Where's my Palm Sunday Message?

 

Read Matthew 21:1-11

What do I do with Palm Sunday?  We have read about the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem as a King riding on the colt of a donkey.  Palms and blankets and whatever the people could get their hands on to line the way of their Messiah were spread before him.

It had to be a sight that brought excitement and anticipation.  People shouting Hosanna as Jesus approached would surely bring the excitement level to a new high.

We know that he was headed to the cross at the end of the week.  We know that this was the atoning sacrifice that separated us from our sin and gave us a chance to live as we were designed to live.

We know that he will come again and reign as king.

We just completed the Gospel of Matthew.  We concluded with the Great Commission. We are commissioned to take the gospel to the world.    We are to go into the world with good news.  We are to take the news of real life to the world.

Do you ever look at those online job sites to see what you qualify for or what might be fun?  I have those degrees.  I have those certifications.  That would be fun.

Realize that we already have the greatest job in the history of the world, and it’s not even a job.  We are commissioned to this thing of taking good news to the lost.  It’s our life.

But does it have medical?  By his stripes we are healed.

What about retirement?  Stored up since the creation of the world.

Does it have a 401K?  Store up for yourselves treasure in heaven.

This whole taking good news to the world is a sweet deal.  To start with, we might just take it to the end of the block, but once you have received life in Jesus Christ, you are compelled to share what you have freely received.

Palm Sunday began the most intense week in the Bible.  The discourse between Jesus and his disciples reached a new level.  Jesus washed the feet of the disciples and then told them that was their example for being a true disciple.

Jesus reminded his followers that as he was in the Father and the Father in him, so to was he in his followers and they in him.

He told them that he must go so the Spirit would come.

Jesus would not resist his arrest that would come during this week.  He would do nothing to acquit himself of the bogus charges brought against him.  He must get to the cross to fulfill prophecy and to atone for our sin.

Palm Sunday is more than just a ride into a town of excited people.  It was the beginning of a week like none since creation.

And we know what is coming next Sunday. And we know that because of what is coming—resurrection and life—we can’t keep that to ourselves.

We must go into the world with good news, but we must not consider ourselves to be salesmen. We are not trying to sell anybody anything.

I read this some years ago.  Some of you might have even stayed awake for it.  It’s called simply, A Manifesto and it’s by Dr. Morris Pepper.  Yes, the sermon this morning has a message from Dr. Pepper.

I will preface this by asking you to consider that we are all ministers, so when you hear minister in this reading, put that in the first person.

I have nothing to sell. Many people think the minister is a peddler whose commodity is religion. Preaching is making a sales talk. Visiting means cultivating prospects. Evangelism is doing a “hard sell.”

I have nothing to sell.  Religion is not a commodity.  God is not on the counter or in a catalog.  God’s love and mercy are not Wall Street items.  God’s blessings will not be found in bargain basements.

I have nothing to sell.  I have a witness to make.  There are some things which I believe, convictions arising from my thought and life, which I know from within.  Of these I witness.  They are not mere blessings of tradition.  They are real to me because God is real.  But they cannot be bought or sold.  They can only be witnessed.

I have nothing to sell.  I have a message to communicate.  It is a story of Jesus Christ, a story of redemption.  It is a promise, a promise of what can happen here and now.  It is the gospel, the good news of God’s love told by one who knows it firsthand.  I am a storyteller, a proclaimer, an announcer—not a cocky salesman with a hot line.

I have nothing to sell.  I have a friendship to offer.  Some are like Job who would like to recapture the days when “the friendship of God was upon my tent.”  Others have never known such a relationship.  Many are afraid of God.  Still others are rebellious.  To these and others I say, “God loves you.  Won’t you let God be your friend?”

I have nothing to sell.  You can’t buy salvation.  You can’t buy faith.  You can’t buy heaven.  You can’t buy God.  Nor can you sell them.  My job is to offer you an adventure, not to sell you a bill of goods—to invite you to join a mission, not a Cosmos Club.

I am not doing hard sell, soft sell, or using psychology.  I don’t have any tricks to pull out of the bag.  So don’t raise your sales resistance.  I am an educator, a teacher, a pastor, a counselor—but please, not a huckster!  I am a witness, a communicator, an announcer, a reporter, but never a peddler.

For we are not like so many, peddlers of God’s word; but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing in his presence.

What do I do with Palm Sunday some 2000 years since Jesus entered Jerusalem?

I remind us that God is real.

He is righteous.

He is love.

He loves us with an everlasting love.

He detests sin and made a way for us to be rid of our sin, something we couldn’t do on our own.

God sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sin.

In him and by his blood, we are saved from sin and death.

We can now fully live.  We can now live as God designed us to live.

And it’s not all about us.  It’s not all about me.

We are blessed by God to be a blessing to others.  The biggest blessing that we know is salvation and we are to take the message of salvation to the world.

We spend a lot of time praying that we make it through something or get that new job or that the car starts.  God wants us to come to him with our petitions.

He also wants us to come to him asking him to help us help others. 

He wants to provision us to bring life to this lifeless world.

He wants us to rely fully upon him yet live to the full as we share his love with others.

God desires that none perish and he gave us a part in that.  He trusted us with his good news.

He commissioned us to take life to the world.

We are not trying to sell the world anything.  We are delivering the best message ever.  There is life and life abundant and life eternal in Christ Jesus.

I will not beat you over the head with my Bible.

I will not scare you into believing in Jesus so you don’t go to hell for you will think you have reached the finish line. You are only in the starting blocks of real life.

 OK, as a last resort, I would rather you get scared out of hell and into heaven as one escaping the flames but that’s not our commission.

There is a hell and surely some will end up there but the message God gave me to tell you and you to tell others is that he wants you to know life with him forever.

I will tell you how much God loves you and that he did not make hell for you but if you want to really live you must know—not know of him—but know God.

I will tell you that you will have trouble in the world but don’t be discouraged.  Take courage.  Jesus has overcome the world.

I will tell you that you are so much more than the sum of your problems and achievements.  You are a message from God himself to so many who are lost in this world.

We are to know God as intimately as possible.  We take the saving grace of God to the unbelieving world.

We are to know him and make him known.

Some of you may have wanted something more about the palm branches.  Others may have wanted some discourse about the foal of a donkey.  And others may have wanted something more on shouts of Hosanna.

I understand those might have been your Palm Sunday expectations.  What I ask you to take away from this day of worship so close to our ultimate celebration of resurrection is simple.

Know him and make him known.

Amen.

Hear the Children

Read Matthew 21:1-17

It’s Palm Sunday.  It got here in a hurry.  Usually the Palm Sunday messages are about the triumphal entry into Jerusalem or about the Passion of the Christ.  These are two appropriate topics for this day.  You have heard them both here over the past decade.

But today, I want to talk about the kids.  Think about the kids shouting Hosanna!  Hosanna to the Son of David!  Hosanna in the highest.  They were probably just repeating what they had heard as Jesus rode into town.  Probably.

Jesus went on to the temple and disrupted commerce to say the least, then he was back to healing again.  And there were two distinct responses noted in the text.

The religious leaders were indignant.  Just who does this guy think he is?  We’re the big dogs here.  Who is this Jesus of Nazareth to steal the show?

The children said, Hosanna to the Son of David. 

The religious leaders were blind to the fact that this is the Son of David.  This is the Messiah.  Even Bartimaeus knew that Jesus was the Son of David.  It seems that the kids and a blind man have the best vision.

The children cry out Hosanna!  It’s an interesting word.  It’s a Greek word that sounds pretty much like the Hebrew word or words.  It’s a cry for help and a cry of happiness.  It means not only save us, but save us now. 

It’s save us, I pray you save us.  I am petitioning the one who can grant my request.  That’s a source of joy.

The kids knew Jesus was the Son of David.  It seems that they also knew he was Savior.  It seems that they had connected more of the dots here than the really smart people, at least the self-proclaimed really smart people.

We shouldn’t be surprised.  Jesus has already taught that whoever humbles himself like a child will be great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 

He said whoever welcomes a child in his name is welcoming him.

Oh by the way, woe unto the person who leads a child in the wrong way.

He went on to say that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these, referring to the children that had come to see Jesus and the disciples thought he was too busy.

Sometimes it seems that children see so clearly, know instinctively, and have faith without doubt as their first nature.

We adults have complicated things quite a bit.  We split hairs over theology—swallow camels and strain out gnats if you will.

Kids just see the reality of God.  We complicate it with the reality of a world conformed to sin.

Here comes Jesus the Son of David riding on a small donkey.  People shout Hosanna.  He clears the temple of the money changers.  He is not happy about how his Father’s house is treated.  He heals those who are sick, lame, and even blind.

The kids get it.  This is the one that we have been waiting for—this is the Messiah that the rabbis teach of. 

The teachers were blind to the man before them, asking: Who is this guy whose cutting in on our turf?

This is Palm Sunday but we have been talking about faith all year.  The kids believe.  The kids have faith and do not doubt.  They probably don’t even know they have faith.

The adults, especially these very well-educated adults, have complicated things.  Does that mean that we should not study and show ourselves as a workman approved?

No.  We study, and memorize, and learn, and practice but we do it with the faith of a child.  We need the innocent faith of a child in a world that detests innocence.  I think you understand what it is like to be as innocent as doves and as shrewd as snakes.

We have been sent out as sheep among wolves and too often we become like the wolves.  There is an acceptance that children have that we need.  We need to understand the world around us because the days are evil, but we need that pure acceptance that we seem to find only in children.

Every 3 or 4 years I find I reason to tell this story.  I could only wait one year this time. It is very much a true story.  It comes from a missionary sent from England to Zaire many decades ago.  Her name is Dr. Helen Roseveare.  She died at the age of 91 in 2016.  I have read most of her books and can say without equivocation, that the things that she went through in God’s service would make most Marines feel like a bunch of wimps.

One night, in Central Africa, I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all that we could do, she died leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying, two-year-old daughter.

We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive. We had no incubator. We had no electricity to run an incubator, and no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts.

A student-midwife went for the box we had for such babies and for the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly, in distress, to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical climates. “…and it is our last hot water bottle!” she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk; so, in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over a burst water bottle. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways. All right,” I said, “Put the baby as near the fire as you safely can; sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm.”

The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with many of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle. The baby could so easily die if it got chilled. I also told them about the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died. During the prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt consciousness of our African children. “Please, God,” she prayed, “send us a water bottle. It’ll be no good tomorrow, God, the baby’ll be dead; so, please send it this afternoon.” While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added by way of corollary, ” …And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she’ll know You really love her?” As often with children’s prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say, “Amen?” I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything: The Bible says so, but there are limits, aren’t there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!

Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses’ training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time that I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the veranda, was a large twenty-two pound parcel! I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone; so, I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then, there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children began to look a little bored. Next, came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas – – that would make a nice batch of buns for the weekend. As I put my hand in again, I felt the…could it really be? I grasped it, and pulled it out. Yes, “A brand-new rubber, hot water bottle!” I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, “If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!” Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone: She had never doubted! Looking up at me, she asked, “Can I go over with you, Mummy, and give this dolly to that little girl, so she’ll know that Jesus really loves her?”

That parcel had been on the way for five whole months, packed up by my former Sunday School class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God’s prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. One of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child — five months earlier in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it “That afternoon!” “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” Isaiah 65:24.

Most of the time when I share this I talk about the verse from Isaiah, but today consider the faith of the child—the innocent, undoubting faith of this child named Ruth.

“If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!”

She had no idea that the box would come.  She had no idea what was in it, but when she saw the first part of her prayer answered, she had no doubt that there would be a dolly in that box as well.

The answer to her prayer would be in that box.  God wouldn’t ship the items separately.  The doll would be in that box.

The kids knew who had come to town that day, riding on the colt of a donkey.  They were not encumbered by the patterns of the world.

They cried-out Hosanna to the Son of David.

It’s a cry of joy and petition.  It is a cry for help knowing the one who can help hears us.  It’s casting aside the chains of the world and seeking salvation from the only one who can deliver it.

Today, Palm Sunday, I want you to know the joy of calling out Hosanna to the one who saves.  We know already what he has done for us, but let’s call out all the same.

Hosanna.  Hosanna to the Son of David.

Amen.

Hosanna to the Son of David

Read Matthew 21:1-11

Jesus has been baptized by John, an event witnessed by heaven and earth.  He was tempted by physical weakness and by Satan himself and emerged victorious ready for his mission to kick into gear.

He has been welcomed, given the cold shoulder, praised, and challenged.  He taught, healed, rebuked, comforted, and rescued a wedding from disaster.  He dined with Pharisees and tax collectors.  He retreated from the crowds into houses and went up mountains to pray and just get away from the crowds so he could be with his Father.  He needed a place to be still.

He has even had his body prepared for burial in advance with some pricy fragrances. The disciples might have thought that such a high-priced perfume might be sold to feed the poor, but they were yet to understand the magnitude of what was to come.

Jesus wept at the loss of his friend Lazarus even though he would bring him back from the dead.  Jesus had told his closest friends that he must die.  They did not want to accept this, but Jesus told them that it must happen.  They must set aside their own expectations for the plan of God.

Jesus walked from place to place as any man would but he was also transfigured into the glory that awaited him.  This took place before three of his disciples.  Elijah and Moses appeared with him.  It was sort of like a final timeout to make sure that everything required by the law and the prophets would be accomplished in these final days.

Jesus still had a few more things to check off his bucket list before he went to the cross.  One of them was to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey—and a young donkey at that.  The logistics for this were already in place. 

Jesus sent two disciples to a specific place to retrieve these animals.  He said that if anyone says anything, just tell them that the Lord needs them.  They returned without incident with a donkey and its colt in tow. Whether this had been arranged sometime over the past three years of roaming the countryside or had ben coordinated at the foundation of the world is not part of the account, but Jesus would ride into Jerusalem just as Zechariah’s prophecy had foretold.

There were coats and cloaks placed on this donkey.  There were coats placed on the road into Jerusalem.  People cut down branches to line the road.  This was a big event.  This was an array of color and commendation set for Jesus.  The King of kings was coming to town.

How did people know to be on this road before Twitter and Facebook?  How did a crowd form when nobody knew how to send a group text?

This was Jerusalem’s King.  This was the King of kings riding into town just as prophesied.  There was no advertising or advanced billing, but the King was coming.

There was excitement in the air.  Some of the crowd went ahead of Jesus.  Some surely just came to the roadside.  Others followed.  Jesus had just healed two blind men, probably in Jericho or at least on the road from Jericho.  These two men followed.

Even when they were blind, they knew who this man was.  They cried out, “Lord, Son of David, help us!”  They could have cried out, “Prophet from Nazareth would you help us?”

They cried out to the Son of David and asked for mercy. 

Jesus replied, “I do all kinds of mercy.  What exactly do you need?”

Now Jesus knew what they needed but we have been given this exchange so we can witness the reverence for Jesus and the confidence in Jesus and the gratitude of two men who given their sight might have had a list of their own—you know, things to do if we ever got our sight—but they decided to follow Jesus.

Jesus was coming and didn’t need tweets or posts to let people know.  There was an excitement building in and around Jerusalem.  Listen to how the gospel writer personified the city.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

blind men knew that Jesus was the Son of David.  The crowds in Jerusalem knew him as a prophet from Galilee.  The Sanhedrin were not impressed by anything that came out of Nazareth or Galilee, but this wasn’t their day.  This day belonged to the man riding the donkey.

The crowds called out to the Son of David.  The people going ahead or following behind Jesus knew that this man was more than a prophet.  This was the long-promised Messiah from the lineage of King David.

The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

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

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Hosanna is an exclamation of praise and a request for help all wrapped into one.   It’s save us and praise you squeezed into a single word.  It is excitement and expectation bundled together.  The people were asking for salvation with the expectation that the man on the colt could provide it.

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

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

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

What a day!  Not everyone knew everything but enough people knew enough to get excited and shout, Hosanna!  They knew enough.

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

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

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

In 2017 we know much, much more than those who lined the road to Jerusalem.  We know that this was and is the King of kings.  This man is the Messiah.  Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  We know the story but do we have the excitement?

Or do we think:

“Oh man, Palm Sunday already—I had better get on the ball and buy some eggs for the kids.”

“Holy Toledo!  It’s almost Easter. I don’t know if I am up to another zero dark thirty worship service.”

“I hope they got most of the stickers out of that field for the Easter Egg Hunt.”

“I am so not ready to sing, Were You There When They Crucified My Lord.  Could any song have a more depressing melody and lyrics?  Can’t we just skip to He Lives, He Lives!”

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

Or

“Man, where did the year go?  It’s that time again?”

We need more of “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” and less of time passing us by.  We need to generate some excitement about the celebration that is upon us.

We need to embrace the attitude that goes with these words:  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever would believe in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

You have heard these words from me every Sunday since the fall of 2011.  Regardless of what the sermon is, we always proclaim the good news.  If you ever hear me just say these words instead of proclaiming them with enthusiasm and joy, then put the search committee together. 

We should be even more excited about shouting Hosanna—save us—to the Son of David because that is exactly what he did.

There is a whole lot that transpired between that first Palm Sunday and the resurrection.  There is a lot to study and learn and apply, but for today, it’s about excitement.  It is about building up to the biggest celebration of our year. 

As you go through this week, do it with the words, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

When you pick up your mail, shout, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”

When you think about something being boring or routine in your life, then proclaim these words:  For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life!

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

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

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

I know that sometimes biblical messages are heavy on the theology and the interpretation of the text and the latest twist on what the Greek or Aramaic might have meant instead of the traditional interpretation.  I know that.  Preacher has to pay the bills, right?  So he throws in a fancy word every now and then so people think that he might have gone to school, but today is about getting worked up for the biggest celebration of the year.

Today is about laying down our coats and palm branches and our selfish desires.  It is for lifting up our spirit for the King of kings is coming to town, and we know that the biggest gift the world has even known is about to bestow life upon the world.

Get ready to celebrate.

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

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

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Amen!

Plans, passion, purpose, and palms

Read Matthew 26:36-46

For those that abide in some sort of lectionary discipline, there are usually two courses for this Sunday that precedes the First Sunday of Easter.  That liturgical dichotomy is the celebration of the palms or the passion of the Christ.

Palms or Passion?

Is it the triumphal entry as King or the Suffering Servant?

Do we focus on the palm lined highway or the painful road to the cross?

Maybe, sometimes, just every once in a while, we should consider both, and even more.  But let’s start with palms. 

This week that we now call Holy Week, begins with palms.

Palms

Palms come from trees without branches.

Palm leaves or fronds symbolize victory.

Palms are evergreen.

A road lined with palms would look like someone rolled out the green carpet.

The palm in the desert is the symbol of life.

Places such as Palm Springs make us think of resorts and retreats.

Palms denote status and comfort and even peace.

Purpose

In the world of life experience, purpose is often the cohesive, the organizing principle, and the multiplier.

A life expended with purpose is a life lived beyond its potential.

Purpose gets you out of bed in the morning.

Purpose causes you to say, Good Morning, Lord, instead of Good Lord, it’s morning.

Purpose gets you to school.

Purpose gets you to work.

Purpose gets you talking with God.

Purpose gets you up the hill.

Purpose lets the insult roll off while focus is maintained.

Purpose adjusts the sails when the wind changes.

Purpose cooks Ramen when the paycheck isn’t enough for the water bill.

Purpose crosses the minefield to save a friend.

Purpose gives insight into our Heavenly Father.

Purpose gives us insight into ourselves.

Purpose unlocks our gifts and talents.

Purpose gives us permission to say no to things we don’t need to do.

Purpose brings us to abundance—not in stuff or money—but in life.

Purpose purges poverty.

Those who live without purpose endure a cruel type of poverty.

This form of poverty just passes the time.

This form of poverty sees only immediate needs.

Character atrophies in those living in the poverty of purpose.

Commitment is foreign to anyone without purpose.

The power to effect desired change is irrelevant if there is no desire.

Fear rules.

Language sours.

Money is illusive.

There is no Sabbath to take in a life without purpose.

Passion

Passion detests apathy.

Passion abhors ambivalence.

Passion presses on when there is nothing left.

Passion suffers the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

Passion does not stop to question purpose.  It presses on knowing the purpose comes from God.

Passion gives up self.

Passion and purpose wed and become unstoppable.

From before man was placed upon this earth, Jesus knew what he must do to create the relationship between the crown of God’s creation and God himself. 

Our three-in-one God knew that a redeemed man was more valuable than one never tested, trialed, condemned, and rescued, but it would take both purpose and passion to bring about this special creature.

Humans couldn’t handle it.  We couldn’t be flesh and complete on our own.  You can spend your life trying to figure out why the two seem incompatible, but I doubt you will get the complete answer until the age to come.

Why does sacrifice require blood?

Why must life be sacrificed?

Why were we worth it?

Jesus was just hours away from what would be one of the most detestable and essential chapters of human history.

Jesus was still on an emotion high from the meal he had just enjoyed with his closest friends.

Jesus was exhausted.

Jesus was so close to accomplishing his mission.

Jesus knew human pain and agony.

Jesus knew he must do this thing.

Knowing all things, Jesus hoped he had missed something and there was another way.

Jesus was with the closest of his closest friends.

Jesus was alone as they fell asleep at the wheel.

Jesus knew that the time to glorify the Father was near.  His glory would be in fulfilling this mission.

Jesus knew that the time for his betrayal was even nearer.

Jesus would fulfill the plan made before the earth began, but a plan doesn’t get you to the cross.

A plan doesn’t endure false accusations.

A plan doesn’t turn the other cheek to a slap in the face.

A plan doesn’t surrender its own life as a sacrificial lamb.

A plan does not endure the scorn of leaders in place only by the will of the Planner himself.

A plan does not endure a crown of thorns.

A plan does not endure physical torture.

A plan does not suffer the cross when there is no crime.

A plan does not suffer the sins of the world upon innocent flesh.

A plan cannot utter, “Forgive them.  They know not what they do.”

But purpose with passion will cry tears of blood.

Purpose with passion will endure false accusations in order to get to the cross.

Purpose with passion will bleed from the thorns or the whip and not cry out for the Father to put an end to it all.

Purpose with passion will take the sins of the world upon the only innocent flesh that could bear them.

Purpose with passion will go to the cross.

Purpose with passion will forgive the executioners.

Purpose with passion took away the sin of the world.

Purpose with passion endured separation from the Father, if only for a short moment in eternity.

Purpose with passion is the only reason that we do not stand condemned today.

Jesus knew that he had to go to the cross.  There was no other way.  We cannot blame the disciples for falling asleep.  They were like travels in the passenger seat.  If you are not the driver, it is so easy to nod off. 

Jesus was the only one who knew what was next.

He was the only one who knew that his purpose and passion were required to fulfill the plan of God.

Jesus came to reveal the divine heart to us—God loved the world so much!  A walk down the primrose path would not suffice.  He must suffer.  He must die.  He must surrender his life as a sacrifice for undeserving humankind.

He knew that this was the plan all along but that did not make it any easier.  His passion and purpose were essential to our preservation.

We talk about the suffering of the Christ, but we are careful to do it only in an academic discussion.  It doesn’t make good dinner conversation.  It doesn’t go with the flow of the playoff game on television.  It’s not something that you throw in while looking at the pictures of the grandkids.

But it is at the heart of every ounce and breath and meter of life that we know.  Absent the passion and purpose that compelled Christ to continue to the cross, we would still be lost.

We would not know the joy that so many of us cherish.

We would stand condemned and far removed from our Creator when God’s heart desires us to enjoy him fully and be in his presence.

Jesus who is God and King and Messiah chose to continue to the cross and be Savior as well.  He chose to be an Unblemished Lamb for us.  He chose love but love required all of his purpose and passion to die for us on an old rugged cross.

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,

The emblem of suffering and shame;

And I love that old cross where the dearest and best,

For a world of lost sinners was slain.

Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,

Has a wondrous attraction for me;

For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above,

To bear it to dark Calvary.

In the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine

Such a wonderful beauty I see

For 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died

To pardon and sanctify me.

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true,

It's shame and approach gladly bear;

Then He'll call me someday to my home far away,

Where His glory forever I'll share.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,

Till my trophies at last I lay down,

I will cling to the old rugged cross,

And exchange it someday for a crown.

It was more than just God’s plan.  It was his purpose and passion for us that caused that plan to be one that took all of our sin and bore all of the suffering so we could live.

As we move towards a celebration of resurrection, consider this week just how much God loves you.  Consider that you have been at the heart of his purpose and fueling his passion since before humankind began.

This passion for you was always a part of his plan, but this plan was fulfilled in the sacrifice on the cross.  His purpose for us becomes known in his plans and passion.  They are good plans and his passion is intense.

God loves you.  He loves you very much.

Let’s spend this week—a week that begins with palms—trying to grasp just how great God’s love is.

Let’s spend this week—a week kicked off with a parade for a King, a path lined with palms, and shouts of Hosanna—just being overwhelmed by the plan, purpose, and passion that would take Jesus to the cross to die for our sins.

 

Let’s spend this week knowing that God’s plan for our salvation has been completed.  It is finished.  The work on the cross is done.

If we will do that this week; we will be ever so prepared to celebrate resurrection on the Sunday to come.

Amen.