughts of many people are turning to what is truly important in life. Many are grappling in a new way with ques/ons about eternity, including ques/ons about the iden/ty of Jesus. What is your response to the ques/on, “Who is Jesus?” If you iden/fy with the I’m not sure, nobody special, or who cares responses in the Triumphal Entry, God is invi/ng you to become a Christ-follower, someone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. If you do, you will not only live with him forever. You will also experience, right now, an inner peace, fulfillment, and joy that will see you through any storm of life, including the current Covid-19 crisis. Jesus doesn’t promise those who believe in him an easy life. Christ followers experience the same challenges and struggles as agnos/cs, skep/cs, and scoffers. But God gives to those who choose to believe in Jesus a peace that passes all understanding (Phil 4:7), a joy that can never be taken away (John 16:22), and a hope that will never disappoint (Rom 15:13). If you want to believe in and follow Jesus right now, one of the best ways to start your journey is through prayer. I want to invite you to pray this simple, brief prayer line by line aIer me. Let’s do that right now. Dear God, I admit that I’m a sinner and separated from you. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross. I believe Jesus rose from the dead to give me eternal life. I turn away from my sin and give you control of my life. Help me to follow you all the days of my life. Amen. If you prayed that prayer and really meant it, I’d like to hear from you. Please send me an email at hbc@hawkwood.ca so that I can pray for you and encourage you in your spiritual journey. Let us today all join with those at the Triumphal Entry who proclaimed, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of Lord!” May God bless you!