SPEAKER_00 0:06

Thank you for joining us for a sermon from Sojourn North. If you wish, you can please stand for the reading of God's Word. We're going to have an extra reading. Our passage today is Luke 19, 28 through 42. When he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Beth and Bethany at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples and said, Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone asks you, Why are you untying it? say this, the Lord needs it. So those who were sent left and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, Why are you untying the colt? The Lord needs it, they said. Then they brought it to Jesus, and after throwing their clothes on the colt, they helped Jesus get on it. As he was going along, they were spreading their clothes on the road. Now he came near the path down the Mount of Olives, and the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen. Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven. Some of the Pharisees from the crowd told him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. He answered, I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out. As he approached and saw the city, he wept for it, saying, If you knew this day what would bring peace, but now it is hidden from your eyes. This is the word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

Thank you, Chloe. So the scene is set. Jerusalem is swelling. There are people everywhere. Scholars believe that during a regular week in Jerusalem, there are about 50,000 people, but during Passover, this yearly festival, it would swell to a million, to even two million people. So it's hard sometimes for us to get our minds around what a picture of things might look like. So I have a couple here. The first one is just an image. This is Palm Sunday, just an artist representation. But that looks like a hundred people to me or something like that. And so I was I was thinking this week, what would it look like to have 500,000 people or a million people? And so I went back in history to VE Day, uh May 8th, 1945. This is when victory in Europe, when Hitler was declared dead, the war still had a few months left before Japan would surrender, but Germany had surrendered. And in New York City, Times Square, people gathered like crazy spontaneously. And that is, let's keep that up just for a second, because 750,000 showed up, up to 2 million people showed up just celebrating that this horrible war was over and that the evil of Hitler was done. Now imagine the madness. We had a little chaos this morning with the palm branches. It was pretty cool, wasn't it? Imagine that. A scene of people, a sea of people. And here comes Jesus riding in the middle of that. And the people are declaring, Hosanna, blessed be the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna means save us. It's praise, but it's also save us, save us. All right, thank you, Sean. So it is with anticipation that the time has come because as they remember back to what God did in Egypt, that he delivered them, they knew that that was pointing towards something in the future. And so in their minds, in people's hearts, I'm sure with many, and we see in the scriptures, that they were saying, God once delivered us, he'll deliver us again. He delivered us from Pharaoh, surely he will deliver us from Rome. And then they start hearing the unbelievable press that Jesus is healing people. And recently Jesus has raised someone from the dead, Lazarus. And so while the Pharisees know that they can't challenge him, they just decided to try to get a plot together to kill him. Jesus continues to go through the motions of what he is called to do. And so he comes and they are looking for a king. So Palm Sunday is a collision. The crowd isn't wrong to worship. They're not wrong for it. But they had misdirected hope. Because they were looking for something earthly when Jesus was doing something eternal. And the message for us here today, it's what as we begin Holy Week, as we move through this last week of Jesus' earthly ministry, are you looking for what you expect, or are you looking to receive what God actually gives? I'll say it again. As you come today, as you come into Holy Week this year, are you looking to receive what you expect, or are you looking to receive what God actually gives? Sometimes they're very different. So your outline for today: the king we expect, the king who comes, and the peace we miss. So what Chloe just read is beautiful. It's so much points back to the Old Testament. Zechariah, this was 500 BC. This is what Zechariah 9.9 says, 500 years before Christ rides into Jerusalem. It says, Rejoice greatly, daughter Zion. Shout in triumph, daughter Jerusalem, look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious. And now this is interesting because every king in those days, all throughout human history, they would come in much pomp and splendor. Much pomp. I think that's a great word. Pomp and splendor. But this is what Zechariah says. He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. So this isn't some big war horse that Jesus is riding in on, declaring victory over Rome. He's humbly coming in. So the picture already is contrary to what people would expect a king would be. Referencing Psalm 118, verse 26, blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. And this is pointing to King Jesus. There's real joy here, there's real praise. They put their cloaks down on the road, they put down the palm branches. When we got these palm branches, I thought they'd be a little bigger, so it kind of looks, but just imagine they're huge, you know, boom, right there. But there's just so much going on in this time. And they have hope. And this is where I want us to sit for today with Palm Sunday. They have hope, but it's misdirected hope. It's hope they would be saved, but it was too little of salvation that they were longing for. They had a theology of earthly glory and they were looking with earthly eyes. And maybe you feel like this in your life sometimes. There have been times throughout my life where there was newness coming where I was so discontent and I was longing for what was to come. And so maybe it was a new job. I remember in particular living in Atlanta, working with a homeless ministry, and in North Carolina, some friends were calling me. They said, Chad, come up here, it'll be great. You can work with youth. We've got these other opportunities here. They were people I loved. And I thought, man, I'm so miserable. If I can just move up there and be with them, I will be good. And so the time comes, you know, you're praying, and God opens the doors, and it was a beautiful opportunity. So I move up to North Carolina, and uh it's new, and it's like, yes, I've alright. It's exciting. We're hanging out, we're loving on students, we're doing all these things, but then guess what happens? Metaphorically speaking, the first UPS man shows up with your bag of depression, and it's like, oh, I didn't order this. Where's the return label? I want to send this back. But a little sadness comes in. And then the next postman comes. And then the analogy I could keep going. I'll go a little bit farther. Analogy, anxiety, hope that you would be fixed. And it's like, oh, it doesn't work like that. And we could be tempted to say, God, if you loved me, and this really reveals a lot, if you loved me, you would give me what I want so that I could be happy, and I wouldn't have to deal with all this inside. That's Palm Sunday. The people are saying, God, you love us, give us victory over Rome. And then once we have victory over Rome, we will be satisfied, we will be happy. Guess what would happen if God would have just given them victory over Rome in that moment? They would have had some parties and some celebration. The postman would have come. Your neighbor said something stupid about you. Well, I'm gonna hurt them. Someone stole your donkey. Not happy. In this fallen world, there will be not much peace. There will be trouble. Jesus says that in the upper room coming this Thursday, as you think about maybe reading through John 13 through 17, the upper room discourse. He says, in this life, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. Fear not, though, I've overcome the world. I love Jesus, he's such a realist. I thought changing my circumstances would change everything and fix what's inside. And God says, I am more concerned about your heart and about your soul than these circumstances. I'm more concerned about the eternal than this temporary situation that you may be in. One of my heroes of old is Rich Mullins. He was a mess, but I loved him because it was like he's singing about stuff that just warmed my heart. In a song, he writes this in a bridge. He says, I'd rather fight you for something I don't really want than take what you give that I need. I'd rather fight you, God, for something I don't really want. I think I want it, but if I got it, I'd know I didn't really want it to begin with, than to take what you give that I need. And God says, I love you enough. And so we can gently name it. What king are you expecting this holy week? Do you want a Jesus who is just about stabilizing the circumstances of your life? Do you want a Jesus who just validates all your expectations, even if they aren't his expectations? Do you want a Jesus who brings peace but without any disruption? Did you know for peace to come sometimes disruption has to take place? There's a difference between a peacekeeper and a peacemaker. A peacekeeper, I've lived that way a lot in my life. It's like, oh, keep things going. It's okay. Sometimes a peacekeeper has to come in and disrupt the false peace to bring in real peace. And that is Jesus. Do you want a Jesus who saves without undoing you? This is why Palm Sunday can be unsettling. It's a time of joy when we see it's like, oh, the king has come. But it's a time of unsettling because it's like, oh, he came to do something I didn't know exactly what it would be like. So that's the king that was expected, but then point two, the king who comes. In this next scene, we see something very profound. Because verses 41 and 42, they unlock the whole uh Palm Sunday situation. If you were reading this for the first time, Jesus coming in on a colt, you might think, oh, it's interesting, a choice of animal to ride in on instead of a war horse. But you would think with everyone praising God and laying down all these things, that something huge was about to happen. You would think Jesus is pumped up that yes, people are praising God and they know that I'm about to do something. But what does Jesus do? Luke focuses in, he shifts from the disciples, he shifts from the crowd to Jesus. And what do you see Jesus doing? It's verse 41, 42. But as he, Jesus, came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. As he came closer to Jerusalem, he saw the city ahead, he began to weep. He says this, how I wish that you, of all people, would understand the way of peace. How you the longing in God's heart, and if you ever want to know God's heart, just look at Jesus. Jesus is God. Look at how he reacts to people, look how he converses with people, look how zealous he is in different situations. He says this as he weeps, how I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But he knows it's too late, and he says it, but now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. We don't have time to go into the prophetic utterance that he makes right there, but just look at the heart of God. Oh, that you would accept peace. The ultimate desire we have is for peace and belonging. And you can't have belonging without peace. And the truth is, we are not born at peace with God. We are at enmity with God. And something huge has to take place for us to be at peace with God. And praise be to God, something huge does take place. Our great desire, C.S. Lewis said this: if we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were created for another world. How many people got desires in your heart? Man, I do. They're huge. I had a professor one time that couldn't pronounce the H, and he'd go, it's oog. It's oog. These desires are oog. So go around saying that. But we got huge desires. And they can't be fully fulfilled in this life. Another philosopher says we're overcharged for this world because we weren't created for a fallen world. That's why when loved ones die, it's almost impossible to absorb that loss because we weren't created for death. But death is very natural in a fallen world. But Jesus says, I come. He comes as a king who is lowly riding a borrowed donkey. It's not even his donkey. A king who sees what others cannot, a king who weeps instead of conquers. Because the peace he is bringing is not external peace. It is internal and it is eternal. They can't see it, but Jesus is not confused about what's coming. He knows that rejection is coming. He knows that violence is coming. He knows that the cross is coming. And still he comes. His face is set like flint to Jerusalem to come and march to the cross. Nothing in all of creation could stop him. Nothing. He weeps. But Hebrews 12, too says this for the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross. The beauty of the Christian life, joy and sorrow coexist. He knows what he's about to do. For the joy set before him, he endures the cross. And that transitions us to our final point, the peace we miss. If we don't have the right view of what God is actually trying to do in our life, we will be miserable our whole life. It's the peace we miss. Jesus says it about these multitude. He says, but now it is hidden from your eyes. It's one of the most sobering lines in all the gospel that peace was before them. Actually, the Prince of Peace was before them. Jesus, the Prince of Peace. They didn't know what they wanted. This morning I came in early, and as I do each week, and I prayed and reflected, and I pray for you. I walk around sometimes and pray over the chairs. And if it's a really good sermon, it may be because I pray for your chair. If it's not, I might have skipped your chair, so maybe you should change your seat next week. But I kind of I was doing some writing and um I kind of abandoned the last two pages of my sermon, and I wrote this, and I want to read it to you, and then I'm gonna sing you a song. It's the song that Rich Mullins has that line in I'd rather fight you for something I don't really want than take what you give that I need. But I want to read this because Jesus weeps. I want us to see Jesus as the King of the universe who spoke all things into creation, who holds all things together by the power of his word. How powerful. Not only does he know everything, he created everything. You can study mathematics your whole life and you will not know all of mathematics. I got an undergrad in mathematics, I used to teach calculus. I can hardly remember what a log rhythm is. I don't even know if I say it right anymore. I remember it being a logarithm or a logarhythm. Sean and I were talking about it last week. Neither of us knew, we're both smart guys. That's beyond the point. My main point is this you will not be able to plumb the depth. Ginger has an uncle who is brilliant. He spent his entire life studying rocks. He has a rock in the Smithsonian. He's got moon rocks. Moon rocks? I don't know. He's brilliant. He hasn't plumbed the depths of what rocks do. Maybe he plumbed the depths of what they do, but the illustration's breaking down fast, but we have our God. He speaks all these things into existence. Let me read some things to you about Jesus weeping. There's something about this moment we can miss if we move too quickly, because while the crowds are shouting, while the cloaks are on the road, while the branches are waving, Jesus is weeping. Not later, not in private, but right here in the middle of the celebration. As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it. And I think it's important for us to notice this isn't the first time Jesus has wept. He wept at the tomb of his friend. He wept in prayer before the Father, and here he weeps over a city. He weeps with, he weeps for, he weeps before. Which means this the king who comes to us is not detached from our world. He is not unmoved by what we carry. He is not frustrated in the way we fear. He is not standing at a distance waiting for us to get it right. He is moved. He is near. He is grieving what we cannot yet see. Because while the crowd sees the moment of triumph, Jesus sees missed peace. Would you, even you, had known this day what makes for peace? He sees how close they are and yet how far, and he weeps. Not because he's lost control, he's in full control. But because love always grieves what is lost. Jesus is here today, not standing over us, but moving towards us, seeing the places where we are chasing what will not hold, where we are reaching for what cannot save, where we are missing the peace he is offering. And instead of turning away with great compassion, he invites. Here's the invitation. Let yourself be seen by the weeping king. Who in the same moment who can weep with great joy is like, I've got you, and I know what you you can't see it now, but what it will be like for you to be with me in the new heavens and new earth. Oh, it will be so grand. Let yourself be seen by the weeping king, not the version as of us we present or pretend to be, but the real places, the places of grief, the places of confusion, the places where we too have missed what makes for peace. Because this is who he is, the king we want might ride in with power and certainty, but the king we need arrives with tears in his eyes and peace still in his hands. And here's a welcome word for you. Jesus is not hiding in the shadows to shame or berate you. Brother and sister, he's not hiding in the shadows, waiting to shame or to jump out. Gotcha. Get a picture of a compassionate God waving you towards him, actually running towards you, saying, Are you tired yet? Your plan won't work. I know you thought it could, it looked like it could for a while. But come to me, bring your fatigue, bring your frustration, bring all your wounds, bring all your guilt to me. What you need is Jesus. I'd like to sing this song and have you just hear these words, and I'm just gonna sing it over you. It's called Hold Me Jesus. It's a prayer from Rich Mullins. And I'd invite you to close your eyes and just think, Lord, where am I reaching for peace in the wrong places? Where am I trying to find hope? And where are you inviting me? And realize that he's here. Sometimes my life just don't make sense at all. The mountains look so big, and my faith just seems so small. So hold me, Jesus, as I'm shaking like a leaf. You've been King of my glory, to be my Prince of Peace. I wake up in the night and feel the dark. So hot inside my soul, I swear there must be blisters on my heart. So hold me, Jesus, cause I'm shaking like a leaf. You've been King of my glory, which be my Prince of Peace. Surrender, don't come natural to me. I'd rather fight you for something I don't really want than take what you give that I need. And I beat my head against so many walls, falling down, falling on my knees, and the Salvation Army band is playing this hymn. Your grace rings out so deep, makes my resistance seem so thin. So hold me, Jesus, cause I'm shaking like a leaf. You have been King of my glory, would you be my Prince of Peace? So hold me, Jesus, cause I'm shaking like a leaf. You have been King of my glory, would you be my Prince of Peace? You have been King of my glory my prince of peace. So we come to the table, and it's a very ordinary table. It's a table with just bread and some juice. It's not a table of earthly glory, but it's a table that reminds us of the cross. There's no spectacle here, there's no visible victory, but it is pointing to the victory over Satan, sin, and death. A body broken, blood poured out. This is where peace was made. Eternal peace between the eternal God and now his beloved children. If you're a Christian here today, I'd invite you to come forward after I pray and take some bread and some juice back to your seat and hold on to it. And I'll lead us in communion all together. But as you come reflect, where are you fighting against peace? Where are you fighting for your own expectations? And where do you need to yield to the Lord? Because He is longing for you to say yes to His beautiful invitation. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for your amazing grace. We thank you that we can come and sing a song like Hold Me, Jesus. In our souls, we can shake like a leaf. Lord, I know what it's like to lay on my bed at night and feel like there's blisters on my heart. But you're there. You're with us. And you are the king who weeps, but you're the king of eternal joy. And you have done so much. And so as we enter this holy week, as we reflect on your movements, as we move towards Good Friday and feel the weight of the cross, as we look at Silent Saturday, Holy Saturday, that we would remember what they the disciples were feeling. And then on Easter Sunday, the resurrection, the unbelievable joy. In this moment, Lord, move in our hearts in ways that only you can. We give you this time, and it's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.