Today, the gospel lesson is a reading from the gospel according to John.
The next day, the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.
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.
Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written,
Do not be afraid, daughter Zion. See, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt.
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 these things had been done to him.
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. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign,
went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another,
See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him.
Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival.
They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request.
Sir, they said, we would like to see Jesus.
Philip went to tell Andrew. Andrew and Philip, in turn, told Jesus.
Jesus replied,
The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Very truly I tell you, 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.
Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world
will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, my servant also will be.
My Father will honor the one who serves me.
Now my soul 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.
Father, glorify your name.
Then a voice came from heaven.
I have glorified it and will glorify it again.
The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered.
Others said an angel had spoken to him.
Jesus said,
This voice was for your benefit, not mine.
Now is the time for judgment on this world.
Now the prince of this world will be driven out,
and I, when I am lifted up from the earth,
will draw all people to myself.
He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
This is the gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Good morning.
Let's pray.
Father, we thank you for being a God who writes better stories than we would write for ourselves.
We thank you for sending forth your son,
a better king than we could have dreamed of.
And we pray that as your word goes forth this morning,
that your presence would go with it.
That we'd behold him, our king.
And that we would sing our hosannas to him.
And hear his words of assurance that there is salvation in his name.
Because of what he's done.
So bring glory to your son this morning, we pray.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Alright, so this is my sixth time,
sixth time in my life,
preaching a Palm Sunday sermon.
It kind of comes with the territory when you're not the lead pastor.
Because next week is Easter, right?
And I'm definitely not going to get that one.
Not ready for the big boy pants.
But you know, I've always thought Palm Sunday was kind of strange.
I've always felt a little unsure about how to handle it,
or like how to enter into Palm Sunday emotionally.
Because like, on the one hand, it is a celebration.
It really is.
And that's why we have these cute little kids walking up,
you know, entering into that tradition
that started all the way back in the fourth century
of reenacting what happened in Jerusalem
on that first Palm Sunday.
When Jesus came in as king, right?
Rode in on a donkey.
Palms were waving.
Crowds were chanting and singing.
No doubt, as we heard read in this passage,
there was a ton of joy and energy
and excitement on the first Palm Sunday,
and rightfully so.
They were right to recognize Jesus as their king
with joyful exuberance and singing.
Yet on the other hand,
as much as they had reason to honor and acknowledge
that Jesus is king,
we also know that they sang far better than they knew.
And that this moment, though genuine,
was also filled with a lot of misunderstanding.
No one had any idea what kind of king
was riding into Jerusalem.
Even his own disciples had no clue.
No one but Jesus had any idea
that this triumphal entry
was far from the happy ending
that they all expected to unfold.
No one had any idea
that this was not the climax,
not the pinnacle,
not the final destination.
Actually, things were about to get
a lot worse for Jesus.
And it kind of makes you wonder
if they knew what was about to happen.
If they knew that just in a few days,
Jesus would be arrested,
beaten, mocked,
and lifted up on a cross,
would they still be celebrating?
Would they still claim him as their king?
Or would they just walk away?
So like, knowing what happens next,
it's hard to read these Palm Sunday accounts
throughout the Gospels
and not wonder,
was Jesus' Palm Sunday celebration
something to be celebrated?
Or was this just the short-sighted,
nationalistic fervor
of a people who saw in Jesus
a kind of king
that he actually never intended to be?
What are we supposed to feel on Palm Sunday?
Joy and triumph?
Or something more like uneasy anticipation?
You know, I'm beginning to think
that it's actually both.
Palm Sunday shows us something true
but not yet complete.
It tells us that Jesus really is king,
but it doesn't show us yet
what kind of king he is
or what his glory really looks like
or consists of.
And you can feel that tension
when you picture the scene.
Recently, I watched some of the
Palm Sunday episode of The Chosen.
Anyone watch The Chosen?
I love The Chosen.
And I have no idea, you know,
how it actually went down,
and neither do the writers of The Chosen.
I have no idea what Jesus'
actual emotional state was
on Palm Sunday,
but personally,
I thought The Chosen did a great job
capturing all that Jesus
might have felt
as he rode into Jerusalem
on that donkey
with palms waving,
people singing his praises.
So like in The Chosen,
Jesus is, he's smiling,
he's enjoying the moment
with his disciples,
he doesn't stop the people
from singing Hosanna,
he doesn't stop them
from lining the path
with palms and with their cloaks.
And when the religious leaders
tell him to silence the crowds,
he's even bold enough to say
that if they stop,
what will happen?
The stones will cry out
in their place, right?
He willingly receives
all this glory, praise,
and honor that's being
heaped upon him.
And yet at the same time,
if you watch closely,
he's also not nearly
as enthusiastic as disciples,
as his disciples,
especially Peter, right?
He doesn't let himself
get caught up
in the fervor of the crowd.
It's not like he hops
off the donkey
and body surfs
through Jerusalem, right?
No.
In The Chosen,
they did this so well.
But like what happens
is he gets into Jerusalem
and he gets to this point, right,
where he's riding
into the city,
everyone's cheering,
everyone's chanting,
the disciples are on cloud nine,
right?
This is our guy, right?
We've got access
to the guy
that the whole city
is glorifying.
But then at one point,
while the crowd
is going wild,
Jesus rides up
to one of the walls
of the temple
and what he sees,
staining the cracks
of the stone wall,
is the blood
of countless lambs
slain for the sins
of the people.
And it's like time stops
for him.
And his breath gets heavy.
And all the singing
and noise gets drowned out
and it's like he's frozen.
And this is so puzzling
to his disciples
because this is like
the greatest moment
in their lives.
Surely it must be for him,
right?
And they cannot fathom
why he might not be
soaking in the moment,
soaking in all the glory
that is being poured out
upon him.
They cannot understand
what is going on
in the mind of Jesus
all because
while they rightly
see his glory
and while they rightly
celebrate his kingship,
there is still something
about his glory,
something about his kingship
that they have yet
to understand.
And this is what
Palm Sunday invites us into.
On this side of the cross
and resurrection,
we do join in the joy.
We do join in giving
Jesus the glory.
He really is the king.
But the glory we celebrate
has far more to do
with his wooden cross
than his golden crown.
That's what the crowds
didn't understand.
Even as they shouted
their hosannas,
meaning save us now,
and even as they called him
the blessed one
who comes in the name
of the Lord,
the king of Israel,
no one understood
the nature of Jesus' glory.
Verse 16 says,
even his disciples
did not understand
all the depth
of what was happening
in the scene.
All that they knew
was that Jesus
had come in power
full of signs and wonders.
He'd just raised
Lazarus from the dead
and word was spreading
and momentum was gaining.
And much to the dismay
of Jesus' opposition,
the Pharisees
are just whining
to each other.
Verse 19,
see,
this is getting us nowhere.
Look how the whole world
has gone after him.
So I mean,
when you're being hailed
as king
and you're the most celebrated
person in this place
that's supposed to be
the very city of God,
and when even your enemies
are throwing up their hands
in frustration
and in defeat,
isn't this,
isn't Palm Sunday
the ultimate picture
of glory?
I don't know about you,
but that sounds
pretty good to me.
If I were to write
a story for myself,
Jesus' story
up to this point,
it sounds,
pretty good.
A miracle baby
with massive prophecies
spoken over him,
narrowly escapes death
in Bethlehem,
flees to Egypt,
and though growing up
in relative obscurity,
even as a 12-year-old boy,
he shows incredible promise,
incredible wisdom,
incredible theological prowess,
and though coming up
in the no-name town
of Nazareth
and rejected by
maybe his own village
and maybe some
of the religious establishment,
here he is,
a man of the people,
demonstrating a power
and authority
unlike anything
anyone had ever seen
up to this point.
What a story,
right?
With the exception,
you know,
of a few small blips,
the temptation probably
wasn't very great,
and also the beheading
of his cousin,
but apart from those,
just a couple things
like opposition,
rejection here and there,
but for the most part,
Jesus' story
up to this point
is basically going
up and to the right,
right?
Is that up and to the right
for you?
It's up and to the right.
More and more influence,
more and more attention,
more and more momentum.
And at this moment,
as he rides into Jerusalem,
his stock's at an all-time high,
right?
His glory level
is over 9,000, right?
And if we're honest,
this is a storyline
most of us
would want for our own lives,
is what we'd want
for our children.
Wouldn't it be nice
if all our stories
could just end here,
right?
And just like Palm Sunday,
because this,
this to us,
is glory.
This is a weighty life.
This is a life that matters.
This is a life
that's made a difference.
This is the kind of life
that's revered,
respected,
admired,
and adored
as praiseworthy.
This is winning at life,
right?
This picture right here
of Palm Sunday.
He's winning at life.
And yet,
if we're honest,
can you think of a story
like this
that has moved you,
stirred you,
inspired you,
surprised you,
and shaped you
to be a better,
deeper,
more loving human being?
Can you think of a linear,
up-and-to-the-right story
that you find yourself
returning to again and again
and modeling the whole pattern
of your life after?
You know,
we may think that we want
an up-and-to-the-right story.
We may think that we want
our stories to end
at the triumphant entry.
But at the same time,
let's be real.
These aren't even the stories
that stick with us.
The stories that we come back to,
the stories that move us
and shape us,
the ones that we tell
again and again,
the ones we hope
will inspire generation
after generation
are the stories
of selfless love,
service,
and sacrifice
in adversity.
The stories of people
laying down their lives,
choosing others
over themselves
at enormous cost
to themselves.
Think of Harry Potter,
Deathly Hallows.
Think of the Iron Giant,
right?
Stopping the nuke.
Think of that final pilot
in Independence Day,
Bing Bong from Inside Out.
Tony Stark, right?
Avengers, Endgame,
the billionaire
who had everything
he ever wanted,
power, influence, legacy,
and yet in the end,
what made him unforgettable,
what made him a hero,
what made so many people
cry in the movie theaters?
It wasn't what he built,
it was what he gave.
He laid down his life
to save the world.
There is something
about these kinds of stories
that feels like
both unnatural, right,
and yet somehow
more true
than anything else,
even supernatural,
as if these stories
are portraying for us
the life
as it was meant
to be lived.
See, these stories,
they aren't just moving
and inspiring
in and of themselves.
No, actually,
every story of love,
every story of sacrifice
and service
that stirs our soul,
every single such story
is a derivative story,
an echo,
a shadow of something
far greater
and far more real.
And here in John 12,
Jesus begins to show us
what glory really looks like
and what kind of king
he truly is,
and it's nothing like
what was expected.
So remember in verse 19,
the Pharisees are despairing,
the whole world
is going after Jesus,
and it's as if
they are prophesying
because in verse 20,
they say,
we see that some,
you know,
God-fearing Greeks
are in town to worship,
and then these Greeks
are desiring to see Jesus.
Word has spread.
His glory cannot
and will not be contained.
And at this point,
you might expect Jesus to say,
here,
bring them to me.
Bring all the nations.
Let's scale the kingdom up
from the river to the sea
and from Judea to Samaria
to the ends of the earth.
But that's not what he does.
Instead,
Jesus' reply
seems almost like
a complete non sequitur.
He starts talking about his death.
He says in verse 23,
the hour has come
for the Son of Man
to be glorified.
And you might think
that he's saying,
this is it,
glory time,
time to be glorified
as all the nations come
flocking to me
to worship me,
to bow down to me
as king.
But if you've been paying attention
to John's gospel,
you'll notice that
when Jesus talks about
his hour coming,
it is most often used,
what?
To note the hour,
the time,
the moment
of his death,
of his crucifixion.
So you see,
the hour of his glorification here,
it's actually the hour
of his murder,
the moment of his murder.
What Jesus is saying here
is that yes,
he has just received
a ton of glory
in this triumphal entry
and even the Greeks
are looking to see him
and soon the whole world
will come.
But, he says,
this fame
and this popularity
are not the center
or the essence
of his glory.
No.
Rather,
what Jesus understands
as the primary
and most essential moment
of his glorification
is actually his death.
Good Friday.
Friday's still ahead.
Verse 24.
He says this.
Truly, truly,
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.
For Jesus,
scale and multiplication
come not through,
come,
I wrote that poorly.
Scale and multiplication
do not come
through self-preservation,
but through self-sacrifice,
through dying to oneself.
The whole point
and the whole glory
of a seed
is not to be preserved
and put into
a nice fancy glass container
to be showcased
for the world
to see and admire.
You don't see farmers
going out there
and say,
check out my seed.
Oh, my precious seed.
Right?
Everybody look
at my seed.
No.
Isn't it glorious?
No.
The glory of a seed
is the way it falls
into the ground
and becomes undone
in order to generate
new life
and multiply
other seed-bearing
organisms.
And that's what
Christ came to do.
Not to preserve
his own life,
but to bring new life
into the world
through his death
and resurrection.
And he says,
this is his glory.
It's his cross.
His glory is his agony.
That's the most glorious
thing about him,
actually.
Not that he avoids
the cross,
but that he chooses
the cross.
You see,
the cross is not
the interruption
of his glory.
It's the revelation
of his glory.
Because on the cross,
we see the most glorious
thing about God.
And in Jesus'
glorious willingness
to go to the cross,
he simultaneously
testified to the world
that there is more
to life than life.
At least life
in this world.
He says in verse 25,
anyone who loves
their life
will lose it.
While anyone who hates
their life in this world
will keep it
for eternal life.
And what he means
by that
is that there is
a glory more glorious
than the glory
of self-preservation
and survival.
A glory that
outlasts the glory
of self-preservation,
shines more brightly
than it.
It's the glory
of self-surrender,
the glory
of understanding
that my life
in this world
is not the main event,
not the most necessary,
not the most essential thing,
not the center
of the universe.
And therefore,
it need not be cherished
as my highest,
greatest possession.
In fact,
if I should love my life
as if it were
my most treasured possession,
then that is the surest way
to lose it.
Like, think about it.
If your whole life
is about protecting yourself,
feeding yourself,
securing your own future
and well-being,
keeping your comfort,
protecting your reputation,
gaining control,
sure, you might preserve
your life for a moment,
maybe longer
than the next person.
That tech billionaire,
Brian Johnson,
he's probably going to live
20, 30, 40 years
more than me
based on my lifestyle.
But in the end,
if we all live,
if all we live for
is to preserve
our own lives,
if we're committed
to a life
of self-love only
and not self-giving love,
have we even really lived?
Have we even really lived
a full life
as we were meant to?
And maybe that's a question
for all of us
to grapple with.
Which is more unnatural?
Which is more unnatural,
a life of self-giving love
or a life that revolves
entirely around
self-preservation?
What Jesus is saying here
is that if you hate
your life in this world,
that is if you loosen
your grip on the here and now,
if you stop acting like
you are the center
of the universe
and if you're willing
to subordinate
your love for yourself
in order to love
something higher,
something more worthy,
that is how you will
keep your life in the end,
Jesus says.
But listen,
this isn't just about
being more selfless,
loosening your grip
on life in this world.
More importantly,
it's about what you're
gripping most tightly,
who you're entrusting
your life to.
We're all gripping
onto something,
who you're following
as your way,
your truth,
your life.
Look with me at verse 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.
See what he's doing?
You don't just let go
of your life,
you commit your life
to serving and following
a king.
Even perhaps denying yourself,
taking up your own cross,
and following him to his.
To those who simply,
excuse me,
following him to his.
But get this.
Listen to Jesus'
incredible words
here after he says this.
He says,
my Father
will honor the one
who serves me.
My Father will honor
the one who serves me.
You hear that?
The very thing
we're all after,
honor,
glory,
a life that matters.
Jesus says,
you don't earn it,
you don't build it,
you don't secure it,
but if you follow me,
my Father
will give it to you
freely,
freely.
And that should change
everything.
That changes everything
for us.
Because if that's where
glory comes from,
you don't need to spend
your life chasing
after it anymore.
You don't have to
glorify yourself,
you don't have to
build your brand,
protect your image,
prove your worth.
No, because the very
thing you've been chasing,
the Father freely
gives you.
To those who simply
serve and follow
his Son,
he'll give honor
to you,
just as he's about
to give honor
to me,
Jesus says.
And again,
this changes everything.
Because listen,
if the Father
can take a cross,
an instrument of shame
and suffering
and death,
and he can turn it
into the most
glorious moment
in history,
if the Father
can bring the highest
honor to his Son
nailed to a cross,
then what would
make you think
he can't take
your life,
your weakness,
your losses,
your sacrifices,
your hidden obediences,
and turn them
into something
incredibly glorious too?
Do you believe
that he's a good
Father who loves
to give us
good things,
a good Father
who delights
to honor his children
and to answer
their prayers?
I love what it says
here in verses
27 to 30.
So Jesus,
he's admitting
that his soul
is troubled,
right?
And if he were
like most other
kings,
he would wield
this power
to relieve
his troubled
heart,
right?
Just as he could
have turned
the stones
to bread,
just as he could
have said no
to the cross,
just sat on
the throne,
on top of the
world as king
of it,
because he already
was.
He also could
have asked
his Father
to send legions
of angels
to save him
from his hour
of death,
right?
Father,
save me from
this hour.
But that's not
the prayer
that he prays,
because he knows
who he is,
he knows why
he's come,
and he knows
who he serves,
he knows whom
he wants to
glorify.
He submits
to his Father's
plan,
verse 27,
shall I pray
for deliverance
from my Father's
plan,
which includes
my torture
and crucifixion?
No,
he says.
It was for
this very reason
I came to
this hour.
And so in
this moment,
this kind of
pre-Gethsemane
moment where
his soul
is troubled,
because everyone
is celebrating
him,
everyone is
glorifying him
while he
knows the
truth,
the truth
of what
his glory
will involve.
In this
moment of
anguish,
he does not
pray for his
own comfort,
he does not
pray for his
own deliverance,
he does not
pray even for
strength to
endure what
he's about
to go through.
No,
he simply
prays the
prayer that
he taught
us to
pray.
Our
Father in
heaven,
hallowed be
your name.
Verse 28,
Father,
glorify your
name.
Father,
you are still
the center,
even if that
means death
for me,
even if that
means suffering
for me,
your kingdom
come,
your will be
done,
glorify your
name,
the name
above all
names,
whatever it
means,
that's what
I want,
Father.
And for me,
it is enough
that I
can start my
prayer with
Father,
my Father,
our Father.
This is
absolutely
incredible.
He is
practicing what
he is
preaching.
This is
him hating
his own
life in
order to
maintain a
life with
his Father.
This is
him becoming
a humble,
lowly,
unglorified
servant and
trusting that
his Father
will indeed
honor him.
And as
soon as he
prays this
prayer,
verse 28
says,
a voice
came from
heaven.
I have
glorified it
and will
glorify it
again.
Which was
the Father
saying,
yes,
my son.
You know
that this is
the one
prayer I
will always
say yes
to.
I have
always existed
and acted
to glorify
myself and
my name
in any
and every
circumstance.
And I will
continue to do
so.
I will
glorify my
name again
and again
and again,
even on the
darkest day
of history
when my
son,
my only
son,
the son
whom I
love,
will be
lifted up
on a
cross.
This was
the Father's
comforting
word to
his son.
As his
son faced
his hour,
he alone
understanding
the weight
and significance
of his
entrance into
Jerusalem as
king,
a king not
coming to
dawn a
crown of
gold but
a crown of
thorns.
And even
though the
people on
that day
could not
understand what
was said,
thinking it
was a
thunder,
some thunder
or an
angel,
Jesus says
in verse 30
that it was
for their
benefit and
not his,
meaning that
one of our
greatest needs
and one of the
greatest gifts
God has given
us is the
rock solid
assurance that
he will always
say yes to
this prayer,
Father, glorify
your name.
If you want to
that can never
crumble beneath
you, if you
want to pray
the kinds of
prayers and
set your
hearts upon
the kinds of
things that
God will
never say
no to,
pray this
prayer.
Father, glorify
your name.
Our Father in
heaven, hallowed
be your name.
Your kingdom
come, your
will be done,
and the answer
will always be
yes, always.
Delight yourself
in the Lord,
right?
That's what the
psalm says,
delight yourself in
the Lord, and
he will give
you the desires
of your heart.
Do you realize
what a gift this
is in all the
uncertainty that
exists in our
life and in our
world?
And maybe you're
thinking to
yourself, but
what if God is
glorified in my
suffering?
What if God is
glorified in the
loss of my job?
What if God is
glorified in the
loss of my
health, in the
loss of my
child?
Jesus would
remind us,
anyone who
loves their life
will lose it,
while anyone who
hates their life
in this world
will keep it for
eternal life?
Jesus says,
sure, sure.
God may glorify
himself in any of
those situations,
maybe even worse
ones.
He says, even look
at me, he glorified
himself in me,
naked, tortured,
forsaken, and
crucified on a
Roman cross.
But what if that's
the best news of
all?
What if my cross is
my glory?
What if that means
that there is
nothing God can't
redeem?
That there is no
way we can screw
up his plan to
glorify himself, and
not only to glorify
himself, but to
bring honor to his
children?
Because don't you
see, the glory of
the Father is the
glory of his
children.
And as Jesus says
in verse 26, if we
follow him, we follow
our big brother Jesus,
the Son of God, the
Father will honor us.
That's his promise.
Glory for him and
glory for us by virtue
of our union and
communion with the
Son of God, Jesus
Christ.
This is the cheat
code.
This is power
overwhelming.
The cross is the
glory of our Savior.
It's his victory over
the world and all
that is evil.
Verse 31.
Now is the time for
judgment on this
world.
Now the prince of
this world will be
driven out.
This is Jesus doing
the ultimate judo
move, right?
Putting death to
death by his own
death on a cross,
right?
This is Harry Potter
laying down his life
to destroy the
horcrux.
This is Jesus breaking
the power of sin,
the power of the
prince of this
world.
Because of the
cross, the enemy
has no claim, no
charge, no dominion
over us.
He has no say, no
word of condemnation
that he can level
against us.
Every lie that
comes into your
head telling you
that you are not
worthy and that you
are not enough and
that you cannot be
loved and you cannot
be forgiven and that
there is no hope and
that you are unwanted
and that you have no
value.
The glory of the
cross is that it
speaks a better word
and not a word of
positive psychology or
optimistic therapy,
but the gospel is
what it speaks to us.
The gospel that says,
yes, you are far more
sinful than you could
ever imagine and yet
at the very same time
far more loved than you
would ever dare hope.
Yes, your sins are many,
but his mercy is more.
Your sins were that bad.
They cost the son of
God his life and yet
your worth is infinite
because the son of God
purchased you with that
life.
Our sins have been paid.
Our debt's been canceled.
Apostle Paul writes this
in Colossians 2,
when you were dead in
your sins, God made you
alive with Christ.
He forgave us all our
sins, having canceled
the charge of legal
indebtedness which stood
against us and condemned
us.
He has taken it away,
nailing it to the cross
and having disarmed the
powers and authorities,
he made a public
spectacle of them,
triumphing over them by
the cross.
You see, upon the cross,
when the entire world
believed that Jesus was
losing, he was actually
winning.
High and lifted up.
It's like what the
prophet Isaiah wrote,
see my servant, he will
be raised and lifted up
and highly exalted.
Just as there were many
who were appalled at him,
his appearance was so
disfigured beyond that of
any human being and his
form marred beyond human
likeness, so he will
sprinkle many nations
and kings will shutter
their mouths because of
him.
But he was pierced for
our transgressions.
He was crushed for our
iniquities.
The punishment that
brought us peace was on
him and by his wounds
we are healed.
Therefore, I will give
him a portion among the
great, he has promised,
because he poured out
his life unto death.
And though the prophet
did not know exactly
what this would look like
today, we can find
depictions of this event
all over the world.
Over the past 2,000 years,
many of them ghastly,
many of them frightening,
many of them hard to
look at and troubling to
gaze upon, and yet at the
same time, beautiful,
preserved for ages,
venerated, they continue
to exist for centuries
now.
Why?
Because of the enduring
glory of the cross.
There is no symbol of
violence and bloodshed in
all of history that has
ever approached the glory
of Christ's cross.
But in fact, Christ's
cross has only continued
to inspire and transform
and unite.
The Son of God lifted up
from the earth,
drawing all people to
himself, not through power
or popularity, but through
his self-giving love.
This is the only kind of
glory that can draw the
entire world to itself
without it becoming a
fierce battle of competing
levels of glory.
Only the glory of Christ
revealed in his cross,
where shame was subverted
and glory transfigured.
That's the only place,
that's the only place
where all people can be
drawn to Christ, to the
glory of something so
bloody, so violent, his
cross.
So now, you know, today we
know.
We know what they didn't
know over 2,000 years ago
on that first Palm Sunday.
They saw glory, but they
didn't understand it.
They saw a king, but not
the kind of king he was.
They shouted, Hosanna,
save us now, not knowing
how he would do it.
But we do.
We know.
You know, when we think
about whether or not the
original Palm Sunday
celebrators, whether or
not they would have
celebrated as they did if
they knew where Jesus was
headed, we'll never know
that answer.
But what if the question
is not whether or not
they would glorify, honor,
and follow Jesus as their
king even to the cross,
but whether we will?
The story of Christianity
is that the stone the
builders rejected has
become the chief
cornerstone.
But the question is, is it
marvelous in our eyes?
A crucified king, do you
have eyes to see the glory
of his cross?
And will we invite that
kind of glory to shape our
own lives?
Will we wave our palms
today on Palm Sunday, but
still follow him tomorrow on
Monday?
Will we loosen our death
grip on life in this world
world so we can enjoy life
with him, eternally abundant
life forever?
And will we pray with
confidence, conviction,
surrender, and faith?
The one prayer God always
says and promises that he
will say yes to.
Father, glorify your name.
Will that be the cry of our
hearts?
If so, if so, the same
father who turned his son's
darkest hour into history's
greatest victory, he will
take our weakness and our
losses, our hidden obedience,
he'll turn even our darkest
moments into glory greater
than we could possibly
imagine.
In Christ, who through the
glory of his cross, through
the glory of his cross, he's
shown us the glory of the
father is the glory of his
children.
He will honor us, not because
of anything we've done, but
because of what Christ has done
for us.
So let's serve him, let's
honor him, let's bow down to
this king.
Will you pray with me?
Father, we thank you that you
are a God who glorifies
yourself.
You have always glorified
yourself, and you will
continue to do so.
And we thank you that even
while we were sinners, your
glory was not at odds with our
salvation, but in fact, your
glory was magnified in our
salvation.
Not because you are a God of
compromise, but because you are
indeed a God of holiness and
justice, and you sent forth your
son, a king like no one the
world has ever seen, to bear our
sins on a cross.
Oh God, only you could write a
story making beauty out of a
cross, and that's what you've
done in your son.
So we worship him.
We want to live like him.
We want to be shaped by him, oh
God, for your glory and for the
good of the world.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Amen.