Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.14UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.14UNLIKELY
Fear
0.15UNLIKELY
Joy
0.53LIKELY
Sadness
0.61LIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.75LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.62LIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.82LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.73LIKELY
Extraversion
0.09UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.69LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.68LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
Heading 1
Introduction:
I was in Target one day shopping and I saw someone who looked like someone I knew.
So I politely waved and said “Hi, [name].”
They gave an awkward wave back but had this confused look on their face.
I then realized, on that’s not who I thought it was.
There are few things as embarrassing than mistaking someone for someone else.
Normally, it doesn’t have any long standing consequences.
You say sorry, my mistake.
Move on…probably move isles.
Today is the day that Christians around the world celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
Many wave palm branches services.
Others have passion plays that start with Jesus riding on a donkey.
And many pastors will end their sermon today with “How quickly will the shouts of "HOSANNA” turn to “CRUCIFY HIM” a few days later!
I’d like to begin there.
Have you ever wonder how that transition happened so quickly in people’s minds?
It’s because they were expecting someone else.
They were expecting the conquering king who would throw off the chains of oppression of the Romans.
Reestablish the nation of Israel and the throne of King David.
They were expecting the Messiah that would rescue them from their hard life.
They were expecting the Messiah who would usher in a period of great prosperity.
But that’s not why Jesus came…at least not the first time.
Jesus came to suffer and die on the cross to pay the penalty owed to God for the sins of Jesus’ people.
And this would cause many to miss him because they were expecting someone else.
Transition to the Text: Turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew 24:3-14.
Jesus has already made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey to the shouts of Hosanna.
The sights and sounds of that day were likely still in everyone’s minds.
But the whole idea of Palm Sunday serves to underly the whole problem of the Jewish’s expectation of the long awaited Messiah.
They just didn’t understand God’s plan.
The people in Jerusalem that day expected a king.
And a king they got.
But ultimately Jesus was not what they expected.
So a few days after the triumphal entry, Jesus preemptively seeks to correct this misunderstanding during what is called the “Olivet Discourse” which deals with Jesus’ teaching on the end times.
Now there are a lot different ways that this “discourse” has been interpreted, but where we are going to focus our time this morning is on something that people generally agree upon.
Introduce:
Authentic Principle: Beware of looking for the wrong Jesus.
Read: Matthew 24:3-14
Authentic Principle: Beware of looking for the wrong Jesus.
Transition: There are a couple of things we should say at the onset.
1. Jesus is a real historical person who is revealed in the pages of scripture.
Quests for the “Historical Jesus” outside of the Bible are fruitless endeavors and lead to doubt and speculation.
2. All that is said about Jesus in the Bible is enough for us to know Him.
Asking, “well what about his childhood?” is also fruitless.
3. It is possible to think you truly love Jesus but ultimately love a figment of your imagination because you fail to know Him as He has chosen to reveal Himself.
The only way you will miss Jesus when he returns is if you don’t really know who He is.
So first, we must:
1. Know what to expect.
(Matthew 24:3-5)
Explanation:
In contrast to the people of Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, we need to make sure that we are expecting the real Jesus.
Those first Jews were expecting a king and they got a suffering servant of God.
What’s funny is that we know they could have known this.
Isaiah 53 is incredibly clear about the suffering ministry of Jesus.
Even the disciples struggled to understand the Messiah must suffer and die.
They just didn’t understand it and dismissed it as “figurative.”
Too often when we try to interpret the Bible, we are too quick to try to explain things by saying we don’t have to take this literally.
A good rule of thumb is to take it as literal unless it must be taken figuratively.
But, on the first palm Sunday, it may have looked like the king they were expecting was coming, but what they didn’t know was there was still a lot of things to come.
A week later, Jesus would die on the cross, spend 3 days in the tomb, and on the 3rd day raise from the dead.
A few weeks after that he would ascend into heaven after commissioning His disciples to take the gospel to the nations.
And then there would be a long period of waiting in between Jesus’ ascension and His return.
So far, Christians have waited 1990 years.
And Jesus naturally wanted to prepare His people (including us) for the waiting.
Because he promised that he was coming back!
After all that time of waiting for his return, we might not know what to expect.
So what does Jesus say will happen?
Elsewhere these imposters are called Anti-Christs.
Now many think that the antichrist as a future person in the future that will cause widespread deception leading to great persecution.
But even if for the sake of argument we look for a future Antichrist, Jesus says that many will come claiming to be Him.
Now the idea of antichrist also leads to confusion about Jesus.
For 1, we wrongly think that an antichrist is going to be openly against Christ.
But that’s not what the word means
“anti” actual means “instead of.”
So an antichrist isn’t going to be against Jesus openly.
In fact he will try his best to look like Jesus.
He will try to convince the world that he is the Christ.
And as Jesus says, it will be very convincing and he will deceive many.
So instead of the true Jesus, they wind up with a fake.
By the time John writes his letters of 1-3 John, John says regarding the influence of anti-christs 1 John 2:19
But it happens still today.
Illustration: I was 11 in 1993 when the ATF raiding the Mt.
Horeb compound in Waco Texas.
David Koresh deceived a lot of people into believing he was the Messiah.
And naturally we wonder how would anyone fall for that?
Charles, Manson, Jim Jones, David Koresh...
It’s very simple.
People want to believe in someone.
Application: You may think of antichrists as evil people in the apocalyptic future.
But the truth is, antichrists can be and are all around.
They are those we put in place of Jesus as our messiah.
Political leaders are often the leading candidates (no pun intended).
No one starts out taking the place of Jesus in your life.
But think how often over time, we look to others to fill that need that only Jesus can fill.
Political leaders, even pastors and our own spouses.
It seems like every day we have pastors being exposed as antichrists.
Not only are they are leading people astray with false doctrine, but they are wrongly allowing (and encouraging) others to put them in a place that is reserved only for Jesus.
So how will outright evil antichrists deceive self-professing Christians?
Easily, especially when we don’t know what to expect.
Especially when we don’t get to know the real Jesus in the Bible.
2. Don’t be alarmed by rumors (Matthew 24:6-8)
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9