April 5, 2009
Passion / Palm Sunday
Jesus Is The One We Can Follow
Part 6 of Lent series “Who do you say Jesus is?”
We have used the season of Lent this year to think about who Jesus is – and what Jesus means to us.
I’ve asked you to focus on one basic question:
Who do you say that Jesus is?
Remember that in Mark 8:27-29 Jesus questions the disciples about who “people” said that He was. They came up with a list of things people said about Jesus – that He was Elijah, that He was John the Baptist, or that He was another of the Old Testament prophets who had risen from the dead.
Jesus then made the question more personal by asking who they said that He was.
That’s when Peter made His confession that Jesus was the Christ.
You know – it didn’t really matter what others said about Jesus – did it?
What mattered was who Jesus was to the disciples.
What mattered was who they said Jesus was.
What mattered was that Jesus was the Christ. – the Savior – the only way to salvation – for them.
What mattered was that they said Jesus was their Lord and Savior.
The same is true for you.
You can listen to me talk about who Jesus is – or listen to others tell who they think Jesus is – but what really matters is who you say that Jesus is – who is Jesus for you.
Who do you say that Jesus is?
Who is Jesus – for you?
We’re looking at several answers to that question during Lent.
We began Lent 5 weeks ago by seeing that the most important answer you can give to this question is that Jesus is your Savior.
Until you can say that Jesus is your Savior it doesn’t matter what else we say about Him – but once we can say that Jesus is our Savior – we can say other things about Him – things like:
1. Jesus is the one who helps me resist temptation – which we looked at 4 weeks ago
2. Jesus is the one who gave of Himself for me – which we looked at 3 weeks ago
3. Jesus is the one who keeps me clean and holy – which we looked at 2 weeks ago
4. Jesus is the one I want to see and hear – which we looked at last week
Today – on this last Sunday in Lent – this Passion / Palm Sunday – we are going to end our Lenten season by looking at how we can dedicate our lives to following Jesus.
You see – once you say that Jesus is your Savior – one of the things you can say is that Jesus is one you want to follow – and you can dedicate your life to following Him – regardless of where He may lead.
Jesus is the one I want to follow.
Listen to the Palm Sunday story as John records it in John 12:12-19 – and to Paul’s call in Philippians 2:5-11 to have the mind of Christ.
Read Scripture
I read not long ago about a girl named Susan. Susan had high aspirations of being an actress – and wanted to be a serious actress in Broadway or – at the very least – in serious movies. She went to college and even got a graduate degree in theater. Well, she never thought that the only job she could land after graduation was in an outdoor drama — a Passion Play at that. No, she had visions of going to New York, at least in an off-Broadway role. Or maybe she would wind up in Hollywood. Instead, she was in what she considered to be some frontier outpost of the arts performing on a concrete stage of a half-completed outdoor theater with a strange assortment of misfits who, like herself, could find no other work for the summer.
Every evening at 5:30 she would show up for makeup. When they had started production, there hadn’t even been dressing rooms finished for costume changes. Costume changes had to be done in a scenery shed “right out in front of God and everybody.” Such phrases were as close as most of the cast got to even pretending to be religious. Not many in the cast – if any — found anything spiritual about what they were doing. It was just a way to pay the rent and put food on the table – just a check. In fact, every night the actors played some sort of trick on one another to break the boredom that had set in about this play. The disciples would come backstage after the Last Supper scene to tell what gross or otherwise objectionable object had been place in the wine cup that evening. Sometimes there would be cigarette butts – other times much more objectionable objects – and they would choke as they pretended to drink from the cup.
Behind the stage was a hill that was crossed by a fairly steep path. This hill served various purposes during the show, one of which was the entryway for Jesus as He made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The donkey Jesus rode was, of course, named Jack — and was probably the most reliable and arguably the most religious of the cast. He certainly was the most sensible. One night after a terrible rainstorm Jack refused to maneuver the path down the hill. This caused a real problem in the casts telling the story of the Triumphal Entry. It was of vital importance that Jesus make His entry riding on a donkey. But Jack absolutely refused to maneuver the steep path after it had become covered with slippery mud.
Finally the actor playing Jesus walked the muddy, slippery, path without Jack. About one-third of the way down he slipped and fell. One of the actors near Susan quoted, under his breath, the line about Jesus entering Jerusalem on His — — well, you can imagine what was said. Susan didn’t laugh, though. Instead she felt embarrassed for how the actor playing Jesus must have felt. She got an immediate, painful sense of his vulnerability — and her own.
At that moment the story came together for her as never before — and her faith meant more to her than ever before. She felt Jesus’ vulnerability as He moved toward His cruel death. She began to realize how so many could have loved Jesus. It was not His strength — but His weakness that attracted her now. The God who could incorporate such helplessness into some divine yearning might even use a ragtag band of irreverent actors rewriting the story of Jesus on a muddy hillside as well.
The actor made it down the hill, after two more falls, and, finally, to the cross. As Susan stood at the cross for the umpteenth time watching this pretended crucifixion, she could not help the tears that welled up in her eyes. It was then and there that she decided that — if Jesus could give of Himself for her — even die for her — she could follow Him.
Like the Pharisees said of the crowd on that first Palm Sunday, she could “go after” Him.
She could follow Him.
So – how about you?
Are you “going after” Jesus?
Are you following Jesus?
Once you say that Jesus is your Savior – one of the things you can say is that Jesus is one you want to follow – and you can dedicate your life to following Him – regardless of where He may lead.
One of the things you can say about Jesus is; Jesus is the one I want to follow.
Are you following Jesus – regardless of where He may lead?
Are you “going after Him” – which is what the Pharisees were concerned that the whole world was doing on that first Palm Sunday?
Would the Pharisees be concerned if they saw your commitment to Jesus?
Are you “going after” Jesus?
Is Jesus the one you are following – regardless of where He may lead?
Someone once told me that they wished they could have been there that first Palm Sunday. They said they imagined that the sky must have been a beautiful blue — the sun shining — the children running after Jesus, waving their palm branches and shouting:
“Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord — the king of Israel!”
You know what — I’m not sure if I wish that I had been there on that first Palm Sunday or not.
Everyone was excited — except for the Pharisees — the religious leaders. They hadn’t liked Jesus all along. He was a threat to them. His understanding and teachings about God and theirs didn’t match — and as He became more and more popular they became more and more scared — more and more indignant – - and more and more determined to kill Him. So — as Jesus rode into Jerusalem that day — they looked at each other — and said:
“Look, the whole world has gone after Him.”
The whole world has gone after Him.
Too many people were following Jesus — and they didn’t like it. Something was going to have to be done — and quickly. Maybe the sun was shining that Palm Sunday – I don’t know — l but the shadow of the cross already loomed in the horizon.
Jesus — although the crowd is shouting His glory and praise — didn’t even look like a king at all.
Look again.
Isn’t He riding a donkey?
Kings don’t ride donkeys.
Servants ride donkeys.
Why — Jesus looked more like a servant than a mighty king. More like someone who was destined to be humble and to serve — not the powerful and successful king the folks may have thought He was going to be. He seemed to understand life as being a chance to give of Himself — not an opportunity to take over the government and reign in splendor.
“Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord — the king of Israel!”
On that day it may have appeared to the Pharisees that the whole world was going after Jesus — and if you and I had been there we may have “gone after” Him too – we may have followed Him — but what about when He didn’t lead the people in revolt — but made it clear He had come to serve — not rule — and to call His followers to serve — not rule?
What would we have done then?
Would we have followed Him in service to others — even if it meant death — or would we have given up on Him — and even turned against Him – as so many did during the week following Palm Sunday?
Would you have followed Him in service to others – even if it meant death – or would you have given up on Him – even turned against Him?
Once you say that Jesus is your Savior, one of the things you can say about Jesus is;
Jesus is the one I want to follow.
Are you following Jesus – regardless of where He may lead?
Are you “going after Him” – which is what the Pharisees were concerned that the whole world was doing on that first Palm Sunday?
Would the Pharisees be concerned if they saw your commitment to Jesus?
Are you “going after” Jesus?
Is Jesus the one you are following – regardless of where He may lead?
As long as it was the popular thing to do — it seemed the whole world was going after Jesus. As long as it seemed He was bringing power and glory to the people — the whole world went after Him. But when it became clear He had no intention of bringing power and glory but instead was bringing humility and service — well — people changed their tunes.
And I’m afraid we would have changed ours.
That’s why I’m not too sure I would want to have been there on the first Palm Sunday. I may have gotten caught up in the excitement of the moment and shouted my “Hosannas!” to Jesus — but I’m not sure I would have followed Him all the way to the cross.
How about you?
Are you committed to following Jesus – all the way to the cross – all the way t giving of yourself for Him and others?
Is Jesus the one you really want to follow?
Do you really want to be a follower of Jesus?
You know — as much as we hate to admit it — we still prefer power and glory over service and humility — don’t we?
If you had a choice between telling someone what to do or being told what to do — too many times you might choose to be the chief — and not the Indian.
And yet Jesus chose to come into the world in service — even to the point of death — and in the end found new life.
The whole world has gone after Him.
The whole world has gone after Him.
Has it really?
Have we?
Have you?
When Susan in my story saw the vulnerable side of Jesus, she saw how much God loved her — so much that Jesus died for her. She then saw how she could follow Jesus — and serve others. She decided to “go after” Jesus. She decided to follow Jesus.
Have you “gone after” Jesus?
Are you following Jesus?
One of the things you need to say about Jesus is:
Jesus is the one I want to follow.
Are you following Jesus?
Is Jesus the one you want to follow?
In Philippians 2 Paul calls on us to have the mind of Christ.
This is a call to thinking and acting like Christ.
Jesus showed us what God is like — not power-hungry and demanding but serving — suffering — dieing — but finding new life in the process.
That’s one of the things it means to be a follower of Christ.
That’s one of the things it means to follow Christ.
Following Christ – going after Christ – means thinking like Christ thought – and doing things like Christ did.
It means that you don’t focus on what you want or what seems to be good for you — or what’s in something for you.
“What’s in it for me” is not the first question you ask when considering doing something – but “What’s God calling me to do”?
Are you following Jesus – thinking like Jesus thought – doing things Jesus did?
It means that you participate in things that will help others – even if they are not necessarily convenient for you. It means you do things because they are good for the group – even if they might be inconvenient for you. It means that you do things that God wants you to do – and that will help you grow in your faith – whether they are things you would automatically choose to do or not.
Are you following Jesus – thinking like Jesus thought – doing things Jesus did?
The whole world has gone after Him.
That’s what the Pharisees said.
That’s what the Pharisees were afraid of.
You know – I’m afraid that – if the Pharisees were to see us today – they might breathe a sigh of relief!
They feared that the whole world was following Jesus.
I don’t know about that.
I’m not sure that it has.
I’m not so sure we have.
Have you?
Are you?
Are you following Jesus – thinking like Jesus wants you to think – doing what Jesus wants you to do?
One of the things you need to say about Jesus is:
Jesus is the one I want to follow.
Are you following Jesus?
Is Jesus the one you want to follow?
Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus — Paul writes.
Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.
Are you following Jesus in the way of service — of giving of yourself — but discovering that true life involves serving others — not demanding to be served by others – and serving God?
Like Susan in my story –have you looked at what God has done for you — the love He has for you — and responded to the love of God by wanting to follow Him?
Is Jesus the one you want to follow?
Is Jesus the one you are following?
If you were to “go after” Jesus if you were to follow Jesus — where might it lead?
Do you think it might lead to giving of yourself?
Do you think it might lead to serving God and others?
Do you think it might lead to sacrifice?
Do you think it might lead to seeing the needs of others and responding to those needs — instead of just looking out for yourself?
Do you think it might lead to seeing what needs to be done for God’s will in the Church and the world – and giving of yourself to doing it?
Do you think it might lead to seeing the things God wants changed in your life – in the Church – in the community – and in the world – and dedicating yourself to working to change them?
Or – do you think it might lead to making God’s things important for your life — things like your prayer life — or your personal study of Scripture — or our corporate worship — or our corporate study times like Bible Study, Sunday School — or our outreach times or fellowship times?
Yes – you know as well as I do that it would certainly lead to all these things – but – here’s the thing — it also would lead to life — life as God calls you to live and experience it — life in God’s will — life that Jesus shows us how to live.
One of the things you need to say about Jesus is:
Jesus is the one I want to follow.
Are you following Jesus?
Is Jesus the one you want to follow?
Maybe it’s a good thing we weren’t in Jerusalem that Palm Sunday.
We may have been part of the crowd that day — but we also may have been part of the crowd on Good Friday, too.
If our devotion to following Christ here and now is any sign — I’m afraid our shouts of “Hosanna!” would not have lasted very long.
Are you following Christ?
Is Jesus the one you want to follow?
Is Jesus the one you are following?
Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus – Paul writes.
Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.
Do you have “the mind of Christ”?
Do you think the things Jesus would think – and do the things Jesus would do?
Do you have the commitment to following Christ in a life of serving others — while living life in its truest sense?
I invite you to use this day — this Holy Week — to see Jesus in a new light — to see His love for you — and respond by following Him — wherever that might lead you.
Pray for strength to follow Jesus as you give of yourself — knowing that it is in giving of yourself — committing to God and His will — that you find new life.
Once you say that Jesus is your Lord and Savior you c an say other things about Him – things like
Jesus is the one who helps me resist temptation
Jesus is the one who gave of Himself for me
Jesus is the one who keeps me clean and holy
Jesus is the one I want to see and hear
Jesus is the one I want to follow.
So how about it – are you following Jesus? Amen.