Who will cry out JESUS IS LORD if not us?

 Read Mark 1:1-11

Luke 19:28-44

Jesus knew that his hour had come. He had healed Lazarus. Many believed but many decided it was time to kill Jesus. He was disrupting the status quo.  Things had to get back to normal. By normal, I mean that the life of faith that people lived needed to return to the compromise that the people had made with the world.

Remember, that Jesus had come to save a broken world. Our hearts were not right. People sought everything but the one true God.  Sure, God was part of their lives. It was as much a part as going to Walmart or picking stickers out of your socks.

But God was not first in the lives of so many.

He was an afterthought or something to be worked in.

God was the author of so many rules. Who could keep them all?

Rules became more important to us than the relationship with our Creator. The rules were good, but God desired and desires relationship with the crown of his creation.

And so, the final scene is set. Jesus is headed to torture, death—an atoning death for which we are beneficiaries, and resurrection.  Again, we are beneficiaries of his resurrection as in it is the promise of our own.

Passover is on the doorstep and Jesus needed to ride into town on a young donkey to fulfill Zechariah’s prophecy. To do that, he needed a ride.

He sent two disciples to retrieve a young donkey from the field of a nearby farm. He told them that if the owner wanted to know what was going on, just tell him that the Lord needs it.

The Lord needs it.

How many of you would be confident taking someone’s animal without knowing the person?  What about without a receipt for the animal?

How would you be as the farmer?  If someone that you didn’t know came and loaded up a steer out of your pasture and all they gave you was a casual, the Lord needs it?

Something was very much in the works. God was about to reconcile the entire creation to himself. Jesus had been saying that his time had not yet come, but now his time had come and he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey—a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Things were coming together.

The excitement in Jerusalem had to be reaching a frenzy. Jesus was coming!

Many were not really sure who this Jesus was but he was coming and people were excited.

Some surely knew that he was the Messiah. All surely knew he was a very powerful teacher—a rabbi. This one was different. He taught with an authority that the Scribes and Pharisees had never possessed.

Something was happening here.

Jesus was saddened as he rode into town for he knew what was ahead for this city. It would suffer for its apostacy.  The town would be sacked by the Romans who already ruled over them.

The temple would be torn to the ground.

Jerusalem was already conquered by the Romans. Now it would be torn to the ground.

As Jesus rode into town, some Pharisees confronted him asking him to have his disciples tone it down a bit. 

C’mon, Jesus. We know that you are a popular guy with the people, but this Hosanna business is a little much, don’t you think?

Jesus rebuked them.

Can’t you see that the entire creatin longs to be reconciled to God?  If you make the people be quiet, the rocks themselves will cry out.

What would the rocks say? That’s easy.

Save us! God in the highest heaven, save us!

The whole creation is longing for reconciliation with its Creator, and you guys don’t get it. You are missing the boat. Noah is pulling away and you are still in the bar having one more round of your favorite drink:  My own understanding. Was that frozen or on the rocks?

What am I saying?

You are missing the boat!

Even the farmer got with the program and he had a donkey at risk. He had some skin in the game. But those anchored to their own understanding were blinded to what was happening before their eyes.

The very people who should have recognized the Savior first were the last to accept him. He was cutting in on their turf and the people seemed to love him. It seemed that Jesus got them. He understood them.

People loved Jesus. He was sticking it to the man—at least to the self-righteous religious leaders. Let’s just go with sticking it to the man.

In a few hours, they will be crying crucify him, but for now, Jesus is a rock star and they are glad to see him. So, what about us?

That’s cool. We know the story. Let’s move on to resurrection.

This whole John the Baptist business was to prepare the way for the Savior.  This prepare the way culminated into the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on a young donkey.

The way has been established. It is prepared from the Lord’s perspective but are we ready to receive Jesus as Lord?

We are all too happy to receive Jesus as Savior. This whole death and hell and separation from God business isn’t for us. We like having a savior, but do we also like having a Lord?

We will get excited at least once a year that Christ died the atoning death that took away our sins so we could be with God forever. We are so glad to have a Savior.

Can we be just as joyful to have a Lord?

How would we know? What would we look for?

How about this one...

We put the words of our Lord and Master into practice. We do it with a smile on our faces and joy in our hearts.

We prepare ourselves for God to dwell within us by putting his words into practice.  If the Pharisees of our age think we are too robust in our discipleship, remind them that even the rocks long for reconciliation with God.

We want not only salvation—saved from sin and death. We want to rejoice in the Lord. We want to be excited that God is with us and within us and is for us, not against us.

When the world tells us to hold it down with all of this Jesus stuff, we are not going to do it. If the rocks are ready to cry out for God to save them and to be reconciled to God, I think I will too.

In fact, I am giving the world the finger.  I am giving them the upward pointing index finger pointing to the one who is the way, the truth, and the life, and I’m not putting it away because the godless culture of our world is offended.

If you who believe so much don’t cry out with the message of salvation that we know comes with Jesus, who will?

The pagans?

The atheists?

The agnostics?

Muslims?

Jews?

Others who have no inclination or obligation to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ?

Who will cry out that Jesus is Lord?  Everyone will, but until the end of the age, it’s just us.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Don’t be timid about crying out to God or proclaiming the good news that comes through Christ Jesus.

Don’t be shy. Proclaim life in Christ Jesus!

So here’s your cheat sheet for this morning’s message.

·       Prepare your hearts to receive the Lord as Lord.

·       Reach out whenever and wherever you can with the good news.

·       Put the words of our Lord into practice.

We can keep those in the forefront of our minds.

Amen.