Making the Final Preparations

So I have wandered back and forth over the last few days trying to decide if I should talk about Palm Sunday or if I should talk about Good Friday.

 

I guess what I came up with is a combination of both.

 

Let me tell you about my Thursday. Thursday morning, my first order of business was to go to our Weatherization office and network a new printer to two computers. This was a little different circumstance than normal because we did not want this printer connected to the computers through the network, but actually hardwired to each computer. I had figured out how to do this and went, anticipating it to go fine. It took some finagling but bottom line, I made it work. I was happy and thinking everything was good…..on  to my next stop. That is where the reality of the day started to rear its head.  When I got to the other office, I couldn’t see a problem and though that might be a good thing, I always worry that the issue is with me when that happens because I am afraid I haven’t trained someone well enough, hence, them thinking there is a problem. I get back to my own office and send an email out that I believed to be true and correct. Only to find out moments later, I was wrong and had to send out a second email saying so. My day pretty well just kept going like this. I went from a super great start to not being able to wait to say the day was over.

 

Let’s look first at the celebration on Palm Sunday. The scripture is John 12: 12-18

 

¹² On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,

¹³ Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.

¹⁴ And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written,

¹⁵ Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.

¹⁶ These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.

¹⁷ The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record.

¹⁸ For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle.

 

 

I know Jesus knew the outcome of what the end of the week was going to bring even as he was riding into town on a donkey, having people waving palm branches to recognize his entrance.  Still, doesn’t it feel good when you know people are celebrating you? I know some of my friends don’t like to be the center of attention but they still like to be recognized. They still like to have people say, “Hey, we like you, we think you are great!” and that is what people were doing that day. They  had seen the many miracles He had done. They had such high hopes for what Jesus could do for them. I don’t know what they thought at the time but I think I have said it before, people sometimes try to make God out as their own personal genie, I wonder if people were doing the same with Jesus on that day.  I worry that we are all guilty of thinking at some point in time, “What’s in it for me?”

 

We get so wrapped up with what is going on with our lives here on earth that we think in the terms of what I need here and now. What Jesus was offering was what we all need forever. Literally, FOREVER.

 

I wonder if Jesus made eye contact with any of the people who were waving the palm branches, we know that there was a crowd that day and a crowd at the end of the week, screaming, “Crucify Him”. I can’t help but think many of the faces were the same.  I wonder what that felt like to be that person. Worse yet, I wonder if I were alive in that time, would it have been me? Waving that palm branch, saying Hosanna, which means “save us now” basically one minute and screaming “Crucify Him!” the next. All the people knew Jesus was there to save them. They just seemed to misunderstand how. When God didn’t work the way they expected Him to, they decided to stop believing.

 

Let’s look ahead to the crowd as Pilate present Jesus to them. John 19:1-15

 

Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.

² And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,

³ And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.

⁴ Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.

⁵ Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!

⁶ When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.

⁷ The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

⁸ When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;

⁹ And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.

¹⁰ Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?

¹¹ Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

¹² And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.

¹³ When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.

¹⁴ And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!

¹⁵ But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

 

 

I remember growing up, getting a lesson from a very wise man in our church. We get it in our heads that the Romans had Christ crucified. The truth is, Jesus was born to die, destined to go to the Cross. Yes, God used the Romans to get the job done but he did this for us. He did it for me. He did it for you.  There is a whole other lesson in why Christ had to die to save us, for now, just know He did. Most importantly, we get to next week and Praise Him for conquering death for us.

 

Everything I do wrong, everything I think wrong, Christ hung on that cross so I didn’t have to. I think back to last Thursday, when things didn’t go right, I think, “why can’t I do anything right”. And when things don’t go right, I think, “Why me, why today?” I have a friend who has taught me to say, “Why not me,” and I get it but there are days that is easier to do than others. I cannot imagine hanging on a cross, I definitely can’t imagine doing it because someone else--- everybody else had done something wrong. Yet, it was the entire reason Christ came to earth.

 

My challenge to you this week is to concentrate on all the things Christ died for. I mean, make it very personal. I had a friend tell me one time she didn’t think I sinned because she didn’t see me do wrong things. I laughed, even though I appreciated the thought, we all sin. Just remember, 1 John 1: 8 says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”. I sin, everyday. I hate it and I ask for forgiveness when I realize I do it but I am sure there are times I do it and don’t even realize. Thursday, through the mess that was my day, as I was driving, I came to an intersection where, at the time, I believed the other person had the right of way. I stopped and he waved me on, seriously, the thought that went through my mind, “Learn how to drive!” As I was driving down the road, running the scene back through my head and realizing where the stop sign was located, I realized, I was wrong. I am sure there are days I don’t realize I am wrong though, even though I am. Christ died for those times too.

 

So, take a few minutes to reflect on each day, what did I do wrong? What did Christ die for? When I get in this mood, I find myself a little more careful with my words, a little more cautious with my actions.  He died for all of them, but I wonder if now that He is in Heaven, if, when I do those stupid things, he feels the nails going through his hands one more time, or feels the memory of that crown of thorns being pushed down on his head. And then, I hear Him, saying, I would do it all again, so you don’t have to.

It took me a while to decide this week’s song. But  I finally chose one of my all time favorites. Chris Tomlin’s Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone). Please remember Christ dying on the cross is only half the story. I will finish it next week.

 

If you have never accepted Christ as your Savior, there is no time like now. He did this all for you and as I said, He would do it again, but He doesn’t need to. He is now waiting for you to come to Him and accept His love and His mercy. He is offering you eternal life. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, you can leave me a comment, or send a message to me through facebook, or send an email to me at amrb91@frontier.com.