Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Always
good to be back at Bridge. Thank you. And I love
sharing with you. I love worshipping with you.
And as I've said many, many times, it's home
from home. So thank you once again for the opportunity.
And as has been said, I'm sort of... kicking
off the Easter conversation because traditionally
in the Christian calendar, this is regarded as
Palm Sunday. And so we're going to think about
Palm Sunday as we begin our Easter conversation.
So if you've got a Bible with you and you want
to follow a reading from the Bible, I'm going
to read from John's version, John chapter 12.
So if you're new to church, don't worry about
it. If you're brand new, you're just a visitor
and you're here and you haven't got a Bible with
you. It's a really short reading, so it won't
take very long. But if you are a member of this
church or a Jesus follower, I always encourage
you bring your Bibles so that you can engage
with the text, not only with your ears, but with
your eyes as we read together. Now, just before
we start reading, let me just set a little bit
of a scene for you. We're gonna read from John's
version, but all four gospel writers. talk about
the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Now let me
just pause there to say this as a sort of a little
help in terms of how to read the Bible and how
to engage with the Bible. When you come to the
Gospels especially, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,
if they all record the same story, then that
is a big signal to me and you. they are saying
something really heavy about Jesus. There's something
going on in that story they really, really, really,
really want us to get. Because you have each
of the gospel writers brings their own sort of
take on the life of Jesus. They're not all the
same, although there are great similarities.
So they're not just telling the same story four
ways. They're actually bringing dynamic ideas
into the text for us to get a complete picture
of Jesus. So they do their own individual stuff.
Luke will have his own stuff. Matthew has his
own stuff. John has his own stuff as does Mark.
But when they all quote the same story, that's
a big sign. Me and you should go, ooh, something's
going on here that we should pay a little bit
of extra attention to. And they're probably saying
something there about who Jesus is and what Jesus
has come to do. And Palm Sunday is a classic
example of this. So all four gospel writers have
it. So Matthew has it in chapter 21. Mark has
it in his gospel in chapter 11 and Luke has it,
in fact, Anna read from Luke this morning from
Luke chapter 19. And they all say slightly different
things, but they're leaning in to a big, big
idea. I'm reading from John's version simply
because, and this is the only reason, simply
because I could have picked any one of the four,
I'm only reading from John because John's the
only one who mentions palms. So with the being
palms Sunday, I thought we'll have to have the
palms in the story. So we will touch on that
in just a moment. So here we go, John chapter
12, and we'll read from verse 12, and it says
this. The next day, the great crowd that had
come for the feast heard that Jesus was on his
way to Jerusalem. So the feast there is the Passover,
and the day before, Jesus has been anointed.
for burial by a lady called Mary. So that's the
connection for us as we go to verse 13. So the
crowd, they took palm branches and went out to
meet him, shouting, Hosanna, blessed is he who
comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the
King of Israel. Jesus found a young donkey and
set upon it as it is written. And this is a quote
from the Old Testament part of the Bible. Do
not be afraid, O daughter of Zion. See your king
is coming, seated on a donkey's coat." At first
his disciples did not understand all this. Only
after Jesus was glorified did they realize that
these things had been written about him and they
had done these things to him. Now the crowd that
was with him When he called Lazarus from the
tomb, so that's in chapter 11 of John when he
raises Lazarus from the dead, right? So that
crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus
from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued
to spread the word Many people because they had
heard that he had given this miraculous sign.
That's the raising from the dead Went out to
meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another
see this is getting us nowhere Luke how the whole
world has gone after him. Now at one sense this
story has a magnificent simplicity to it. There's
a gorgeous, very simple idea at the heart of
Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. And we have this
gorgeous connection between Jesus being carried
into Jerusalem by this little cult, this little
foal of a donkey. And of course, at one simple
level, we've got this idea that Jesus needed
the donkey to get into Jerusalem. It's a gorgeous,
beautiful little thought. In fact, if you read
the other gospels that we'll be referring to
throughout this morning. They tell us that Jesus
sent his disciples into the city to find this
little cult. And then Jesus told them, when you
go to get it, someone will say, hey, what are
you doing with that little donkey? And they're
to say something like this, the Lord needs it.
Now there's a gorgeous thought there, a beautiful
devotional thought that actually here's the creator
of the universe and he needs a little donkey.
And I love that idea. And there is a beautiful,
beautiful message to us at the heart of Palm
Sunday that actually the God who made the universe
still needed something in order for him to achieve
what he wanted to achieve. And this morning,
this morning he needs you. And he needs me, and
he needs the church. He needs bridge in order
to carry him. Of course, what is the donkey doing?
The donkey is carrying Jesus into the city so
that Jesus can be seen. And although the donkey's
an important character in the story, of course,
the donkey's not the main character. Jesus is.
And of course, that speaks to us powerfully,
that Palm Sunday reminds us that Jesus needs
us, but it's not about us. It's about him. That
the church, the church's big job, the church's
one job really, is to carry Jesus to the world.
If you're a Jesus follower, our big job, wherever
we are, whatever our job, whatever our family,
whatever our background, our big job is to be
like that little donkey and carry Jesus to our
world. And we could sort of leave it there. And
by the end of my sermon, some of you would hope
that I did leave it there and moved on very,
very quickly. And that's a beautiful thought.
And actually that Jesus needs us. But actually
my life is not about me. My life is really ultimately
about carrying him to our world. What a gorgeous
thought that is. And that's a beautiful devotional
reflection. And I would guess there'd be many
churches over this Palm Sunday will be leaning
into those beautiful ideas and we shouldn't ignore
them. So I wanted to sort of say. that by way
of introduction. But having said all of that,
there's a lot of heavy lifting going on in Palm
Sunday entrance. The gospel writers are wanting
to say very significant things to us. about Jesus
and some of those things we've been singing about
this morning in the context of our worship and
in terms of Palm Sunday there are three big ideas
that I want to draw your attention to and if
you're a Jesus follower these ideas are absolutely
crucial. If you're here searching for Jesus or
searching for meaning or searching for life,
then actually, in these three things I'm about
to say to you, there is in fact the essence of
the life that you are looking for. And you can
find that. And these are three massive ideas
that all four gospel writers are leaning into
because they're saying something massive about
Jesus. So three ideas that I wanna bring. Here's
the first idea. I want you to notice the direction
of travel. Now, John's not explicit here, so
that's where we need to go to other gospel writers,
and the other writers help us with this interesting
piece of information, which just looks like a
piece of information to begin with, but it's
really important. It's sort of an incredible
idea hidden in plain sight. Matthew, I'll quote
Matthew on this. Matthew says this, as they approached
Jerusalem, that's Jesus and his disciples, and
they came to a place called Bethphage. on the
Mount of Olives, Jesus sent his two disciples.
So, we're given a little bit of geography here,
and the geography is something like this. That
Jesus is approaching Jerusalem from the east.
And in fact, we're told that he sort of positions
himself around the Mount of Olives while he sends
his disciples in, they go and get everything
ready for him. Then they bring back this little
donkey and then they make the approach. And so
they're approaching from the east, the Mount
of Olives, and then they are entering Jerusalem
through what's called the East Gate. Now, if
I put a map of Jerusalem up for you, the east
gate in the first century world of Jerusalem
was the closest gate you went to if you wanted
to get to the temple. So there's lots of gates
getting you into Jerusalem, first century Jerusalem,
but the east gate, literally from there, you
are virtually on the temple. So it's the fastest
route to get to the temple. Now, the gospel writers
are telling us that Jesus comes from the east,
from Mount Olives. Hold that thought. And when
he enters on Palm Sunday into Jerusalem, he enters
through the East Gate. And I hear all of you
say, so what? All right, so what, John? Yeah,
I know you're a Bible nerd. You love this sort
of stuff. But so what? Well, that bit of detail
is alerting us to something that's happened before.
And Palm Sunday can't be understood without our
ability to go back into what we call the Old
Testament. and pick up big ideas, connect them
to this moment, and bring them back to Jesus
now as he enters Jerusalem. And to understand
the significance of that east side and east gate,
we gotta go back to a prophet called Ezekiel.
Not everybody's favourite prophet, a hard book
to read. You may or may not have encountered
him. You may or may not like him. But Ezekiel
has something significant to say about this particular
moment. In fact, two things. If you read Ezekiel,
in Ezekiel chapter 10 and in chapter 11, Ezekiel
tells us about a catastrophic moment. And here's
what he warns. He says, because of the wickedness
of the people of Jerusalem, the people of God,
because they persisted in their wickedness, God
says to them that my glory is going to leave.
So in other words, this idea of the presence
of God the glory of God which would traditionally
been rooted in the temple so God's glory or presence
is centered around this temple God is saying
to the people in chapter 10 and 11 I'm going
to leave because of your wickedness because you
will not listen to me because you persist in
doing the things over and over again I tell you
are wrong to do because of that I'm gonna leave
And I'm not only going to leave the temple, I'm
going to leave the city. And Ezekiel tells us
the route that God leaves. He's going to leave
through the east gate and he's going to stop
at the Mount of Olives before he goes further.
So we get this incredible moment. Ezekiel, hundreds
of years before, is saying God's glory will leave.
And in fact, we know it did because that particular
city and that particular area were taken into
exile by the Babylonians, which was a sign that
God's glory had departed. Now, that sounds like
bad news, but Ezekiel doesn't leave there. In
fact, in chapter 43 of Ezekiel, he says something
really encouraging. He says, actually, the glory
that is left one day will return. Alright? So
that's good news. So he's told the people at
one level, because of your wickedness, God's
presence and glory will leave. Now he's telling
them, God will return. And here's what he says,
chapter 43 of Ezekiel, and it says these words.
Listen carefully to the words. Stay with me now.
The glory of the Lord entered the temple through
the gate facing east. Then the Spirit lifted
me up and brought me into the inner court, and
the glory of the Lord filled the temple. So we've
got two things going on in a man, in a book called
Ezekiel, this prophet, he's prophesying two things.
Number one, there's gonna come a moment in history
which happened. where the glory will leave Jerusalem
and the people will be exiled and Ezekiel says
that glory will depart out of the East Gate and
stop at the Mount of Olives before it departs
but then he says one day, one day the Lord will
return and his glory will return and that glory
will be seen by entering through the East Gate
and coming to fill the temple. And listen, ladies
and gentlemen, it's easy to miss when Jesus just
rides into Jerusalem that day through the East
Gate. It's just easy to miss all of this because
it's not obvious. But when we make the connections,
if our eyes are open, if our ears are open, we're
going, hold on a minute, hold on a minute. Jesus
is entering through this East Gate from the Mount
of Olives. And in fact, Matthew, Mark and Luke
tell us the first place he goes after he enters
Jerusalem is the temple. Wow. Now either that's
a super cool coincidence or something's going
on. Now, if we just had that, that might not
be enough. But John's gospel, in his gospel,
John says this, we read from John earlier on,
earlier in the gospel of John, he says this,
the word, speaking of Jesus, became flesh and
made his dwelling among us. And then he says
this, we have seen his glory. the glory of the
one and only Son who came from the Father full
of grace and truth. Now here's what John's doing.
Now watch this. John is describing the incarnation
of the Son of God as the manifestation of the
glory of God. God has returned. God has come
back, as it were. And John makes that really
explicit for us. And later on, John, when speaking
of Jesus, Jesus says these words, speaking of
himself, he said, destroy this temple and in
three days I will rebuild it. Now it's clear
there in John chapter 2 that Jesus is not speaking
of a physical temple. In fact, John makes it
clear to us that Jesus is speaking of himself.
So I want you to see two things happening now.
John set this up in his gospel, which he's hoping
that when Jesus enters Jerusalem, me and you
get this. And here's what he's saying. The person
we call Jesus is the glory of God. He is the
manifestation of God's presence and God's glory
among us and not only is he the glory of God
But he is the temple that carries the glory of
God Now you'll see something that Jesus does
when he enters Jerusalem He goes to the temple
Matthew Mark and Luke tell us this and he doesn't
do anything at the temple He just looks around
and then he goes to where every stain and in
the next day He returns with a whip and he chases
the money lenders and the merchants. out of the
temple. Why? Because he declares they have turned
God's house into a den of thieves. And there's
a whole backstory there of the wicked things
they were doing and exploiting and manipulating
people and literally raking money in off the
back of the poor. So Jesus says you've turned
the house of God into a den of thieves and you've
turned the place of prayer for the nations into
a market house. And Jesus clears the temple.
Now again, there's a cracking Old Testament connection
here because before Passover, every Jewish household
was encouraged to go through the house and sweep
it clean. And what are they sweeping it clean
from? They're cleaning it of the leaven, all
the stuff that God wants removed so that there's
no impurity in the house. So that in the house
then, when they celebrate Passover, when they
celebrate the lambs, then for the exodus of the
people, they're doing it in a clean house. Brothers
and sisters, this is unmissable. And here's what
John is saying, that Jesus, when he entered at
his gate, he is the glory of God. He's returned.
Ezekiel's words have now come to pass. And not
only did Jesus return, but he's the temple that
carries the glory of God. And when he stands
in the temple and cleans the temple out, He's
saying, actually, the glory of God has returned,
not to this building, but the glory of God has
returned because I am the temple. I'm the fulfillment
of all of these ideas. And so when Jesus rides
into Jerusalem from the east, that's not a coincidence.
That's not random. That's deliberate. Every action
of Jesus on Palm Sunday is chosen, deliberate
and special. He's sending out a massive signal
and he's saying to anybody who will listen, pay
attention. The glory of the Lord has returned
but it hasn't returned in a way that you expected
and it hasn't returned to the place that you
expect but it has returned through me. I am the
glory of God. Now, in our 21st century world,
we miss that. But be encouraged, let me just
encourage you, the disciples missed it too. They
didn't understand any of that. In fact, John
tells us explicitly, they did not understand
what was going on here. It would be later that
they would connect the dots between Ezekiel and
the East Gate and the glory of God and Jesus
cleaning out the temple. So when Jesus rides
into Jerusalem that day through the East Gate,
this is not random not coincidental this is a
deliberate action of Jesus to say something and
here's what he's saying and here's what he's
saying to the 21st century world I am the glory
of God That actually he is the manifestation
of God's presence and God's glory in our world
Anna encouraged us to be people who would gaze
on the face of the Lord who would be open to
him not just rush through this but recognize
that Jesus is the glory of the Lord And he does
that by entering through the East Gate. Is that
okay with me? Here's the second we thought I
want you to get so hold that thought as we go
to thought number two really quickly I want you
to look not only in the direction of travel,
but I want you to see the donkey on which he
rode. Now this is important for us. It's not
just a piece of information. It's a sign. It's
a signal. And a little thing to notice is that
in all of the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John, this is the only time, the only recorded
time we have Jesus riding a donkey. Every other
time he walks. So just from a piece of information,
it's a bit of an outlier moment in the life of
Jesus. This is the only time he rides on a donkey.
And when something like that happens in the Bible,
when the Bible breaks a pattern or changes a
pattern, pay attention to the change of the pattern.
It's asking you to look a bit more closely at
the fact that the pattern has changed. So Jesus
is riding this donkey for the very first time.
And we see him do that for the very first time.
And three gorgeous things quickly about the donkey.
Number one, it's a donkey that no one had ever
ridden on. It's a cult of a donkey. It's a foal.
No human backside had ever sat on this donkey.
Jesus is the first, forgive my language, the
first bum to sit on this donkey. It's a sense
in which there's a beautiful idea here that the
donkey becomes a first fruit offering unto God.
This donkey isn't just any old donkey, this is
a donkey that hasn't been ridden by anybody else.
And Jesus becomes the first person to ride on
it. And of course, there's a gorgeous little
nuance there around the fact that he's able to
ride on it without the little cult struggling.
Somehow Jesus can sit on this thing and it just
obeys him and follows him. The second little
nuance in that idea is if you go back to the
Old Testament again, certain animals when they
were sacrificed for the sins of the people that
brought them, they had to be animals that were
unused. So, for example, you'll see this in both
Numbers and Deuteronomy. A heifer, for example,
if it was being offered for sacrifice, it had
to be a heifer that wasn't used in the field.
It didn't have a yoke on it. In other words,
it had never been pressed into service. It was
something that was given, as it were, as a first
fruit. onto the Lord. So there's a lovely little
nudge there that this un -ridden donkey is offering
something new and fresh to the Lord. But the
second thing to see is connected with the kingship
of Jesus. So again, we got to travel back to
the Old Testament. And there are two big ideas.
massively colliding in this moment of Jesus riding
a donkey. The first one is to do with King David.
Now, if you're not sure who that is, he was a
king of Israel way back at the beginning of the
journey. So the second king of Israel, Saul and
then David. And David, when he's about to make
his son Solomon king, he does something very,
very significant. And you can read this in the
book of Kings. I'll read the language to you.
It says this. Take with you the servants of your
Lord and have Solomon my son ride on my mule
and bring him down to Gihon. Now, it sounds like
it's again an irrelevant piece of information
to me and you, but this is important, really
important that David is parading Solomon as the
king, the new king. But how is he doing that?
Solomon is riding on his donkey. So there's a
sense in which David is sending out a signal
before the coronation of Solomon, before Solomon
is officially made the king. Actually, you get
this idea that because he's riding David's donkey,
this is a sign that Solomon is the king. Okay,
are you with me? Now then we connect that idea
to another prophet in the Old Testament. called
Zechariah. In fact, we mentioned Zechariah's
words in John chapter 12. And Zechariah says
these words, possibly, possibly doing two things.
Zechariah's possibly riffing off the David story,
going back the way, grabbing that idea, but then
pushing forward prophetically to the future.
And Zechariah says these words, rejoice greatly,
daughter Zion. Shout, daughter Jerusalem, see
your King comes to you righteous and victorious,
or we could translate that, righteous and having
salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a
colt, the fall of a donkey. Now if you want the
reference, that's Zechariah 9 .9. Now, I know
you're looking at me, you're already a bit glazed
over and have probably maybe lost half the congregation,
but this is absolutely crucially important. Jesus
could have walked into Jerusalem. He walked everywhere
else. Jesus technically doesn't need the donkey
to get into Jerusalem, but Jesus gets the donkey
because he wants to say something through the
donkey. The donkey is speaking to the whole of
that crowd if they have ears to hear and eyes
to see. Jesus is picking up on two massive ideas.
Remember who Jesus is? He's the Messiah. What's
another phrase for the Messiah? He is the son
of David. He's the son of David. He's not a son
of David like Solomon was. David had many sons,
but the Messiah will be the son of David, who
will sit on David's throne forever and make that
throne secure and establish that kingdom. So
when Jesus grabs that little donkey, there's
a son of David vibe going on, but he's also unmistakably,
he's grabbing the Zechariah prophecy that says
you're king, Jerusalem. And look who Zechariah
is speaking to, specifically Jerusalem. He's
not speaking to Israel in general, he's speaking
to Zion and Jerusalem in particular. He's saying
one day Jerusalem, keep your eyes open, one day
the king will come to you sitting on the cult
of a donkey. Not on a great big charger, not
with a great big army. not with a great sword
in his hand. He will come, as Zechariah said,
lowly, humbly, riding on a donkey. And brothers
and sisters, this is why this little donkey becomes
so important. It's not just a cute little thing
and a cool little piece of information. It is
a massive sign. Jesus is saying to the crowd,
for anyone who is easy to hear, or eyes to see,
and he's saying to me and you in the 21st century,
this donkey is screaming at us. And the donkey
is saying, Jesus is the king. The king, not a
king. He's the King. He's God's Messiah King.
He's the Son of David who has come into the world
not just to be the King of Jerusalem, not just
to be the King of Israel, but to be the King
of the whole world. And that's what's going on
in Palm Sunday. That actually when Jesus rides
on that little donkey, he is declaring to the
world I am the son of David and I am the fulfillment
of the Zechariah Prophecy. I am the king of the
world Amen Such an important idea for us to understand
So two thoughts I want you to hold as we go to
the third one number one entering through the
East Gate He's declaring the glory of the Lord
has returned. And actually that glory will ultimately,
brothers and sisters, ultimately be seen on the
cross. A complete contradiction. The glory could
be manifest in a naked man hanging on the cross,
executed by the Romans. But the glory has come.
And because that glory has come through the East
Gate, the whole world can experience the glory
of God. Secondly, the donkey that he rides on
screams to his all. The king has come. The king
has returned. The son of David. There will never
be another son of David. He is the son of David,
the final son of David. and he has come to take
his throne not just over one little country in
the Middle East, but he has come to take his
throne over the whole world. And that's what
we celebrate on Palm Sunday. Here's the third
idea, and I'm drawing to a close. You'll be glad
to hear. Here's the third thought. It's the declaration
of the people, so the direction of travel. The
donkey in which he sits and in the declaration
of the people. Anna read this so beautifully
to us. Was that the NLT you were reading from?
Message? Yeah, beautiful. So a very poetic version
of that lovely moment. And when we read the other
Gospels, they really pick up the power of what
Anna read for us. And Matthew puts it like this.
As the people see Jesus, they start to declare
these words. Hosanna to the son. of David blessed
is he who comes in the name of the Lord Hosanna
in the highest now again sorry about this but
it's really important they are riffing off the
old testament so they're quoting a psalm psalm
118 a psalm worthy of your devotional reflection
over Easter week a magnificent psalm a psalm
much quoted in the new testament And they are
riffing off Psalm 118. And here's what Psalm
118 says, Lord save us. In the language of Psalm
118, Hoshiana, Lord save us, save us. It goes
on to say this, Lord grant us success. Blessed
is he who comes in the name of the Lord from
the house of the Lord, we bless you. Now, at
the same time that the people are saying that,
they're putting cloaks and they're also putting.
palm leaves or palm branches down and one of
the symbols of the palm branch which was very
powerful in the time of Jesus was a symbol of
liberation a symbol of victory a symbol of the
casting off of oppression and bringing people
to liberty. And this goes all the way back to
a bit of the history in between the Old Testament
and the New Testament. When a group of people
called the Maccabees, they cast off the oppression
of the Greeks and they set the people of God
free and you have a sort of a Jewish kingdom
re -established right in the middle of the Old
Testament and the New Testament bit. Now that
didn't last very long because the Romans came
along and like squashed that like a bug. But
you got this moment where one of the symbols
of the liberation of the Maccabees was that they
used the palm branch. It was like a code. It
was a symbol. When you held that up, it was a
symbol of defiance. It was a symbol of liberation.
It was a symbol of liberty. So when the people
put down the palm branches, they're literally
saying, at a political sense, we are looking
for the son of David to come and rescue us from
the Romans. We're looking for the salvation of
God to set us free from political oppression.
We're looking for a day when the Messiah will
come, not... the emperor in Rome, not Pilate,
not even Herod, but the son of David will come
as the king and savior of the world and he will
set us free. So these people are crying for salvation,
save us, but probably the salvation they're crying
for is more political than spiritual. They're
looking for a revolution. They're looking for
someone to set them free from the Romans. Now
here's the gorgeous irony, of course. Magnificent
theological irony here. The loiter crying out
for salvation, the one they're crying to literally
is the Savior. He is going to save them. He is
going to set them free. And again, we go back
to the Old Testament. I make no apology for this.
It's like an Old Testament study, but Palm Sunday
doesn't make sense without the Old Testament.
We go back to Isaiah. Here's the prophet Isaiah.
Behold, behold, the Lord is proclaimed to the
end of the earth. Say to the daughter of Zion,
there's that reference again. Behold, your salvation
comes. Behold, his reward is with him. and his
recompenses before him. Zechariah picks up the
language exactly of Isaiah and Zechariah says
this, rejoice daughter of Zion, shout aloud daughter
of Jerusalem, behold your King is coming to you
righteous and having salvation is he or he is
salvation. So when Zechariah prophesied the coming
of this king on the donkey, he's not just saying
he's bringing salvation, he's saying he is salvation.
He is the saviour. And that's what Jesus' name
literally means. The Lord saves. And the one
who was named by God, the Lord saves, is now
sitting on a donkey and riding into Jerusalem
and people are singing Lord save us and they've
no idea what they're singing. And they're actually
singing to someone who in the days to come will
save them. But he won't save them with an army.
He won't save them with a sword. He won't save
them because he crushes the Romans under his
feet. He will save them by yielding up his life
and giving himself completely and totally on
the cross. What it looks like on the surface
is he's failed. has crushed another son of Israel
but no no no he hasn't failed in that moment
on the cross and a few days later when he smashed
the grave to smithereens he said I'm not failing
I'm here to save the world I'm going to change
the world. One other gorgeous little twist brothers
and sisters is that the East Gate was the gate
through which the lambs were taken for the slaughter
on Passover. In fact, our general research points
to the idea that most of the sheep and lambs
bred for slaughter were bred in a little place
called Bethlehem. There's a thought. That the
shepherds who came to visit Jesus when he was
a baby were probably raising the sheep and the
lambs. That would be taken to the temple through
the East Gate For slaughter at the Passover my
goodness gracious me What a thought and here's
now Jesus as he enters the East Gate. He's not
a lamb Come on come on people. What is John call
him John says behold Just like Isaiah says behold
Just like Zechariah says behold. What does John
say behold? The lamb of God who takes away the
sin of the world, not by killing the Romans,
but by dying for the Romans. Come on. What a
story, what an amazing idea that is, brothers
and sisters. It is a juxtaposition of our power
structures. We're living in a world today, and
my goodness, we're watching the TV and listening
to the news, and it's just day after day of utter
madness. People playing power games with our
world. And it's the people who've got the most
power are claiming the victory. Well, let me
show you something about Palm Sunday. The saviour
of the world didn't come with a sword, and he
didn't come with an army, but he changed the
world by giving his life and laying himself down.
He's the king and the saviour of the world. And
that's what we trust in, not the power of men.
Goodness gracious me, half of them don't know
what they're doing. But we trust in the king
of the universe. and the saviour of the world.
The book of Revelation calls Jesus the lion of
the tribe of Judah once. Revelation 5 .5 and
yet we've made a whole song list about that.
Once he's called the lion 28 times in the book
of Revelation. Come on, what's he called? The
lamb. The lamb. The lamb. He overcomes. by his
blood. He doesn't overcome by destroying. He
doesn't overcome by squashing and killing. He
overcomes by laying down his life. And that day
when they sang, Hoshiana, Lord, save us, save
us. Little did they know that the man on the
donkey was the lamb of God who would not only
save them and their children and their children's
children, but he would save the whole world.
And we are here today because Jesus became that
lamb and lay down his life for us. Brothers and
sisters, that is our hope. That is our future.
In that we trust. And I know I'm speaking to
people this morning, you go, what is he talking
about? Well, the first century disciples struggled
with it as well. They didn't understand it. They're
seeing Jesus riding from the east didn't get
it. They're seeing Jesus on a little donkey.
They didn't get it They're seeing Jesus entering
the East Gate They don't get it but after his
death and after his resurrection all the dots
started to connect and then they get it and now
20 centuries later me and you Why should we get
that stuff? But the gospel writers are begging
us. They're begging us. Listen, this is not just
a little ride into Jerusalem. This is Jesus declaring,
I'm the glory of God returned. This is Jesus
declaring, I am the king of the world. This is
Jesus declaring, I am the savior of the world.
That's why the devil hates Jesus. That's why
he hates worship, where Jesus is at the center.
That's why he hates preaching, where Jesus is
at the center. That's why he hates people, where
Jesus is at the center. Because he knows, more
than anybody else, that Jesus is the glory of
God. That Jesus is the king of the world. And
that Jesus is the savior of the world. And that's
what we celebrate today. Do you want to come
in the midst of the madness? Where people, mere
men, Mere men think they are keen. Jesus is keen.
And our hope is not in mere men, our hope is
in the Saviour of the world. Brothers and sisters,
don't reduce Palm Sunday down to a wee analogy
about a wee donkey and a moment and a few palm
leaves. This is one of the greatest moments in
the life of Jesus. It's the coronation before
the coronation. He will be crowned as king on
a cross and established as king through an empty
grave. But as he enters into Jerusalem, he declares
to the world, Luke, for those of you with eyes
to see, those of you that have ears to hear,
Luke, I am the glory of God. I am the king of
the world and I I'm your saviour riding on a
donkey. Come on, stand with me. Let me pray for
you. I hope that's made sense to you. I really
do. One level is just a story of a man getting
into Jerusalem. On another level, it's a declaration
of some of the most amazing ideas in the whole
of the Bible. Jesus becomes the substance of
every shadow and he becomes the fulfillment of
every prophetic word as he rides into the city.
As we go back to our world, a world filled with
craziness and madness and utter. As we go back
to our world. We go back with the confidence.
If you're a Jesus follower, the glory of the
Lord lives in you. Because Jesus lives in you.
If you're a Jesus follower, we go back to our
world with the reality, Jesus is King. Whoever
seems to be in charge on planet Earth, Jesus
is King. And we go back with the message to our
friends, family, to a world that is broken, lost,
anxious, and then utter confusion. We go back
to a world that says the Lamb of God gave himself
for the world. And because of that, we are saved.
And so Lord Jesus, we thank you that you are
the glory of God made manifest among us. Lord
Jesus, we thank you that you are the King of
the world. Seated on a throne that will never
diminish or crumble. A throne that will outlast
every throne in the world. A name that is above
every ruler. A name that is above every principality.
A name that is above every government. A name
that is above every person. The King. of the
whole world. But Lord we declare over our families,
we declare over Bolton, we declare over our country,
we declare over the world that Jesus is the saviour
of the world. We say like those pilgrims of old,
even though they may not have fully understand
what they were singing, we pray save us oh Lord.
Save us oh Lord. Save our families oh Lord. Save
our nation, oh Lord. Save our world, oh Lord.
In the midst of the darkness and craziness, we
declare that you are the savior of the world.
And we pray in the name of Jesus that Lord, those
realities will live in us. Your glory, your kingship,
and the fact that you are our salvation. So Lord,
I pray that as we enter into our Easter journey,
may we enter it into it with hope. May we enter
into it with confidence. May we enter into it,
Lord, with passion and enthusiasm as we were
encouraged at the very beginning of this service.
May we burst into song. Because we know that
you are the glory of God. We know you are the
King of the world. And we know and declare today
that you are the Savior of the world. In Jesus'
name. Amen.