Dover Assembly of God
As we have studied, there is a time coming soon that there will be a complete upheaval and judgment coming on the earth.
What does that have to do with today and next week?
This week in history, (Holy Week) culminating with the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and our faith, belief and acceptance of that fact, is the sole event that will determine where we will be during that time of judgment.
What each of us decide about Jesus and his resurrection, will determine where we will stand during that time of judgment and where we will be after we die.
Easter or Resurrection Day is the most significant day in human history. Kind of a broad statement, but it is the truth.
We will see today what happened on this day (Palm Sunday) and what it means to the believer today.
The last week of Jesus’ life on earth is spelled out in detail throughout the gospels. Today is the day we celebrate Palm Sunday--the first day of the last week of Jesus’ life.
Why do we call it that?
John 12:12-13 NIV
It is the day that signifies Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
The week began with a celebration but ended with a crucifixion.
Here’s what will transpire during this week:
Sunday-Triumphal Entry (Palm Sunday) & Crying over Jerusalem
Monday-Curses the fig tree & Cleansing the Temple-(Tossing over the tables-money changers)
Tuesday-Sees the withered fig tree and Confronts the Jewish Leaders, goes to the mount of olives
Wednesday- nothing on record
Thursday-prepping for Passover
Friday-Passover, Trial, Crucifixion, death & burial
Saturday-Jesus in the tomb
Sunday-(Resurrection Day, Easter) Jesus raised from the dead.
This is one of the few events that are recorded in all the gospels so we will be pulling texts from each so we can see a complete account.
Previously, Jesus had a private dinner with his closest friends. Mary Martha & Lazarus.
John 12:1-2 NIV
And that raising of Lazarus had officially started the Jewish leaders plan to kill him.
John 11:45-47 NIV
John 11:53 NIV
One note here: Jesus raised him from the dead and some even then, didn’t believe.
Miracles in themselves do not cause people to believe. Some will believe, but if you’re waiting to see a miracle before you trust in Christ, you won’t believe even if you see one.
Matthew 12:38-39 NIV
You know what that sign from Jonah is? Jesus spending 3 days in the grave and then rising again? That’s your sign. That’s your miracle.
If you don’t believe that, no more will be given.
So let’s look at this day, verse by verse.
Matthew 21:1-2 NIV
Because Jesus knew how the week was going to go, he made arrangements in advance to have this donkey ready for him.
The Bible tells us that word was out that anyone who knew about Jesus was required to turn him in and that anyone who confessed Christ would be excommunicated.
John 11:57 NLT
So, Jesus did not want this guy to get in trouble so he arranged it on the down low.
Now in today’s world we think of a donkey as a lowly animal.
But in Bible times, it was used for royalty.
1 Kings 1:44 NIV
Judges 5:10 NLT
Donkeys also symbolized peace, whereas horses symbolize war.
The horses of color in Revelation, the 12 horsemen of the apocalypse.
Jesus is riding a symbol of peace and royalty.
And now word had gotten out that Jesus was heading towards town.
John 12:12 NIV
This is the only time that Jesus allowed any public displays of attention paid to him.
John 12:13 NIV
Why was he doing this and why now? First, he was fulfilling the prophecy written about him in Zechariah 9:9.
Matthew repeats what Zechariah said.
Matthew 21:4-5 NIV
Notice that this was supposed to be a donkey that had never been ridden and therefore never really broken.
Ever try to ride an unbroken donkey, mule or horse?
The way the donkey was perfectly calm and allowed Jesus to ride him, indicates that Jesus had power over the animals as well as the waves.
Remember the storm that Jesus calmed?
Matthew 8:27 NIV
So as Jesus in proceeding thru the town, who was there?
Matthew 21:10-11 NIV
These crowds consisted of three groups.
1) The Passover visitors from outside Judea.
John 12:12-13 NLT
2) The local people who had witnessed the raising of Lazarus
John 12:17 NIV
Miracles don’t save anyone, but they do provide an incentive for people to come and see.
When we pray for miracles, we do believe that God still does them, but we also know that these answered prayers are also designed to let the community know that there is a God in heaven who does miracles.
3) The religious leaders who sought to kill Jesus.
John 12:19 NIV
By him riding a donkey in a processional, and having people lay their coats in front of him, he was doing what basically a king would do.
He was announcing to the world that he in fact was a king.
All 3 groups had a different response to that announcement.
I used to think that these people who shouted Hosanna, also shouted crucify Him, but I was wrong.
1) The Galilean Jews were the ones who supported him and followed him. They laid the branches down for him. They were the ones shouting Hosanna. They were committed followers.
2) The Judean & Jerusalem Jews were the ones who would later shout crucify him. They thought as king he would over throw the Roman government. And when he didn’t, they turned. These are the ones, when God doesn’t do things the way you think he should, you leave.
When they saw him not rise up as their ruler, they no longer thought he was a king, only a deceiver.
3) The Jewish leaders saw their power base eroding. If he was the king, the people would follow him and not the leaders.
Luke 19:39-40 NIV
John 12:19 NIV
The Jewish leaders knew that their power and authority would be challenged if not stripped from them. So they wanted their opposition eliminated.
As all this was happening, people still didn’t really understand what was happening or that is was supposed to happen this way.
John 12:16 NIV
This tells us that this account was written well after the event. John says basically we had no clue at that time what was going on. But as time passed and we saw the unfolding of the resurrection, we finally got it.
As an unbeliever, I didn’t understand anything that happened in church or in other Christian’s lives. But once I got saved, I got it. You might not understand everything that happens in a church setting, but you can.
I want focus on this next event for a bit. We all know the parade into town, but do we miss some of the other things:
John doesn’t record this but two other gospels do.
Mark 11:11 NIV
You get the mental picture that Jesus walks up to the temple and spent some time just looking at it and thinking.
You ever just stop and take time to think about something? Like looking in on your kids while they sleep. You just look at them, pray for them and imagine what their life will be like when they are adults?
You think to yourself how much you enjoy them now and that one day, they will be grown and gone. I think that is what Jesus was doing. Because look at Luke’s account of the same event.
Luke 19:41 NIV
Why do you think he was crying? It tells us.
Jesus says this to the empty city . . .
Luke 19:42-44 NIV
Jesus knew that the city and the people he was sent to and loved were rejecting him and he knew what that meant.
He knew what would happen to them and he was openly crying because of it.
Only the second time he cried, first time at Lazarus.
Everywhere he looked he had cause to cry.
~ When he looked back, he saw all the wasted chances that the Jews had for blessing.
Have you ever looked back on your life and see how it was wasted? Wish you could have a do over? God had given them so many chances and they ignored almost every one of them. God is giving everyone here a chance, don’t waste it and look back later and regret it.
~ If Jesus looked at the present, he cried because he saw the hardness of the people hearts at this moment.
He had performed all those miracles and yet people didn’t believe. There was much religious activity but not any spiritual growth or change.
There are a lot of churches and religious activity going on around us and maybe even in our midst, but is it accomplishing anything for eternity?
Do we know people that no matter how many times God has done great things and yet they do not believe?
Hebrews 3:7-8 NIV
It makes you cry because you know what they are missing now and what they will miss in the future if they do not believe.
~ If Jesus looked ahead, he knew the judgment that was coming on them.
Going back to our study in Revelation, we are seeing what will happen. All the family and friends that we are praying for. We know what will happen if they do not believe and it makes us cry.
How many of us have really cried about the state of people we know?
The state of the world, government, currency, leader, religion, military. It scares me to death for those who will be here during that time.
Do we have the heart of Jesus when it comes to eternity? These very people were the ones who would later shout crucify him and yet he cared about them to the point he cried over their souls.
The good news is that the story doesn’t end with the suffering and crucifixion.
Jesus took all that punishment and suffering so that we wouldn’t have to.
We were in the same boat as those that Jesus cried over.
We all were destined for hell because as Jesus said in that verse:
Luke 19:44 NIV
Luke 19:44 NLT
But for us believers, now by the grace of God, we did not reject the opportunity, we accepted it.
Hallelujah!! Palm Sunday and Easter is all about accepting God’s offer.
What is that offer?
John 3:16 NLT
God loves you so much that he sent and allowed his son to die in your place.
If you have not believed that, then Jesus is still crying over you.
He does not want you to suffer what is coming. He offers each of us eternal life (heaven) if we believe.
The question is do we? Not in our heads, but have we believed it to the point where our lives have been changed by that belief?
The Jews who would shout crucify him, believed in their heads, but they were not changed by that belief. Let God transform you today.