Week #20
Why Jesus chose Eeyore over the
Bat Mobile
1 He accomplished relatively little of note before coming out of nowhere to win a seat in the U.S. Senate. After two undistinguished years as a member of the Senate, he had the utter, narcissistic gall to declare that he was going to run for the office of President of the United States. Viewed by everyone in the other major party and many in his own as an extremist who would radically alter the role of government in every aspect of our lives, he was immediately labeled "unelectable." His strategy, though, was to appeal to those on the outside of the political establishment, most of whom had in mind a very different candidate to return their party to the White House. Some even questioned if he was eligible to be President under the "natural born" clause of the U.S. Constitution. If elected, he would become the first of his particular demographic minority to serve as President of the U.S. He's a gifted communicator with a telegenic wife and two adorable daughters, all helpful in this superficial media age. Who is the person being referred to? Not Barrack Obama but Ted Cruz. A friend of mine posted that on Facebook this week and I found it fascinating. Barrack Obama’s tenure is coming to an end and it’s time for other political candidates to start posturing and getting their campaigns in order and a republican named Ted Cruz made headlines all week for declaring himself a candidate. Cruz made headlines this week in part because he didn’t speak from a teleprompter. In other words, he spoke from his heart, and didn’t recite a pre-­‐written speech. One of my friends was outraged by how that was somehow newsworthy and ranted about it also on Facebook. He was in disbelief that his lack of a teleprompter was found newsworthy and was shocked that there weren’t more articles about his crazy ideas regarding the IRS and global warming. Usually when Republicans and Democrats start getting worked up I make my way out of the conversation because I simply don’t know enough or feel it’s my primary calling in the world to debate who would lead our nation the best. I’m not saying it’s not important I’m just saying my voice wouldn’t be credible in those conversations because most times I feel I simply don’t know enough to have a wise opinion. But the truth is if we are ever going to understand Palm Sunday we are going to have to think politically this morning. The story we are about to read is the story of a political candidate that was very misunderstood. In fact he had no interest in running for office. He did everything he could to distinguish himself from being politically elevated & yet many times his 2 words fell on deaf ears. The Palm Sunday account in scripture is the story of a political assassination plot that was actually successful (at least seemingly) and unlike the JFK assassination the details of who did it are not sealed in triple classified documents but are recorded in the words of eyewitnesses in your Bibles. Text: John 12:9-­17 9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. 12 The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!” 14 Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s colt.” 16 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him. 17 Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. 18 For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. 19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!” 3 9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. John Wilkes Booth was the man who killed President Lincoln. Why? Why did he do it? Booth was rich. He was a very successful actor from a family that was renown for their success on the stage. John Wilkes Booth enjoyed a phenomenally successful stage career during the Civil War: by 1864, he earned $20,000 a year, at a time when the average Northern family earned around $300 annually. A Marylander by birth, an open Confederate sympathizer, and a supporter of slavery. Booth believed that Lincoln was determined to overthrow the Constitution and to destroy his beloved South. Those were the motives of the man who assassinated one of the greatest political figures of all time. The men in our story were politically minded men, referred to here as “the Jews” & “chief priests.” And they not only were plotting to kill Jesus they also were plotting to eliminate the evidence of his credibility. Lazarus. They wanted to kill the man who was dead and that Jesus raised back to life & they wanted to kill Jesus. They figured, “if we can kill Lazarus, & Jesus, this political movement can be stopped once and for all.” Did you know are many in this world that still want Jesus dead? Many allege that Jesus causes wars. And that if we can just kill him, & really all other religions too, there could finally be peace. 4 Remember John Lennon? Remember his song, “Imagine?” You may say I'm a Imagine there's no heaven dreamer It's easy if you try But I'm not the only one No hell below us I hope someday you'll join Above us only sky us Imagine all the people And the world will be as Living for today... one Imagine there's no countries Imagine no possessions It isn't hard to do I wonder if you can Nothing to kill or die for No need for greed or And no religion too hunger Imagine all the people A brotherhood of man Living life in peace... Imagine all the people Sharing all the world... There are other people that don’t like what Jesus taught about heaven and hell, which Lennon also mentioned in his song. They would rather not be confronted by the warnings of Jesus or his claim to be the only way to get to heaven and so these people would rather he just go away. The civil war is sad to me. 620,000 soldiers died while we were fighting each other. We weren’t even fighting another country. It’s sad to me when I think about Lincoln being killed just for wanting to unify the north and the south and for abolishing slavery. What’s far more sad to me is that Jesus was killed and he was the true and greater liberator. All of us are born slaves to sin and he came to reconcile us back to God and the plot to kill him was simply absurd & yet God willed it, even orchestrated these events because there could be no other way for us to be truly free. 5 12 The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!” There are 2.7 million people that live in Chicago, Illinois. Josephus, a first century Jewish historian said that at one Passover feast in Jerusalem, he estimated 2.7 million people in attendance not counting the defiled or foreigners present in the city. So all of Chicago might have been present in Jerusalem for Passover. We don’t know how many people were actually there but you need to think big numbers to grasp this scene. And many in this multitude heard that Jesus was coming for Passover and they took branches of Palm trees and went out to meet him. Why did they grab palm branches? We don’t know for sure. Matthew, Mark, & Luke do not mention what kind of branches were being waved at Jesus. But here is something cool that I learned that is worth sharing… This isn’t the only time John saw people waiving Palm branches at Jesus… He saw this in heaven as well into the future. When he was deserted on an island called Patmos and penned the book of revelation he wrote this words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit – 6 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. That means John saw white people, black people, Mexican people, Asian people, middle eastern people, English speakers, German speakers, Spanish speakers, Caribbean dialect speakers, Italian speakers, Cantonese speakers, all standing before the throne holding palm branches in their hands. Corrie, my three year old, loves pom-­‐poms. Not trees but cheerleader pom-­‐poms. She loves Chelsi & Sidney in part because they cheer for the Albany Lions with palm palms. All we really need to know about these palm branches is that they were being used like cheer leader pom-­‐poms and it offended those who thought they outranked Jesus & feared his political takeover. What are we saying when we sing Hosanna? Well the New Testament was written in Greek. But on Palm Sunday, when we sing, “Hosanna” we are really sounding out a Hebrew word that only occurs once in the entire Old Testament, Psalm 118:25, where it means, "Save, please!" It is a cry to God for help. Like when somebody pushes you off the diving board before you can swim and you come up hollering: "Help, save me!” In King David’s day, when the Psalms were written, you might have come up out of the water saying, “Hoshiya-­‐ na!" By the time Jesus had arrived, the word had kind of taken on a new meaning though. It used to be a desperate plea for saving and it sort of morphed into meaning something else. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on his donkey the word meant, “a bubbling over of a heart that saw hope and joy and salvation on the way and couldn’t contain the emotion.” I was watching North Carolina & Wisconsin play Thursday. At the end of the game, Wisconsin was starting to smell victory and their fans were essentially saying, “Hoshiya-­‐ na!” We see hope, joy and our team has been saved by these players and we can’t contain ourselves.” The North Carolina fans were cheering the old version of the word, they were saying, “hoshiya-­‐na! Someone please rescue us and save us from this loss.” We need to sing both to Jesus. We need to feel desperate for his salvation and we also need to rejoice in the hope of what he has done for us. 7 But the palm branches aren’t what launched the plot to kill Jesus, it was more what people were saying than what they were waiving… ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!” They were essentially saying, “this is our candidate. Our chosen king.” They were quoting the Psalms and proclaiming Jesus as their political messiah and the one they were expecting to ride into Jerusalem to sit on David’s throne. In Luke’s gospel, the conspirers, say, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” “Tell them you aren’t who they are saying you are. Stop this nonsense.” To which Jesus replies, “not today. If they are quiet, the stones would start singing. They are in for a rude awakening. Even though I’m not going to take David’s throne the traditional political way, I’m not going to tell them to be quiet because what they are saying is true. I am the messiah.” 14 Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s colt.” 16 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him. So Jesus rides in on a donkey, and not just a donkey, a donkey’s colt. 8 Who is your favorite Donkey in history? The way I see it, it really comes down to two. There is Eeyore (from Winnie the Pooh) and then there is Donkey in Shrek (who comes to life through the voice of Eddy Murphy). Who is your favorite? How many of you think Eeyore is the superior and more beloved donkey? How many of you think Donkey from Shrek is the superior and more beloved donkey? Jesus rides in on a young donkey in this story so I would argue that he is the most beloved donkey of history. I love it when creative people have vision. A,A, Milne was an English writer who created Winnie the Pooh & Eeyore after the stuffed animal collection of his son Christopher Robin. He saw them and made them come to life. Steven Spielberg is also a creative guy. He is one the guys who is the creative genius behind the Shrek series. He saw the donkey and made him come to life through the voice of Eddie Murphy. It’s crazy to think these characters have come to life through the mind of people with incredible vision. These storytellers and filmmakers saw these characters ahead of time and then helped make them come to life. Prophets were more incredible than storytellers and filmmakers. Zechariah 9:9-­‐10 was penned by a prophet that lived 500 years before Jesus lived. 9 And men like Zechariah were actually given visions of future events to encourage and inspire God’s people with hope. And the things they saw were more incredible than Shrek and Winnie the Pooh because the things they saw, spoke & wrote were actually from the ultimate creative genius, God himself. Who has been penning the greatest true story in the history of the world and it’s not even close. Our passage has an ancient quotation in it. 500 years before Jesus, our king, came to us, Zechariah literally was given a vision of his triumphal entry. Zechariah was given a vision of our king coming to us riding on a donkey. He saw a rider who was humble, and gentle. He saw a kingly rider who chose a vehicle that symbolized his posture. An animal more like Eeyore than the donkey of Shrek. What was he doing riding a donkey? That was his chosen vehicle for his final ride into Jerusalem and there’s a reason why.. If you were Jesus what vehicle would you have chosen to come in to Jerusalem? Maybe you would choose what Ferris Bueller chose. A 1962 – 250 GTE Ferrari Or maybe you would ask Bruce Wayne if you could borrow the Bat Mobile Or maybe some of you would choose a warhorse. Or maybe you would’ve chosen a car worth 200k in 1963 – a car the secret service referred to as X-­100. That car was a 1961 Lincoln convertible and it was transporting President Kennedy when he was being paraded through town among a large Texas crowd. Here are some of the features of the car… • Hydraulic rear seat that could be raised 10½ " to elevate the president • Massive heating and air conditioning system with auxiliary blowers and 2 control panels • Four retractable steps for Secret Service agents • Two steps on rear bumper for additional agents • Blue Mouton rug in rear • Two radio telephones 10 Jesus chose two donkeys. Did you know there were two? This is significant. Matt. 21:2 “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. Matt. 21:7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Why does this matter? Because Jesus not only chose a donkey. He chose a gentle one. One that wouldn’t travel without it’s mother. One that Mark’s gospel tells us had never been sat upon at all. “you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.” Mark 11:2 Jesus didn’t choose a Ferrari, the X-­‐100, a War Horse, or the Bat mobile, instead he chose the most inoffensive of animals. If he had come in on a war-­‐horse, all of Rome would likely have armed themselves for a battle. Instead Jesus rode in on Eeyore and he rode with a broken heart. In John’s gospel, right after his triumphal entry and right after he hops off the young timid donkey you know what he does? Luke 19:41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, He cried. Luke 19:42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Luke 19:44 …you did not know the time of your visitation.” 11 Friends – do you know the time of your visitation? Have you left Jesus weeping over your rejection of him? If he isn’t your king yet – there’s never been a better time. He’s not a political figure. He’s not primarily republican or democrat he is the king. He rode a donkey because he’s gentle and humble, unlike most politicians. His primary agenda wasn’t to run for office because he came to save you. The truth is he didn’t run for office because he didn’t need to. Because before the foundation of the world God the father has declared his son supreme, whether we like it or not. It’s the start of Holy Week. A week where we will begin preparing ourselves to worship Jesus for what he has done. I don’t know what you are going through right now but I know this. You can be at peace no matter what it is because your king has come to you. And you just heard the story of the first day of the last week of his life on earth. And week that will finish with him being resurrected from the dead that guarantees your salvation. I want to close by pointing out one final detail… “Fear not, daughter of Zion; I love my sons but I also love my daughter. It may not be politically correct but it is what it is. I want my daughter to be tough but I also want to protect her and I think that’s an instinct God gave me. One of my favorite pastors said once, “send your boys out of the house and make them feel they have what it takes. Do the same with your girls but make sure your girls know they are safe no matter what, let them know you will die before letting anything happen to them. That will free them to go chase their dreams.” I hope that doesn’t sound sexist to you. I don’t mean it to be. I just have the privilege of having a daughter and I feel a tenderness towards her that is equally special but different than what I feel for my sons. It’s no coincidence that the scriptures say, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s colt.” Friends, Jesus has treated you like one of his daughters. In the sense that he has protected you. He rode into Jerusalem to eliminate all your fears. You can feel safe, even if you are dying, because your king once came, & lived, and died, and rose again and guess what? He’s coming again? The last part of Zecheriah’s vision says this… and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. I say amen & with John, even so Lord Jesus, come. Let’s stand and close by singing, “it is well with my soul.” 12