Lent is the season we use to prepare ourselves to celebrate Good Friday and Easter. Yes, you heard me correctly, we prepare to celebrate Good Friday and Easter. We celebrate Good Friday, not because of Jesus’ suffering, but because He suffered for us, in our place. And more certainly we celebrate His defeat of sin, death and the devil as we celebrate His resurrection on Easter Sunday. The whole of Lent then, is the time we use to prepare ourselves for our remembrance of Christ’s suffering and death for us in our place and our celebration of Christ’s resurrection. Therefore, in much the same way as a great and grand celebration does not simply happen, but it can only be as great and grand as the amount of the preparation that goes into the celebration, so it is with our Easter celebration. If we want a great and grand Easter celebration then we will take the time during Lent to prepare for such a great and grand celebration.
This year, to help us prepare for our great and grand celebration, during the season of Lent, we will take a look at some of the little talked about facts concerning Jesus’ life, and His suffering, death and resurrection. We will begin, this evening, by talking about Jesus’ great and grand Procession into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. We will continue our Lenten services by talking about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane at the Mount of Olives. We will talk about the Suicide of Judas and the fact that Judas was condemned, not because he committed suicide, but because of his unbelief. We will talk about the Trial of Jesus as well as the Crowd at the Trial. We will talk about the place of the Skull where Jesus was nailed to the cross. We will not only talk about, but celebrate an actual Seder. It was during the Passover Seder that Jesus gives us the Lord’s Supper. Again, this year we will actually celebrate a Passover Seder, reminding us of the passing over of the angel of eternal spiritual death in our lives and how Jesus brings this reminder out of the celebration of the passing over of the angel of death in Egypt. We will talk about the Three days and how we count the three days in the tomb. We will talk about the Empty Tomb, and the Guards and their false story.
This evening we begin with the great and grand Procession into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, which is what used to be celebrated the Sunday before Easter and the beginning of Holy Week. This procession was indeed the end of Jesus time of privacy. There were other occasions, other Passovers when Jesus came into town quietly to observe and this is one of those times He could have come into town quietly, but that was not the way it was to be on this occasion.
Rather than enter town quietly, Jesus allowed the word to get out that the Rabbi was coming to town. Jesus was no stranger to Jerusalem. He had been here many times, but even more, the name of Jesus had become a common name as people all around had heard about Him and had actually gone out and heard Him preach. Many had witnessed the miracles He performed and many believed that He was the promised Messiah.
For His entrance into town, Jesus did not ride on a horse, a steed, a stallion as this animal would be the symbol of triumph. Jesus was not riding into town to defeat Jerusalem, to be victorious over any worldly culture or country, that was not the purpose for which He was born. And it was His non-earthly, non-political ways that turned the Pharisees against Him as they were looking for a social-political Savior to overthrow the Romans and set them up as rulers in the land.
No, Jesus did not ride into town in triumph. Instead of riding a horse, He did ride a donkey. The donkey was the symbol of humility. Jesus never came to earth to draw attention to Himself. Certainly He did gain massive amounts of attention, but that is usually the way it is with great servant leadership. Jesus did not come to be served, but He came to serve. Jesus came to live perfectly for us in our place because we cannot. Jesus came in humility. Just as He was born, humble and in a stable, in a manger, so He rode into Jerusalem for His last time in humility, to give His life for ours.
As Jesus rode into town, as the crowd gathered, as joy, excitement and perhaps tension, filled the air, the words of Zechariah and even Isaiah came to mind as the crowd shouted out calling Jesus the “Son of David.” If any name is a loaded name it would be to call Jesus the Son of David. David was one of the greatest kings of Israel. David was known to be one of the forerunners of the Messiah, who would be a Son of David.
Calling Jesus the name “Son of David,” was calling Him the expected Messiah. Is it no wonder the Pharisees and the teachers of the law got so upset, because this crowd was confessing Jesus as the Promised Messiah. And, again, Jesus was not the Messiah they were expecting. They were looking for an earthly King. They were looking for someone to overthrow Roman rule and to set them up as the rulers, leaders in the land. Jesus was definitely not that man. Yet, the people knew and many believed that Jesus was the true Messiah.
And in honor of the Messiah the crowds of people waved Palm Branches and put their coats and branches on the street, similarly to a red carpet. The Palms might well have been a symbol of the national emblem of independence for Jerusalem. The Palm branch may have been perceived as a bit of a Jewish Flag of sorts. The question the Palm branches may have raised would be concerning Jesus, could He be King?
What does all this mean? Palm Sunday reminds us that this event is the beginning of the end, and the beginning of Holy Week. Jesus has come to town for the last time. He knows that by the end of the week He will be crucified. Jesus knows that it was for this reason, to be crucified, that He was born and now after thirty-three years of life, after three years of public ministry, He is ready to complete the event for which He was born.
Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem meant that the work He came to work was almost complete. Jesus had fulfilled all the law perfectly. There was no law that Jesus broke or did not fulfill. And Jesus fulfilled the law perfectly for us, in our place, because we cannot. And there was no prophecy concerning the Messiah, the Savior that Jesus did not fulfill, for Israel, and for us. Jesus came as the one true Israel to do what the whole nation could not do. Jesus came as the one true Messiah to do for all of us what we are unable to do. At the transfiguration of Jesus both Moses and Elijah attested to the fact that Jesus had accomplished that which was set before Him.
And so Jesus came not to be crowned king, but to humbly give His life for all. Jesus came not to be served but to serve. Here again, we are reminded that God is the prime mover. God created all things perfect and holy and man messed it up, all God created, bringing sin into the world and the curse of sin. God created us to love us and in His promise to Adam and Eve, in His reiterating His promise to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and so forth, in the narrowing of the fulfillment of the line of His promise He continued to love us. His love is seen in the ultimate sacrifice of Himself on the cross for us, for you and for me, not because He had to, but because He wanted to, because of His great love for us.
As we begin Lent, as the ashes remind us that we are dust and to dust we will return, as we begin these next forty days, not counting Sundays, I would ask, encourage, even challenge you to be loved by God. Be in His Word. Follow His life over these forty days. Contemplate your part in these events, that it was because of my sin that Jesus had to die on the cross, and even if I were the only person in the world, He still would have done it all for me. Take the time to prepare so that when Easter does roll around, you will be able to have a great and grand celebration. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.
This year, to help us prepare for our great and grand celebration, during the season of Lent, we will take a look at some of the little talked about facts concerning Jesus’ life, and His suffering, death and resurrection. We will begin, this evening, by talking about Jesus’ great and grand Procession into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. We will continue our Lenten services by talking about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane at the Mount of Olives. We will talk about the Suicide of Judas and the fact that Judas was condemned, not because he committed suicide, but because of his unbelief. We will talk about the Trial of Jesus as well as the Crowd at the Trial. We will talk about the place of the Skull where Jesus was nailed to the cross. We will not only talk about, but celebrate an actual Seder. It was during the Passover Seder that Jesus gives us the Lord’s Supper. Again, this year we will actually celebrate a Passover Seder, reminding us of the passing over of the angel of eternal spiritual death in our lives and how Jesus brings this reminder out of the celebration of the passing over of the angel of death in Egypt. We will talk about the Three days and how we count the three days in the tomb. We will talk about the Empty Tomb, and the Guards and their false story.
This evening we begin with the great and grand Procession into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, which is what used to be celebrated the Sunday before Easter and the beginning of Holy Week. This procession was indeed the end of Jesus time of privacy. There were other occasions, other Passovers when Jesus came into town quietly to observe and this is one of those times He could have come into town quietly, but that was not the way it was to be on this occasion.
Rather than enter town quietly, Jesus allowed the word to get out that the Rabbi was coming to town. Jesus was no stranger to Jerusalem. He had been here many times, but even more, the name of Jesus had become a common name as people all around had heard about Him and had actually gone out and heard Him preach. Many had witnessed the miracles He performed and many believed that He was the promised Messiah.
For His entrance into town, Jesus did not ride on a horse, a steed, a stallion as this animal would be the symbol of triumph. Jesus was not riding into town to defeat Jerusalem, to be victorious over any worldly culture or country, that was not the purpose for which He was born. And it was His non-earthly, non-political ways that turned the Pharisees against Him as they were looking for a social-political Savior to overthrow the Romans and set them up as rulers in the land.
No, Jesus did not ride into town in triumph. Instead of riding a horse, He did ride a donkey. The donkey was the symbol of humility. Jesus never came to earth to draw attention to Himself. Certainly He did gain massive amounts of attention, but that is usually the way it is with great servant leadership. Jesus did not come to be served, but He came to serve. Jesus came to live perfectly for us in our place because we cannot. Jesus came in humility. Just as He was born, humble and in a stable, in a manger, so He rode into Jerusalem for His last time in humility, to give His life for ours.
As Jesus rode into town, as the crowd gathered, as joy, excitement and perhaps tension, filled the air, the words of Zechariah and even Isaiah came to mind as the crowd shouted out calling Jesus the “Son of David.” If any name is a loaded name it would be to call Jesus the Son of David. David was one of the greatest kings of Israel. David was known to be one of the forerunners of the Messiah, who would be a Son of David.
Calling Jesus the name “Son of David,” was calling Him the expected Messiah. Is it no wonder the Pharisees and the teachers of the law got so upset, because this crowd was confessing Jesus as the Promised Messiah. And, again, Jesus was not the Messiah they were expecting. They were looking for an earthly King. They were looking for someone to overthrow Roman rule and to set them up as the rulers, leaders in the land. Jesus was definitely not that man. Yet, the people knew and many believed that Jesus was the true Messiah.
And in honor of the Messiah the crowds of people waved Palm Branches and put their coats and branches on the street, similarly to a red carpet. The Palms might well have been a symbol of the national emblem of independence for Jerusalem. The Palm branch may have been perceived as a bit of a Jewish Flag of sorts. The question the Palm branches may have raised would be concerning Jesus, could He be King?
What does all this mean? Palm Sunday reminds us that this event is the beginning of the end, and the beginning of Holy Week. Jesus has come to town for the last time. He knows that by the end of the week He will be crucified. Jesus knows that it was for this reason, to be crucified, that He was born and now after thirty-three years of life, after three years of public ministry, He is ready to complete the event for which He was born.
Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem meant that the work He came to work was almost complete. Jesus had fulfilled all the law perfectly. There was no law that Jesus broke or did not fulfill. And Jesus fulfilled the law perfectly for us, in our place, because we cannot. And there was no prophecy concerning the Messiah, the Savior that Jesus did not fulfill, for Israel, and for us. Jesus came as the one true Israel to do what the whole nation could not do. Jesus came as the one true Messiah to do for all of us what we are unable to do. At the transfiguration of Jesus both Moses and Elijah attested to the fact that Jesus had accomplished that which was set before Him.
And so Jesus came not to be crowned king, but to humbly give His life for all. Jesus came not to be served but to serve. Here again, we are reminded that God is the prime mover. God created all things perfect and holy and man messed it up, all God created, bringing sin into the world and the curse of sin. God created us to love us and in His promise to Adam and Eve, in His reiterating His promise to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and so forth, in the narrowing of the fulfillment of the line of His promise He continued to love us. His love is seen in the ultimate sacrifice of Himself on the cross for us, for you and for me, not because He had to, but because He wanted to, because of His great love for us.
As we begin Lent, as the ashes remind us that we are dust and to dust we will return, as we begin these next forty days, not counting Sundays, I would ask, encourage, even challenge you to be loved by God. Be in His Word. Follow His life over these forty days. Contemplate your part in these events, that it was because of my sin that Jesus had to die on the cross, and even if I were the only person in the world, He still would have done it all for me. Take the time to prepare so that when Easter does roll around, you will be able to have a great and grand celebration. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.
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