The Longest Applause - Luke 19:28-40

Sermon

Everybody in this life desires to be celebrated and appreciated. Whether its on your job, or by your church or your family… everybody at some point in life wants to be celebrated and appreciated. It is customary when you have seen a great show, experienced the speech of a great politician, heard a great sermon, among someone who is receiving a reward that it is normal to hear a great applause. No one has rarely if ever been applauded at great length for being a failure. It has been said and is somewhat true that the earthly ministry of Jesus proved somewhat to be a failure… It didn’t go so well. And before you look at me in that tone of voice lets take a ride through His ministry.

He selected 12 to walk with him everywhere that He went

1 betrayed him

1 denied him

None of them could pray for even an hour

None of them could cast a devil out - He had to do it Himself

None of them understood after He explained time and time again of His impending passion

Peter was a cusser and resorted to violence

Thomas was a doubter

They constantly questioned Jesus out of fear and worry

Jesus was rejected, put out of cities, put out of the temple, rejected by His own (for He came to His own and they received Him not), rejected in His home town of Nazareth in fact John recorded that Nathanael asked can anything good come out of Nazareth?

Jesus’ earthly ministry was a failure. But not because of Him because of them. Just like if ministry is a failure now its not because of God - its because man has gotten in the way and any time man gets in the way its hard at times for people to actually see God.

John records in John 12:9 that the turn of Jesus’ popularity in ministry was after He had raised Lazarus from the dead. Many started believing in Jesus John tells us after Jesus performed this miracle proving that He is the resurrection and the life. Prior to this point Jesus constantly performs miracles and then says shhhhh don’t tell nobody. But He is now setting the stage.

There is this theme presented throughout the Gospels concerning the Glory of God. Everything that Jesus did was that God through the Son Jesus might be glorified. In fact, Mary and Joseph had been looking for Jesus for three days Luke 2:46 they found Him teaching in the temple and His mother asked Him - Jesus, why would you have your momma and daddy looking anxiously for you. Jesus responded why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business? In other words He said in Baptist terms I’ve got a charge to keep and a God to glorify. Because He was created for the Glory of God.

The Bible tells us that Jesus fulfills prophecy according to Zechariah 9:9 “behold your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounded on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Some preacher/teachers will tell you He chose to come in on a donkey. That is contrary to the biblical text. He had to come in on the donkey because God had already spoken that was to be His means of arrival.

The Bible tells us that the disciples were smart enough to do what Jesus asked. I find it very interesting the disciples weren’t always good at spiritual tasks but they were more often than not good at physical tasks. Jesus tells them go get the donkey and they did that. Remember Jesus told them to go and ask for the place for the Last Supper they did that.

Jesus now preparing to come down the Mount of Olives there is a crowd of folks who spread their garments on the road for the arrival of the King. This was there equivalent of a red carpet. They gave Jesus the read carpet treatment. Matthew, Mark and John said in addition to their garments they laid palm branches on the road. I should note as a matter of teaching the climate in Jerusalem was often too cold to grow palm trees. Thus these branches were probably retrieved from Jericho. Luke omits the palm branches. Luke also omits Jesus entering into the temple. Jesus doesn’t enter the temple until verse 45 when He threw the money changers out...

Even in Jesus being held by a multitude His coming into the city wasn’t as triumphant as it may seem if the first thing He had to do was throw the money changers out.

I digress… Jesus comes down the Mount of Olives and the crowd is giving reverberating praise to God for the miracles they had seen Jesus do. They shout blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord (a quote from Psalm 118) and they proclaim peace in heaven and glory in the highest.

See most preachers will get up and tell you that they cried hosanna on Sunday and yelled crucify Him on Friday. But we dig deep in the word of God at Mt. Sinai and the reality is they had deduced Jesus to the kings of their day. The reality is they were leaching off of Jesus because of what they had seen Him do. And they thought since He’s got the power to raise Lazarus from the dead - surely He’s got the power to overthrow the Roman authorities and liberate us - restoring the kingdom. So this crowd was celebrating Jesus for their own selfish reasons and motives. So yes, if you really don’t love Jesus you will be prone to yell crucify Him some days later if you don’t know him for yourself.

Might I take a pause for the cause and tell somebody in here you better know Jesus for yourself. Know His power. Don’t you be trying to know Him and trust Him off of somebody else because they might have been one of the ones who didn’t know Him in the first place and would be among them yelling crucify Him.

But I’ve got reliable reason to rejoice this morning in the fact that God will get the glory even from folk who don’t really even know what or who they are celebrating. These folk were yelling “Hosanna - God save us” and didn’t know this was the Savior. This was the Master. This was the Ruler. This was the Controller. He didn’t come to save you from Rome - He came to save you from sin. And the more and more I kept staring at this text I was reminded Philippians 2:10-11 every knee shall bow - every tongue shall confess that He is Lord to the Glory of the Father. There’s that glory again.

So God would bring some glory to some Himself from some folk who didn’t even know who Jesus really was. Because He’s worthy of applause from saved folk and unsaved folk. He’s worthy of applause from sick folk and healthy folk. And everybody at some point whether now or later will have to join in on the applause.

If you were to search among the Guinness book of world records you would find recorded that the longest applause was achieved by Clark Stevens and the Festival of Awesomeness. The festival was set up in memory of his brother who died by suicide on what would have been his 40th birthday to raise money and awareness regarding mental health.

While this is a noble cause, I believe they got it all wrong. If you look in every sector of sports, awards shoes, politics, concerts and competitions everybody is claiming the longest applause. If the Guinness Book of World Records were to get it right there should be listed Jesus and then an infinity symbol. Because it is a fact that Jesus since He arrived on the scene but especially thereafter Palm Sunday has been applauded ever since and still til this day.

He’s been applauded by friends and by foes. He’s been applauded by atheists. He’s been applauded by Christians. He’s been applauded by presidents, politicians, and other people in power. Because whether they applaud now or applaud later they are going to applaud.

They arrested Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. Marched Him up Golgatha’s hill. Put nails in His hands. Nails in His feet. A crown of thorns on His head. Pierced Him in His side. Gave Him vinegar to drink. And they thought that would stop the applause but there was somebody still giving God some glory.

They made a mistake when they lifted Him up on the cross. Lifting Him up ain’t gon stop the applause.... because Jesus said if I be lifted I’ll draw all men unto me.

They thought the applause would stop when they put Him in a borrowed tomb, sealed it with the Roman seal of authenticity that the tomb was occupied and Jesus was indeed in it. Then they placed a guard at the tomb. But the applause kept going when two women came to the tomb and saw the stone was rolled away.

The applause kept going when the angel came and said He is not here.

And over two thousand years later the applause is still going because He is still moving, still healing, still saving, still setting the captives free!

Muhammed, died. Confucius, died. Buddha, died. Allah, died. Hare Krishna, died. Ahn Sahng-hong, died. But Jesus, He lives!

I serve a risen Savior....

The stones will never cry because everybody at some point in time will have to give God some glory!

Let everything that hath breath praise ye the Lord!