Put Down Your Palms, Pick up the Cross | Rev. Paul Lawler

The crowds shouted “Hosanna,” but they misunderstood who Jesus truly was. This message explores the tension of Palm Sunday, where celebration meets surrender, and challenges us to move beyond fascination with Jesus into a life of true worship marked by sacrifice, humility, and a cross-shaped faith.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

You're listening to the podcast of Christ Methodist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. Join us for an insightful conversation where faith intersects with real life experiences and discover how God is at work in our world.

Introduction to the Message

God Knows Where You Are

The Purpose of Jesus' Entry

The Necessity of the Cross

The Crowd's Misunderstanding

Fans vs. Worshipers

True Worship Defined

The Scars in His Hands

SPEAKER_01 0:19

We rest in you. Thank you that you have not called us to a place of striving. As Grant led us in prayer a moment ago, we we really walk this out, not striving for victory, but from the victory you've already accomplished. Help us to live into it as a faith family. And so we pray that just as you've been gracious and your presence already among us as we're worshiping, Lord, we pray that you would intensify. Lord, I believe you have a word for us today from your word. And I pray, God, you would do the miracle of speaking. And we pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. So, loved ones, I invite you to have a seat. You have a Bible. I invite you to open it up, turn it on to Mark chapter 11. I'm going to read verses 1 through 11. This is a very familiar story. As is already noted, this is Palm Sunday. And so I invite you to hear God's word. Mark 11, 1 through 11. Now, when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Beth Page and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, Go into the village in front of you. Immediately as you enter it, you'll find a colt tied of which no one's ever sat. Untie it, bring it. If anyone says to you, Why are you doing this? The Lord, then you are to respond, the Lord has need of it, and will send it back immediately. And they went away and found a colt tied to a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, What are you doing? Untying the colt? And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. Many spread their cloaks on the road, others spread leafy branches that had been cut from the field, and those who went before those who followed were shouting, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David, Hosanna in the highest. And he entered Jerusalem, went into the temple, and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. And we trust that God always adds his blessing to the reading and the hearing of his holy word. So my wife Missy has three brothers. Two of them are pastors. Makes for great conversation when we get together. But two of them are pastors, and one of them, his name is Keith, that's her middle brother. And he had a friend years ago named Ken Gaub. Ken wrote a book called God's Got Your Number, and it's based on this story. Ken was a traveling evangelist, and years ago, he was in southern Indiana. He's a resident of central Kentucky. He's in southern Indiana, and he's leading a revival service. In fact, he's been leading a series of revival services. And the final night of the revival came and he gave the invitation. People came to know Christ. There were people who renewed their relationship with Christ. And he hung out and prayed with people. And when he finished praying and talking with people, he had this sense in his spirit that something wasn't quite complete. And so he just lingered for a few minutes to see if there was someone else that needed to come speak with him or something that God still wanted to complete through him, just in that setting. Well, that did not come to culmination. So he got in his car, drove back to Kentucky late at night. The next morning, he and his wife and two children, two sons, were going to go on vacation in the Pocono Mountains. So the next morning, they all pile in the car. I need to let you know this is back in the 1980s. They pile in the car and start journeying, and the boys get hungry and say, Dad, can we stop at McDonald's? And what was true in the 80s is still true today. Sometimes dads in raising young children can get a little burned out on McDonald's. And so he pulls off the interstate, sells his wife and two sons at McDonald's, and says, he says to his wife, Honey, I'm going to walk two blocks down to this restaurant, grab a to-go mill, and come back and sit with the family and eat. And so he takes off and he begins walking and he passes, again, 1980s, he passes a phone booth. And the phone is ringing. And he thinks to himself, why not? I'm on vacation. So he reaches into the phone booth and pulls out the receiver and says, Hello. And the voice on the other end says, Pastor Ken. And so he says, ma'am, and it was a lady, ma'am, before we go any further, could you tell me how you got this number? And she said, Well, I was present last night in the services you were leading. I wanted to talk with you, but yet there were so many people around you, and I had my grandchildren with me, and I had to leave. And I do have something that I want to talk about. He says, Well, wait, wait a minute, how did you get this number? And she said, I tried to call my pastor and couldn't reach him. And I've never had anything like this happen before, but I prayed and God gave me this number. Ken shared shared counsel with her, prayed with her, hung up the phone, forgot all about the restaurant, and turned around, went back to McDonald's, sat down, looked his wife, looked at his wife's eyes across the table, and he said, Honey, God knows where I am. I want to affirm this morning that God knows where you are. He knows where you are physically right now. He knows where you are. Scripture says the very hairs on your head are numbered. The scripture tells us not a sparrow falls to the ground anywhere on this planet, Amazon forests, somewhere in Asia, Eastern Europe, without the Father's awareness. God knows where you are. He knows that you have come into a place of worship in East Memphis to magnify him. He knows exactly where you are. He also knows where you are spiritually. He knows if you're indifferent to him. He knows if you're trying to grow. He's for you, he's not against you. That he wants to draw you to himself. He wants you to understand that no matter what your self-talk says, that it's not too late. That may not be for everybody, but that's for somebody. He wants you to know that his grace is greater than anything you're facing. He wants you to know he's merciful. He wants you to know that there's hope. He knows exactly where you are. Now, as we hear that, we're aware that Jesus comes into Jerusalem on this particular morning, as we read from the text. And I want to affirm that as he comes into Jerusalem, he comes into Jerusalem with a purpose. I think we all know that. He knows that he's going to go to the cross. He's been saying this repeatedly in his three years of public ministry. He's going to go to the cross. God has sovereignly ordained this out of his love for you and out of his love for anyone in the sound of my voice. God loves you, and it's demonstrated by virtue that God sent his son with a purpose. And it's not merely a coincidence, but in the divine sovereignty of God that Jesus Christ is going to Jerusalem with a purpose at Passover. How do you orchestrate something like this? Passover is the season where the Jewish people take the blood of a lamb and sack or sacrifice a lamb through its shed blood. Now, as John the Baptist had already described, Jesus, behold the lamb, not a lamb, the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. This Savior, this God encapsulated in a body, is going to Jerusalem with a purpose, and he's going at Passover. How do you draw that up? Only God could do something like this. And so he goes to Jerusalem. Apostle Paul writes about this, 1 Corinthians 5 7. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. He's going into Jerusalem with a purpose. And many of you are aware that as this unfolds, enthusiasm breaks out with a crowd, the crowd that gathers around Jesus as he's coming into the city. They're waving palm branches as a sign of victory. They're shouting, Hosanna, Hosanna, which in the Hebrew means please save or save now. And the crowd believes, pay attention to this. Many of you know it. The crowd believes that Jesus is about to displace Roman power and set up an earthly kingdom. The crowd, as they're shouting Hosanna, unknowingly they're quoting passages out of the Bible, out of the Old Testament, that are really tethered to authentic worship. Psalm 118, save us, we pray, O Lord, O Lord, we pray, give us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord. This phrase was originally written for the worship of Almighty God. However, and many of you know this, but we need to validate it to be faithful to the text and its context. We are aware that they're not worshiping Jesus as God. They are worshiping Jesus on the basis of what they believe he is about to do. They are worshiping, and pay attention to this, loved one, they are worshiping their expectations. Their expectations are not about to come to fruition. They are worshiping what they prefer. They ascribe messianic titles to Jesus that do not align with the revelation of Scripture. They are worshiping a Jesus they prefer, not a Jesus that truly is. They want a Jesus that is an earthly king. They want a Jesus that's going to make their circumstance more comfortable as they understand it. And they miss him. When we were in our first church plant, there was a man, middle-aged man, actually he's a little older than middle-aged, named Joe, who came to Christ out of drug addiction. And Joe was as country as country can be. All right? I say, can that happen in Alabama? I mean, rhetorical question. Just country as country. He also was illiterate. He could not read, he could not write. I think he could he could write his name. But Joe had a gift when he came to know Jesus. He had a gift. You see, in that wineskin, in our former denomination, there would be denominational officials sometimes that would come by the church. And they were coming from various perspectives. And Joe would share his thoughts. And and I'm I'm gonna only way I can share this with you is to get a little bit in the first person. And this won't sound very pastoral. I just want you know I'm self-aware. But to be authentic in describing Joe, Joe was a little bit redneck, okay? Just is. And I'm not that's not personal toward him. I I love this brother, he's gone on to be with the Lord. But Joe would say things like that that person, he ain't got no fire in him. Only he said far, far. He ain't got no far. And then there would be person, sometimes it would come and he would go, They got the fire. They've got the first love of Jesus burning in their heart. They love people, they care about people. And what I marveled at at times is that we were in, as you know, in Huntsville, highest education level in the Southeast, pastoring people with master's degrees and PhDs. And yet Job was one of the most discerning persons in our church family. And what's happening is this story is unfolding, is that there's a crowd around Jesus, but that crowd is operating out of their natural understanding. And because they're only operating out of their natural understanding, do you realize that they're missing reality? Do we realize as believers that if you only operate out of your natural understanding, apart from the revelation of God and his ways and his nature, that what can happen is that you miss reality altogether. So Jesus is riding into Jerusalem. He's riding in on a donkey, he's not riding in on a war horse or a chariot that we would be accustomed for kings or some fancy wheeled vehicle. He's riding in on a donkey. And we are aware that there are hundreds of passages of scripture that predicted that described what the Messiah, the Son of God, who would come for us, what it would be like. He even said the word in Zechariah 9:9 that he would come humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. And we see that in as Jesus comes into Jerusalem and this crowd is praising him, they're shouting, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, blessed is the coming kingdom of our Father David, because David had an earthly rule in Jerusalem. They're projecting Jesus is going to have an earthly rule over the city and the kingdom and displace Roman power. In Luke's gospel, as Jesus comes rolling into Jerusalem, we're told that some of the Pharisees in the crowd in Luke 19, 39, said to him, as all these people are expressing enthusiasm, teacher, rebuke your disciples. Now, why are they doing that? And here's why. There are primarily three sins operating in the lives of the Pharisees: jealousy, envy, and fear. We see that John 12, 19, also describing the scene. So the Pharisees said to one another, You see that you are gaining nothing. Do you see what's happening? They see Jesus as a threat to their religious authority and their place, their good order. And so they're jealous of him and envious of him. And then the next phrase, look, the whole world is gone after him. And that's a reflection of their fear. Some of us could reason, is fear a sin? Not always, that's not the point at all. But sin is a sin if I'm trying to control God by virtue of operating out of my fear, and that's what's happening of the Pharisees. And Jesus responds to them in Luke's gospel, Luke 19. I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out. Huh. Think about that for a moment. Why would Jesus say, if I'm not praised, inanimate objects like stones would cry out? I'm glad you asked. First of all, we we know this in the scripture. When Jesus comes back again, he's coming for his bride. He's coming for his people. And the Bible says that he's going to redeem you for eternity. But that's not all the Bible says. The Bible also says he's going to redeem creation. That he's going to take this world as we know it, and he's going to create a just world, and he's going to heal this world, and he's going to recreate his creation in a way where there's no sin present, and we're actually dwelling with Jesus on this planet. Pretty cool. And this is why Romans 8.22 says we know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Even the created order longs for Christ to come. Now you may ask the question, how can something inanimate long for Christ to come? Well, that's a great question. Colossians 1.17 tells us, gives us insight. And Jesus is before all things, and in him all things hold together. What that tells us is that the power of our creator dwells in the creation. We don't worship the creation, we worship the creator. But at a subatomic level, the creator of the universe in Christ is holding things together. And there is nothing that God worships above himself. If God worships something above himself, then God has an idol, right? And God cannot sin. And so the point is that creation itself at a subatomic level longs for the day when the created order is restored for the glory of God. But Jesus is also making a play on words here because the Pharisees themselves have outward religion, but they have not been animated by the presence of God. They have not been animated by belief upon Jesus as Messiah. They have not been animated by the true revelation of God. And so the crowd itself projecting all its ideals to Jesus or toward Jesus, they too have not been animated with the true and authentic revelation of Jesus. And this is why George Barna says things like this, Church. Around the North American church, we are more impressed by a church of 4,000 people who have no clue about God's character and his expectations than by a church of 100 deeply committed saints who are serving humanity in quiet but significant ways. This is why Kirk Hidaway and Dave Roden would say things like this: we should be less concerned about making our churches full of people and more concerned about making people full of God. Because what's happened is that there's a projection going on on this day of bringing words of exaltation to Jesus, but not rooted in who he is. That's why A.W. Tozer says things like, a fearless, excuse me, a fear-filled world needs a fearless church. Church, can I brag on you for a moment? As I often say, is that legal to brag on the church? I want to brag on you. I do. We're aware that one of the justice issues on our watch, as we are aware of as the people of God, is 43 to 45 million adults are functionally illiterate in our nation. 40% of the United States are in the United States, fourth graders, and about one-third of eighth graders read below the basic level, placing them at significant risk for illiteracy. And we all know, as the Bible informs us, God gives us revelation, men and women, people are made in the image of God. All people are of sacred worth. Would you say amen to that? And because of that, we serve among a people who have hearts that are not indifferent. And when there are ministries that have been birthed out of the Christ Church family and are sustained and prayed for, and men and women volunteer in things like Arise to Read, and we support Memphis teacher residency, we support Cornerstone Schools and the whole Capstone Initiative and other initiatives that I realize are not being named right now. That's a reflection of hearts that are not indifferent. As we move toward our goals, as Grant referred to in just a moment ago, around 100% of our congregation connected with one or more of our ministry partners, I thank God, to use C.S. Lewis terminology, Aslan is on the move for the glory of God. I want to brag on you for that. I'm also quick to validate that two to three billion people on our planet have no access to the gospel. This is why we would set a goal as a faith family of planting churches, at least 30, if not more, among unreached people groups in northern Africa and also in India. We're on mission. Why? Because we have the revelation of God. And this there's so much more that we could say around these things. But we're moving based upon the revelation of God. What the revelation of God says about his nature, what the revelation of God says about people, what the revelation of God says about our purpose. Loved ones, 388 million Christians around the world face high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith, representing one in seven believers globally. I heard an anecdote a couple of weeks ago, if I understood this correctly, this was a believer from North America who was among persecuted Christians. And the persecuted Christian said to the North American believer, We are praying for the church in America. We are praying for you, that you have a greater revelation of Jesus. I've said to you many times that there is a revelation of Jesus that the persecuted church has and knows that the prosperous church desperately needs. And my acquaintance said I didn't have the heart to tell them that not only is the North American church not thinking about them, but she is not praying for them either. And maybe we, as the North American Church, loved ones, we need a deeper revelation of what Jesus has unfolded before us. The disciples, nor the people in general, when he came into Jerusalem, understood the depth of what was unfolding before them, even though they had revelation. Jesus had given them revelation. The Old Testament, God had provided revelation. I repeat the words of A.W. Tozer. A fear-filled world needs a fearless church. John, when he was recording this episode, said his disciples did not understand these things at first, but then they remembered the word. They remembered the revelation of God. But when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered these things had been written about him and had been done to him. But they lacked for a time perspective on the cross and the resurrection that he had predicted repeatedly. They lacked perspective on why it was necessary. And may I lovingly remind you why it was necessary. You know, sometimes I'll have somebody say to me when I get into a dialogue about Jesus, particularly among unbelievers, but occasionally among believers, here it goes. How can you say there's only one way to God? How can you say that? Well, but one, we say that based upon revelation. The scripture says there's one mediator between God and man. The scripture says, I'm the way. Jesus said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. And we can get accused of being narrow in some way. But loved ones, I want to say or submit to you that that's not the greater question. The greater question is not that is there a way, one way to God? The greater question is why would God make a way at all? And the fact that God loves like that, that he loves you like that, that he loves humanity like this, that he would make a way, and he's made a way in Christ. And so as Jesus comes into Jerusalem, and people are missing what Jesus, who he is, and what he's doing, he comes in to Jerusalem at Passover, not as a Lamb of God, but as the Lamb of God. As John the Baptist said, who takes away the sins of the world. Do you know why the crowd grew so large when Jesus came into Jerusalem? It's because he had just raised Lazarus from the dead. That is not opinion. That's exactly what the Bible teaches. Look with me, John 12. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb, raised him from the dead, continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was they heard he had done this sign. They were not worshiping him as the king of kings and lord of lords. They weren't worshiping him as the son of God. They weren't worshiping him as the Lamb of God. They were fascinated with the fact, come, this dude raises the dead. Let's check him out. They're fans. Any of you keeping up with the Grizzlies right now? Yeah, I I heard you. I heard I heard those things that you said. I heard your grief. I'm a fan as as well. I keep it real. But they're not doing so well right now. Okay, I'm getting a witness in church here. They're not doing so well. And so this is anecdotal. This is not research. This is anecdotal. I have talked with more than one person in Memphis who said this. Ah, they're not doing so hot. I'm not sure if I'm gonna reorder my season tickets next year. That's a symptom of being a fan. Which way is the wind blowing? Okay, now it's not personal if that's if if some of you have said those things. They're just fans. Loved ones, that's what's happening when Jesus is going into Jerusalem. They're fans. They're fascinated. They're not worshiping. How does why does your pastor say that? Why is that relevant? Because Jesus tells us what authentic worship looks like. John 14, 23. True worshipers will worship in spirit and truth. They are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. So what that tells us, loved ones, is you cannot truly worship without the truth, without the revelation of who he is, without the revelation of his ways, without the revelation of his nature. Jesus said that. You true worshipers worship me in truth. But also you cannot truly worship without the flame. And that is without his spirit, witnessing to your little S spirit that you are a child of God, that you have been awakened, that you are born of spirit. So notice that as Jesus declares what true worship looks like, notice that Jesus is also declaring that God is seeking. He is looking for something. He's not looking for missionaries, he's not looking for evangelists, he's looking for worshipers. He's seeking worshipers. I've our family sometimes, when we we've been at the beach through the years, our family will be all hanging out doing frisbee or throwing the football and just goofing off. And I'll look over and I'll see this guy who's got his family, gets him situated, and then he goes off with a depth finder. And he's just, and I love to strike up, I always find people like that a little fascinating. So I'll find a moment where the ball lands around his feet, and I'll go, hey, what are you finding? You find anything good? And usually the conversation goes down, well, I find an occasional ring or a watch. Well, what I'm really looking for is gold. The gold that God is looking for is an authentic worshiper. An authentic person from every tribe, every tongue, every nation. That's what the Bible affirms, is where all history is culminating. This is not opinion, loved ones, this is ultimate reality. And this is reinforced all over the pages of scripture around true worship. In fact, the apostle Paul reaffirmed this about most of us. Most of us are Gentiles. And he said in Romans 15, 8 through 9, Christ died so that, notice, so that the Gentiles may glorify God. What for? His mercy, that I do not get what I deserve, because Jesus Christ was faithful to go to a cross and take my sin there and bear it. Therefore, I bear it no more, and I'm reconciled to a loving and holy God. So here's a question: What is the number one priority of the church? Worship. Some of us have thought the number one priority of the church is missions, great commission, and that is a priority. But be mindful, missions is temporary. Worship is eternal. And so we're aware, love the Lord God with your heart, soul, mind, and strength. But many of us don't understand the depth of the gift of worship. Think about what David described, the way he described worship in Psalm 42. As the deer pants for flowing streams, so plants my soul for you, O Lord. My soul thirsts for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God. So many of us do not know the meaning of thirsting for God, longing for God, in the way that a deer longs for water to quench its thirst. But that's how David describes worship. And when God's people are like David in worship, the world stands up and takes notice. Listen to what David said in Psalm 57, 9. I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations. I will sing of you among peoples. Notice the pluralness there. And what we're seeing out of the revelation of God and from this and many other similar verses is that David's praise and his worship was unapologetically public. And this has everything to do, loved ones, with why I wrote every Sunday school teacher in the church family in the new year to encourage every member of their community to be two-hour Christians on Sunday. Dr. Bill Bognight, one of the great pastors that serve Christ Church through the years, used to challenge the church to be two-hour Christians on Sunday, to enter in community with one another, which is biblical to do, to study the word together, which is clearly based upon the revelation of God. Study to show yourself approved before God. But also to gather and do the most highest thing that the body of Christ can do on a weekly basis, and that is to come together to bring glory to the King of kings and Lord of Lords. And what's more, even more significant is that David can are affirmed that when this is done well, that God would even draw unbelievers to himself. Psalm 40, verse 3. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many, do you see that word? From a God who cannot exaggerate. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. The Apostle Paul affirmed this. Loved ones, you know what that tells us if you're paying attention? What that tells us is that anytime we come into a corporate place of worship like we have this morning, and then we characterize worship by how I am satisfied rather than how God is glorified, then what's happened is we failed to guard our own hearts and we've turned worship into self-centered consumerism. We come to this place to express the verbiage of our hearts and our lips in magnifying the praise and the adoration of Almighty God. And so, as Jesus is coming into Jerusalem, there are persons who are fans, but they are not true and authentic worshipers because they have not based worship on upon the revelation of who he truly is. So there was a fire in an apartment in Manhattan, and there was a little boy whose mom and dad perished in the fire. And when the fire was blazing, there was a fireman who could hear the little boy's screams. And he went up a fire escape wearing these thick gloves, but the heat of the fire had heated the metal at a level that even through his gloves his hands were being burned. He could hear the boy's screams and he just kept going. Crawled through a window, grabbed the little boy, and again held him in his arms, and worked his way back down the fire escape ladder again, hands being burned through his gloves. Took the boy to safety, the medical professionals took care of him, and he went over as they pulled the gloves off and began, medical professionals began caring for his burnt hands that were burnt severely. Months went by, and because both parents had perished in the fire, the court was going to assign who has custody of the boy. There was an uncle who both his uncle and his wife were medical doctors and had children and would have been a wonderful family to assign the boy to who were present in the court. And then there was another cousin where both the husband and wife were engineers, and there were siblings in the family, would have been a wonderful family to assign the boy to. And then uh in each of us, and I I pray, Lord, that you would work your grace in our hearts, put light on our hearts, and as you do, God help each of us to respond appropriately, to make whatever adjustments we need to make, to repent where we may need to repent, to confess where we may need to confess. God, for some in this room who just simply need a revelation of your love, I pray, God, fill hearts with your love through your gospel. For some who think that they've gone so far that forgiveness and new starts not possible, I pray intercept those thoughts, God, with your love and your truth. That you're not beyond the love of God. And I pray, draw, draw us to you individually, as families, and as your church. And this we pray in the name and power of Jesus. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 39:17

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the podcast for Christ Methodist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. We pray that today's message has inspired and encouraged you in your walk with Christ. To stay connected with our church community, visit us online at Christchurchmemphis.org. We hope to see you this upcoming Sunday for worship as we seek to glorify God and make disciples of Jesus Christ among all peoples.