Behold the Glory Before the Cross!

Palm Sunday, 3/28/21 Mark 11:1-10 Behold the Glory Before the Cross! I. See your Savior in complete control. II. Hear your Savior’s joyful praise. The current pandemic has taught us many things and has reminded us of many things. And one of those is this: that during tough times, when our daily lives aren’t anything like we want them to be, we yearn for something positive, anything positive. Recall how you felt just a few months ago when you learned that COVID vaccinations were being administered and it was just a matter of time before you would have the opportunity to receive one. Recall how relieved you were to find out late last spring and early last summer that some of your favorite businesses were allowed to reopen. Most parents today are relieved that their children are experiencing in-person classroom education. Now, here in Ohio, we’re waiting anxiously for the governor to announce that we have reached the minimum goal he has set for positive COVID tests and all bans are now lifted. During tough times, we look for something positive, anything positive. Roughly the last half of Jesus’ earthly ministry had not gone well. The attacks on his ministry from the Pharisees and Sadducees increased in frequency and intensity. When the masses of people realized that Jesus wasn’t going to allow them to make him their earthly king, they turned away from him. Increasingly Jesus was forced to withdraw, spending time alone with his disciples as he prepared them for his sufferings, death, and resurrection, and for the time when he would send them out into the world after his ascension. But there was a bright spot or two—something positive, anything positive. About six weeks before his death he appeared in all his glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. While on that mountain, he received his Father’s approval and ministry endorsement. But once he descended that mountain, things returned to “normal.” The people still held to their misconceptions about who the Messiah should be, and his disciples argued about which of them was the greatest and most deserving of the prized positions in the kingdom that Jesus would establish. But then came Palm Sunday. Jesus rode into Jerusalem with crowds of his fellow Jews in front of him and behind him. His popularity was soaring. The people couldn’t get enough of him. But five days later, only a small handful of these people would want anything to do with him as he hung on the cross, suffering the agony of hell. Although this week in the life of Jesus started out in glory, it ended in agony. Palm Sunday prepares us for the agony ahead. It’s one of those glorious events in the life of our Savior. So, don’t miss that glory. Behold it! Behold the glory before the cross! Part I. The older I become, the more I realize that powerful people make things go the way they want. They routinely determine what outcome will benefit them the most and they’re able to make it happen. They have the money and the influence over other people to accomplish whatever serves them best. There is One who possesses all power, and he used it to make things happen as he wanted them to. But he did so not to benefit himself, but for your good and mine. That’s what we see Jesus doing as he prepares to enter Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Listen again to his instructions to two of his disciples, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’” So, let me ask you. If you had all power and all knowledge of future events, would you use them to select a young donkey? I know I wouldn’t! But think about it. The logical conclusion for a person to draw about what happened to Jesus in Jerusalem is that it was the greatest tragedy in history. But Jesus showed that he was in complete control of everything that was happening, even down to the selection of his mode of transportation into Jerusalem. He left nothing to chance. You heard the words of the prophet Zechariah just a few minutes ago. The Lord had foretold he would ride on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Jesus knew that our salvation depended on him fulfilling every prophecy, even this one. So, he made certain that he rode into Jerusalem exactly that way. He had it all set up. And that continued to be true throughout the rest of the week that he spent in Jerusalem. He knew exactly what his enemies were going to do to him. He told his disciples weeks in advance what to expect. And then he made sure every detail happened, leading right up to Calvary’s cross. In fact, when his disciples tried to take control of things in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus rebuked them. We often refer to Jesus as a victim. What happened to him in Jerusalem on this week that began with Palm Sunday was tragic in every sense of the word. But he was always in complete control. Behold the glory before the cross. See your Savior in complete control. Let’s allow that truth to sink into our hearts and minds for a moment. Jesus was in complete control of all things so that he could carry out the salvation of every sinful human being, including you and me. He was in complete control of the cruel things that happened to him so that he could accomplish what we needed most for him to do—suffer and die as our substitute on Calvary’s cross. And, by the grace of God, we trust in him as our only Savior from sin. Praise God for that saving confidence in Christ! But what’s our response to our lesser needs in life, to our daily trials and tribulations, to our unfulfilled expectations and our unrealized dreams about our earthly lives? Well, to put it bluntly, we’re filled with doubt, worry, and dismay. We wring our hands over what we see going on around us. And although we try to make things better, we never quite accomplish our goals, only adding to our frustrations and dismay. We feel as if our world is heading headlong into hell and we’re getting sucked along with it. Did your Savior, Jesus Christ, display control over all things as he headed into Jerusalem to suffer and die or not? People of God, see the glory in his Palm Sunday ride! Take to heart that he knew exactly what was ahead of him and he made sure they all happened. Why? Because he had you on his mind and in his heart. So, live today and tomorrow in that confidence. Behold the glory before the cross! Part II. Imagine being Jesus on Palm Sunday. For months on end his fellow Jews held to their misconceptions about who the Messiah should be and what he should do. And it was bad enough that he faced that reaction from the common people. It must have crushed him when his own disciples and his family members shared those earth-bound hopes and dreams for him. But not on this day! Not on Palm Sunday! Listen to the crowds’ reaction to Jesus on this day, “Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!’” They clearly connect Jesus with the messianic promise the Lord made to King David—that one of David’s descendants would rule forever. Their shouts of “Hosanna!” indicated that they believed Jesus had come to Jerusalem to save them. What a glorious moment for our Savior! But you have to wonder—where were these people five days later? No crowds on Good Friday. In fact, his disciples deserted him when he needed them most. There was no one to defend him at any of his trials. We don’t hear that anyone spoke up for him as he faced Pilate. His mother followed him to Calvary. So did a few other women and his disciple John. But they were vastly outnumbered by the Jews who hated Jesus and nailed him to the cross. But the fact that the Palm Sunday crowds didn’t defend him on Friday or go with him to Calvary doesn’t negate or diminish in any way what they declared about him as he entered Jerusalem. They clearly proclaimed who he was—the promised son of David. This was the long-awaited Messiah, Immanuel—God with us. And they clearly proclaimed what he had come to do—establish a kingdom that would endure forever. In that kingdom they would find their forgiveness and salvation. I’m not implying that their faith in Jesus was free of misconceptions. But I am saying that what they declared about Jesus was the saving truth. And that made this a glorious event for Jesus. Behold the glory before the cross! Hear your Savior’s joyful praise. Let me ask you something. What will it take for you to think that everything is OK? Well, I suppose there are more answers to that question than we have time for this morning. From COVID to cancer, from money to marriage, from family to friends, from vocation to vacation—a lot of things need to happen before you’re OK, right? How about this? How about knowing and believing that everything is OK because you belong to the saving kingdom of Jesus Christ by faith in him? You live in that kingdom right now, with Jesus as your Savior and King. That means everything is OK. In fact, it will turn out perfectly for you. Just as there was glory for Jesus before the cross, there is glory for you after the cross, because of the cross. That glory consists in knowing you are in his kingdom now. And you’ll enjoy the fullness of that glory when Jesus calls you to his side in heaven. That’s your confidence. That’s your comfort. And it’s all because of what Jesus did for you on Holy Week so long ago. Behold the glory before the cross! Now go with Jesus this week to his cross, and next Sunday to his empty tomb. See it and believe it! Amen.