Otterbein United Methodist Church

March 16, 2008

Scripture: Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon: “Cheers to Jeers”

A lot of people think of Palm Sunday as little more than a lead up to Easter. It’s a day to celebrate and kind of shake off a little of the spiritual lethargy that has been building up in our lives. It’s kind of a day to celebrate as a warm up for the real celebration next week. But it’s so much more than that. Thanks for taking this journey with me as we first explore today’s Palm Sunday text and then look at some of the things to come…

1.) Jesus told his disciples, “Go (into the village and take a donkey).” It seems Jesus was always telling his followers to “go.” He had paired them up and told them to “Go” to the places he would be going. He had told them to go into town and get groceries. He eventually would tell them (and us) to “Go” into all the world with the message of the gospel. He probably told them to “go” so often because they were a lot like us. They were inclined to do very little they didn’t need to do.

In this case he told them to go take a donkey. Jesus knew the result of their going. He prepared them for the trip and what would take place. He knew what they would encounter…

· He knows what we will encounter as we go.

· He equips us with what we need (and need to know) even though they didn’t know everything.

2.) These unnamed owners gave what they had!

· Those the disciples encountered were open to the Lord’s request…they gave what they had. Do we?

· Jesus knew they would discover cooperation. Sometimes we need to know there will be success that allows us to keep going. If you invite people, you will get cooperation from some. The worst that can happen to an invitation is the person says no, or says yes, but doesn’t follow through. In his book 8 Habits of Effective Small Group Leaders Dave Earley says that on average you have to “invite 25 people for 15 to say they will attend. Of those 15, usually only 8 to 10 will actually show up, and of those only five to seven will be regular attenders after a month or so.” Some you invite will respond!

3.) When God speaks it, it’s going to happen. The Lord will fulfill his word!

· Two specific prophecies are mentioned in this passage that Jesus fulfilled. 1.) from Zechariah 9:9 “Behold your king comes to you… (Matthew 21:4) and 2.) from Psalm 118:25-26 “Blessed is he who come in the name of the Lord.” (Matthew 21:9).

Palm Sunday was the start of the most incredible week not just in Jesus life, but in the history of humanity…

How many of you remember July 20^th, 1969? Apollo 11? The captain of that flight saying “The Eagle has landed”? A few minutes later he became the first human to step on the surface of the moon, “A small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind.” The central person in all that was Neil Armstrong.

When Neil Armstrong visited Israel after his trip to the moon, he was taken on a tour of the Old City of Jerusalem by an Israeli archaeologist. When they got to the Hulda Gate, which is at the top of the stairs leading to the Temple Mount, Armstrong asked his guide whether Jesus had stepped anywhere around there. His guide answered, "These are the steps that lead to the Temple, so he must have walked here many times."

Armstrong then asked if these were the original steps, and the guide confirmed that they were.

"So Jesus stepped right here?" asked Armstrong again.

"That's right," answered the guide.

"I have to tell you," Armstrong said to the Israeli archaeologist, "I am more excited stepping on these stones than I was stepping on the moon."

Today in Jerusalem Christian pilgrims are following in the footsteps of Jesus. There are many more who, like us, are remembering what happened there in Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday. They too are celebrating and cheering. They too are shouting “hosanna” in reenactment of this wondrous event.

But to walk in the footsteps of Jesus is to walk a different kind of walk. This week is holy for Christians. It is holy because we remember this as the last week of Jesus' life before his death on the Cross. It is a week first of triumph, then of tragedy.

Several years ago, Phillies left fielder Pat Burrell had an April to remember. From day 1 of the season through the first 20 or so games he was certified hot! His batting average was in the stratosphere! He was launching home runs on a regular basis. And as is normally the case when a player is doing so well, the fans were really in his corner! But that was April. Fast forward to the next month that begins with “A.” When August started Pat’s batting average was barely as high as his weight! The power that had been so prolific in April was gone by August. His failure to make a few key defensive plays had cost the team in major ways. The same fans that had given him a standing ovation in April were booing him in August.

To walk where Jesus walked is to understand the pain of rejection on the part of those who want no part of God’s plan. To walk with Jesus is to understand the pain that goes with self-denial and crosses. If we are to walk where Jesus walked, we too will experience the “cheers of Palm Sunday” turning to the “jeers of Good Friday.”

To walk where Jesus walked will carry a price. Our very lives! “If any man come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me!” Mark 8:34.

How did the shouts of Hosanna on Sunday transform into the shouts of crucify him on Friday? I am not just talking about the immediate events that may have brought it about, but the deeper root causes. What were the underlying issues? In five days it all fell apart. Why? That’s the issue I want us to look at… Why did the cheering stop?

If you start walking where Jesus walked, you will find yourself loving God totally and loving others radically just like he did. Just in looking at the last week of his life, Jesus demonstrated this radically love by…

· Teaching about it (Matthew 22-25)

· Demonstrating total love and devotion to the Father by clearing the temple – Luke 19:45-48

· Radical inclusive love by reaching out to the Gentiles… (John 12:20-23)

Jesus teaching turned toward the cross and the price paid by fully committed followers.

· Sitting opposite the treasury he discussed the gift of a small coin given by a poor widow. Mark 12:41

· He discussed the exclusive nature of the Gospel… “No man comes to the Father but by me.” John 14:6

· He told them point blank that he was facing the cross and later they may need to as well.

This is not exactly popular preaching. Rather it is the kind that makes cheers turn to jeers. I have experienced that in a couple ways in my life and ministry. When I first came to Mount Wolf, for about 2 months, I was shown more love than I could possibly have earned. Then when I started messing with worship and we sang a chorus one Sunday, suspicion began to arise. (There was a “boo or two.”) Then when I left it be known that I really do believe that living together outside marriage is not a Biblical lifestyle (despite what our culture says), I found out that most people agreed until it applied to their children. (And there was a “boo or twenty-two!”).

If having convictions and not preferences is easy for you, you likely have no convictions!

Conclusion… The week that lies before us is a week of questions and introspection leading up to a CROSS! Would we have “Palm Sunday cheered” or “Good Friday jeered”? I suspect at various times the answer is both!

Likely we’ve all cheered Jesus in one way or another when things have gone well! We’ve had moments of thanksgiving and rejoicing. But have you ever “jeered” him? You think not?

When things haven’t gone so well, how have you responded? Do you spiritually stomp your sassy little foot when you haven’t gotten your own way. Let’s take a moment and confess our disappointment at the Lord not doing some of the things we wanted him to. Look at the sting and pain in your life. Is God trying to get your attention to tell you something? What could that be?