palm_sun

Most everyone here has seen the movie, The Passion of the Christ by now. The tone of that movie is so serious, so somber, even from the opening scenes in the Garden ppt 3 pics- stay on 3rd

As we see these images that take us back to the movie and the end of Christ's life, it's hard to imagine that just four days before the events in the movie happened, that Jesus and the people around him looked totally different.

The first Palm Sundaythe day we celebrate today-- was the last Sunday that Jesus lived on earth and the events in the movie took place on Thurs. night and Fridaywhat we ironically call "GOOD Friday."

On the first Palm Sunday, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey's colt, a little donkey. And people are going NUTS!

Not "nuts" in a bad way like we saw in the film but in a GREAT way! Why? Because shortly before this, Jesus is a few miles up the road in a town called, Bethany. (John 11) He took his time getting to Bethany to visit his good friend Lazarus who was deathly sick. He was so sick that he died!

Everyone else was pretty freaked out by his death; LOTS of people were there to mourn with Lazarus' sisters, Mary and Martha.

But Jesus shows up, DAYS LATER and says, "This is no big deal, where is he, I want to see him."

And Martha's like, "He's been in the tomb for FOUR DAYS. It is like RIPE in there." (elaborate)

But in front of a whole bunch of people, Jesus tells them to roll away the stone and says, "Lazarus, come out!" And out he comes all wrapped with his burial clothes. Jesus says, "Unwrap him and let him go."

Just for the record, back then, just like now, four-day-old rotting corpses coming to life were NOT commonplace! But for those people keeping track, this was the THIRD person Jesus had brought back to life! (Jairus' daughter and the widow's son).

So up to this point, Jesus, although trying to keep a low profile was generating LOTS of attention and lots of followers.

He's taken on chief priests and Pharisees in "Church,"(Temple) challenging their teaching and besting them in front of crowds of people. And to prove that he doesn't just talk a good game, he's established a string of miracles, overcoming lifetime physical handicaps, casting out demons and bringing dead peeps back to life!

And Jerusalemthe town He's riding into-- is not some little villageit's not a "Sweetser" or a "Chili"; it's a city of 50,000 people and at this time during the Jewish holiday of Passover, it's like 150,000!! Jesus' popularity in terms of magnitude, was quickly gaining rock-star-like status.///

So here's Jesus, the cultural "buzz" of his day, riding on a little donkey into Jerusalem, this city teeming with 150,000 people,. And as he's riding in, people are all over the place; NOT waving palm leaves, they're laying them down in front of him along with their clothing. And they're SHOUTING: ppt

You might think: "How odd for a group of people to be chanting the same thingthat's odd!" (U-S-A!) They were chanting this verse because it came from Psalm 118 **(explain O.T.) ** that they had recited before many times in the Temple; a Psalm that was about a king that would come to save the Jews.

And this palm leaf deal; ppt at that time in history, the Romans and Jews would reward their military champions or military victories with palm leaves.

And in the minds of the Jews as Jesus is riding into Jerusalem is this verse from Zechariah 9:9-10 ppt

"Rejoice greatly shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey--even on a donkey's colt. I will remove the battle chariots from Israel and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and I will destroy all the weapons used in battle. Your king will bring peace to the nations. His realm will stretch from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth."

So there's this vibe in the crowd that this king riding in a donkey is going to sling some serious power and might. They believe he's the king, and back then kings weren't these ceremonial British kind of monarchs. They, weren't polite, weak, meek and mild. Kings were strong, mighty and victorious.

And remember, no one on the planet except for Jesus really knows how the week's going to end. What they know are these versus from the Old Testament that speak of a mighty King who's gonna kick some serious you-know-what and free the Jews from the rule of the Romans. Got the picture?

"all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen. "Bless the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in highest heaven!"

But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, "Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!" He (Jesus) replied, "If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers! 19:37-40

This is some great foreshadowing. On one hand we see that instantly the Phariseesthe religious leaders, the most powerful Jews weren't happy, right away we can see trouble between them & Jesus.

But the part I love is that Jesus is saying to the Pharisees, "Look, what's going on here is what my Father wants to happen and if I shut them up, the Big Man's going to make ROCKS cry out--- if God in heaven wants something to happen, no one's going to stop it." Here's the first hint that Jesus is unstoppable. That regardless of what people do, regardless if Jesus tells them to chill out, nothing is going to stop His mission.

One of the big things we need to understand about Good Friday is that all the cheering crowd, all the Pharisees all the bystanders did NOT understand what they were seeing; they didn't get it right. ppt

Some thought they were seeing a political/military powerful king; one who would end the Roman oppression of the Jews. They thought He would bring peace to that region in much the same way that the world now dreams of peace in the Middle Eastthen it was a powder keg and now it's STILL a powder kegit hasn't changed.

Religious leaders thought he came to bring trouble to the church. They thought He was someone who was arrogantly spitting in the face of God's teaching. They didn't think He was really the Son of God.

And I'm sure some didn't know what to make of Him. Was He really who He said? Did they see Him the way some of us see contemporary street magician, David Blaine? Was he just a "man" who could do freaky things?

If you think about it, not knowing what to do with Jesus seems like a timeless dilemma. On that first Palm Sunday there were people in the streets trying to figure who this Jesus was, and in 2004, in streets in Kokomo IN and in seats in this room, people are still trying to figure out who this Jesus is. Palm Sunday 2,000 years ago and Palm Sunday todaythere are still people on the bubble.

So in the spirit of "not getting it right" I want to look at three characters in the week of Palm Sunday that we got to see in the movie The Passion of the Christ, and see how they missed the boatsee how they didn't get it right-- and then to see what we may have in common with them.

First of all I want us to understand that these were real people. Don't believe it just because the Bible says so, but believe it because there's archaeological evidence that they were here at that time.

For centuries, there was no evidence to prove that Pontius Pilate ppt ever existed. But in 1961 Italian archaeologist Dr. Frova excavated an ancient Roman amphitheatre and found this limestone block ppt that states "Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea."

Secondly there's Caiaphas. ppt We didn't find evidence about him until 1990. Construction crews working on a road just outside the Old City of Jerusalem accidentally discovered an old Jewish tomb.

Israeli archaeologist, Zvi Greenhut found 12 ossuaries ("osh-uary"); limestone bone boxes). This ppt is the most beautifully decorated of the ossuaries and it's inscribed with the name "Joseph son of Caiaphas." That was the full name of the high priest we know as just Caiaphas from the Bible. Inside were the remains of a 60-year-old male dating to the first century A.D.

Lastly, King Herod Antipas. ppt At Christmas-time we hear the story of when Jesus was born, King Herod tried to kill the Christ Child; that was not this Herod, but his father, Herod the Great.

The modern excavations of the cities of Sepphoris and Tiberias provided a huge amount of coins ppt from that time period that have Herod's likeness or name on them. In fact there are so many of these you can purchase some online if you have enough "coin!"

I've seen the movie twice, and both times I have looked at these three men with mixed emotions.

Here's a picture of Caiaphas ppt as he's standing at the bottom of the stairs, in front of his mob talking, talking sternly, petitioning Pontius Pilate to kill Jesus.

As I sat in the theater and watched this man have a bogus trial at his house in the middle of the night; and anyone who cried "outrage" was ushered out. Jesus was hit and spit on. Then here in the square, he pushed Pilate to crucify him. Even after the Roman soldiers scourged Him, they bring this bloody Jesus out with a crown of thorns on His head ppt (elaborate) and Caiaphas says, "Crucify!"

As I watched the movie, ppt I just had so much hatred in me toward Caiaphas. I wanted to hit him. I wanted in the worst way to do bad things to him.

Because what I saw in Caiaphas was his need to be in control. He was the HIGH PRIEST. He was THE man of power, of influence. If what Jesus was saying was true, then the old way of doing things would come to an end.

Being the HIGH PRIEST wouldn't be what it used to be. If Jesus was who He said He was then JESUS would be the High Priest. And Caiaphus would be much less in control.

And when I looked at Caiphus and wanted to hate him and wanted to hate how much he wanted to be in control I realized there's a part of me that wants to be in control too.

For me, as a follower of Jesus Christ in 2004, some days it's a challenge to take a back seat to my desires and to let Jesus be in control of my lifeto really be in control. I like control. I like to know how things are going to go. It's comforting to know what's coming next. (wake up)

In the same way that those people cheering as Jesus road into Jerusalem didn't get it right, when I try to be in control of my life, instead of letting Jesus be in control, I don't get it right either.

It's easy for me to look at those people in the Bible on that first Palm Sunday, knowing how the story ends and shake my head and say, "Man, they're just so dense."

But Caiaphas reminds me that there are days or pockets in the day when I am so dense. As a 39 year old who's gained SOME wisdom from life, and as someone who's followed Jesus for more than a few years now, it's easy to instinctively think I know what's right and to lean on my own understanding.

But when I don't look to Jesus in every matter that comes my way; from my marriage, to my job, to my kids, to my healthwhen I hold on to the control of these things in my life--then I am not so different from Caiaphas.

And too, I have to remember what Jesus said as He road into Jerusalem: that if he told the crowd to stop praising Him, then the rocks would. And if Caiaphas would have backed down and not called for Jesus' death, someone else would have. Because Jesus was on His Father's unstoppable mission.

Here's Pilate. ppt Here's a guy that historically gets a pretty good break as far as reputations go. He TRIED to tell the Jews Jesus was innocent. He gave Jesus an opportunity to speak up for himself and save His own life. He tried to get out of making a decision by sending Him to Herod to be judged. In the end, all he did was what the Jews wanted him to do.

As I watched Pilate in the movie, in my head I was saying, "Come on! Make a decision! Quit being so wishy-washy! Dude, you've got the power to put the kybosh on this uprising, just do it! Will you just put an END to all this insanity!??"

But he doesn't. Like Caiaphas, he does something familiar to us in 2004: He tries to make everyone happy. (not Jesus.)

There had already been a dozen bloody uprisings in this area in the previous 100 years. His own head could be in question if this one gets out of hand. He wanted Caesar to be happy and the Jews to be happy.

Sometimes you and I want everyone to be happy too. Only Jesus never says, "Follow me and everyone will be happy." He just says, "Follow me."

One of the things we believe around here, is that if you follow Jesus with your whole life and all that you are, your life will work.

But everyone won't initially be happy about that. Because living a life that's surrendered to Jesus, is usually a life that's a process of us changing; we become less like ourselves and more like Christ.

Newsflash: our old self was usually doing all kinds of "old-self" things with other people. When we decide to stop certain behaviors and pick up new God-honoring behaviors, that doesn't always make everyone happy!

Here's the reality: God will call all of us to do things; could be little things like reading the Bible, could be BIG things like quitting certain destructive behaviors. In everything God calls us to do, we can be tempted to say, "Yeah, but I wonder what so-n-so will think about me?"

If we know God wants us to do something, but we "put on the brakes" because of others' opinions, then we're like Pilate, wanting everyone to be happy.

In the end, Pilate's attempt to make people happy failed. In the end, the city of Jerusalem would be leveled to the ground by Roman armies not that many years after Jesus' death.

In the end, Christianity with Jesus in the center of it became unstoppable. Jesus stirred up controversy when He lived on earth, and now more than ever He still stirs it up. Just look at the spectrum of responses to this movie. Pilate didn't stop the uprising.

Did you notice that in the movie, Pilate didn't seem like a happy man? Trying to keep people happy is stressful. Show me someone trying to keep everyone happy and I'll show you someone who's frazzled and tired.

But Romans 8:6 says, ppt "If the Holy Spirit controls your mind there is life and peace." I didn't see any peace in Pilate. You?

Interestingly, in the movie, we meet his wife, Claudia. ppt In the gospels we aren't told her name but in Matthew (27:19) we see the basis for her part in the movie.

As I watched her interact with Pilate, telling him that Jesus is innocent and asking him if he recognizes truth when he hears it. I found myself saying, "Yes, go for it! Tell him what you believe! Help him come to his senses!"

Can you imagine how she would have felt after Jesus' crucifixion if she had NOT spoken up?? Imagine the regret.

This is a picture I have on computer desktop. I love this picture, because after seeing the film, her face is such a strong symbol in my mind for truthGod's truth. This pictures reminds me that there is a right and a wrong and that my life is not about making people happy. It's about believing & acting on God's truth.

Let Pilate be a reminder that living to make people happy doesn't work. Jesus didn't say, "Follow me and everyone will be happy." He said, "Follow me; do as I command; do as I lead you to do." Trying to make everyone happy leads to frustration. And remember, Romans 8:6 says following God leads to peace.

And lastly we have Herod ppt. The thing that probably strikes us about seeing Herod in the film is that he comes across really "weird", maybe even kinky or perverse in a sexual kind of way.

This comes from the fact that he divorced his wife to marry, Herodias. Herodias was his half-brother's ex-wife. She also happened to be the daughter of another half-brother. So, in Herodias he marries one woman who is both his sister-in-law AND his niece. (Makes Jerry Lee Lewis look like a saint doesn't it?)

Even in the strange times that Herod lived in, THIS was considered perverse; that's why in the movie, he comes across as a little freaky. ;-)

In fact John the Baptist called him out on the matter which eventually resulted in John's head literally ending up on a platter. (not the main point here.)

When Pilate sends Jesus to Herod, Herod is very interested in Him. It says, ppt "Herod was delighted at the opportunity to see Jesus, because he had heard about him and had been hoping for a long time to see him perform a miracle." Luke 23:8 nlt

When we look at this snapshot of Herod and Jesus we see that Herod's not interested for who Jesus IS, but what He can DO.

He's heard all these tales of miracles, walking on water, healing the sick and lame, raising the dead and he says, "Let me see one of these miracles!"

And this too, is another area that I can slip into with Jesus. I can fall into the "Jesus, will You please do this for me?" "Jesus, will you please fix this part of me?" "Jesus, will you help me get this thing?"

On one hand, Jesus wants to help us and needs to help us. Remember, God is our Father in Heaven and we're His children. Now, think about us as parents and our children.

Sandra & I LOVE to get things for our kids. We love to do things for them and help them with all kinds of stuff. But every once in a while, my kids get out of balance. And I can tell it in their tone.

Or they want to go out to eat after we've just spent a lot money on them and we say, "No, we just spent a bunch of money."

And sometimes with my Father in heaven, I can get out of balance. Sometimes I'm too much in the "ask" mode.

One of the things that impacted me about the film was the scourging, the carrying the cross, and His death. That really helped me put my "Jesus, to-do list" in perspective.

Before the movie, I had heard the phrase, "If Jesus doesn't do anything for me beyond what He did on the cross, that's enough." I used think of that as a contemplative religious cliché.

But after I see these, I really do believe that what Jesus did is enough. If He never does anything else for me, it's enough.

Just like we want our kids to love us for who we are, not what we do; let's be reminded through Herod, that who Jesus IS and what He's already done ought to be enough to make us drop to our knees and give unending thanks.///

Today on Palm Sunday we celebrate the day that Jesus road into Jerusalem on the last week of his earthly life. A day when nearly everyone watching got it wrong.

If we're like Caiaphas, have a tendency to control our lives instead of Jesus, let's put that aside.

If we're like Pilate and want everyone to be happy maybe even to the point of not acting on what God tells us, let's put that aside.

If we're like Herod and sometimes give Jesus our Holy to-do list more than we just want to be with Him and love Him, let's put that aside.

A great way to put things aside is to put Jesus in the center of our life. A great way to do that is through worship, through standing, singing truth to God and telling Him where you WANT Him to be in your life.

Odds are as you heard me talk about these three people, you probably resonated with one or more than one. As I put this together I know there have been times when I could relate with all three.