INTRO… At some point THE Savior comes! …He comes to “the World” (The Creation) …He comes to a “Moment/Situation” …He Comes to “a People Group” …He comes to “an Individual”
…How Do You Figure Out the Right “Fit” for Your SAVIOR?
It’s HOLY WEEK—it is Also “Fit-Evaluation-Week” …Is Jesus the Kind of Savior We Think We Need?
Matt 21:1-11 1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
• It’s “Palm Sunday” in 33AD…
• There is “a people” gathered here—an “us”. They are a people of great traditions & identity!
Rom 9:4-5 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
…They are a people who believed there would one day come a special person! …someone different from the normal people and even different from their past heroes! …someone with difference-making power! …someone who could get things done! …someone who could bring freedom and overthrow conditions of oppression and enslavement! …someone who could bring a new government and new days!
Isaiah 9:1-7 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.
3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.
5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
…They Called Him - “The Anointed One” (Heb.- . מָשִׁיחַ mâšiyaḥ; anointed) …Jn 1:40-41 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).
Herod …John the Baptist …the Disciples—were All Looking for “The ONE”
The Crowds Were Looking for This One! …
Mk 11:9-10 “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
In Less than a Week …this “group” and the “individuals” who are going with the flow of “their peeps”, “their tribe” and “their families”—have concluded, He’s NOT THE ONE!!
What Happened?
What are the Ingredients to “Missing the Messiah”?
o #1 Ingredient …Misunderstanding Your NEED! (Because the Messiah is a “Unique Rescuer”/”Deliverer” ….but from what?)
o #2 …Familiarity & Traditions
o #3 …The Persuasive Power of People
Matt 27:20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.
Jn 12:41-43 41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. 42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
…What is Everyone Else Inclined to Think & Accept??—That’s Powerful!
Man-Centered, Natural Mindedness is a PLAGUE on the Race of Adam! …It is “Life in the Shadow of the Tree of Knowledge”!!
1Cor 1:18-24 18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” … 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
…As Holy Week moves from the Crowds of Palm Sunday to a Lonely Shameful Cross …Jesus looks more like something foolish than like something that could save them! …He Doesn’t Look Like a Good FIT!! …He CAN’T be The ONE!!!
1Cor 2:6-8 6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
…“AGES have wisdom/life-approaches …and RULERS (Spokespersons who Shape the Thinking of Others!
What’s OUR AGE & RULERS Looking for in the Right PUZZLE-PIECE?
“The big idea of this book is that 1776, more than any other year in the last millennium, is the year that made us who we are. We cannot understand ourselves without it. It was a year that witnessed seven transformations taking place—globalization, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, the Great Enrichment, the American Revolution, the rise of post-Christianity, and the dawn of Romanticism—which have remade the world and profoundly influenced the way we think about God, life, the universe, and everything.” Andrew Wilson, “Remaking the World - How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West”, p. 7
…Why Point This Out? …Because THESE are the Ideas, Beliefs, Values, and Traditions that shape what we’re looking for, as we stand at the gate of Our Jerusalem and Evaluate “THE ONE” (The Christ!) …the One Who Can FIX Our World!!
o #4 The god of this world
…There is a Spiritual Villain in this World! …We met him in Gen. 3! He’s the 3rd character on the Earthly Stage!
Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
…Satan has his hand in the events of earth!
Lk 22:3-4 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. 4 He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them.
…Just a Few Days after Palm Sunday!
2Cor 4:3-4 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
…This “Holy Week” of Evaluation …included a “VEIL”!!
What Did They REALLY NEED?
It’s HOLY WEEK …a Week of Interviews & Evaluations!! …In Jerusalem!! …& in N.O., Metairie, Kenner
POCKET-CARD …This Week—“Meet The FIVE …&… Consider The ONE”