For those of you that went to Sunday school when you were a kid, what is happening in today's scripture reading, is what we used to celebrate as Palm Sunday. You probably got a little cross made of palm leaves with a pin for attaching it to your lapel or pretty little dress.
Hosanna comes from a Hebrew word Hoshana meaning please save or save now. Here it means that the one who will save us is here. The Saver or Savior is here. The quote in verse 15 is from the Old Testament book written by the prophet of the same name, Zechariah. It was written some 550 years before Jesus is riding this donkey into Jerusalem.
Verse 19 is another verse that reveals the true heart of the Jewish leaders. No concern but that He is becoming greater, in the people's eyes, than they are.
Verses 25 and 26 are two very important verses. These are two clarification verses. I call them that because these are so tough and if you don't study this MAN and the things He actually said, you will be fooled. Hating your life means that if anything gets between you and Jesus, you must hate it. Hate it enough to get rid of it, to kill it, so to speak. I think I've already used this quote in this study but it is worth another look:
“Christ says, ‘Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down. … Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked—the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.’” -C. S Lewis, baby.
Jesus means the natural self, your life, even the stuff you think is OK, He wants it gone. He hates it and He wants you to hate it, so that together, you can kill it. Get rid of it. I say together because He is not gonna get rid of it is against your will. And your will, is another way of saying your natural self or your life. The Lord's Prayer says, Thy will be done, not mine. Verse 26 is a "the reverse is also true" statement. In other words my Father will not honor the one who does not serve me. That's tough but Jesus is the King of tough love. He really wants you; ALL of you.
I love verse 27 because Jesus is troubled. He is scared of the horrible pain He is getting ready to go through. It makes it easier for me to serve Him, knowing He is scared of suffering in this way. But He came here to suffer on our behalf, cause He loves us. Isaiah 53 is a great and short read, a prophecy of Jesus, the suffering Messiah.
I think I'll stop here tonight because I really want you to go read Isaiah 53 and I really want you to spend a moment on verses 25-26 below and ask yourself some questions. It's not a bad thing to admit yucky truths about yourself, especially when it is Jesus' words in scripture that are pointing this out for you. It's the only way to grow the way Jesus wants us to grow.
12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!” 14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,
15 “Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.”
16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. 17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!” 20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast.21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. 27 “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.
John Piper is the king of American Pastors and he lived in Anderson for a while when he was a youngin'. You can safely soak yourself in his teachings. You can get there at the top right of Cup A Joe.
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