Sunday April 2, 2023
Call To Worship: Palm Sunday
Matthew 21:1-11
When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” 4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:
5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7 they brought the donkey and the colt and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Songs:
Cornerstone
Verse 1
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly trust in Jesus' Name
(REPEAT)
Chorus 1
Christ alone cornerstone
Weak made strong in the Saviour's love
Through the storm He is Lord
Lord of all
Verse 2
When darkness seems to hide His face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil
My anchor holds within the veil
Verse 3
When He shall come with trumpet sound
Oh may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless stand before the throne
It is Well
Verse 1
When peace like a river
Attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot
Thou hast taught me to say
It is well
It is well with my soul
Chorus 1
It is well with my soul
It is well
It is well with my soul
Verse 2
My sin O the bliss
Of this glorious tho't
My sin not in part but the whole
Is nailed to the cross
And I bear it no more
Praise the Lord
Praise the Lord O my soul
Verse 3
And Lord haste the day
When the faith shall be sight
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll
The trump shall resound
And the Lord shall descend
Even so it is well
With my soul
Son Of David
Verse 1
The blind won't gain their sight
By opening their eyes
A King is coming
To His city and crowds around are following
If I could see I would follow too
Verse 2
He heals the sick with His hands
As He walks by they reach for Him
If I could see I would reach out too
Misc 1
(Pre-Chorus)
The blind won't gain their sight
By opening their eyes
Chorus 1
Son of David have mercy on me
Son of David have mercy on me
Son of David I want to see
Son of David have mercy
Verse 3
I cannot leave this gate
Since I cannot see my way
But I can stand and call His name
No I could never leave this gate
But I will stand and shout His name
And I will count on His grace
Misc 2
(Bridge)
I was blind now I see
Jesus saved me
I was blind now I see
Jesus saved me
All the Poor & Powerless
Verse 1
All the poor and powerless
And all the lost and lonely
And all the thieves will come confess
And know that You are holy
And know that You are holy
Chorus 1
And all will sing out hallelujah
And we will cry out hallelujah
Verse 2
All the hearts who are content
And all who feel unworthy
And all who hurt with nothin' left
Will know that You are holy
Misc 1
Shout it
Go on and scream it from the mountains
Go on and tell it to the masses
That He is God (yeah)
(REPEAT)
Chorus 2
We will sing out hallelujah
And we will cry out hallelujah
We will sing out hallelujah
And shout yeah
Teaching: “Seeking God’s Kingdom First: Palm Sunday”
Seeking God’s Kingdom First: Palm Sunday
We have been working our way through the Old Testament looking at the Kingdom of God.
Sprinkled throughout the prophets and prophecies are these Messianic Prophecies.
From Jeremiah, Isaiah, the Psalms to Daniel. All contain Messianic prophecies.
Daniel 7 is an important chapter talking about the way that all earthly kingdoms eventually devolve to become the opposite of God’s expectation for his Kingdom.
Daniel 7:13-14, “I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.”
The entire OT is pointing us toward the eventual coming of the Messiah, of Jesus himself.
There are several ways people see the OT in relation to Jesus.
Christocentric:
“Every OT story breathes the name of Jesus.”
This is a popular way of reading the OT. It tries to make the entire OT narrative about Jesus, rather than God and the Spirit.
Reads stories like Daniel and the Lions and asks, “What is this telling me about Jesus?”
The problem with this way of reading the OT is that not every story in the OT is about Jesus.
Sometimes they are simply about the people in them.
Christological:
This way of reading the OT looks to find certain doctrines or teachings about Jesus from every story in the OT.
Christotelic:
This way of reading the OT recognizes trajectories in the OT that culminate in Christ without making the entire narrative about Christ, as opposed to about God.
The goal is not necessarily to find Jesus on every page and in every story of the OT, but rather to see how the collection of stories and laws, and ideas about the kingdom of God all lead toward this moment of the coming Messiah.
All of what we have been discovering from priests, kings, judges, prophets, land, law, people, all lead toward Jesus.
We are then introduced to Jesus in the NT through a genealogy.
Genealogies trace lineage and family history.
The genealogies of Jesus are incomplete.
Matthew’s Genealogy traces Jesus’ line back to Abraham
Luke’s Genealogy traces it back to Adam
Genealogies served several purposes.
They establish family history
This was important in helping settle legal disputes like land ownership.
They sometimes record historical events
Genesis 5 records a genealogy from Adam to Noah to frame the historical events from Creation to the Flood.
The Establish a Person’s Legitimacy
The demonstrate a person’s fulfillment of prophecy
Matthew and Luke are both showing through their genealogies that Jesus is the one these stories are pointing toward.
The OT is a giant arrow pointing at a manger in Bethlehem containing baby Jesus.
Several moments in the life of Jesus recall specific roles of God’s kingdom in the OT.
Jesus’ baptism in Matthew 3
“And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from the heavens said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
OT Coronation ceremonies contained anointing the king with oil and then proclaiming his kingship to all that were around.
Jesus’ baptism is a coronation moment.
His anointing was through the holy spirit ( in the form of a dove) and his proclamation of kingship came from God himself.
Jesus’ Transfiguration from Matthew 17
Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to a mountain where Moses and Elijah show up.
Jesus begins shining with a bright light, just like Moses had after meeting with God.
The disciples suggest building 3 temples, a show of their priesthood.
Triumphal Entry moment from Luke 19:28-40
28 “After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29 When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ” 32 So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They said, “The Lord needs it.” 35 Then they brought it to Jesus, and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. 37 Now as he was approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that 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 heaven! 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”
The Donkey was the symbol of the King in ancient Israelite culture.
God had told the kings not to gather horses because they were symbols of war.
1 Kings 1, King David is dying.
He has given the throne to his son Solomon. But his other son Adonijah tries to take the throne.
David has Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet place Solomon on his own royal mule, anoints his head with oil, and parades him through the streets of Jerusalem proclaiming him King.
The triumphal entry is recalling these significant pieces of Israelite Kingship.
Jesus is placed on a donkey and goes through the streets of Jerusalem with the people declaring his kingship
The use of cloaks and palm branches is significant
Cloaks were a sign of homage and respect, submission to royalty.
Waving palm branches was a sign of honor and victory.
Doing this showed that the people believed Jesus to be a king who had come to deliver them.
Luke 19:42 “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.”
Jesus is expressing sadness & disappointment.
He knows the people missed their opportunity to engage in things that make for peace.
Jesus is referring to his teachings and principles of the kingdom, which is love, forgiveness, and reconciliation, God’s TOV and character.
Jesus knew that the kingdom he was ushering in would require of him something that no one else before him was able to accomplish in order for the Kingdom to become fully present and real as God intended.
We sometimes wrongfully ridicule the jews for missing the point of what Jesus was there to achieve.
But we benefit from having the whole story.
If we lived as people within the story I think we too would miss the point
The reason I believe this is because we still miss the point today.
We make Jesus about whatever we want him to be about that fits our politics or positions
But everything in the OT points to a kingdom, because of Jesus, that is fundamentally different from every other kingdom that has ever existed.
It is NOT a kingdom of self-preservation, command and conquer, or wealth and power.
But rather a kingdom of light and beauty, goodness, honor and love, of sacrificially lifting others up, of peace that leads to God’s TOV infused in all things.
This kingdom comes from one source…Jesus
But to get to this Kingdom anew Jesus had to endure the cross.
John 19:18-22, “There they crucified him and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. 19 Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” 20 Many of the Jews read this inscription because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. 21 Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’ ” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”
Before Easter morning and the joy of resurrection can occur we have to talk about the reality of Jesus’ kingship that led him to and through the cross.
The roles of the OT kingdom all have something important in common
They were all meant to be places of sacrificial leadership helping others experience the nearness and goodness of God’s rule and reign in their lives.
What is our response to this?
Matthew 21:9, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
Communion:
Communion for this week and next week will focus on the journey of Jesus from the cross to grave to resurrection.
You can spend time praying and reflecting on your own, with your family, or in a small group.
Whether you are knew to faith, still on the fence about faith, or have walked with Jesus your whole life…
What about the story of Jesus is most compelling to you?
What would you ask Jesus if he was sitting next to you right now?
What does Jesus need to save you from?
Pray a simple prayer: “Hosanna to the son of David, Hosanna in the Highest Heaven…save us now we pray.”
Benediction:
Our Father in heaven,
May your name be revered as holy.
May your kingdom come.
May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.
May the strength of God pilot us;
May the wisdom of God instruct us,
May the hand of God protect us,
May the word of God direct us.
Be always ours this day and for evermore.
Amen