WEBVTT 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:06.580 So we continue now as we move kind of from the 00:00:06.580 --> 00:00:09.580 season of Lent into Holy Week. Like I've said, 00:00:09.640 --> 00:00:15.199 Palm Sunday today. Behold your King. Now I mentioned 00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:18.620 kind of twice now at the beginning of service 00:00:18.620 --> 00:00:21.550 and in the prayer that... Palm Sunday is a little 00:00:21.550 --> 00:00:23.929 strange, or a lot of strange, depending on how 00:00:23.929 --> 00:00:25.629 you want to look at it, because there's a great 00:00:25.629 --> 00:00:28.789 paradox in Palm Sunday. What is a paradox? It's 00:00:28.789 --> 00:00:33.549 a vivid understanding of confusion, that there's 00:00:33.549 --> 00:00:35.490 something going on that shouldn't be happening, 00:00:35.530 --> 00:00:38.950 or shouldn't be happening that way. That the 00:00:38.950 --> 00:00:42.350 crowds that shout Hosanna cry for salvation. 00:00:43.630 --> 00:00:47.549 But they do so with an intent or a vision for 00:00:47.549 --> 00:00:50.210 something very different than what Jesus actually 00:00:50.210 --> 00:00:54.049 does. As we understand what those cries in the 00:00:54.049 --> 00:00:57.850 messianic context of the King David, they were 00:00:57.850 --> 00:01:00.250 wanting a king. They're wanting power. They're 00:01:00.250 --> 00:01:03.950 wanting authority. I look at the landscape of 00:01:03.950 --> 00:01:07.629 2025 and power and authority look very, very 00:01:07.629 --> 00:01:11.189 different. It seems like every day of the week. 00:01:11.790 --> 00:01:13.870 That we look at power and we look at authority 00:01:13.870 --> 00:01:16.689 and we have people in a power and authority that 00:01:16.689 --> 00:01:19.129 are doing things or saying things throughout 00:01:19.129 --> 00:01:22.450 the world that some of us look at and go, absolutely, 00:01:22.709 --> 00:01:25.090 amen. And other of us look and they gnash their 00:01:25.090 --> 00:01:28.030 teeth and they hiss because they are in total 00:01:28.030 --> 00:01:30.989 disagreement. That this power ultimately and 00:01:30.989 --> 00:01:33.409 authority, if you're going to look at it in any 00:01:33.409 --> 00:01:36.909 kind of worldly sort of way, makes really no 00:01:36.909 --> 00:01:39.450 sense or it really becomes incompatible with 00:01:39.450 --> 00:01:43.109 the scriptures. And Jesus is showing that with 00:01:43.109 --> 00:01:47.629 one simple vision here on Palm Sunday. Because 00:01:47.629 --> 00:01:50.390 what the people are crying out for is a military 00:01:50.390 --> 00:01:54.969 or a militaristic Messiah. Yet Jesus enters not 00:01:54.969 --> 00:01:58.510 on a war horse, but a donkey. A foal of a donkey. 00:01:58.549 --> 00:02:03.459 One that has never, ever been ridden. And no 00:02:03.459 --> 00:02:06.420 one, again, I'm not a soldier, and I know the 00:02:06.420 --> 00:02:09.080 army over the last hundred years looks very different 00:02:09.080 --> 00:02:12.919 than prior to that. In some ways, I could say 00:02:12.919 --> 00:02:15.539 people want him to roll in on like a tank, but 00:02:15.539 --> 00:02:17.219 I can't really do that because that's just weird. 00:02:17.639 --> 00:02:21.120 But if we're going to go back historically, right, 00:02:21.259 --> 00:02:24.979 your major leaders, your captains, all the higher 00:02:24.979 --> 00:02:28.000 ranking officials, they all came on these powerful 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:32.330 horses. I don't know too many during the Civil 00:02:32.330 --> 00:02:35.050 War said let's ride out in a group of donkeys 00:02:35.050 --> 00:02:41.710 and try to conquer this whatever. And we hear 00:02:41.710 --> 00:02:46.449 no word of the sword. Though Jesus says multiple 00:02:46.449 --> 00:02:49.129 times in the scriptures he could send legions 00:02:49.129 --> 00:02:52.770 of angels and just completely wipe everybody 00:02:52.770 --> 00:02:56.330 out like Sodom and Gomorrah. But he brings no 00:02:56.330 --> 00:03:00.539 sword but brings humility. So let us consider 00:03:00.539 --> 00:03:04.939 as we dive in today, Jesus as king, but not like 00:03:04.939 --> 00:03:10.020 Caesar or Herod or even King David, but a king 00:03:10.020 --> 00:03:13.539 who rules. through a cross. We're going to be 00:03:13.539 --> 00:03:16.620 in John chapter 12. We're going to start from 00:03:16.620 --> 00:03:18.979 verse 12 to 15. We're going to break it down. 00:03:19.060 --> 00:03:21.520 First, the king fulfilled. There's a fulfillment 00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:24.280 going on in what Jesus is doing, and we're going 00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:27.000 to break that down today. So we'll be in John 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:29.879 12, starting with verse 12. We read out of the 00:03:29.879 --> 00:03:32.759 ESV here, but if you brought your own Bible, 00:03:32.800 --> 00:03:34.199 have your own app, and you're in a different 00:03:34.199 --> 00:03:36.960 translation, totally fine. But we're in the ESV. 00:03:36.979 --> 00:03:41.890 The next day, John 12, in verse 12, starts. crowd 00:03:41.890 --> 00:03:44.409 that had come to the feast, talking about Passover 00:03:44.409 --> 00:03:47.849 in Jerusalem, heard that Jesus was coming to 00:03:47.849 --> 00:03:50.310 Jerusalem. So they took off branches of palm 00:03:50.310 --> 00:03:54.509 trees and went out to meet him, crying, Hosanna, 00:03:54.590 --> 00:03:56.610 blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, 00:03:56.750 --> 00:04:00.789 even the king of Israel. And Jesus found a young 00:04:00.789 --> 00:04:02.849 donkey and sat on it, just as it was written, 00:04:03.310 --> 00:04:05.409 Fear not, daughter of Zion, behold, your king 00:04:05.409 --> 00:04:10.389 is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt. So right 00:04:10.389 --> 00:04:14.229 there, John is reciting something. He's reciting 00:04:14.229 --> 00:04:18.750 one of the minor prophets, Zechariah 9 .9. The 00:04:18.750 --> 00:04:21.829 beautiful thing about the minor prophets and 00:04:21.829 --> 00:04:24.290 the major prophets, and just really quick, does 00:04:24.290 --> 00:04:26.509 anyone know what makes the minor prophets minor 00:04:26.509 --> 00:04:29.449 and major prophets major? For lunch and a conversation 00:04:29.449 --> 00:04:33.079 with Pastor Jim? The length of it, absolutely, 00:04:33.300 --> 00:04:36.240 is not deep theological insight. So you'll be 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:39.519 a value meal, Nikki, because it's not all that 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:43.810 deep. But understand that... It's just length 00:04:43.810 --> 00:04:46.790 of book. Minor prophets are minor. Major prophets 00:04:46.790 --> 00:04:49.610 are major. If we do the entire book of Isaiah, 00:04:49.790 --> 00:04:52.490 it would take probably two years. We're going 00:04:52.490 --> 00:04:55.230 to do the entire book of Zephaniah. No, I didn't 00:04:55.230 --> 00:04:57.050 say that wrong. I didn't make it up. It's a book 00:04:57.050 --> 00:04:58.889 in the Bible. We're going to do that the week 00:04:58.889 --> 00:05:00.370 after Easter. It's going to take four weeks. 00:05:01.550 --> 00:05:04.430 Totally aside. But understand, Zechariah 9 .9, 00:05:04.569 --> 00:05:07.930 a minor prophet is giving a messianic prophecy. 00:05:08.089 --> 00:05:12.579 Fear not. Daughter of Zion, us. The Israelites, 00:05:12.660 --> 00:05:15.620 Jerusalem, behold, your king is coming, sitting 00:05:15.620 --> 00:05:19.220 on a donkey's colt. This is a messianic prophecy 00:05:19.220 --> 00:05:22.379 pointing to the righteous and humble king who 00:05:22.379 --> 00:05:26.980 will bring blood and all of the control and conquering. 00:05:26.980 --> 00:05:31.720 No, he'll bring peace, not war. The donkey symbolizing 00:05:31.720 --> 00:05:35.019 humility, peace, and the fulfillment of covenant 00:05:35.019 --> 00:05:40.670 hope, not covenant conquest. Understand, there's 00:05:40.670 --> 00:05:43.550 the paradox. Understand that that is something 00:05:43.550 --> 00:05:46.350 we, whether we like to admit it or not, we kind 00:05:46.350 --> 00:05:49.110 of wish we had. Man, it would be much easier 00:05:49.110 --> 00:05:52.269 if Christianity was just the lay of the land 00:05:52.269 --> 00:05:55.009 and everybody acted that way. And yes, if everybody 00:05:55.009 --> 00:05:59.649 acted Christian, truly Christ -like, unfortunately 00:05:59.649 --> 00:06:03.170 I have to say it that way, if we actually walked 00:06:03.170 --> 00:06:07.449 out how Jesus walked it out, life would be a 00:06:07.449 --> 00:06:11.279 lot easier, right? But there's expectations. 00:06:11.819 --> 00:06:14.379 Like I said, not too many of us look at Palm 00:06:14.379 --> 00:06:16.620 Sunday and go, wow, what a great disappointment. 00:06:16.740 --> 00:06:18.860 We go, no, yeah, we're going to take the branches, 00:06:18.939 --> 00:06:20.600 we're going to lay down all of it, we're going 00:06:20.600 --> 00:06:25.240 to cheer. But there's disappointment. There's 00:06:25.240 --> 00:06:30.779 a expectation, kind of unverbal, if you will, 00:06:30.819 --> 00:06:33.100 even though they did verbalize it in David messianic 00:06:33.100 --> 00:06:37.939 language, that is completely disappointing. Now. 00:06:39.480 --> 00:06:42.220 Expectations are interesting. One of the things 00:06:42.220 --> 00:06:44.319 that I talk about in premarital with couples 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:48.560 is the idea of communicating verbal expectations. 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:52.120 And part of that is because anyone here that's 00:06:52.120 --> 00:06:54.480 ever been in any kind of serious relationship, 00:06:54.720 --> 00:06:57.160 right, or engagement or marriage or what have 00:06:57.160 --> 00:07:00.319 you, or even in your families, right, if you 00:07:00.319 --> 00:07:03.019 have an expectation that you don't verbalize 00:07:03.019 --> 00:07:06.439 and then that never comes to be and then you 00:07:06.439 --> 00:07:09.860 get mad and disappointed, whose fault is that? 00:07:13.100 --> 00:07:15.500 Oh, Wes, not the other person. We'll pray for 00:07:15.500 --> 00:07:18.560 you and Cheryl. But understand that... No, it 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:21.740 is you. That expectations, if you have those, 00:07:21.939 --> 00:07:25.439 they need to be communicated, right? Carrie does 00:07:25.439 --> 00:07:29.660 not read my mind. And for those that are maybe 00:07:29.660 --> 00:07:32.160 new or visitors, Carrie is my wife, and she puts 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:35.540 up with me. And, you know, I have to verbalize 00:07:35.540 --> 00:07:38.459 expectations. We're going to be married 17 years 00:07:38.459 --> 00:07:41.220 in May. We still don't try to read each other's 00:07:41.220 --> 00:07:44.699 minds. Partly because we don't want to. That 00:07:44.699 --> 00:07:47.300 we hold the expectation of each other that we 00:07:47.300 --> 00:07:50.759 will verbalize expectations even if we don't 00:07:50.759 --> 00:07:54.100 like what it is. You're still committed to come 00:07:54.100 --> 00:07:56.439 back together. You're still committed to talk 00:07:56.439 --> 00:07:59.839 it out. But we see this in relationships. We 00:07:59.839 --> 00:08:03.000 see this with the depth of relationship takes 00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:05.779 work. If you've ever been in my office, there's 00:08:05.779 --> 00:08:08.899 a teeter -totter on my desk. And I use that as 00:08:08.899 --> 00:08:12.610 a great... representation of healthy relationships 00:08:12.610 --> 00:08:15.370 because they're rocky. They're going to go back 00:08:15.370 --> 00:08:17.670 and forth. Some days are going to be really high. 00:08:17.769 --> 00:08:20.029 Some days are going to be really low. Or, and 00:08:20.029 --> 00:08:22.209 I just knock it over, some days relationships 00:08:22.209 --> 00:08:27.250 feel like that. There's no rhyme or reason, but 00:08:27.250 --> 00:08:30.470 preparing a couple for marriage is a preparation 00:08:30.470 --> 00:08:32.809 that come hell or high water. I'm going to get 00:08:32.809 --> 00:08:36.360 back on. And I trust my partner is going to come 00:08:36.360 --> 00:08:38.759 back on, my spouse, and we're going to do this 00:08:38.759 --> 00:08:41.799 together. Now look at that in relationship with 00:08:41.799 --> 00:08:44.139 Jesus. Look at that as our relationship with 00:08:44.139 --> 00:08:47.340 God. Look at it as Israel's relationship with 00:08:47.340 --> 00:08:51.759 God. God was absent. Things went quiet for 400 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:57.820 years. From that last prophecy to John the Baptist, 00:08:58.100 --> 00:09:01.629 there's years that go by. Where the Messianic 00:09:01.629 --> 00:09:04.210 conversation is just all in hope. Just kind of 00:09:04.210 --> 00:09:07.610 all in lineage, verbally, kind of passing it 00:09:07.610 --> 00:09:11.049 all down. We're way past Egypt. We're way past 00:09:11.049 --> 00:09:13.909 the parting of the Red Sea. And Moses and Joshua, 00:09:14.090 --> 00:09:17.190 Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, all of those things. We're 00:09:17.190 --> 00:09:20.330 way past that. Yet the idea, the expectation 00:09:20.330 --> 00:09:26.049 of Messiah or Mashiach is still there. That's 00:09:26.049 --> 00:09:31.350 what makes Palm Sunday so breathtaking, so life 00:09:31.350 --> 00:09:34.909 -changing, is because Jesus is now stepping into 00:09:34.909 --> 00:09:38.269 it. He did that with miracles, signs, and wonders, 00:09:38.370 --> 00:09:41.309 and those are all put in the scriptures, all 00:09:41.309 --> 00:09:45.429 those messianic prophecies. Over 500 of the who, 00:09:45.509 --> 00:09:47.629 what, when, where, why, and how of the Messiah. 00:09:47.690 --> 00:09:51.620 He fulfills every one of them. And now he's stepping 00:09:51.620 --> 00:09:57.620 into the scene. He's now taking his place. So 00:09:57.620 --> 00:10:00.059 one of the things we have to understand is that 00:10:00.059 --> 00:10:04.639 Jesus has redemption on the brain. This is Jesus' 00:10:04.820 --> 00:10:08.759 heart. Jesus' drive this week is your and my 00:10:08.759 --> 00:10:12.820 redemption. Because there's still a job to be 00:10:12.820 --> 00:10:17.440 had. There's still a job that Jesus is going 00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:20.620 to do. He's preparing. He's walking through. 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:23.240 And whether the Israelites knew it or not or 00:10:23.240 --> 00:10:26.200 all the people in Jerusalem, probably 90 % Jews, 00:10:26.539 --> 00:10:32.659 he was preparing them as well. The Belgian Confession, 00:10:32.679 --> 00:10:37.120 Article 27, reminds us and kind of affirms this 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:39.960 when it says this holy church is preserved by 00:10:39.960 --> 00:10:43.299 God against, I believe it's up there, preserved 00:10:43.299 --> 00:10:46.490 by God against the rage of the whole world. That 00:10:46.490 --> 00:10:49.070 Jesus, the king of the church, enters Jerusalem 00:10:49.070 --> 00:10:53.809 to preserve and redeem his people. Fulfilling 00:10:53.809 --> 00:10:56.669 God's covenantal promise to reign through his 00:10:56.669 --> 00:11:02.049 anointed son. Understand, he's going to go against 00:11:02.049 --> 00:11:07.970 the rage of the whole world. Let me ask. When 00:11:07.970 --> 00:11:10.929 your significant other is in a mood. I'm just 00:11:10.929 --> 00:11:13.649 going to put it that way. Okay? In a mood and 00:11:13.649 --> 00:11:16.629 not the fun moods. Okay? Let's just go there. 00:11:16.809 --> 00:11:19.649 Right? We're going to stop. We're stopping. Right? 00:11:22.029 --> 00:11:24.409 There's probably maybe some built -up rage there. 00:11:24.570 --> 00:11:27.789 At least I know it's been for me. Amen? Good. 00:11:27.870 --> 00:11:30.409 You didn't say anything. You didn't agree. But 00:11:30.409 --> 00:11:33.409 understand that he understands what's going to 00:11:33.409 --> 00:11:35.169 happen. Did you ever just stop and think about 00:11:35.169 --> 00:11:39.370 that? That as he's on the donkey. And he's seeing 00:11:39.370 --> 00:11:43.090 all of these people. He knows what Thursday is 00:11:43.090 --> 00:11:45.210 going to be. And we're going to talk about that 00:11:45.210 --> 00:11:47.629 on Thursday. He knows what Friday is going to 00:11:47.629 --> 00:11:50.409 be. We're going to talk about that online. He 00:11:50.409 --> 00:11:56.029 knows that the end of this kind of the school 00:11:56.029 --> 00:11:58.870 week, the Monday through Friday, by Friday, he's 00:11:58.870 --> 00:12:04.169 going to be dead. Doesn't that make Palm Sunday 00:12:04.169 --> 00:12:09.570 not just some regular Sunday? That there is an 00:12:09.570 --> 00:12:13.070 expectation that he has. And that what the Belgic 00:12:13.070 --> 00:12:15.950 is pulling out of us is that he knows he's going 00:12:15.950 --> 00:12:18.970 to go against the rage. The mood of the people 00:12:18.970 --> 00:12:23.809 will shift. Hosanna to the son of David. Hosanna 00:12:23.809 --> 00:12:28.110 in the highest. Give us Barabbas. They're going 00:12:28.110 --> 00:12:31.009 to get an option. And they're going to pick the 00:12:31.009 --> 00:12:37.110 wrong one. So you see, this mood changes. That 00:12:37.110 --> 00:12:39.190 the king is fulfilling what the king is going 00:12:39.190 --> 00:12:41.490 to fulfill, but the king is also going to be 00:12:41.490 --> 00:12:44.169 very misunderstood. So let's continue on in verse 00:12:44.169 --> 00:12:48.490 16 of John chapter 12. His disciples did not 00:12:48.490 --> 00:12:51.230 understand these things at first. But when Jesus 00:12:51.230 --> 00:12:53.269 was glorified, then they remembered that these 00:12:53.269 --> 00:12:56.529 things had been written about him and had been 00:12:56.529 --> 00:12:59.210 done to him. The crowd that had been with him 00:12:59.210 --> 00:13:02.190 when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised 00:13:02.190 --> 00:13:05.429 him from the dead continued to bear witness. 00:13:06.919 --> 00:13:09.080 The only reason why the crowd went to meet him 00:13:09.080 --> 00:13:12.720 was that they heard he had done this sign. So 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:15.559 the Pharisees said to one another, you see that 00:13:15.559 --> 00:13:19.019 you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has 00:13:19.019 --> 00:13:22.460 gone after him. So there's a misunderstanding. 00:13:24.059 --> 00:13:27.539 I love that John puts in there the crowd that 00:13:27.539 --> 00:13:30.139 was at probably his greatest miracle outside 00:13:30.139 --> 00:13:32.539 of himself rising from the dead, but we'll get 00:13:32.539 --> 00:13:36.059 there. Was Lazarus dead four days? Completely 00:13:36.059 --> 00:13:38.860 dead by Jewish culture and understanding. He 00:13:38.860 --> 00:13:44.179 calls him out. He has Mary, Martha visibly shaken, 00:13:44.460 --> 00:13:47.720 mad, to the point where Jesus weeps. We talked 00:13:47.720 --> 00:13:50.419 about that a couple weeks ago. This same crowd 00:13:50.419 --> 00:13:53.740 now has gone out, and the gossip mill has now, 00:13:53.820 --> 00:13:56.059 about this, has gone all over. Because let's 00:13:56.059 --> 00:13:59.840 face it, that's juicy gossip, isn't it? I mean, 00:13:59.860 --> 00:14:03.379 you had like, okay, he fed 5 ,000 men, so that 00:14:03.379 --> 00:14:04.860 would have been probably about close to 9 ,000 00:14:04.860 --> 00:14:07.279 to 10 ,000 people, if not more, with five loaves 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:11.419 and two fish. That's old hat. He raised a guy 00:14:11.419 --> 00:14:14.820 from the dead. Okay, he spit on the ground and 00:14:14.820 --> 00:14:17.960 he made a blind guy see. That's old hat. He's 00:14:17.960 --> 00:14:21.620 raised Lazarus from the dead. He said that he 00:14:21.620 --> 00:14:24.620 is the son of God. He has said he is the son 00:14:24.620 --> 00:14:27.600 of man. For some reason, he's passed by two stonings 00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:31.740 and was never killed. That's old hat. He raised 00:14:31.740 --> 00:14:35.000 Lazarus from the dead. I don't know about you. 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:37.960 I think he would have had me there. I can be 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:41.580 a skeptic. I think I've been like, okay, okay, 00:14:41.659 --> 00:14:43.539 these are cool. These are great. I should listen 00:14:43.539 --> 00:14:48.220 to what he says. But then he raises Lazarus from 00:14:48.220 --> 00:14:51.919 the dead. Nobody else has done anything like 00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:54.700 this, and no one else has done it consistently 00:14:54.700 --> 00:15:01.980 like he has. Yet they still don't get it. And 00:15:01.980 --> 00:15:04.639 if we're being honest, I don't know if we always 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:08.519 get it either. You see, Jesus is praised, but 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:11.620 misunderstood. The crowd desires a political 00:15:11.620 --> 00:15:14.899 liberator, but what they get is a suffering servant. 00:15:17.190 --> 00:15:19.850 They misunderstand. How do we know they misunderstand? 00:15:20.289 --> 00:15:22.610 Because they pull these off the trees or the 00:15:22.610 --> 00:15:25.830 bush or whatever, however these grow. They pull 00:15:25.830 --> 00:15:29.649 them off. And they're using this for a reason. 00:15:30.570 --> 00:15:33.250 Right? It wasn't just cute to watch kids try 00:15:33.250 --> 00:15:35.429 to hit each other as they go around or all of 00:15:35.429 --> 00:15:37.450 that or try to not hit each other as the three 00:15:37.450 --> 00:15:39.549 kids that are probably grounded now for doing 00:15:39.549 --> 00:15:43.710 that when they get home. They did it because 00:15:43.710 --> 00:15:47.389 it was a nationalistic symbol. It was used during 00:15:47.389 --> 00:15:51.649 the Maccabean Revolt. They're using this for 00:15:51.649 --> 00:15:54.370 a reason. They're signifying. This signifies 00:15:54.370 --> 00:16:00.789 Jewish freedom. They cry Hosanna. But with every 00:16:00.789 --> 00:16:06.269 leaf comes with its own agenda. And isn't it 00:16:06.269 --> 00:16:08.990 funny? I should have thought about this before. 00:16:09.070 --> 00:16:10.669 This is going to take forever. But just remember. 00:16:11.240 --> 00:16:13.879 None of these leaves on there can easily be turned 00:16:13.879 --> 00:16:17.120 into a whip. And that's exactly what's going 00:16:17.120 --> 00:16:20.700 to happen to the Son of Man mere days later. 00:16:21.419 --> 00:16:26.039 They don't get that Jesus is anointed for a purpose, 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:31.059 and it doesn't fit their agenda. So let me rabbit 00:16:31.059 --> 00:16:34.480 trail here really quick, and this is going to 00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:37.779 probably stir up a bunch of you. I look out, 00:16:37.860 --> 00:16:41.590 and I know we all have agendas. Some of us hold 00:16:41.590 --> 00:16:44.750 them much stronger than others. But understand 00:16:44.750 --> 00:16:50.450 that Christ's holiness and anointing has never 00:16:50.450 --> 00:16:53.629 been, will never be there to fit your agenda 00:16:53.629 --> 00:16:59.129 because he is the king and you are not. He is 00:16:59.129 --> 00:17:03.429 the king and I am not. My agenda, day in, day 00:17:03.429 --> 00:17:09.380 out, should fit his agenda. not the other way 00:17:09.380 --> 00:17:12.000 around. Because if we hold it to where he needs 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:14.220 to come, you know, Jesus, come on up here and 00:17:14.220 --> 00:17:18.660 be where I'm at. Oh, friendo, that is a bad place 00:17:18.660 --> 00:17:22.640 to be. You are just like the ones that waste 00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:26.380 the palm branches, that waste the cries of Hosanna. 00:17:28.839 --> 00:17:32.809 Because the anointed messianic king It means 00:17:32.809 --> 00:17:35.450 something different. Heidelberg Catechism, question 00:17:35.450 --> 00:17:39.170 answer 31, helps us understand why is he called 00:17:39.170 --> 00:17:42.009 Christ, meaning anointed. The answer, because 00:17:42.009 --> 00:17:45.529 he has been ordained by God the Father and anointed 00:17:45.529 --> 00:17:49.190 with the Holy Spirit to be our chief prophet, 00:17:49.250 --> 00:17:54.470 teacher, and only high priest and eternal king. 00:17:56.289 --> 00:17:59.009 Friend, you and I are not anointed the same way 00:17:59.009 --> 00:18:02.319 Jesus was anointed. Our anointing Our gifting 00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:06.819 comes after this week. Comes with the call of 00:18:06.819 --> 00:18:09.940 the Holy Spirit. Wait for that. Let's get through 00:18:09.940 --> 00:18:11.880 the summer. Let's get through our August sermon 00:18:11.880 --> 00:18:13.859 series starting Labor Day weekend. We're going 00:18:13.859 --> 00:18:17.099 to be all about the Holy Spirit as we dive into 00:18:17.099 --> 00:18:19.480 the beginning of the book of Acts. Because the 00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:24.970 Holy Spirit has a job to do. But for now, this 00:18:24.970 --> 00:18:28.390 Palm Sunday, we recognize that Jesus' kingship 00:18:28.390 --> 00:18:31.650 includes teaching truth, interceding for sinners, 00:18:31.789 --> 00:18:36.950 and ruling eternity. He's not merely a figurehead. 00:18:38.630 --> 00:18:42.329 He is saving, he is reigning, and he is eternal. 00:18:44.369 --> 00:18:46.670 So let's just really, let's shoot each other 00:18:46.670 --> 00:18:49.470 straight. Let's just be honest. It would have 00:18:49.470 --> 00:18:50.990 been a lot better if he would have come and just 00:18:50.990 --> 00:18:53.019 conquered, right? It would have been a lot better 00:18:53.019 --> 00:18:56.680 if he would have brought his angel legions and 00:18:56.680 --> 00:18:59.779 just annihilated it and started everything over. 00:19:00.859 --> 00:19:04.660 That wasn't his time yet. How do we know? Because 00:19:04.660 --> 00:19:07.980 we journeyed through the book of Revelation last 00:19:07.980 --> 00:19:11.299 fall. It's hard to think that was half a year 00:19:11.299 --> 00:19:16.299 ago already. More than that. He comes first as 00:19:16.299 --> 00:19:19.359 a baby king. He comes through on the foal of 00:19:19.359 --> 00:19:23.039 a donkey on Palm Sunday. He will be seen by many 00:19:23.039 --> 00:19:26.140 when he rises from the dead after Easter Sunday. 00:19:28.859 --> 00:19:32.000 Oh, but friend, he comes back. He comes back 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:34.980 with fire in his eyes. He comes back in the way 00:19:34.980 --> 00:19:39.079 a king would. But for now, he's conquering a 00:19:39.079 --> 00:19:41.920 different way. He is the king who conquers through 00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:45.950 the cross. So we continue in John 12, verse 23 00:19:45.950 --> 00:19:52.869 and 25. And Jesus answered them, the hour has 00:19:52.869 --> 00:19:56.089 come that the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, 00:19:56.150 --> 00:19:58.690 truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat 00:19:58.690 --> 00:20:01.829 falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. 00:20:02.210 --> 00:20:04.990 But if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever 00:20:04.990 --> 00:20:08.309 loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his 00:20:08.309 --> 00:20:12.609 life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 00:20:16.109 --> 00:20:19.730 Jesus responds to the growing momentum not by 00:20:19.730 --> 00:20:22.589 seizing power, because he totally could have, 00:20:22.650 --> 00:20:25.890 right? He had legions of people ready to go. 00:20:26.309 --> 00:20:30.930 I'm sure if he would have turned, a lot of bad 00:20:30.930 --> 00:20:33.670 things could have happened. A lot of lives could 00:20:33.670 --> 00:20:37.569 have been lost. That mass of people was kind 00:20:37.569 --> 00:20:40.750 of like an army, wasn't it? It probably looked 00:20:40.750 --> 00:20:43.369 a little bit like an army. They're calling for 00:20:43.369 --> 00:20:47.279 their general. But that was never Jesus. That 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:49.019 wasn't what he was going to do. That was never 00:20:49.019 --> 00:20:53.000 on his mind. And he shows it. Full of a donkey, 00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:57.079 not a war horse. We see palm branches, not swords. 00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:02.059 And here's the thing. We don't see him going 00:21:02.059 --> 00:21:05.619 through that main hallway, that main road in 00:21:05.619 --> 00:21:07.500 Jerusalem and getting on some kind of stage. 00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:10.970 No, he's going to continue to teach. He's going 00:21:10.970 --> 00:21:12.609 to continue to preach. He's going to continue 00:21:12.609 --> 00:21:14.710 to heal. He's going to continue to do signs and 00:21:14.710 --> 00:21:17.609 wonders until the greatest one, the greatest 00:21:17.609 --> 00:21:20.990 sign ever given in the history of the world that 00:21:20.990 --> 00:21:25.910 thousands have given their life for happens this 00:21:25.910 --> 00:21:31.049 time next week. When we hear that question, who 00:21:31.049 --> 00:21:34.970 are you seeking in the empty tomb? The angel 00:21:34.970 --> 00:21:38.460 exclaiming, he is not here. He is risen just 00:21:38.460 --> 00:21:43.640 as he said. I don't know about you, but that's 00:21:43.640 --> 00:21:48.059 the greatest sign and seal of our lives. The 00:21:48.059 --> 00:21:50.920 Kansas door helps us understand this. The Kansas 00:21:50.920 --> 00:21:53.880 door, one of our three forms of unity, the second 00:21:53.880 --> 00:21:56.220 point, article three, or the second head, article 00:21:56.220 --> 00:21:59.640 three, this death, Christ's death and resurrection 00:21:59.640 --> 00:22:04.160 is of infinite worth and value. abundantly sufficient 00:22:04.160 --> 00:22:10.880 to expiate the sins of the whole world. I was 00:22:10.880 --> 00:22:13.200 going through candidacy in the Christian Reformed 00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:16.140 Church. I did not grow up in the CRC. I didn't 00:22:16.140 --> 00:22:19.660 go to Calvin Seminary to get my MDiv. But to 00:22:19.660 --> 00:22:21.400 come into the denomination, you have to go through 00:22:21.400 --> 00:22:25.859 a time of learning, a time of testing, a time 00:22:25.859 --> 00:22:28.819 of proving, so to speak, that you could be a 00:22:28.819 --> 00:22:30.819 candidate in the CRC. And I had a preaching professor. 00:22:32.250 --> 00:22:35.049 That was going through my sermons. And they were 00:22:35.049 --> 00:22:36.809 evaluating the three that I had to give. And 00:22:36.809 --> 00:22:40.529 her and I disagreed on a lot. But she said, you 00:22:40.529 --> 00:22:42.829 know, Jim, I think your sermons lack creativity. 00:22:44.150 --> 00:22:47.410 Okay? Fair. And again, you receive it. You don't 00:22:47.410 --> 00:22:50.130 come at it like, no, I'm Billy Graham and you 00:22:50.130 --> 00:22:51.710 can't teach me anything. That's a really bad 00:22:51.710 --> 00:22:53.430 way to live life. So if you're doing that, please 00:22:53.430 --> 00:22:56.990 stop. People can't teach you things. She said, 00:22:57.009 --> 00:23:00.269 you end with the cross all the time. I'm going 00:23:00.269 --> 00:23:04.170 to lovingly challenge you to not end all of your 00:23:04.170 --> 00:23:07.470 sermons on the cross, or at the cross, but maybe 00:23:07.470 --> 00:23:11.289 go to the manger, or maybe go to the hill where 00:23:11.289 --> 00:23:13.829 he feeds, or a boat where he tells the waters 00:23:13.829 --> 00:23:17.029 to be quiet, or go to the empty tomb. You don't 00:23:17.029 --> 00:23:20.750 always have to end to the cross. I remember I 00:23:20.750 --> 00:23:22.690 wrote a response, and I shared it with my good 00:23:22.690 --> 00:23:24.769 friend Joel Shears, who was the lead, and he 00:23:24.769 --> 00:23:27.410 took it and he threw it away, and he said, start 00:23:27.410 --> 00:23:29.710 again. And I said, maybe I'm a little upset. 00:23:30.269 --> 00:23:33.390 And he was able to read it. And so I lovingly 00:23:33.390 --> 00:23:35.970 pushed back and I just said, sister, I appreciate 00:23:35.970 --> 00:23:39.250 your observation. I said, but without the cross, 00:23:39.569 --> 00:23:44.130 the empty tomb is just a grave. The manger is 00:23:44.130 --> 00:23:46.650 just a feeding trough. The boat is just a boat. 00:23:47.450 --> 00:23:52.849 The cross changes everything. Now, selfishly, 00:23:52.849 --> 00:23:55.809 what is she going to say? Is she really going 00:23:55.809 --> 00:23:58.839 to come back and be like, you failed? No, because 00:23:58.839 --> 00:24:00.880 I would have appealed it and probably would have 00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:04.660 won. But understand, friends, that's the sermon. 00:24:05.059 --> 00:24:10.079 The cross changes everything. And as you see, 00:24:10.119 --> 00:24:13.480 that purple, that recognition of the divine, 00:24:13.720 --> 00:24:16.420 of the Davidic, of the Messiah, turns to white. 00:24:16.519 --> 00:24:20.200 That is because the job has been done. Our sins 00:24:20.200 --> 00:24:23.220 no longer define us. Our sins no longer weigh 00:24:23.220 --> 00:24:26.200 us down. That we are lifted up because the king 00:24:26.200 --> 00:24:35.339 did his work. And it's sufficient. And this hurts. 00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:41.200 It's sufficient whether you like it or not. It's 00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:44.000 sufficient whether it meets my temporal needs 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:47.640 or not. It's sufficient whether it makes me happy 00:24:47.640 --> 00:24:51.019 or not. We're going to look at Maundy Thursday 00:24:51.019 --> 00:24:54.299 very differently this year. We're going to use 00:24:54.299 --> 00:24:57.539 a word that you would not associate with Maundy 00:24:57.539 --> 00:25:00.920 Thursday. And that word is, come Thursday and 00:25:00.920 --> 00:25:07.380 find out. The king's victory is atonement, not 00:25:07.380 --> 00:25:12.799 annihilation. His crown is of thorns, never gold 00:25:12.799 --> 00:25:17.180 in this life. His throne is a cross, not a seat 00:25:17.180 --> 00:25:23.380 in Jerusalem's palace. Because he's the king 00:25:23.380 --> 00:25:29.039 we need, not always the king we want. And friend, 00:25:29.140 --> 00:25:32.619 that, that's an us problem. That's never been 00:25:32.619 --> 00:25:35.319 a his problem. So what do we do with this? Where 00:25:35.319 --> 00:25:39.160 do we take this? Well, the first is we need to 00:25:39.160 --> 00:25:42.339 know the true king. We need to recognize that 00:25:42.339 --> 00:25:45.640 Jesus' kingship is not political, it's not manipulative 00:25:45.640 --> 00:25:49.380 or earthly. It is spiritual, it is sacrificial. 00:25:50.059 --> 00:25:55.380 And it is eternal. Amen? Okay. So how do we reflect 00:25:55.380 --> 00:26:01.119 on that? Reflect this week. And I'm going to 00:26:01.119 --> 00:26:03.539 have Dawn put these in the email for this week 00:26:03.539 --> 00:26:06.180 for us to reflect on. Do I truly understand the 00:26:06.180 --> 00:26:09.960 nature of Christ's rule in my life? Or am I trying 00:26:09.960 --> 00:26:14.380 to make Jesus serve my kingdom? For the heart, 00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:18.579 love the humble king. Jesus didn't come to conquer 00:26:18.579 --> 00:26:21.559 us, but to die for us. Let that humility break 00:26:21.559 --> 00:26:25.740 our pride and stir our affections for him and 00:26:25.740 --> 00:26:30.099 for the lost. And reflect, am I in awe of the 00:26:30.099 --> 00:26:34.480 king of glory entered Jerusalem for me? Am I 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:37.039 in awe of that? Or is it just ho -hum because 00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:40.140 you've been in church all your life? If Holy 00:26:40.140 --> 00:26:44.099 Week has become ho -hum for you, I rebuke that. 00:26:44.910 --> 00:26:48.109 Because I think that's terrible. How could this 00:26:48.109 --> 00:26:52.769 week a gift wrap for you and for me just be ho 00:26:52.769 --> 00:26:57.549 -hum? Am I in awe that the king of glory entered 00:26:57.549 --> 00:27:00.930 Jerusalem for you and for me? And then finally, 00:27:00.970 --> 00:27:03.990 how do we take this out? Serve the reigning king. 00:27:04.289 --> 00:27:08.049 We serve a risen king who is building his kingdom 00:27:08.049 --> 00:27:11.990 through his church. And we are his ambassadors. 00:27:12.210 --> 00:27:15.349 Reflect on this with me. How can I reflect his 00:27:15.349 --> 00:27:19.269 kingdom values in how I serve, how I forgive, 00:27:19.390 --> 00:27:24.990 and how I witness this week? So friends, behold 00:27:24.990 --> 00:27:28.289 your king. On Palm Sunday, today, we wave branches, 00:27:28.490 --> 00:27:32.970 we sing Hosanna, but we must also bow our knees. 00:27:33.890 --> 00:27:38.390 Jesus enters to save, not conform. He goes to 00:27:38.390 --> 00:27:41.150 the cross, not because he is weak, but because 00:27:41.150 --> 00:27:45.240 he is kingly. So as we walk into this holy week, 00:27:45.400 --> 00:27:48.400 our next movement, friends, is to the upper room. 00:27:48.799 --> 00:27:52.180 Where our king not only serves, but offers something 00:27:52.180 --> 00:27:57.400 profound in the midst of our sorrow. This Maundy's 00:27:57.400 --> 00:28:00.140 Thursday, may we consider how Jesus is preparing 00:28:00.140 --> 00:28:05.460 his disciples and us for grief. Not by removing 00:28:05.460 --> 00:28:09.779 it, but anchoring it in him and what he gives 00:28:09.779 --> 00:28:14.920 you. Join us Thursday to meet this suffering 00:28:14.920 --> 00:28:18.779 king who will give us something the world can 00:28:18.779 --> 00:28:21.740 never take from us. Let's pray.