WEBVTT 00:00:03.680 --> 00:00:04.639 Good morning. 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:05.919 How's everybody? 00:00:06.080 --> 00:00:06.719 Good? 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:09.839 Beautiful day. 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:12.080 Spring has sprung. 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:16.320 Little cool edge still, I guess, but spring seems to have sprung. 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:18.160 Officially, it's here. 00:00:18.719 --> 00:00:27.519 One thing we don't have, and uh no one has brought it up to you, I bet, Angela, is the uh the famed Palm Sunday dress that Angela used to wear for the first. 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:30.239 It has been brought up. 00:00:30.879 --> 00:00:31.199 Okay. 00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:34.560 I don't know why this was such a big deal. 00:00:34.799 --> 00:00:43.679 Palm leaves all over a dress, and she wore it here to church on Palm Sunday for, I don't know, years 30 years. 00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:46.960 That's kind of a threadbare dress, I would think, by now. 00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:52.560 Uh yeah, so Palm Sunday without Angela's palm dress. 00:00:54.399 --> 00:01:03.359 A uh well-known preacher recently said this Jesus is the king that you need. 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:06.319 Who said that? 00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:11.359 Uh the application is having a hard time sinking in. 00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:14.400 That was Daniel Kabanchin one week ago. 00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:19.040 Jesus is the king that you need. 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:29.920 I told Daniel that I take a lot of uh notes on the sermons because our small group that meets at our house discusses the sermon as the basis for our Bible study. 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:36.879 Some other groups in the church do other things, but uh pardon we uh we talk about the sermon. 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:39.760 You can see why I have multiple cups of water up here today. 00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:41.599 The throat's acting weird. 00:01:43.599 --> 00:01:46.000 You'd never know that I was once a broadcaster, you know. 00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:49.040 This is just uh the throat does funny things. 00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:58.799 Um anyway, so we take a lot, I take a lot of notes, and that's if you see me over there scribbling furiously, it's so that I can lead our Bible study time. 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:02.879 Uh it's here that I insert a little commercial uh for small groups. 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:06.480 If you're not in one and you'd like to be in one, they're a great thing. 00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:09.759 You get to know people better, get to know the scripture better. 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:14.960 It's very relational and fun, and if it's anything like the group at our house, the snacks are great. 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:17.759 I think we have the leading group in that respect. 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:19.840 Um, if I may say so. 00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:25.919 If you're not in a group, just ask one of the elders about that, and we can fit you into one or we can start a new one. 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:29.199 Um ask particularly Andrew Detweiler about that. 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:30.319 He's kind of over that area. 00:02:30.479 --> 00:02:32.000 Andrew is not here today, am I right? 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:32.560 I think he's not. 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:33.439 Okay, he's traveling. 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:34.319 Yeah. 00:02:34.719 --> 00:02:35.199 All right. 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:42.159 Anyway, I told Daniel my note-taking was great last week because he had so many great things to say, did he not? 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:43.120 Yeah. 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:44.560 He surely did. 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:54.080 You can hear that message on our Facebook page or on the church website if you like and you didn't get to hear it, or if you'd like to hear it again because it's worth it, it'll be good for your soul. 00:02:54.479 --> 00:02:55.120 All right. 00:02:55.360 --> 00:02:59.599 And Daniel said, you may be feeling like King Saul. 00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:07.680 After all, we've been going through 1 Samuel, taking a little break for these uh next this sermon and Fridays and Sundays. 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:09.919 Oh, taking a break from 1 Samuel. 00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:16.719 Uh but he said, you might feel like King Saul kind of crushed and worn down. 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:20.000 Maybe your failures are are bringing you down. 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:22.879 And then he said, Look to King Jesus. 00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:24.080 Look to King Jesus. 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:27.280 He is the gentle Savior we all need. 00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:28.639 He is the one we need. 00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:30.639 What did we sing last week? 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:34.319 I know you don't remember that, but I will read some of the words to one of the songs. 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:34.960 I love this. 00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:46.159 When Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within, upward I look and see him there, who made an end to all my sin. 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:51.360 Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free. 00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:57.520 For God the just is satisfied to look on him and pardon me. 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:05.199 Today I want to look at what Jesus did to be that Savior and King that we all need. 00:04:05.599 --> 00:04:19.120 So this is essentially the first of a three-part mini series of sermons today's, as we start Holy Week, arguably the most significant single week in human history. 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:20.879 I think I can say that. 00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:24.639 Um Jesus accomplished our salvation for us. 00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:29.920 Today, Palm Sunday, number one in this little series, the start of that last climactic week. 00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:39.680 And then at the end of this week, Daniel will take parts two and three of the sermon series, a message for Good Friday, this Friday evening at six o'clock. 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:40.959 Okay? 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:41.839 Don't forget. 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:43.759 Friday at six, if you can make it. 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:49.920 And then he will talk about uh the resurrection on next Sunday, Easter. 00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:51.439 So, Palm Sunday. 00:04:51.600 --> 00:05:02.639 Would you look into your scripture, whether it's electronic in form or that old-fashioned kind that has paper in it, uh, to John chapter 12, and we'll start reading at verse 12. 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:04.240 I'll read it in a second. 00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:08.399 But first of all, um we know from Luke chapter 9. 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:15.360 Remember, the the Gospels are different biographies of Jesus told from different angles, so you get some different perspectives. 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:20.560 In Luke 9, it says Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem. 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:25.360 He was on a mission, he knew what the mission was, and that expression is kind of neat. 00:05:25.439 --> 00:05:30.800 He set his face to go to Jerusalem, to accomplish his mission. 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:32.959 Why he came to earth. 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:37.199 Earlier in Luke 9, Jesus tried to prepare the disciples for that. 00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:55.279 He told them it wasn't just clues, he told them flat out things, his favorite title for himself, the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 00:05:56.560 --> 00:06:00.160 Later in Luke 9, I am coming to John 12. 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:02.240 Later in Luke 9, he says it again. 00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:04.319 He says this at the beginning of his comment. 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:08.480 He says, Let these words sink into your ears. 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:12.720 The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men. 00:06:13.839 --> 00:06:15.759 Did this sink into their ears? 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:16.319 No. 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:17.839 The text says no. 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:28.720 In fact, it reads, They did not understand the saying, and it was concealed from them so that they might not perceive it, and they were afraid to ask him about it. 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:33.199 God's misprovidence is mysterious sometimes, right? 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:34.160 How he goes about things. 00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:36.959 So in his great providence, they didn't get it yet. 00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:45.120 They had conceived of a Messiah who was a conquering hero, a military conqueror who would throw off Rome. 00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:54.879 Little did they know that the actual plan, God's plan, was that the Messiah had to suffer and die to win our salvation. 00:06:55.040 --> 00:07:00.079 I mean, they should have known that, but because Jesus was pretty plain about it, but they didn't know. 00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:02.639 And then we see this plan start to unfold. 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:04.720 The different Gospels tell it a little differently. 00:07:04.800 --> 00:07:09.279 So we'll look at John 12 and see where this takes us. 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:14.720 All this drama and agony of Holy Week is about to begin. 00:07:14.959 --> 00:07:22.319 This is where the sinless Savior we sing of makes an end to all of our sin. 00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:28.959 One of the few incidents in the life of Jesus, by the way, that's recorded in all four Gospels. 00:07:29.199 --> 00:07:36.560 So we take a look at John chapter 12, and starting at verse 12, I'm just gonna have you stay seated. 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:41.519 No dishonor of the word of God, but I just want you to relax and listen. 00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:45.680 And I'm gonna move a guitar pick so I don't stand on it and go flying. 00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:49.759 John 12, verse 12. 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:56.319 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 00:07:56.480 --> 00:08:06.160 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel. 00:08:06.319 --> 00:08:17.519 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt. 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:29.199 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered these things had been written about him and had been done to him. 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:37.120 The crowd that had been with him, when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to bear witness. 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:42.159 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they had heard he had done this sign. 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:47.759 So the Pharisees said to one another, You see that you are gaining nothing. 00:08:47.919 --> 00:08:50.559 Look, the world has gone after him. 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:53.279 Let's pray for just a moment. 00:08:55.840 --> 00:09:06.720 Heavenly Father, by your Holy Spirit, we ask you to enlighten our hearts, open our eyes to see the truths of your word and all its majesty, and to enjoy it and apply it to our hearts in Jesus' name. 00:09:06.879 --> 00:09:07.440 Amen. 00:09:10.159 --> 00:09:18.639 So, my first point as I break down the scene is the plan unfolds. 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:31.759 Not to be outdone by Daniel or anyone in terms of alliteration, as we create an outline for the passage, my points will all start with P, except the first one will have the in front of it, so please excuse that. 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:34.879 But the first one is the plan unfolds. 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:36.799 What is the scene? 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:38.320 Passover. 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:40.320 Why is that significant? 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:42.399 What is Passover? 00:09:43.039 --> 00:09:44.320 You remember, right? 00:09:44.559 --> 00:09:52.639 The great and amazing story from the Old Testament of God's freeing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. 00:09:52.799 --> 00:09:58.799 They'd been there for hundreds of years in bondage, enslaved by the king, the Pharaoh of Egypt. 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:00.399 But God heard their cries. 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:10.240 He sent plagues, he sent nine plagues, distressing all the people in the country of Egypt, but Pharaoh's heart was hardened. 00:10:10.799 --> 00:10:12.399 He didn't let them go. 00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:21.120 He then sent a tenth plague, a horrible plague, the death of the firstborn of all the people of Egypt. 00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:23.120 They were to die. 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:30.080 But God revealed a special way to protect the Israelite newborns. 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:36.559 They were to sacrifice a lamb and paint its blood over the doorposts of their house. 00:10:38.159 --> 00:10:48.879 And they'd be protected because when God came around that night, he would see the blood on the doorposts and pass over those homes that had the blood, Passover. 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:50.480 And that's why we call it that. 00:10:50.639 --> 00:10:56.799 And this final plague, the killing of the firstborns, finally broke Pharaoh. 00:10:57.360 --> 00:10:59.360 And he relented and let the people go. 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:03.279 It's a much more involved story than that, but that's the essence of the Passover. 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:08.240 And the Jews were to celebrate the Passover year after year with the feast of Passover. 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:15.519 And that, where it refers to the feast here in verse 12, is about to happen at the start of Jesus' final week. 00:11:15.679 --> 00:11:18.080 God's plan is unfolding. 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:22.720 What happened right before this in the earlier parts of verse chapter 12? 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:26.000 Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:28.559 Wow, a huge event. 00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:33.679 People were wowed and amazed and were spreading the word about it and were following Jesus. 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:35.600 That's what was happening right before this. 00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:44.240 And the Jewish leaders, the chief priests and the scribes, seeing this as a threat, they conspired to kill Jesus. 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:49.600 And you can read about it at the very end of the chapter before, 11, at verse 55. 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:53.200 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand. 00:11:54.159 --> 00:12:04.080 And then verse 57, the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where Jesus was, he was to let them know so that they might arrest him. 00:12:04.320 --> 00:12:06.399 So there's an arrest warrant. 00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:10.720 An implicit death order has happened here. 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:14.639 This is the high drama background of this passage. 00:12:14.960 --> 00:12:22.559 Now, immediately before this passage, in verse, or rather chapter 12, I keep doing that, there is a dinner that's held for Jesus. 00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:23.519 Who's there? 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:31.120 His good friends Martha and Mary and their brother, the recently raised from the dead Lazarus, at this dinner party. 00:12:31.279 --> 00:12:35.440 And at this party, Mary anoints Jesus with expensive perfume. 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:39.759 Jesus said this was done to prepare him for burial. 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:47.600 So the drama and the tension are hitting a peak as we come to the triumphant entry into Jerusalem. 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:51.360 Verse 12, the start of our passage today, says the crowd was large. 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:52.639 How large? 00:12:53.279 --> 00:13:08.000 The ancient Jewish historian Josephus spoke of this once, and he said of a different Passover, that in the city, the little city of Jerusalem, it's not big, were 2.7 million pilgrims. 00:13:08.320 --> 00:13:09.840 That's a big crowd. 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:13.360 And of course, they had to sacrifice a lot of lambs. 00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:14.879 How many lambs? 00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:24.720 Many ancient records say sometimes at Passover during that week there were 250,000 lambs to be sacrificed. 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:26.480 A quarter million lambs. 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:27.600 Amazing. 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:38.159 If you can imagine this, the the scene, the sweat and the noise, and the stink and the blood. 00:13:39.039 --> 00:13:42.399 Quite a scene, and that is our scene for Passover week. 00:13:42.559 --> 00:13:44.240 God's plan is unfolding. 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:50.559 Another part of the background is this the nationalistic fervor is building in Jerusalem. 00:13:52.080 --> 00:14:00.399 Nationalistic fervor, a mood, a sense that something revolutionary is in the air, that something may be happening. 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:04.240 Maybe now is the time for the Roman occupiers to be thrown off. 00:14:04.399 --> 00:14:06.399 There is this keen sense. 00:14:06.720 --> 00:14:19.039 And you have an acclaimed king-like figure who just raised a man from the dead, or so the reports say, and who's done other miracles, and he's about to enter the city. 00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:23.679 So you can see that things could get explosive really quick. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:25.360 And it's part of God's plan. 00:14:25.519 --> 00:14:29.600 A plan in this scene that gets a little misread. 00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:34.399 It's a little misjudged, as we will see unfold. 00:14:38.320 --> 00:14:41.039 Jesus knew what he was doing. 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:42.879 It's a plan, after all. 00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:50.559 He was not falling victim to the events that were happening, he was controlling the events that were happening. 00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:52.559 He was Lord of the events. 00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:54.720 I hope you understand that and believe that. 00:14:55.039 --> 00:14:56.000 It's very important. 00:14:56.240 --> 00:15:04.080 Remember, Jesus earlier, or in another place, yes, just a little bit earlier in John said, I lay down my life of my own accord. 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:10.720 So this is a plan, the sovereign God in human form, and the plan is unfolding. 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:20.639 When some other amazing events happened in John, right before this, Jesus handled them differently in this sense. 00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:22.799 He fed the 5,000. 00:15:23.120 --> 00:15:24.000 Much acclaim. 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:25.600 How did that happen? 00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:32.720 And instead of letting the crowd grab him and make him king, he withdrew. 00:15:32.960 --> 00:15:35.519 He withdrew to a mountain to pray. 00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:37.919 That's John chapter 6. 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:41.840 In John chapter 7, the crowd is wondering: is this the Christ? 00:15:41.919 --> 00:15:42.879 Is this the Messiah? 00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:46.240 Jesus has just said out loud that he came from God. 00:15:46.399 --> 00:15:47.200 Is this the Christ? 00:15:47.279 --> 00:15:48.639 There was a big hubbub. 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:53.840 And they sought to arrest him, some of their leaders did, but no one laid a hand on him. 00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:54.639 Why? 00:15:54.960 --> 00:15:59.360 Because the text says, his hour had not come yet. 00:15:59.679 --> 00:16:10.080 So some of these things have been happening, things that stirred the people up and got the Pharisees mad and led to his great fame, but in those prior cases he withdrew. 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:12.240 It was not his hour yet. 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:14.639 He knew his hour had not come. 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:18.960 It is not really 9 45, is it? 00:16:19.120 --> 00:16:20.159 No, okay. 00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:28.159 But here we are in John chapter 12, and his hour has come. 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:40.720 If you drop your eyes down to verse 23 of this chapter, just beyond our passage for today, it says, Jesus answered them, the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:42.080 Referring to what? 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:44.000 To his pending death. 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:46.320 He calls that his glorification. 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:47.440 Interesting, right? 00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:51.120 The hour has come for that, to accomplish his mission. 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:56.960 And since he knows the hour has come and he is controlling events, he puts things into motion. 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:00.000 He mounts a donkey to ride into the city. 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:01.360 That was point one. 00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:04.079 Point two, prophecy fulfilled. 00:17:04.319 --> 00:17:06.480 The plan unfolds now, prophecy fulfilled. 00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:12.319 If you look at verse 12 again, the crowd heard Jesus was going to be in Jerusalem for the Passover feast. 00:17:12.559 --> 00:17:15.440 Verse 13, they see him riding into the city. 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:27.519 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, and they yelled, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the king of Israel. 00:17:28.079 --> 00:17:31.119 And then we read of the prophecy that Jesus is fulfilling. 00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:41.359 So he's riding, he's riding a donkey, as it is written, verse 15 of our passage, Fear not, daughter of Zion, which was a common designation for the people of Jerusalem, daughter of Zion. 00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:43.039 Fear not, daughter of Zion. 00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:46.079 Behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt. 00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:48.240 He's quoting the Old Testament. 00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:58.799 This is Jesus fulfilling Zechariah chapter 9, verse 9, which says, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. 00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:01.519 Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem. 00:18:01.759 --> 00:18:03.200 Behold, your king is coming. 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:08.559 Righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey. 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:17.920 Now, in our passage, as it's quoted, the fear not at the beginning is thought to probably be from Isaiah, and then the rest about riding a donkey from Zechariah. 00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:23.599 Sometimes the New Testament authors blended some of the Old Testament passages they quoted. 00:18:23.920 --> 00:18:29.599 Zechariah made his prophecy about the donkey about 500 years before Christ. 00:18:30.160 --> 00:18:32.559 And Jesus here fulfills it. 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:41.440 And it's just like a number of other incredible prophecy fulfillments, dozens of them fulfilled by Jesus, so that we might know who he really is. 00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:47.440 For example, Micah 5.2, the prediction about where the Messiah would come from, a little town called Bethlehem. 00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:51.119 Well, I don't know how you arrange your own birthplace, but Jesus did. 00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:55.200 The second person to the Trinity was born in fulfillment of that prophecy. 00:18:55.440 --> 00:18:58.160 And many other prophecies were fulfilled in Christ. 00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:05.680 Sort of his giving us reasons to know who he really was, his credentials, you might say. 00:19:06.319 --> 00:19:08.000 Now, why palm branches? 00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:09.519 He's riding in on a donkey. 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:10.960 Why palm branches? 00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:14.079 They could have been from date palms. 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:17.440 We had the great privilege just a few years ago to be in Israel. 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:19.839 Date trees are everywhere. 00:19:20.240 --> 00:19:23.519 We passed fields and fields of date trees that look like palm trees. 00:19:23.599 --> 00:19:24.960 They are called date palms. 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:27.839 Possibly these were the kinds of palm branches. 00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:33.440 Now, palm branches were more associated with a different feast for the Jews, the Feast of Tabernacles. 00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:37.759 So you might ask why here in this feast of Passover? 00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:43.599 Well, it has a lot to do with something that happened 200 years before this. 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:53.200 Now I know you were all scholars of the 400-year intertestamental period, the things that happened between the Old Testament and the New. 00:19:54.720 --> 00:20:03.759 Before the Romans ruled, remember the Romans were the occupiers, they were the great superpower controlling the world, this part of the world. 00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:09.279 Before that were whom controlling and occupying the Greeks. 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:17.279 Starting in about 300 BC, roughly, Alexander the Great becomes the great leader of the known world. 00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:19.039 He takes over all over the place. 00:20:19.279 --> 00:20:38.640 He spreads the Greek language all over the place, which in God's providence is super cool because the New Testament comes along and it's written in Greek, and the disciples go out and preach it that way, and they have an avenue for it to go to the whole world because thanks to our friend Alexander the Great, he has spread the language all over the place. 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:44.400 Just another amazing there, there's so many amazing things we could talk about for why we know the Bible is true. 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:52.240 Anyway, the Greeks, Alexander the Great, 300 B.C., he passes from the scene, and some of his generals take over other parts of the area. 00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:57.759 And the area that is taken over, that has Jerusalem in it, is by the group called the Seleucids. 00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:00.880 The Seleucids are Greeks, just a faction of them. 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:05.039 So the Seleucids are in charge at about 200 B.C. 00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:07.759 And they oppressed the Jews terribly. 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:11.440 They desecrated the temple, all kinds of terrible things. 00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:20.960 And then in about 160 BC, see, now and then there were revolts by the Jews against the Seleucid Greek masters. 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:24.880 And in 160 BC, there was a famous revolt. 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:31.519 Some Jewish rebels, known as the Maccabees, rose up against their oppressors. 00:21:31.680 --> 00:21:32.960 They cleansed the temples. 00:21:33.039 --> 00:21:34.960 They threw the Seleucids out. 00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:39.440 They were at least temporarily victorious in Jerusalem. 00:21:39.519 --> 00:21:44.240 And their leader, Simon Maccabeas, was hailed as a hero. 00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:48.960 He was welcomed into town with the waving of palm branches. 00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:56.559 So palm branches from that point on became a symbol of nationalistic pride in Israel. 00:21:56.799 --> 00:21:59.759 Later on, coins were minted that had palm branches. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:00.960 On them. 00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:13.519 And it seems this palm branch thing will stick around as a way of celebrating great victories because we read in Revelation 7 a great scene before the throne. 00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:20.799 There is the Lamb, and the people are worshiping before the Lamb, and they're dressed in white robes, and they're waving palm branches. 00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:21.839 So that's pretty cool. 00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:24.640 There's a future for the palm branches as well. 00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:39.839 So, in our Palm Sunday scene, they're waving the palms, they are shouting, Hosanna, which means, we sang it this morning, it means, Save us, or save us now. 00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:53.440 And it comes from a messianic psalm in the Old Testament from way back in David's time, Psalm 118, and verse 25, which says, Save us, we pray, O Lord, save us. 00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:59.359 And the very next verse in that psalm is who comes in the name of the Lord. 00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:07.440 Things come from the Old Testament, and they are notes of messianic expectation, way back then, right? 00:23:08.240 --> 00:23:14.559 Even the ancient rabbis, we often wonder what did the ancient Jewish leaders make of Jesus? 00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:16.240 They were expecting a Messiah. 00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:26.799 We know when he came, they were even aware to some extent that Bethlehem was specified in the Old Testament as the birthplace of the Messiah. 00:23:27.119 --> 00:23:28.240 They had some sense of this. 00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:40.720 But even the ancient rabbis, in their commentaries on the scripture, recognized that Psalm 118-25, Save us, O Lord, is a messianic psalm. 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:43.519 Psalm of the Messiah coming. 00:23:43.759 --> 00:23:46.559 Some of the ancient writings called Midrashim. 00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:49.119 Midrashim is plural for midrash. 00:23:49.200 --> 00:23:52.799 A midrash is an interpretation, a teaching, a commentary. 00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:57.119 The midrash on Psalm 118-25 says, this is about the Messiah. 00:23:57.359 --> 00:24:00.319 So the ancient rabbis were aware of that. 00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:02.640 Make of that what we will, right? 00:24:03.599 --> 00:24:13.440 So between the Hosanna's and the palm branches, which are a symbol of nationalistic pride, the people were stirred up. 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:20.480 And to one extent or another, they believed that they saw their Messiah riding into town. 00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:27.759 But there are certain clues in the text that tell us that they were misjudging things. 00:24:28.480 --> 00:24:33.519 So point three in the message, power misunderstood. 00:24:35.440 --> 00:24:47.759 The atmosphere is festive, there's electricity in the air, nationalistic fervor, and some of the excitement was no doubt because the crowds were misunderstanding what was going on to some extent, anyway. 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:50.799 You could say their expectations were amiss. 00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:53.119 What did they expect? 00:24:53.359 --> 00:25:01.440 They envisioned a Messiah who was a conquering king, who was going to come exercise great power and throw off the occupiers from Rome. 00:25:02.160 --> 00:25:04.720 First clue that they have this wrong. 00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:07.599 What is Jesus riding? 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:09.200 A donkey. 00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:15.839 If they were thinking about it, they might have seen that the donkey was an odd choice for a conquering king. 00:25:16.400 --> 00:25:19.759 Now the donkey did have royal symbolism attached to it. 00:25:19.920 --> 00:25:22.240 David at one point rode in on a donkey. 00:25:22.400 --> 00:25:27.039 Solomon, his son, also was once on a donkey for a big ceremony. 00:25:27.279 --> 00:25:32.240 So, appropriately enough, we do have royalty here with Jesus coming in on a donkey. 00:25:32.319 --> 00:25:33.359 That sort of fits. 00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:46.079 But what would have really whipped this crowd up into a frenzy and would have had them thinking, insurrection, get rid of the Romans, would have been if Jesus entered the city on a war horse. 00:25:47.920 --> 00:25:51.200 That would have signaled that things were about to get explosive. 00:25:51.680 --> 00:25:55.519 That Jesus was going to provoke a military confrontation. 00:25:55.759 --> 00:25:58.960 He could have sparked an armed revolt at this point. 00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:03.920 Hearkening back to Simon Maccabeas, only a greater revolt, no doubt. 00:26:04.160 --> 00:26:07.920 And no doubt, many in the crowd were longing for just that very thing. 00:26:08.160 --> 00:26:11.359 They wanted to see power on display. 00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:14.160 But the power on display here was misunderstood. 00:26:14.319 --> 00:26:18.559 The wrong kind of power was desired by many. 00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:27.680 War horses were often ridden by worldly Gentile kings, arriving to conquer a place. 00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:33.039 One commentator has that use of the war horse in mind when he writes this. 00:26:33.519 --> 00:26:44.720 He says, the donkey stands out as a deliberate rejection of this symbol of arrogant trust in human might, meaning the war horse. 00:26:45.759 --> 00:26:53.039 A man riding into town on a war horse would be a huge provocation against the authorities. 00:26:53.279 --> 00:26:59.599 Jesus riding in on a donkey was a provocation, but of a different kind. 00:26:59.759 --> 00:27:04.559 He enters Jerusalem as king, to be sure, but a king who comes in peace. 00:27:04.880 --> 00:27:12.480 As the prophecy in Zechariah said, he was humble, or as the NIV has it, lowly and riding on a donkey. 00:27:13.279 --> 00:27:15.440 He was the king, as the people cried out. 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:19.599 They were right about that, but not the kind of king that they were looking for. 00:27:19.920 --> 00:27:21.759 King on a horse was there to make war. 00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:25.119 This king on a donkey was there to make peace. 00:27:25.920 --> 00:27:32.160 And as the scene unfolds, and the people sort of begin to get it that he is not there for war. 00:27:33.039 --> 00:27:43.440 The real provocation is that he is, by doing this, renouncing the would-be revolters, the ones who want the overthrow. 00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:47.200 He's challenging the zealots. 00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:49.759 Remember, one of the apostles is Simon the Zealot. 00:27:49.920 --> 00:27:54.000 The zealots are a party that wants to overthrow Rome by force. 00:27:54.160 --> 00:27:55.519 He's challenging that. 00:27:56.400 --> 00:27:58.400 He has a different way in mind. 00:27:59.599 --> 00:28:09.839 The commentator named Rick Phillips, we actually, many of us saw him speak not long ago in the prophecy, the theology conference over at the Quakertown BFC Church. 00:28:10.079 --> 00:28:15.599 Rick Phillips, he's a Presbyterian minister, and he's written a great commentary on John. 00:28:16.640 --> 00:28:32.319 And he explains that this rejection of what many people wanted explains how the crowd was that so excitedly welcomes Jesus to the city here could call for his crucifixion a few days later. 00:28:32.880 --> 00:28:36.640 Because he wasn't fulfilling the expectations that they had. 00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:44.240 Rick Phillips says, Jesus had rejected their offer of a war-bound king on Palm Sunday. 00:28:44.480 --> 00:28:49.039 They rejected his kingdom of peace on Good Friday. 00:28:50.319 --> 00:28:51.359 Pretty well said. 00:28:51.599 --> 00:28:55.920 Let's think about how some of this might apply to us before we finish looking at the passage. 00:28:56.799 --> 00:29:01.680 This issue of power desired and power misunderstood. 00:29:02.319 --> 00:29:08.160 We can want a certain kind of messiah and not necessarily be right about that. 00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:13.759 We might want a war-waging messiah, a militant messiah. 00:29:14.640 --> 00:29:28.160 Rick Phillips says it's easy for Christians today in America, a little different than other places, but for Christians in America to get caught up in all the culture war stuff. 00:29:28.480 --> 00:29:30.720 Note the word war in that expression. 00:29:30.880 --> 00:29:42.400 The idea that there's a great contest in the public square, in America anyway, a fight between Bible-backed ideas and the policies of a pagan world. 00:29:42.960 --> 00:29:44.559 We need to be careful. 00:29:45.680 --> 00:30:04.160 We don't want to be in the position of that Palm Sunday crowd where we want power exercised by Jesus on behalf of our preferred policies in the country we happen to be in, in the century we happen to live in, because maybe we're afraid of losing power or influence in society. 00:30:05.440 --> 00:30:12.559 We have to resist this temptation to be war wagers as believers. 00:30:14.079 --> 00:30:18.240 And to be known as culture warriors, at least not the main thing that we're about. 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:19.359 It shouldn't be that. 00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:21.680 What is Jesus all about? 00:30:23.119 --> 00:30:30.000 He is about ruling in hearts, he is about saving precious souls. 00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:35.200 Jesus did not push to affect public policy in that society. 00:30:35.359 --> 00:30:38.720 He preached the kingdom of God, faith and repentance. 00:30:39.119 --> 00:30:44.799 He preached a kingdom from another world that was breaking into this one. 00:30:44.880 --> 00:30:50.079 He did not push for the secular government to adopt certain laws or policies. 00:30:50.400 --> 00:30:53.039 He didn't even seem to care about that very much. 00:30:56.640 --> 00:31:06.960 He was not on a war horse, so to speak, to assure that his followers had power in that society or that their policies might prevail. 00:31:08.319 --> 00:31:12.720 Yes, sometimes we should advocate for certain policies in our society. 00:31:13.039 --> 00:31:14.000 Run for office. 00:31:14.160 --> 00:31:19.359 This is a privilege we have in this country, which most of our Christian brethren in the world do not have, by the way. 00:31:19.519 --> 00:31:20.720 But here we have that privilege. 00:31:20.799 --> 00:31:24.000 So, yes, we can advocate for policies, run for office and so forth. 00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:30.240 That's okay, I would say, as long as we're not known for a feisty belligerence. 00:31:31.440 --> 00:31:37.440 You know that that's about what that's what the gospel is about, getting our way in society. 00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:42.400 So many Christians today have no chance to participate in the ways that we do. 00:31:42.559 --> 00:31:44.559 So they can't even think about this kind of thing. 00:31:44.720 --> 00:31:49.519 The humble king that we follow actually came in meekness, didn't he? 00:31:49.759 --> 00:31:57.599 He abased himself, condescending in a way that exposed him to ridicule and shame and loss. 00:31:58.799 --> 00:32:01.440 And we're not greater than our master. 00:32:03.680 --> 00:32:09.200 We need to be content with the kind of power that makes us glad to be treated the way he was treated. 00:32:09.920 --> 00:32:11.039 I'm going to say that again. 00:32:11.200 --> 00:32:17.279 We need to be content with the kind of power that makes us glad to be treated the way he was treated. 00:32:17.519 --> 00:32:22.400 If we're on the losing end in our culture, so was our Lord. 00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:25.680 If we're mistreated, it's okay. 00:32:25.759 --> 00:32:27.200 So was our Lord. 00:32:27.759 --> 00:32:32.799 If we're hated and our agenda in society loses, that's okay. 00:32:32.960 --> 00:32:34.559 That happened to him too. 00:32:34.880 --> 00:32:37.119 We are not culture warriors if we follow him. 00:32:37.279 --> 00:32:41.039 We are gospel warriors willing to die for the cause. 00:32:41.359 --> 00:32:42.000 Amen? 00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:44.000 Just as Jesus did. 00:32:45.599 --> 00:32:50.000 Yes, don't read me wrong, there's room for advocacy, for policy, and so forth. 00:32:50.160 --> 00:32:54.079 But let's not be known for that as the first thing the gospel is about. 00:32:54.240 --> 00:32:57.920 So in our passage, we note that there were different reactions to what was happening here. 00:32:58.160 --> 00:33:09.119 Verse 16, the disciples didn't understand things at first, but later, when he was glorified, that is, when he went to the cross and died, they remembered that the prophecies had been written about him. 00:33:09.279 --> 00:33:13.599 The Holy Spirit, as promised, brought these things back to their minds later. 00:33:14.240 --> 00:33:22.880 And you'll remember that they also didn't get when Jesus said very plainly a couple of days before, I'm going to be handed over to the authorities and put to death and be raised from the dead. 00:33:23.119 --> 00:33:26.319