This Is The WAY

THIS IS THE WAY
Week Two – Palms to Thorns – Palm Sunday

Welcome!! Today is Palm Sunday!!  
We will not be having service on Wednesday but instead we will be having an intimate service on Good Friday at 6 PM.  We will take the time to remember the sacrifice of Jesus through Communion and Prayer… 
We are in the second week of our new series called THIS IS THE WAY. 
Isaiah 55:8-9 New King James Version
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
PRAY
The events of Palm Sunday, often referred to as Jesus’s Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem, are recorded in all four of the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. That’s a sure sign that this day was very important! It marked what we think of as the beginning of Jesus’s WAY to the cross. But really, that journey began long before Palm Sunday! That journey began before He started His public ministry. It began even before He arrived here on Earth in that Bethlehem manger. Jesus’s purpose was part of a much bigger plan established before the creation of the world. It went far above and beyond what the people there that original Palm Sunday knew. If I had to name today’s sermon is would be Palms to Thorns. 

Jesus’s WAY wasn’t just about the immediate circumstances—His WAY would impact eternity. And His WAY was not just about the earthly events swirling in those dusty streets in Jerusalem that day—the true significance was in the spiritual realm. And while today marked a triumphal entry, Jesus’s WAY was not about human approval or cooperation—it was one of obedience to the Father and fulfillment of His plan for redeeming the world.

As we look at the events that happened on that day in Jerusalem, I have here three simple symbols to help us remember the lessons of Palm Sunday: 
These are all pretty common items, but they remind us of the uncommon journey of Jesus. They represent the ways He went above and beyond our understanding or abilities in order that we might come alive to His life.
DONKEY [Show a picture of a donkey.] 
Take a look at this animal. What do you think of when you see a donkey? Stubborn, right? That’s what they are known for. And when we think of Jesus making a triumphant entry into the Jewish holy city, it’s a logical question to ask: 
“Why a donkey?” 
It’s probably not what you or I would have chosen. 

So at first glance, it might seem that Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey was just a practical matter—He was tired of walking, and there was a donkey available nearby. Not a horse. All the camels were taken at the rent-a-beast. Just a donkey. 

But no, the meaning of Jesus riding on the donkey went above and beyond the immediate or the practical. Even this detail—and this lowly animal—was part of God’s bigger plan. 

Way back in Zechariah 9:9, in the Old Testament, there was a prophecy that the Messiah would come riding on a young donkey. Matthew quoted Zechariah when he wrote about Palm Sunday:
Matthew 21:1-7 New King James Version
1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Beth-pha-ge, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”
4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”
6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.
Jesus specifically wanted a donkey. What might seem to us like a “plan B” practical solution to the immediate situation was actually a specific fulfillment of thousands of years of promise. 
Take another look at this donkey. You have to admit, it’s kind of cute. But I wouldn’t go so far as calling it majestic or royal. The top Roman soldiers of Jesus’s day rode on fancy, majestic horses—now those were a show of power and position. Those said power, strength, authority. The donkey? Not so much. 

But while the donkey can represent the humility of Jesus, the ironic twist of the story is that by riding on this donkey, Jesus was also proclaiming that He was the Messiah, the King! The dedicated Jews gathering in Jerusalem at this time for the celebration of the Passover feast would have known this Old Testament prophecy. So this simple act demonstrated a connection to the past by fulfilling the prophecy. And it also pointed to the future of Jesus as king—not an earthly king as some imagined, but as the true King who would reign forever in God’s story of love, forgiveness, grace, and redemption. The Messiah, whom the Jews had been waiting for throughout the centuries.

Here He came, riding on a donkey. 
Now let’s talk about that palm branch.
PALM BRANCH [picture of a palm branch.]
In our world today it is rare when you get more than what you pay for? Service with a smile has gone out of the window. In fact, I would say that if you get what you pay for then you are doing good. 
This story gives us a glimpse into what happened to Jesus’s disciples and followers on Palm Sunday. They were cheering with excitement. They thought their king had arrived! They could almost taste the victory as Jesus rode into town.
8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of theLord!’
Hosanna in the highest!”
10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”
11 So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

The crowd waved palm branches, which were a traditional symbol of victory. This is where we get the name Palm Sunday. The people spread their cloaks on the road for their new king. They could almost taste the sweet goodness of freedom. Finally—finally!—their Messiah, their rescuer, had come. Finally, He was going to kick some Roman tail and overthrow their oppressors and set up the perfect kingdom for the Jews. Right?

Um, no. The crowd would soon discover that this king wasn’t what they expected. He wasn’t here to set up an earthly, political kingdom. Instead, He was going to show them another WAY. 
Jesus went above and beyond what the people imagined. He was a spiritual king, not an earthly one. And His WAY would be more than freedom from their current oppression. 
HIS WAY would be the victory that restored all of creation for every person to have a right relationship with God. He would throw off and defeat the oppressor of their souls.
Now, with all the cheering and jeering (the Pharisees) do you think the disciples understood what was happening in the moment?  
John 12:16 New King James Version
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.

ROCKS

Palm Sunday is really a snapshot that represents all of Jesus’s life: His love, sacrifice, and commitment to a greater story, to God’s ultimate work. When He rode into Jerusalem, He didn’t arrive in order to raise more support or gain more approval. This was not a campaign rally where He was trying to make sure enough people liked Him to get elected. That wasn’t His goal, and He knew what was coming. He knew in the coming days He would die on a cross. 

Only days later the same crowd that was shouting “Hosanna” would shout “Crucify Him.” And yet it didn’t change Jesus’s purpose or His WAY. Jesus’s purpose was not dependent on human approval or praise. Jesus made this clear as recorded in the Gospel of Luke: 
Luke 19:37-40 New King James Version
37 Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, 38 saying:
“ ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”
40 But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”

Now this sounds like a crazy response from Jesus. First of all, I grew up knowing this verse. When I think of rocks, I think of the rocks around here. There’s not much to them until you begin to dig a hole…
But look at Israel and its terrain…wow!!! It makes that scripture come alive for me!!! 
And yet, even then Jesus is speaking deeper than that!!! 
All of creation was in need of redemption; all of creation was held under the curse of sin and death; all of creation would praise God when its Creator was at work in such a significant way to lift the curse and make a way of restoration for all the ultimate good, He originally created.
Paul says it like this: 
Romans 8:19-22 New Living Translation
19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 
Today we have the privilege of hindsight. We see what the disciples did not in that moment. We know what was about to happen. We know what Jesus ultimately did for us. 
But even now as we look around at our circumstances, our pains, our trails, our world, our society, our government, our addictions, our failures, whatever has you filled with anguish, fear, worry…
Dare I say that even now we would ask the same question that Thomas did….
John 14:5 New King James Version
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
We want to know the way when our lives seems so full of strife, chaos, and suffering…HIS WAY.
Let’s look at how Jesus responded to the suffering that he would experience. 
The first one was the prayer. 
1.    Prayer
We all have a prayer similar to this, but let's take a look at Jesus's prayer. This is the moment that he's in the garden and he knows what he's about to experience. And he prays, he cries out to God. And let's look at what he says in… 
Luke 22:40-44 New King James Version
40 When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” 43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
How many of you had a prayer like this? 
God, please deliver me from what I'm going through right now. We've all had this. We've all had this time where we go. I don't understand what's happening to me right now. And I know what I'm going through right now isn't good. I know that it's hurtful, that it's painful. God, please take this from me. 
Jesus was praying that same prayer. God, take this from me. I don't want to do this. Please take this from me. God heard his prayers… 
Hebrews 5:7 New Living Translation
7 While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God.
So God must have answered…I believe He did…So what was the answer? 
I believe that as the scripture says there, that an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 
So let me tell you what I think it means for us. God won't always deliver you out of the circumstances that you are experiencing, but he will always strengthen you to go through what he's calling you to go through. 
How many times have we been going through something difficult? We end up praying for God to remove it from us. We go all the way through it and we say to ourselves, “Well, God didn't answer my prayers.” 
But the truth is, He strengthened you and gave you everything you needed to be able to go through what he was calling you to. 
Jesus was perfectly in God's will at that time. He was destined to go through that moment, no matter how much he didn't want to go through it. And God sends the angel to him and strengthens him. 
He gives him the power and the strength to be able to go through what he was about to go through. These times will be trying for us, but he will always be there for us. 
In Matthew 27:45, this is the very next time we see Jesus speaking directly to God. And this time he's hanging from the cross.
Matthew 27:45-46 New King James Version
45 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Now we know that Jesus was quoting Psalm 22. We talked about that last week. The notes are on our website: pebblehill.church.
Jesus was quoting scripture all the time but Jesus never quoted to just to prove that he knew the Old Testament. Jesus was mourning and lamenting the loss that he was feeling in this moment. So what is Jesus saying here? 
It says from the sixth hour to the ninth hour, total darkness fell on the land. And right after that, is the moment where Jesus says, My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? 
I believe that in that darkness that that is when the sins of the world were being placed on Jesus. And for the first time in his life, he experienced the separation from God that we experience because of our sin. His divine side is still perfectly connected to God, but his natural side, his physical side is feeling a separation from God. 
So the next two WAYS Jesus responded to the suffering that he would experience are 
2.    Death
3.    Resurrection
In order for us to experience the resurrection, though, the death must happen, right? We don't call things resurrected if they never actually died. 
You have to allow exactly the way Jesus said it, not my will, father, but yours be done. You have to allow your will to die.
And as soon as you allow your will to die, that is where you leave room for God's will to thrive. As soon as your will dies and his can take over in a way that you wouldn't believe.
Listen, it's not your faith that dies. It's not your believing in the miracle that dies. It's not your believing that God does mighty and miraculous things because he does. He heals. He does incredible things. It's not any of those areas that die. It's your will that dies. It's you saying, God, not my will, but yours be done. And in that the resurrection takes place. It doesn't always look the WAY that we expected it to. 
For them, it didn't look that way. Jesus did set in his reign and his rule on earth. He did become the king of this earth again, but not in the WAY that anybody expected it.
So let me ask you a question: 
WHAT IS GOOD? 
If you go out into the world, into our society, they will have a lot of answers, they will say, equality, inclusion, affirmation, riches, fame, houses, etc. 
If I walked into the church and asked. They too would have a lot of answers…health, wealth, and prosperity. 
Again, I ask, what is good? 
Knowing the answer to this question is the key to knowing the WAY.
Mark 10:18 New King James Version
18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
God is good and you are blessed by God and the problem becomes when we start to try to define blessing or goodness as health wealth and prosperity. 
You are blessed and chosen by God. He has blessed you and he has chosen you. We need to call ourselves blessed no matter what we're going through in this life. 
Calling yourself blessed in a time of suffering is not a denial of your circumstances. It's an acknowledgement of His finished work on the cross.
Remember earlier when Thomas asked, 
“Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered him…
John 14:5-6 New King James Version
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Jesus’ answer is the same still today!!! He is still the WAY!!! 
Jesus’s WAY was to bring God’s love and life to the world. His love bridged the gap and provided a WAY for us to cross over into the holy presence of the God of the universe, to know Him and relate with Him. As Paul wrote, 
 Ephesians 3:12 New Living Translation
12 Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.

The KING is in the room!!! What do we do? 
Hebrews 4:16 New Living Translation
16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

The KING is in the ROOM