Palm Sunday 2014

“Palm Sunday Sermon” - Outline

Ryan Reed - Hillside Church of Marin - 13 April 2014

Intro remarks

a. always an honor to share the word of God with the church

b. I’d like to point out a couple of resources for you.

i. @ryanreedme

ii. @hillsidemarin

c. I want to discuss this morning the reason for Palm Sunday. Today generally gets rolled

into Easter, but Palm Sunday marks an important beginning to Holy Week,

i. it signifies an essential aspect to the character of God that culminates on Easter Sunday.

ii. Jesus’ actions provide us with an example of how to follow his lead.

d. Therefore, take out your Bibles or your Bible Apps - whatever you use to read Scripture - I use a Bible App called YouVersion and use it in addition to reading my physical Bible. Turn or scroll to the book of John chapter 12. And here we read John’s account of what we now call Palm Sunday.

2. John 12:12-13 -  The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hail to the King of Israel!”

a. Read the Scripture passage

b. Jesus gained a reputation, for many came from all over the land to see him in

Jerusalem

c. And why? Because for those who believed, and knew the Scriptures, they understood

that Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem meant the establishment of Israel as the great

super-power to which the chosen people of God rightfully belonged. And Jesus was the king, the Messiah, to make this possible.

d. The people present on that day signified this by placing palm branches at his feet, proclaiming the entry of royalty and power.

e. The day belonged to the nation of Israel!

f. And when you think back upon the history of Israel from the Old Testament, then the actions of the people that day make sense. The entire of history of Israel - with the exception of a few very short periods - existed under the oppression and rule of higher authorities.

i. oppressed people from the time of Abraham through the present day - oppressed under the Egyptians, Canaanites, Assyrians, Babylonians

ii. The people of Israel longed for freedom and rescue from the tyranny of oppression. This time from Roman rule.

g . The people of Israel believed that for any Messiah to fulfill his role to establish Israel as a great super power, that person would come by way of power with the force of a mighty army of soldiers. How could a meek leader face the tyranny of the Romans?

i. The people desired a powerful king who would free them from political and social bondage and place them in their rightful position of power and authority.

ii. The people longed for a king who would restore Israel to the times of long ago during the reign of King David - one of the few periods in their history when they experienced prosperity.

iii. Essentially, the people Israel dreamt of their Messiah and Savior rolling up in the hood - with masses of people, exercising power and authority - demonstrating not only to Rome but to the whole world that Israel - God’s chosen people - were the strongest and most powerful people in the whole world!

3. So, let’s continue with the passage, Jesus rolled on his tank into Jerusalem with a

mighty army and led a mission of “Shock and Awe” in order to overthrow the

Romans and take his rightful place as king of Israel…

a. Read the actual passage

John 12:14-15 -  Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said: “Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem. Look, your King is coming, riding on a donkey’s colt.”

b. Kings ride mighty steeds, Jesus rode a donkey. This seems so unkingly; in fact, it seems downright wrong. Kings wear royal garb and display their power. I can imagine that as people laid palms for the coming of the King of Israel, the Messiah, the powerful Ruler of All Nations, that many thought, “Is he really on a donkey?”

c. But, you need to know the ugly underbelly to the hope of the people on that day. During that day and age - and not that dissimilar to what happens now during unregulated military conflicts, When kings entered into new lands, riding on steeds, showcasing their power, wealth, and strength, it meant only one thing - no matter how sweet it may have seemed to the winning side - it always meant… CONQUER and ACQUIRE, which requires death and destruction.

d. Donkeys, on the other hand, donkeys mean something quite different. Donkeys mean

humility, meekness, gentleness.

e. According to John, Jesus chooses to ride a donkey rather than a mighty steed to fulfill prophesy about the character of his kingship. Jesus intentionally rode a donkey to express the radical, counter-cultural reality of the true Kingdom of God! A kingdom ruled by a benevolent, loving, sacrificial King!

f. Let me ask you this question: What takes more courage? Who has more authority? A

king who displays his power by the number of soldiers in his army - by the

amount of wealth acquired through conquering other nations? OR, the king who

rides a donkey, displays humility, and bears the presence of peace?

Which king - in actuality - possesses more courage and authority?

g. As we read previously in verse 9, John records that Jesus fulfilled a prophecy made several hundred years earlier in the Old Testament by the prophet Zechariah, saying in chapter 9 verse 9 and following:

Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look,

your king is coming to you.

- Your king is coming to you. You live in oppression now, you cry out now,

but one day, your king will come, and this king will free you, rescue

you, and redeem you.

- In fact, I want to mention that this statement debunks the claim that Jesus simply fulfilled an obligated role given to him by God to save us, as if it were his duty on the job to do so.

- Sometimes my imagination goes wild, and a part of me thinks that God had been ancie and waiting with anticipation to reach

this point in human history when Jesus would walk into Jerusalem

and begin the final part of his public ministry to save humanity -

and rescue us from the consequence of our sin - and reconcile

us into the kind of relationship that God longed so much for us

to have with him.

- Jesus not only needed to be in Jerusalem on that Palm Sunday

afternoon, but I think he desired to be there more than any other

place in Heaven or on Earth!

- Jesus wanted it and had been preparing for Holy Week since the

beginning of time.

He is righteous and victorious

- This king - who is on his way - is a righteous and victorious king. He’s not a king who’s thinking about whether or not he’s going to come. He’s a king who desires to be amongst his people. And as Jesus proclaims, the king is here! He’s not a loser king, who is coming now and will be unseated a generation later. Rather, he is righteous, he is good, and he is victorious. He will rue the day against the powers and principalities who

attempt to overthrow him because he is victorious.

Yet the king is humble, riding on a donkey—riding on a donkey’s colt. I will remove the battle chariots from Israel and the warhorses from Jerusalem. I will destroy all the weapons used in battle, and your king will bring peace to the nations. His realm will stretch from sea to sea.

h. Jesus enters into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday as the King - make no mistake about

that. He fulfilled prophesy that day from Zechariah about kingship and the role that God placed upon him to do.

i. Yet, he did so, bearing witness to a different kind of kingdom - one ruled by the God of the universe who makes himself known to us through Jesus as a God of peace.

j. The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem signifies the inauguration of a

generous, redemptive, merciful, gracious, and perfect King who rules over

broken men!

k. That is the key difference between your kingdom and my kingdom - and God’s kingdom. Broken folks like you and me rule from the seat of selfishness.

God, however, rules by sacrifice and love.

Transition.

a. Jesus demonstrates for us what this kind of kingship looks like. He dismounts the donkey, and he models for us for what his God’s kingdom means.

4. Turn the page or scroll down - whatever you use to read Scripture - to the next chapter John 13, and let’s read what Jesus does next.

John 13:1-5 - Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.

a. John writes that Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything

and that Jesus knew that he had come from God and would return to God.

b. God gave Jesus authority over everything. Recall my question from a few minutes ago

when I asked, “Which king has more courage and authority: the one who must prove himself by the strength of his army, or the one who can a ride on a donkey? The king who proves himself by the strength of his army carries authority only insofar as he can prove his own worth.

c. According to John, however, Jesus carries the authority of the creator, maker, and

owner of the universe and all within it. And his response to this kind of authority

and power - the greatest amount of power one man has ever possessed - he

took off his robe, knelt down, and washed the feet of his broken, flawed

disciples… disciples just like you and me.

d. All of this begs the question: why would Jesus use his authority and power on earth

for such an act as this? This is God’s moment - this is holy week - it’s passover, the most important event on the Jewish calendar - Jesus is in the

epicenter of religious and political culture within Israel - one might expect him to

shout from the rooftops about the nature and character of God.

e. But instead, he

washes the feet of his disciples - in a hidden upper room away from the masses and the hoopla of the religious and political festivals… because of what John wrote recorded earlier in his book about what Jesus said:

The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full! John 10:10

e. Jesus did all of these things - rode on a humble, shameful donkey, washed the feet

of his broken, frustrating disciples, and eventually went all the way to the cross on Friday because God desires you to have ABUNDANT LIFE through his ABUNDANT LOVE for us!

f. The other day I spoke with a man who told me that he left the faith in his 30s and became an agnostic because he’s into science.

g. When faith begins from a place of abundant love and life, faith and science or faith and other things become reconcilable to each other.

h. Imagine what our community in Marin would look like if other Christians talked about

abundant love and life and showed that same kind of love to others.

i. potential illustration of lady at the bank.

Transition - thimble and water illustration.

a. When I think about the abundant love of God for us, I imagine my life as a little thimble. I live in my little world inside my little box.

b. When life gets hard or challenging, I cry out to God, and I pray for peace. When I feel

lonely, I pray to God for comfort.. . . . . .

5. Abundance by definition touches everything. Like a thimble in an ocean of water, no part of that thimble escapes the water of the ocean.

a. The abundant love of Jesus Christ touches every part of us. It touches the places in

our life that awaken us and make us come alive.

b. It is the ignition to the places in our lives that drive us and make us overwhelmed with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. It is because of abundant love that I can respond in love to those who scoff at me, ridicule my job, or attempt to shame me for being a follower of Jesus. Jesus washed my feet, and then went to the cross for me. How can I deny the God of the universe who walked on earth with all power and authority and choose to use it to redeem me and rescue me from the consequence and destruction of my sin that I caused on myself. And that you caused for yourself. And God freely out of his abundant love chose to save you.

c. Abundance also touches the hurt places, the places of pain, the hidden places that we keep from everyone, including God. Abundance touches the hidden secrets. Abundance touches the places of hurt caused by others… as well as the places of hurt caused by us.

d. Abundant love is a healing balm to the hurt places caused by others. Isaiah tells us in chapter 58 that the abundant love of God is like a healing balm placed on the wounds caused by life. Abundant love solicits forgiveness and grace.

e. Abundant love, however, also touches the places of shame and guilt from the pain that

we’ve caused others. Abundant love is a catalyst to confession. When abundant love touches those places, you need to confess, at which point that abundant love of Jesus may heal and bring about restoration.

6. I think Paul sums up Palm Sunday and Holy Week best in his letter to the Philippians:

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a servant and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Transition to close:

a. On that Palm Sunday, those who believed laid down palm branches for their messiah entering into jerusalem on a donkey.

b. This week, as you reflect on the abundant love of Jesus for you, and how you need to respond in obedience, what do you need to lay down at the feet of Jesus?

c. I am going to focus this week on laying down my own pride and selfishness.

d. And if you are hearing this for the first time and thinking I am not worthy to lay

anything at the feet of Jesus, know that the same God who walked on Earth in

human form as Jesus Christ, rode on a donkey on Sunday, and died on a cross

on Friday, love you no less now than he did then.

e. Choose belief. Choose abundant love. Choose abundant life. Let the abundance of

Christ touch every part of you, and join the adventure of Christ this week.

7. Close in Prayer.