Christ was Determined to Save Us - Palm Sunday
Text: Luke 19:28-Luke 23:56
Date: March 28, 2010
Ron Baker, West Union Church of Christ
Leading People to Life’s True Purpose & Joy in Christ!
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to our Friend’s Day 2010! I love it when we can have our friends and family all together for church once a year on this special day. This Sunday is Palm Sunday, which of course is the Sunday before Easter. On this day we celebrate an event in history often called The Triumphal Entry. I want to share with you this morning how that took place and why it is important for all of us.
1. Christ entered Jerusalem determined to save us from our sins
Jesus entered Jerusalem with a determination to be obedient to the Father and save the world from their sins. Jesus knew why He was sent into the world to begin with. There was great purpose for His coming.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
At Matthew 1:20 we read the account of Joseph and the angel of the Lord: But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" {23 Isaiah 7:14} --which means, "God with us."
At Mark 8:31 we read how Jesus spoke plainly about how He would be killed and that after three days He would rise again and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. So Jesus in turn rebuked Peter for not having in mind the things of God but rather the things of this world.
It was right after this that Jesus apparently felt it necessary to reveal His glory to His inner circle of followers (Peter, James, and John) by being transfigured before them.
2. Christ accepted God’s plan when nobody else would
Christ seemed to be the only one who had accepted the plan that God gave Him. It was obvious that Christ knew the plan because He told them plainly what it was several times.
In Mark’s gospel he records Jesus telling His disciples three different times what the plan was once they entered Jerusalem (8:31, 9:30-31, 10:32-34). But they could not grasp how Christ dying could truly be a part of the plan.
Mark 10:32-34 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 "We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise."
At Mark 14:3 we read of the account of Jesus in the house of Simon the leper and a woman there poured pure nard over Jesus’ head. The woman was rebuked and scolded for this display of compassion but Jesus said that she had anointed His body beforehand for His burial.
3. Christ would not become distracted by the world
It is obvious that there was a misunderstanding as to what the Christ was supposed to be and what He was supposed to do. The nation of Israel had the understanding that their Messiah would restore their nation to prosperity and freedom from Roman oppression.
They thought that He would establish a kingdom here on the earth that would dominate all the nations of the earth and their kingdom would never end.
To the contrary, Jesus Christ was on a much different mission than what they had expected. Christ was sent into the world to be the Savior of the world. He came to save us from our sins.
Many people in Israel wanted Jesus Christ to be their King. They could see from the miracles that He was a might man of God. But He would not be distracted by what they wanted. He was focused on the will of the Father and the purpose for His coming.
4. Christ was determined to fulfill the mission assigned to Him
He was determined to fulfill the mission that God gave Him.
At Mark 14:35 we read how Jesus prayed at Gethsemane: 35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 <"Abba>, {36 Aramaic for
All of these references clearly indicate that Jesus knew that He was going to be crucified and that He would be raised from the dead on the third day. Even though Jesus was dreading the torture and agony of the cross, He obediently accepted the cup of suffering to take away the sins of the world.
5. Christ battled and won the victory over death with His sacrifice
Jesus was betrayed by one of his own hand picked twelve disciples. That had to be disappointing to think that one who had been with Him for the last three years would betray His trust and hand Him over into their hands.
Jesus was taken before the high priest, the chief priests and the elders and they all rejected Him as being their Messiah and they humiliated Him with abusive torture.
Even Peter, His closest friend on the earth denied that he even knew Him three times that evening while He was standing trial before the Sanhedrin.
Jesus was accused of blasphemy (claiming to be the Christ) and Pilate gave in to the Jewish mob and handed Jesus over to them to be crucified. Roman crucifixion was meant to deter crime. It was the most inhumane torture that could ever be imagined.
Jesus was scourged, beaten, and mocked with a crown of thorns and they put a purple robe on Him making fun of Him. He was crucified between two thieves and even one of them hurled insults at Him along with the other spectators. When Jesus was dying on the cross even God turned away from Him as He bore the sins of the world.
If you have ever felt betrayed and abandoned by those closest to you, and you find yourself all alone, you can take consolation in knowing that Jesus suffered the same pain and misery.
Jesus Christ did not come to the Passover in Jerusalem like everyone else to offer a sacrifice but He came to be the sacrifice. When He led His disciples to Jerusalem He knew that this would be His last trip there.
This makes me think of the M&M commercial on television where the candy characters are trying to escape at the checkout counter. After captured and in the grocery bags one says, “Look, we’re on the guest list!” The other responds with discouragement, “That’s not the guest list, that’s the menu.”
Jesus died the most horrible death that could be imagined on a Roman cross and was buried in a borrowed tomb. Jesus didn’t need to make funeral arrangements or buy a cemetery lot because He would only need it for the weekend.
Jesus was raised from the dead after three days just like He said He would be. He appeared to His disciples three different times in His resurrected body and He even appeared to more than five hundred in one setting.
He gave His disciples this commission before returning to His Father in heaven: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)
CONCLUSION
In this brief time that I have had to share with you this morning you have sensed the determination of Jesus Christ to enter Jerusalem and save us from our sins. He accepted God’s plan for His life and He would not allow Himself to become distracted by the things of this world. He knew why He was here and He was determined to take care of business.
How about each one of us personally? Can the same be said of us?
• Have we truly accepted God’s plan for our lives?
• Or have we become distracted by the world?
• Are we determined to share the gospel that saves?
These are questions that each one of us has to answer for ourselves. Are we living for ourselves, doing what we want when we want? or are we living for Christ?
At Romans 10:9-10 we read that “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
At Acts 2:38-39 we read that Peter told the crowd after his sermon to "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-- for all whom the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2:38-39)
