The JOYFUL Entry?

Mark 11:1-11; Psalm 118:1-2; 19-29 You messed up yesterday. You said the wrong words, took the wrong turn, loved the wrong person, reacted the wrong way. You spoke when you should have listened, walked when you should have waited, judged when you should have trusted, indulged when you should have resisted. You messed up yesterday. BUT you’ll muss up more if you let yesterday’s mistakes sabotage today’s attitude. God’s mercies are new every morning. Receive them. Like lightening can strike trees, lightening can strike you as well. Thunderbolts of regret can ignite and consume you. Counteract them with downpours of God’s grace, daily washings of forgiveness. Once a year won’t do. Once a month is insufficient. Weekly showers leave you dry. Sporadic mistings leave you combustible. You need a solid soaking every day. “They are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23) *** Palm Sunday is the beginning of the most important eight days on the Christian calendar. When Jesus approached Jerusalem the atmosphere of excitement that hung in the air suddenly electrified the crowd. Joy was palpable. Hopes were heightened. The crowd began to celebrate Jesus as he rode into the city on that colt, with an exuberance beyond any individual understanding. The cloaks and branches lain down before Jesus honored a King the crowd could not even begin to comprehend. The crowd's "Hosannas" praise one who "comes in the name of the Lord," without the crowd ever knowing that the name of the Lord is Jesus. The crowds bless the "coming of the kingdom," never realizing they are already standing in the kingdom's midst. The crowd's words are not necessarily hollow or false. But the crowd's words are uttered only because it "feels good" to celebrate together, not because they have faith. *** Christ is welcomed into Jerusalem. But the crowds begin to turn against him. He has his Last Supper with his disciples [which we will celebrate Thursday evening]. The week ends with his body broken on the cross of Calvary and his disciples fleeing in disbelief, only to have their world turned upside down when he begins appearing to them in his new resurrected body. What a magnificent drama in these last eight days! No wonder millions of people over the ages have had their lives transformed by its power. A magnificent message is encapsulated in a very short period of time. It is the message of salvation. John explained it like this in the prologue to his Gospel: “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:11-12). Eight days to eternity. What does it all mean? More importantly, what does it mean in our lives, you and me? Let me suggest three important themes that emerge from these eight days. First of all, we see Christ’s courage in the face of unbelievable cruelty. He knew it didn’t matter how many palm branches they threw at his feet that first Palm Sunday, the crowd would turn against him. His head was not turned by the hosannas or the garments which paved the road. He knew what lay ahead. He had been sent with a purpose. Our faith teaches us, humanity was held hostage by sin and death. Christ was sent to infiltrate our world in order to set us free. Jesus was sent to break the yoke of sin that kept us from being what God created us to be. He knew it would not be easy. He was painfully familiar with the messianic prophecy of Isaiah, “The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back. I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame” (50:5-7). Christ knew salvation could not come without suffering. Nothing worthwhile ever does, and this was the most important endeavor ever undertaken by a human being. In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). *** There are many Christians who are uncomfortable focusing on the cross, yet it is the very heart of our faith. See Christ hanging on the cross. He hangs there naked. In reverence of Christ, paintings show him with a loin cloth, but that was not the practice for crucifixion. The condemned man hung there naked. The execution was always carried out publicly, which enhanced the humiliation for those so punished. In those barbaric times, crucifixion was regarded as the worst form of execution, reserved for the worst of criminals. It was utterly cruel and demeaning. So terrible was it that it was used only on the lowest classes of society and for the most heinous crimes such as treachery or treason. Roman crucifixion generally followed flogging, which could itself kill. Generally the victim carried the crossbeam to the place of execution. There the person was either nailed or lashed to the crossbeam. Nailing was not universal; people could be lashed to the cross by their hands and feet, which extended the period of their slow death, partly caused by thirst, dehydration and hunger. Jesus, of course, was nailed to the cross, both his hands and his feet. Afterwards he showed the prints to the disciple Thomas. (3) It was certainly not death that Christ dreaded as he knelt in the garden and prayed that the cup might pass from him, but the pain, the suffering. Those of you who have had a loved one who has suffered mightily know that death can come as a sweet relief. Christ, who had emptied himself completely and became as we are, chose to experience the full depths of human suffering that he might deliver us from death and despair. We see, first of all, Christ’s courage as he faced incredible cruelty and suffering. *** But there is a second theme in this magnificent drama. It is God’s love poured out in the death of His Son. “God so loved the world that He gave His own Son . . .” (John 3:16) God watches as Christ hangs on the cross. God’s heart breaks. The noted Jewish author Eli Wiesel says this is why he could never be a Christian. He could not believe that God would stand by while His own Son was sacrificed. It is unimaginable, unless you understand that it was necessary to show how much God cares for you and me. A father, Tim Miller, writes about a time when he experienced what God surely experienced that day on Calvary. Miller’s nine‑year‑old daughter Jennifer was looking forward to their family’s vacation. But she became ill, and a long anticipated day at Sea World was replaced by an all‑night series of CT scans, X‑rays, and blood work at the hospital. As morning approached, the doctors told this exhausted little girl that she would need to have one more test, a spinal tap. The procedure would be painful, they said. The doctor then asked Tim Miller if he planned to stay in the room. He nodded, knowing he couldn’t leave Jennifer alone during the ordeal. The doctors gently asked Jennifer to remove all her clothing. She looked at her father with childlike modesty as if to ask if that were all right. They had her curl into a tiny ball. Tim says he buried his face in hers and hugged her. When the needle went in, Jennifer cried. As the searing pain increased, she sobbingly repeated, “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy,” her voice becoming more earnest with each word. It was as if she were saying, “Oh Daddy, please, can’t you do something?” Tim’ tears mingled with hers. His heart was broken. He felt nauseated. Because he loved her, he was allowing her to go through the most agonizing experience of her life, and he could hardly stand it. In the middle of that spinal tap, his thoughts went to the cross of Christ. What unspeakable pain both the Son and the Father went through, says Tim Miller. (5) And it’s true. We see Christ’s courage. And we see the Father’s amazing love poured out. And here is the most astounding thing of all: It was all for us. We didn’t deserve it, but Christ died for us. Christ died for you and me. *** The reason you and I can be victorious over sin and death is Christ’s sacrificial love for us. That’s the reason Palm Sunday is so important to us. That is the reason Holy Week is so important to us. It is not a scar on our forehead but the cross in our heart that tells us that someone died in our behalf. We are the recipient’s of an everlasting love. The cross of Christ speaks of amazing love, sacrifice and hope in the presence of evil. *** Eight days to eternity Christ’s courage sustains him in the face of barbaric cruelty, God’s heart breaks, but His love comes shining through, and it was all for us. We have been bought with a price. “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” ***************************** Remember all that Jesus gave of himself for YOU! Reflect on your tough days. Where is your mind? Jesus spoke 13 times during the Friday of suffering. TEN (nearly 80%) of his comments were Heaven-sent. Jesus talked to or thought about God ALL day long! Does God consume 80% of YOUR thoughts? Christ can turn your toughest days into an Easter Weekend! AMEN.