PALM
SUNDAY
March
28-30, 2014
Pastor
Timothy J. Spaude
Text:
Mark 11:1-11
“THE KING OF GLORY!”
1.
The
King of Glory knows.
2.
The
King of Glory goes.
3.
How
shall we meet Him?
Mark 11:1-11
(NIV 1984) “As they
approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives,
Jesus sent two of his disciples,2 saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you,
and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has
ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.3 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you
doing this?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.'
"4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As
they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, "What are you doing,
untying that colt?" 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the
people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their
cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road,
while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead
and those who followed shouted, "Hosanna! " "Blessed is he who
comes in the name of the Lord!"
10 "Blessed
is the coming kingdom of our father David!" "Hosanna in the
highest!" 11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked
around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany
with the Twelve.”
Have you noticed how people seem to want or need
something or someone to root for? Think about it. Why does professional and
college sports generate so much interest and money? Why do we have March
Madness and rabid fans who paint their faces? Why do we have such a vested
interest in how the Packers or Brewers
do or get excited about a golf or tennis player or the Olympics? And if sports
isn’t your thing, do you find yourself watching a particular television show
and wanting a certain character to come out on top, your favorite to be the Voice
or the next American Idol? Today we celebrate Palm Sunday. The King of Glory
comes riding into Jerusalem. Here’s someone to root for. Someone to cheer for.
Something that jumps out at us right
away is the fact that the King of Glory knows! “As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the
Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples,2 saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you,
and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has
ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.3 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you
doing this?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.'
"4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As
they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, "What are you doing,
untying that colt?" 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the
people let them go.” The fact that God knows everything that will happen
before it happens is called God’s foreknowledge. As true God Himself Jesus knew
everything that would happen before it does. Can you imagine having that
ability, knowing what will happen before it does? What would you use that
ability for? I guess it doesn’t matter because we don’t have it. But Jesus
does. He doesn’t use that foreknowledge to correctly pick the Judean Powerball
numbers. He doesn’t use it to place a bet on who will win Rome’s Super Brawl in
the Coliseum. All that would have done
is gained money. No instead Jesus uses His foreknowledge to advance the plan of
salvation. He wants to gain you for God. He tells His disciples exactly where
to find a colt the foal of a donkey and to get the owners to allow them to take
it without calling the village police. He does this to fulfill prophecy so
people would know who He is. He does this because it is time for Him to finish
the work of salvation. Because the wages of sin is death He needs to die. And
although this is all God’s plan it’s going to look like it was done to Jesus.
To get the ball rolling the chief priests and religious leaders needed to be
upset enough to push for death. That would happen when they saw the King of
Glory come and be acknowledged as the King that He is. The King of Glory knows.
He knows all things. He knows exactly what will happen to Him and what riding
into Jerusalem will start.
And He still goes. Can you think of something
that you knew was going to be unpleasant but you had to go through with it?
Maybe a major surgery? Maybe something unpleasant at work? Do you remember how
you felt? Jesus is true God. He is also true man. He knew what he was moving
toward and while a movie like the Passion of
the Christ can visually portray the physical suffering Jesus went
through there is no way to portray the spiritual suffering that is the
punishment for sin. No director knows that. Those in Hell cannot escape to tell
us. God knows. Jesus knew and He went anyway. “When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he
sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread
branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who
followed shouted, "Hosanna! " "Blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord!"10 "Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father
David!" "Hosanna in the highest!" 11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and
went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already
late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.” The King of Glory goes.
Look, brothers and sisters, how valuable you are to God. The last hymn we will
sing today ends, “Ride on, ride on, in majesty, in lowly pomp ride on to die.”
That will be our cheer for Him. The King
of Glory goes no matter the cost.
Now how shall we meet him? You just
heard how He was met in Jerusalem. The people there found ways to honor Him.
They used their own coats as his saddle blanket, never mind the donkey sweat
that would get on it. Some put their coats on the ground for the donkey to step
on. I hope that’s all that happened. Others spread palm branches and waved them
as our children did. Others called out words of praise to Jesus. Hosanna! That
means “Save now!” He’s the one who comes in the name of the Lord. That’s how
they met Him.
How will we? What happens when the
President enters a room? How about when the judge enters the courtroom? People
stand. It’s a way of showing respect and honor. How about when a player has a
remarkable game or plays through adversity? What happens when they come off the
field or court? A standing ovation. Now at this point in our lives we don’t get
to see Jesus physically or visibly. He won’t come riding down Forest Home Ave
on a donkey. We won’t be able to do the exact same things as the Palm Sunday
crowd. Yet Jesus is with us. He promised that when we come together in worship,
even just 2 or 3, there He is in the midst of us. Our praising Him here is
important and meaningful to Him. But there is another important way for us to
remember. As the news teamed descended on Los Angeles to cover the Sweet 16
basketball action the ones from Wisconsin were looking for Badgers fans. “Not
too many around here yet,” was the report on Wednesday. “Badger fans are
starting to pull into town,” was the report on Thursday. How did they know? How
could they tell? It’s what they were wearing, right? Badger red.
Besides honoring our Palm Sunday King
by prioritizing praising Him in worship we can honor Him with the way we live
during the rest of the week. No, there’s no special Jesus color to wear. I’m not suggesting we all have “I cheer for Jesus”
t-shirts. We can still let people know that we do. By the words we choose to
use and not use. By the ways we let our conversations leave doors open for
people to ask us about Jesus. By using the palms of our hands to do good for
others. By the way we extend kindness and compassion to one another. By being
good neighbors and hard workers. In this way Jesus is also praised.
He is the King of Glory. No one else
is as important to us as He is. Just imagine how radically your life would
change if your favorite team no longer existed. Do you know what would happen
to us if next year there was no NFL season and no March Madness? Well, we’d
probably have a little more money, a lot more time to use for other things and
maybe eat a little better too. What if there were no Jesus? Thank the Lord we
don’t have to answer that one. Jesus is the King of Glory. We’re glad to root
for Him and let’s do our best to let everyone know we’re proud to be on His
team. Amen.
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