Unfriended
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 32 viewsNotes
Transcript
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.”
What a sound! The city filled with people shouting praises to Jesus!
Isn’t it a great feeling when everyone loves you?
We love to tell this story about Jesus—when he is riding into Jerusalem on the donkey, with everyone shouting HOSANNA!
They are spreading their cloaks and palm branches on the ground before the donkey.
What a celebration that must have been!
In this modern age of social media, we gauge our online popularity
Friends
Likes
Followers
When we like someone, we friend them or follow them.
When someone or something is REALLY popular, we say they are trending.
How many of you have some sort of online social media?
Do you know how many online friends you have?
I have 2575 on my personal account
When we see something we don’t like on their media page, we unfriend them.
Have you ever unfriended someone?
If social media had existed that day when Jesus was entering Jerusalem, he would definitely have been trending.
#jesusonadonkey
There would have been a LOT of people sending friend requests to Jesus, liking his Facebook page, following on Instagram and Tiktok.
But Jesus knew this popularity was not going to last.
He kept telling his disciples that he would soon die.
And the disciples would protest.
That’s not going to happen!
So Jesus let them know that even they would turn away for a time.
Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.
It’s so easy to be someone’s friend when everything is going well. But what about when things get shaky?
Judas is the first to turn away from Jesus, going to the priests to tell them where they can find Jesus alone and capture him.
When the Roman guards show up with the priests to arrest Jesus, the disciples who are there all run for cover.
When Jesus is taken for his mockery of a trial, word quickly spreads through town.
Suddenly, Jesus’ popularity takes a dive.
From hero to zero in seconds.
Peter, one of Jesus’ closest friends, tries to find out what is going on in the trial.
But when he is outed as knowing Jesus, he denies it with a curse.
Suddenly, Jesus, the friend of sinners, finds himself unfriended by everyone.
The very same people who were crying “Hosanna” just days before are crying, “Crucify him!”
Isn’t it amazing how easily we can turn our back on Jesus?
We are just like the crowd of that day.
One moment we are praising the Lord and having a good time.
God is so good!
The next, we are complaining and asking God why he would allow us to go through this struggle.
We come to the altar, we tell God we are sorry for our sins.
We go out and continue to fall into the very same sins over and over again.
We tell God that we surrender our lives to his leadership, acting in faithful obedience.
We go out and live our own lives, making our decisions and plans without once consulting the Lord.
And there we go, unfriending Jesus.
It’s not that we even mean to turn away.
I doubt anyone here would say they have made a conscious decision to turn their back on God.
But it’s not in the big, grand gestures.
It’s in the little decisions we make here and there.
But maybe you have outright rejected God for awhile, because you felt like he had let you down somehow.
How small is our faith, if we are so easily swayed to doubt him, get mad at him, blame him for our situation?
Isn’t it amazing that, no matter how fickle we can be in our relationship with Jesus, he always remains faithful?
He doesn’t unfriend us!
When the Roman soldiers were hammering the nails into his hands and feet to fasten him to the cross, Jesus prayed for them!
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.
These were men who had NEVER considered themselves a friend to Jesus, yet Jesus is asking God to forgive them!
And what about Simon Peter, who had outright lied about knowing Jesus?
After Peter gets the report from the women who had seen Jesus’ empty tomb, he goes to investigate.
He doesn’t meet the angels, but he sees the empty tomb and heads home.
On his way home, he and his buddy meet a stranger walking in the same direction they are and strike up a conversation.
They tell the stranger about how they hoped Jesus would be the Messiah, but how he died. The tomb is empty, and someone claimed to see angels telling them Jesus was alive, but they don’t know what to believe.
The stranger gets on to them about their doubt concerning Jesus’.
They decide they like this guy, so Peter and his buddy invite him to dinner.
Inside the house, during the supper, the man takes the bread, blesses it, and gives it his hosts.
Suddenly, they realize that it is Jesus with them!
He is right there, breaking bread with them, exactly like he did before he was arrested.
Even though they had unfriended him out of fear, Jesus did not unfriend them.
In Jesus’ day, he was constantly condemned by the religious leaders for the people he hung out with.
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”
They called Jesus a “friend of sinners” like it was a bad thing!
But aren’t we grateful that Jesus remains the friend of sinners!
We ALL are here today because of Jesus’ kindness to us!
He’s not embarrassed to be seen with you.
He’s not going to unfriend you because you have somehow disappointed him.
In fact, that just makes him want to help you even more.
Isn’t it amazing that the Lord of all creation wants to call you his friend?
In spite of all you’ve done in your past, he still wants to be close to you right now.
He still reaches out to cover our filth with his righteousness so that we can stand before the throne of God unashamed.
He’s not just tossing a blanket in our direction.
He is embracing us, with all our nastiness, making us clean.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
No matter what we’ve done, God loves us.
He’s already forgiven us.
But we need to recognize how we have unfriended him, and we must make a change.
We need to admit our unfaithfulness, and we must surrender everything to God.
Our attitudes.
Our agendas.
If we will surrender control of our lives to him, he will lead us to a good place.
God loves you. He wants to be a part of your life. Will you let him be a part of your life today?