SPEAKER_00: Well, by now we all know it's Palm Sunday.
SPEAKER_00: But I rather think it ought to be called Whiplash Sunday.
SPEAKER_00: What do you think?
SPEAKER_00: I mean, here we are joining the throng who raised palm branches and praised God because their king, their Savior King, had finally come and was marching victoriously into Jerusalem where he would save them from their oppression.
SPEAKER_00: And only minutes later were crying out with the crowd again, saying very different words, right?
SPEAKER_00: Let him be crucified.
SPEAKER_00: Say it with me.
SPEAKER_00: Let him be crucified.
SPEAKER_00: You know, if we read it in parts, you would have already said it, and caught the change that you are caught up in both crowds.
SPEAKER_00: And as we enter Holy Week today, all week long, and walk with Jesus on this long, slow journey to his death and to our salvation, it's worth reflecting on the ways in which we're part of each crowd.
SPEAKER_00: We're part of the crowd that says, Hail, King, Savior, and also the crowd in a different setting, being manipulated by the religious elders in some way.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe we don't say it out loud.
SPEAKER_00: In some ways, say, let him be crucified.
SPEAKER_00: But you know, there are also a lot of other groups that are with Jesus on this long, slow journey.
SPEAKER_00: And I want to mention just a couple.
SPEAKER_00: I think they're all worth paying attention to this week, day by day, as we walk with Jesus on this road to his death and then to his life.
SPEAKER_00: How about those disciples?
SPEAKER_00: Did you catch it?
SPEAKER_00: The disciples, the three special disciples.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, watch and pray that you will not be led into temptation.
SPEAKER_00: And what do they do?
SPEAKER_00: They fall asleep.
SPEAKER_00: Three times they fall asleep, for their eyelids were heavy, we're told.
SPEAKER_00: Are we a part of that group?
SPEAKER_00: Eager to support Jesus, but then falling asleep when we should be paying attention.
SPEAKER_00: And how about the disciples not long later, not a few minutes later, really?
SPEAKER_00: As the soldiers come to arrest Jesus, they're ready to fight.
SPEAKER_00: Peter takes out his sword, cuts off the ear.
SPEAKER_00: But then what do they do?
SPEAKER_00: They flee, every one of them.
SPEAKER_00: Are we sitting with those, sitting or standing or running with those disciples?
SPEAKER_00: As Jesus walks this road?
SPEAKER_00: Do we fight and then flight?
SPEAKER_00: And then how about those at the foot of the cross?
SPEAKER_00: Did you hear them jeering?
SPEAKER_00: Jeering, making fun of Jesus because he seems so impotent.
SPEAKER_00: Do we do that?
SPEAKER_00: Do we jeer or turn our backs on Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: Do we change our mind because he doesn't live up to our expectations of what a Savior ought to do?
SPEAKER_00: And then, of course, there are the women who, along with John, stand there at the foot of the cross the whole day long, waiting, watching, accompanying Jesus as he goes to his death.
SPEAKER_00: Holy Week challenges us to consider which groups we're a part of.
SPEAKER_00: And I encourage you, take some time this week to read that passage through again.
SPEAKER_00: There are lots of other groups too I could have mentioned, but I'm supposed to be short.
SPEAKER_00: Ask God to show you the ways in which you stand and watch with Him or turn your back, that He might shape us more and more into His likeness.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.