Matt 20:18 “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die. 19 Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”
Many people all over the world spend much time and spend much money in preparation for Easter Weekend. A weekend that brings true meaning and true significance to our lives as Christians.
A weekend that we believe Christ sacrificed his life and rose from the dead conquering death, the devil and the grave so that you and I, and all of humanity could have an opportunity to receive forgiveness of sin and eternity in heaven.
A weekend that has revolutionized our lives for ever!
But before there was Easter Weekend there was the day that you and I are standing in right now the day that kicked off Passion week, a day where Jesus passionately entered in to Jerusalem knowing that he would be beaten, betrayed and ultimately crucified.
Matt 20:18 “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die. 19 Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”
- He Entered with passion in His heart
As we remember the day that Jesus entered into Jerusalem we cannot help but to be reminded of the passion that was in His heart.
But when we think of the passion of Jesus and compare it to the definition of passion that many use today we can see a big difference.
In today’s time we hear a lot about:
- find what you are passionate about and give your life to it
- Find your power spot
- Identify what you love the most
Many of these statements have to do with self.
But when we look at the passion of Jesus it was not a passion that pleased himself, but more of a passion that pleased the Father.
John 14:30 “I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the ruler of this world approaches. He has no power over me, 31 but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father.
This passion that Jesus modeled is a passion that denies self and lives wholeheartedly with passion and energy for the will of the Father!
- Phinehas of the Old Testament had this type of Passion when he pierced the Israelite and cannaite women to the ground with a spear stopping the plague that broke out against Israel.
Number 25:11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest has turned my anger away from the Israelites by being as zealous among them as I was. So I stopped destroying all Israel as I had intended to do in my zealous anger. 12 Now tell him that I am making my special covenant of peace with him. 13 In this covenant, I give him and his descendants a permanent right to the priesthood, for in his zeal for me, his God, he purified the people of Israel, making them right with me.”
- The Apostle Paul had this type of zeal when he too headed for Jerusalem knowing that that chains and danger awaited him.
Acts 21:12 When we heard this, we and the local believers all begged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 13 But he said, “Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but even to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus.” 14 When it was clear that we couldn’t persuade him, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”
The Passion of the bible is contrary to the passion of the world, the world find what benefits you most and go after it, God says find what my will is and Go after it and I will do more for you then the world could ever do!
- He Entered with a burden of His shoulders
Not only did Jesus enter into Jerusalem with passion in His heart but He also entered into Jerusalem with the burden that men carry on His shoulders.
I Peter 2:24 He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.
As he hung on the cross at Calvary, Jesus bore all the horrible weight of the sin of God’s people. All their rebellion, all their disobedience, all their sin fell on his shoulders. And the curse that God had pronounced in Eden—the sentence of death—was broken.
Jesus came into Jerusalem carrying the burden of man kind.
- Carrying our sin
- Carrying our fears
- Carrying our worries
- Carrying our anxieties
- Carrying our disease
We as humans have a tendency to pick up for ourselves what God already carried to the cross on the shoulders of Jesus.
Worry & Fear quenches grace and breakthrough.
In the old testament we lived under the law where we as individuals were fully responsible for the burdens and battles of life.
- You shall have no other gods before Me.
- You shall not make idols.
- You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
- Honor your father and your mother.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- You shall not covet.
The Law proved to us that within our own strength there was no possible way for us to live up to the standards.
So when Jesus came He carried the burden we could not carry for ourselves.
The Old Testament says you shall, but after the cross Jesus says, “It is no longer you taking care of yourself, but now under grace IM going to take care of you!”
Matt 11:28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
When we come to Christ we trade our burdens, our fears, our sickness for His joy, His peace, His provision, His freedom.
Jesus wants us to be reminded that He carried our burdens as he entered into Jerusalem and He nailed them to the cross so that we do not have to try and carry them ourselves.
I Peter 5: 6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
- He Entered on a donkey
My last point here on the palm Sunday is that not only did Jesus enter into Jerusalem with passion in His heart and a burden on His shoulders but He also entered into Jerusalem on a donkey.
Mark 11:1 As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks, ‘What are you doing?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it soon.’ ”
Jesus entering into Jerusalem on a donkey was significant for the humility of the Lord.
Most prestigious people and kings when they entered a city they would enter on powerful stallions with an army of soldiers as an entourage, but Jesus came in on a donkey and his humble disciples.
Modeling to us that as we serve the Lord in this lifetime we must guard our hearts and the humility of our lives.
James 4:6 And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
But this Palm Sunday I also want us to be reminded that yes he came into Jerusalem on a donkey clothed in humility, but one day He will return on a white horse clothed in power and authority.
Rev 19:11 Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. 12 His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. 13 He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. 15 From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. 16 On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.
19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21 Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse.
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