April 5, Communion Sunday, Passion/Palm Sunday

Lessons: Psalm 118.1-2, 19-29; Mark 11.1-11

Sermon Title: Hosanna

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INTRODUCTION

Valuing Mom (1)

A mom tells about her three young children who loved to get up early and watch out the window for the garbage truck. They take great delight in watching the waste hauler empty the can, then work the lever that causes the truck to compact the trash.

On the morning of her thirty-fifth birthday, her husband said to the children with a smile, "Kids, do you know what makes today so special?"

It should have been no surprise to us when our five-year-old rushed past my outstretched arms to the window and replied, "It's garbage day!"

  1. What day is this?

    1. Obviously, it is a Sunday.

    2. It is Palm Sunday.

  2. It is the commemoration of the ride of Jesus into Jerusalem.

    1. This is truly a triumphant day for Jesus.

      1. Lazarus had recently been miraculously raised from the dead by Jesus' authoritative word.

        1. As a result, a crowd of witnesses were moved to believe in Jesus and his message.

        2. They spread the news of this resurrection widely.

      2. Jesus approached Jerusalem in time for the celebration of Passover.

        1. The holiest time of the year.

        2. Spirits and expectations were high.

    2. Jesus probably commanded more power and visibility at that point in his ministry than at any other moment.

      1. Essentially re-enacting the actions and words from Psalm 118:25-26 (Save us, we beseech you, O LORD! O LORD, we beseech you, give us success! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD. We bless you from the house of the LORD.).

      2. The throng of jubilant Passover pilgrims received Jesus into the city with waving palms and enticing "Hosannas."

    3. Riding into Jerusalem Jesus has a choice as to what he might do with this adoration and popularity.

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MAIN BODY:

  1. First, Jesus might have succumbed to the temptation to bask for a moment in the glory of his power and popularity.

    1. He could have greeted the "Hosannas" with waves and smiles and self-congratulatory little bows (the V-signs of the first century).

      1. He could be king.

      2. This is the cry of the disciples and the people:

"Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David."

    1. What a king he would have made.

      1. There were some obstacles to overcome.

        1. How would he handle the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of the Jews?

          1. He had the people in his pocket.

            1. They were spreading their cloaks on the road.

            2. They were cutting branches from the Palms and putting them on the road.

        2. The Romans were no problem.

          1. He could use his power to maneuver them out of power.

          2. What Caesar is going to stand in his way.

      2. How long do you think his popularity would have lasted?

        1. It would have lasted a short time.

        2. How do you get people to fulfill the Mosaic ideal?

          1. That might take some demonstrations of cohesive power.

          2. Cohesive action brings negative results.

        3. The Hosannas would have quieted and died.

    2. Hear the story of the chosen donkey. (2)

The donkey awakened on Monday, his mind still savoring the afterglow of the most exciting day of his life when Jesus rode him into Jerusalem. Never before had he felt such a rush of pleasure and pride. He walked into town and found a group of people by the well. "I'll show myself to them," he thought.

But they didn't notice him. They went on drawing their water and paid him no mind.

"Throw your garments down," he said crossly. "Don't you know who I am?" They just looked at him in amazement.

Someone slapped him across the tail and ordered him to move. "Miserable heathens!" he muttered to himself. "I'll just go to the market where the good people are. They will remember me."

But the same thing happened. No one paid any attention to the donkey as he strutted down the main street in front of the marketplace.

"The palm branches! Where are the palm branches!" he shouted. "Yesterday, you threw palm branches!"

Hurt and confused, the donkey returned home to his mother.

"Foolish child," she said gently. "Don't you realize that without him, you are just an ordinary donkey?"

    1. They would have lasted until the "What have you done for me lately syndrome?" asserted itself.

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  1. Riding into Jerusalem Jesus becomes aware of the reality of Jerusalem's tragic climax to his mission.

    1. Knowing the shallowness of the crowd's sentiments, he could have slunk off, and hidden himself.

      1. The disciples would ask, "Where is he?"

      2. He is powerless, hiding in a cave.

    2. The people find him and leave him there filled with great disappointment.

      1. It is a little like the disappointment in the scene that is cut from the movie Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Machine.

        1. In the movie Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Mr. Willy Wonka hides five Golden Tickets in five Wonka Bars.

"Greetings to you, the lucky finder of this Golden Ticket, from Mr. Willy Wonka. Present this ticket at the factory gates at ten o'clock in the morning of the first day of October and do not be late. You may bring with you one member of your own family...and only one...but no one else. In your wildest dreams, you could not imagine the marvelous surprises that await you".

        1. During the world-wide rush to get the golden tickets, a mountain climber goes to the top of a mountain to see a guru.

He asks, "What is the meaning of life?"

"You got Wonka bar?" asks the guru.

The climber hands him a Wonka bar.

The guru unwraps the bar, and finds nothing.

The guru says, "Life is a disappointment."

        1. Nobody laughed at it during a screening, so someone showed the scene to a psychologist.

        2. The psychologist said "Nobody laughed, because for many people, life IS a disappointment."

          1. So the scene was cut.

          2. Is it possible that Jesus might be cut from the scene?

          3. It is more than possible, it is probable.

    1. The people want their Jesus back.

Teacher, Teacher (3)

It was the first day of school. The previous principal had just retired and a new principal just started. As the principal made his rounds, he heard a terrible commotion coming from one of the classrooms.

He rushed in and spotted one boy, taller than the others, who seemed to be making the most noise. He seized the lad, dragged him to the hall, and told him to wait there until he was excused.

Returning to the classroom, the principal restored order and lectured the class for half an hour about the importance of good behavior.

"Now," he said, "are there any questions?"

One girl stood up timidly. "Please sir," she asked, "May we have our teacher back?"

    1. Without the teacher where are the hosannas now?

      1. The enthusiasm of the people has ebb away.

      2. The Hosannas would have died with Jesus.

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  1. Fortunately Jesus did none of these things.

    1. He sets his face with determination to enter the fray in Jerusalem.

      1. He illustrates Isaiah 50:7-9 (NRSVA)

7The Lord GOD helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
8 he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who are my adversaries?
Let them confront me.
9It is the Lord GOD who helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
All of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up.

      1. He knows the outcome.

        1. He has spoken of it enough

        2. In Luke 18:31-33, Jesus for the third time foretells his death and resurrection.

31Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. 33After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again."

      1. Where are the hosannas now?

        1. The parade-goers have given up.

        2. The disciples are stilled.

    1. It is our turn to shout hosanna.

      1. Hosanna is an exclamation of adoration.

      2. Hosanna is a heart cry, "Oh save."

    2. He does save.

      1. Palm Sunday is about the process of saving.

      2. We are the recipients of that salvation.

      3. Today we cry Hosanna.

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CONCLUSION:

  1. Praise the Lord (4)

There was a little old lady who would come out every morning on the steps of her front porch, raise her arms to the sky and shout, "Praise the Lord!"

Well, one day an atheist moved into the house next door. Over time, he became irritated at the little old lady. So every morning he would step out onto his front porch and yell after her, "There is no Lord!"

Time passes with the two of them carrying on this way every day. Then one morning in the middle of winter, the little old lady stepped onto her front porch and shouted, "Praise the Lord! Lord, I have no food and I am starving. Please provide for me, oh Lord!"

The next morning, she stepped onto her porch and there were two huge bags of groceries sitting there. "Praise the Lord!" she cried out. "He has provided groceries for me!"

The atheist jumped out of the hedges and shouted, "There is no Lord. I bought those groceries!"

The little old lady threw her arms into the air and shouted, "Praise the Lord! He has provided me with groceries and He made the devil pay for them!"

  1. We can cry Hosanna at any time and in any place.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David.
Hosanna on earth and in the highest heaven.

    1. Can you shout hosanna.

    2. Can you shout hosanna with real fire and meaning.

    3. Shout Hosanna.

Amen!

1. Sheri B., Portage, Michigan, "Life in Our House," Christian Parenting Today (March/April 2000). Retrieved from: Church Laughs Newsletter [churchlaughs-html@lists.christianitytoday.com]

2. Various sources

3. Received from Steven C. Sanderson. The Good, Clean Funnies List [gcfl-info@gcfl.net]

4. Mikey's Funnies [funnies-owner@lists.MikeysFunnies.com]

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