Save Us Now: Hosanna and the Fickle Crowd

March 29, 2026

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Scripture referenced 8 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

John 12 triumphal entry narrative, large crowd meeting Jesus with palm branches

1 Then six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
2 So they made him a supper there. Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him.
3 Mary, therefore, took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.
4 Then Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, one of his disciples, who would betray him, said,
5 “Why wasn’t this ointment sold for three hundred denarii, and given to the poor?”
6 Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and having the money box, used to steal what was put into it.
7 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial.
8 For you always have the poor with you, but you don’t always have me.”
9 A large crowd therefore of the Jews learned that he was there, and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.
10 But the chief priests conspired to put Lazarus to death also,
11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.
12 On the next day a great multitude had come to the feast. When they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
13 they took the branches of the 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 Jesus, having found a young donkey, sat on it. As it is written,
15 “Don’t be afraid, daughter of Zion. Behold, your King comes, sitting on a donkey’s colt.”
16 His disciples didn’t 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 The multitude therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, was testifying about it.
18 For this cause also the multitude went and met him, because they heard that he had done this sign.
19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “See how you accomplish nothing. Behold, the world has gone after him.”
20 Now there were certain Greeks among those that went up to worship at the feast.
21 These, therefore, came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”
22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn, Andrew came with Philip, and they told Jesus.
23 Jesus answered them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
24 Most certainly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.
25 He who loves his life will lose it. He who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life.
26 If anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, there will my servant also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
27 “Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this time?’ But for this cause I came to this time.
28 Father, glorify your name!” Then there came a voice out of the sky, saying, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
29 The multitude therefore, who stood by and heard it, said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
30 Jesus answered, “This voice hasn’t come for my sake, but for your sakes.
31 Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out.
32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
33 But he said this, signifying by what kind of death he should die.
34 The multitude answered him, “We have heard out of the law that the Christ remains forever. How do you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up?’ Who is this Son of Man?”
35 Jesus therefore said to them, “Yet a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, that darkness doesn’t overtake you. He who walks in the darkness doesn’t know where he is going.
36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become children of light.” Jesus said these things, and he departed and hid himself from them.
37 But though he had done so many signs before them, yet they didn’t believe in him,
38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, “Lord, who has believed our report? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 For this cause they couldn’t believe, for Isaiah said again,
40 “He has blinded their eyes and he hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and would turn, and I would heal them.”
41 Isaiah said these things when he saw his glory, and spoke of him.
42 Nevertheless even of the rulers many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they didn’t confess it, so that they wouldn’t be put out of the synagogue,
43 for they loved men’s praise more than God’s praise.
44 Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me, but in him who sent me.
45 He who sees me sees him who sent me.
46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in the darkness.
47 If anyone listens to my sayings, and doesn’t believe, I don’t judge him. For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
48 He who rejects me, and doesn’t receive my sayings, has one who judges him. The word that I spoke, the same will judge him in the last day.
49 For I spoke not from myself, but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
50 I know that his commandment is eternal life. The things therefore which I speak, even as the Father has said to me, so I speak.”

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Zechariah (specific verse not given)

prophecy quoted: 'Rejoice greatly, oh daughter of Zion... your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey'

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Amos (specific verse not given)

'the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants, the prophets first'

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Psalm 118:25-26

source of the hosanna shout and 'blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord'

25 Save us now, we beg you, Yahweh! Yahweh, we beg you, send prosperity now.

26 Blessed is he who comes in Yahweh’s name! We have blessed you out of Yahweh’s house.

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Psalm 118 (latter portion)

extended reading: 'the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone' and surrounding verses

1 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.

2 Let Israel now say that his loving kindness endures forever.

3 Let the house of Aaron now say that his loving kindness endures forever.

4 Now let those who fear Yahweh say that his loving kindness endures forever.

5 Out of my distress, I called on Yah. Yah answered me with freedom.

6 Yahweh is on my side. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

7 Yahweh is on my side among those who help me. Therefore I will look in triumph at those who hate me.

8 It is better to take refuge in Yahweh, than to put confidence in man.

9 It is better to take refuge in Yahweh, than to put confidence in princes.

10 All the nations surrounded me, but in Yahweh’s name, I cut them off.

11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me. In Yahweh’s name I indeed cut them off.

12 They surrounded me like bees. They are quenched like the burning thorns. In Yahweh’s name I cut them off.

13 You pushed me back hard, to make me fall, but Yahweh helped me.

14 Yah is my strength and song. He has become my salvation.

15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous. “The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly.

16 The right hand of Yahweh is exalted! The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly!”

17 I will not die, but live, and declare Yah’s works.

18 Yah has punished me severely, but he has not given me over to death.

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness. I will enter into them. I will give thanks to Yah.

20 This is the gate of Yahweh; the righteous will enter into it.

21 I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me, and have become my salvation.

22 The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

23 This is Yahweh’s doing. It is marvelous in our eyes.

24 This is the day that Yahweh has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it!

25 Save us now, we beg you, Yahweh! Yahweh, we beg you, send prosperity now.

26 Blessed is he who comes in Yahweh’s name! We have blessed you out of Yahweh’s house.

27 Yahweh is God, and he has given us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords, even to the horns of the altar.

28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you. You are my God, I will exalt you.

29 Oh give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.

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Daniel 9:25

seventy weeks prophecy applied to calculating the timing of the triumphal entry

25 “Know therefore and discern that from the going out of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem to the Anointed One, the prince, will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be built again, with street and moat, even in troubled times.

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John 19

scourging, crown of thorns, Pilate declaring Jesus innocent, crowd crying 'crucify him'

1 So Pilate then took Jesus, and flogged him.

2 The soldiers twisted thorns into a crown, and put it on his head, and dressed him in a purple garment.

3 They kept saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and they kept slapping him.

4 Then Pilate went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I bring him out to you, that you may know that I find no basis for a charge against him.”

5 Jesus therefore came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment. Pilate said to them, “Behold, the man!”

6 When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him, they shouted, saying, “Crucify! Crucify!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves, and crucify him, for I find no basis for a charge against 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 therefore Pilate heard this saying, he was more afraid.

9 He entered into the Praetorium again, and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer.

10 Pilate therefore said to him, “Aren’t you speaking to me? Don’t you know that I have power to release you, and have power to crucify you?”

11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power at all against me, unless it were given to you from above. Therefore he who delivered me to you has greater sin.”

12 At this, Pilate was seeking to release him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you release this man, you aren’t Caesar’s friend! Everyone who makes himself a king speaks against Caesar!”

13 When Pilate therefore heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called “The Pavement”, but in Hebrew, “Gabbatha.”

14 Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, at about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!”

15 They cried out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”

16 So then he delivered him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led him away.

17 He went out, bearing his cross, to the place called “The Place of a Skull”, which is called in Hebrew, “Golgotha”,

18 where they crucified him, and with him two others, on either side one, and Jesus in the middle.

19 Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross. There was written, “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

20 Therefore many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.

21 The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘he said, “I am King of the Jews.”’”

22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also the coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.

24 Then they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to decide whose it will be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which says, “They parted my garments among them. For my cloak they cast lots.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.

25 But there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

26 Therefore when Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!”

27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour, the disciple took her to his own home.

28 After this, Jesus, seeing that all things were now finished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I am thirsty.”

29 Now a vessel full of vinegar was set there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop, and held it at his mouth.

30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished.” He bowed his head, and gave up his spirit.

31 Therefore the Jews, because it was the Preparation Day, so that the bodies wouldn’t remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a special one), asked of Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

32 Therefore the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who was crucified with him;

33 but when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was already dead, they didn’t break his legs.

34 However one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

35 He who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, that you may believe.

36 For these things happened, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, “A bone of him will not be broken.”

37 Again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they pierced.”

38 After these things, Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked of Pilate that he might take away Jesus’ body. Pilate gave him permission. He came therefore and took away his body.

39 Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred Roman pounds.

40 So they took Jesus’ body, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.

41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden. In the garden was a new tomb in which no man had ever yet been laid.

42 Then because of the Jews’ Preparation Day (for the tomb was near at hand) they laid Jesus there.

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Ephesians 3

Paul as prisoner, mystery revealed that Gentiles are fellow heirs, multifaceted wisdom of God made known through the church

1 For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles,

2 if it is so that you have heard of the administration of that grace of God which was given me toward you;

3 how that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before in few words,

4 by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ;

5 which in other generations was not made known to the children of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;

6 that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News,

7 of which I was made a servant, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power.

8 To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

9 and to make all men see what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ;

10 to the intent that now through the assembly the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places,

11 according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord;

12 in whom we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in him.

13 Therefore I ask that you may not lose heart at my troubles for you, which are your glory.

14 For this cause, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,

16 that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that you may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man;

17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

18 may be strengthened to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth,

19 and to know Christ’s love which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

21 to him be the glory in the assembly and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

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Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

It was Palm Sunday, and the pastor brought a message that held two texts together: the triumphal entry in John 12 and Paul's description of the mystery of the gospel in Ephesians 3. He traced the distance between the crowd's "Hosanna" and their later cry of "Crucify him," and then pointed to what God was doing through all of it. The thread connecting both halves was the faithfulness of God set against the fickleness of people.

What was said

When the crowd poured out of Jerusalem waving palm branches to meet Jesus, they were not simply doing something ceremonial. The pastor pointed out that the palm branch was a nationalist symbol, visible on coins minted under Herod Antipas and reaching back to the Maccabean revolt. The people shouting "Hosanna" were calling for a king who would crush Rome the same way the Seleucids had been crushed a century and a half before. They wanted a military deliverer, and they thought they had one.

The raising of Lazarus, just two miles away in Bethany less than a week earlier, had set the crowd on fire. Witnesses who had seen Lazarus walk out of the tomb were still talking, and their testimony was drawing others out to meet Jesus. For a people under occupation, a man who could call the dead back to life looked like exactly the kind of general you would want on your side.

But Jesus entered on a donkey's colt, not a war horse. Luke records that as he came near the city he wept over it, saying that Jerusalem did not know the things that make for peace. He was not coming for the war they wanted. The Zechariah passage that John cites, "behold your king is coming, humble and mounted on a donkey," had been there all along, but the disciples themselves did not understand it until after the resurrection. The pastor drew the contrast plainly: God had told people ahead of time what was coming, and they still missed it because they wanted something else.

By John 19, the same city was calling for crucifixion. Pilate declared Jesus innocent repeatedly, his own wife warned him to have nothing to do with it, and yet he handed Jesus over because he was afraid of the politics. The pastor quoted Machiavelli, Emerson, and Roberta Flack on the fickleness of human beings, not to be clever, but to make the point that this is simply what people do. We applaud Jesus when he seems to be giving us what we want, and we walk away when he does not.

God's faithfulness stands against all of that. The pastor set the words of "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" next to the crowd's behavior: "Thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not," while we are, as he put it, "marked by a lack of steadfastness, constancy or stability, and given to erratic changeableness." The contrast is not meant to condemn but to show what grace actually is. It is unmerited precisely because we are fickle.

Ephesians 3 came in as the other side of the same coin. Paul, writing from prison, describes his calling as the privilege of telling Gentiles that the gospel was always meant for them. The mystery that had been hidden for ages is this: the riches of Christ are not for one nation, one ethnic group, or one side in a political conflict. The crowd on Palm Sunday were singing "Hosanna" as an in-group victory chant. Paul says God was working a plan that was always bigger than that.

The final point was that the church is the continuation of that plan. The pastor said that God intends the multifaceted wisdom of God to be made known through the church to the whole cosmos, and that the church, meaning everyone who has trusted Christ, is plan A with no plan B. The boldness and access Paul describes in Ephesians 3 is available through faith in Christ, and it is that faith, placed in the right Savior, that makes someone a part of what God has been doing all along.

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Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

Pastor Nathan described the crowd waving palm branches as Jewish nationalists who wanted military deliverance, shouting 'Hosanna' meaning 'save us now.' What does it reveal about human nature that the same crowd who welcomed Jesus as a conquering king would, within a week, be crying 'crucify him'?
Pastor Nathan pointed out that the disciples did not understand what was happening at the triumphal entry until after Jesus was glorified, and he asked 'Can I get a witness?' When have you found yourself looking back at something God was doing and only understanding it later?

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Speaker 1Hello? Hey, everybody. This is just kinda we're freewheeling here. Alright? So here we go.

Sing with me. Clap your hands all ye people shouting to God

Speaker 2with a voice of triumph. Clap your hands All ye people shout unto God with a voice of praise. Hosanna. Hosanna. Shout unto God with a voice of triumph.

Praise him. Praise him. Shout unto God with a voice of praise. Do you have it? Do you have it?

Speaker 1It's pretty simple. Okay? We're we're singing a man. We're generating generating right now. We're loading, I think you would call it these days.

It's loading. I could see that there are people anticipating in the back. Here we go. We're gonna do clap your hands all you people and then Hosanna, Hosanna. Same sort of thing.

Here we

Speaker 2go again. Clap your hands all you people shouting to God with a voice of triumph. Clap your hands all you people shouting to God with a voice of praise. Hosanna, Hosanna. Shout unto God with a voice of cry.

Praise him. Praise him. Shout unto God with a voice of praise. Clap your hands. All ye people shout unto God with a voice of cry.

Clap your hands. All ye people shout unto God with a voice of praise. Hosanna. Hosanna. Shout unto God with a voice of triumph.

Praise him. Praise him. Shout unto God with a voice of praise. Amen. They

Speaker 1time. Do to gonna do We're do do We're that. That. School. It is a western theme, Wonder Junction.

So that volunteer sign up is right there on that QR code. If you wanna do that, you can do it that way or you can call us and we will sign you up. Make sure that it happens. So that's the student registration and that's the volunteer sign up. There is no Awana tomorrow night because it's the middle of spring break.

So we follow the school calendar and the school calendar right now school in Teton County is off. So Awana is off. This is from It Takes a Valley. It Takes a Valley is do you all know Allie Lane? She was with Young Life Forever.

Allie is great. Allie is one of the main people that's involved in It Takes a Valley. They're doing a maternity clothing, infant gear, and child clothing swap. Okay? It's sort of like my sister's closet, but it's for it's for baby stuff mainly.

So that's happened. Free tickets are available. There's a QR code up there for that too. It's happening Saturday, May 2. You'll hear more about it, but It Takes a Valley.

They are perinatal resource collaborative. So they help connect people to the resources that are available in the Valley, and they are one of those resources. It's really really good. I can't say enough good things about It Takes a Valley. They're doing a great job.

Allie Lane, if you're wondering. And I think that's it for the announcements this morning. So if you would, greet one another and then the backup guitar player will lead us in song. That sounds good. Thank you.

Yeah. I'm glad to be here. There's a lot more people that I was, like, anticipating. It was great.

Speaker 2Give thanks to the Lord,

Speaker 1forever.

Speaker 2Forever, forever, forever.

Speaker 1Amen. Lord God almighty, I'm thankful to be here this morning. I'm thankful for the joy of the Lord that is present in this place. Thank you, lord. I pray that you would accept this worship lord but also that you would encourage even more.

May we be singing a song in our heart all week long. Lord, as we look forward to resurrection Sunday next week. Lord, in Jesus name, we ask you that you would come. Lord, I ask you that you'd calm my heart and my nerves and that we would center our thoughts and prayers on you, lord, and your will and your kingdom. Lord God almighty, we are thankful.

In Jesus name, amen. Playing the bass makes me not be nervous. Playing the guitar makes me nervous. Amen. We're gonna sing one hymn here that is called the lamb of God.

If you watch through it, it's about Jesus, obviously, but we are also his lambs. And so there's a bit of a change in the third verse, and Judy's gonna play it on the piano for us. Would you sing along with us? Y'all can have a seat. I'm gonna invite the ushers to come forward.

It's time for the worship through giving. And would you pray with me where you sit right up as I pray up here? Lord God Almighty, thank you. We we stand before you grateful today, Lord, to be called lambs of God is amazing, to be called children of God is amazing, and that was a precious gift that was bought with precious blood. So, Lord God Almighty, I pray that we would be a part of the advance of the gospel.

I pray that you would use this small c church in the mission of the capital c church to advance the good news of the gospel of Jesus. What Jesus began to do, lord. May we be a part of what he is doing. Would you use these offerings, lord, whether it's resources financial or whatever that are put in these plates physically or metaphorically, Lord. I pray that you'd use every bit of it to see the gospel move forward.

We pray your will done in your way, and we wanna be a part of the plan for saving the rest of the world. In Jesus name, amen. Thank thank you, Judy. Wow. That's time for children's church downstairs.

Judy has been playing here for fifty years. Right? Fifty years. Typically, the second, some of the words to the song she just played were, could we with ink the ocean fill and where the skies of parchment. We would ink the ocean fill and where the skies of parchment made.

Where every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade to write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry nor could the scroll contain the hole that stretch from sky to sky. That's powerful. Yeah. Thank you. Alright.

Here we go. It's Palm Sunday. So all week long, I have been wrestling between it's Palm Sunday. I need to preach about Palm Sunday, but I do that every year. Or it's we're in Ephesians and Ephesians is awesome.

And Ephesians three is the just pinnacle for me of this awesomeness. And so which do I do? So I prepared two sermons and you're gonna hear both of them. No, I'm just kidding. We're gonna do Palm Sundays to begin with and we'll see how it goes.

The next day, this is from John 12. Spoiler alert, if you're in the men's study on Thursdays, we're in John nine right now. But John or John eight, I think. John 12, the next day, the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and they went out to meet him.

So every year, we kind of have the kids come in and wave palm branches and it's fun. This was more than it was it was different than that. And if you're looking in the next day, the crowd large crowd. So they come to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover and they're getting there and they get there early and there's a lot of tailgating that's already happening. Okay?

Pregame is already happening. March madness, if you will. They took branches of palm trees and they went out to meet him. So the context of this is Jesus has just raised Lazarus. Now, there are lots of things that Jesus did.

There are lots of miracles that we hear about but raising the dead in this kind of proximity to Passover at this time was something that drew a lot of attention. So, the backstory is that And it says, so they took branches of palm trees and they went out to meet him and they were crying out which we just sang. Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Even the king of Israel and so their hosanna, hosanna are the shouts and they're calling him the king of Israel. They want to raise him up.

Now, you know that we have various Herods who have been in charge and literally have been the kings of Israel since Jesus was born. And with the slaughter of the innocents trying to get him. And John the Baptist proclaiming him and all of that. We see all of this. Who's the king of Israel?

They're saying Jesus is the king of Israel when he's coming in. Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. That's the Hebrew on it and the Greek on it and the English on that Hosanna. This is, oh Lord, I beseech you, and I think this is English standard version. Maybe the NIV, but English standard says, save now.

That's what hosanna means. There's a timeline to it, and there's an an element of salvation in the Greek, it's like, save us now. Please. We need it. We're oppressed.

We're oppressed and we want to rise up against our oppressors. Oppressors. You're the king. You're the only one that can do this. Rara, sis boom bah.

Here's a palm tree branch. Oh Lord, I beseech you, send prosperity now. We don't want what we have. We want what you and you alone can bring us. Save us, we pray, oh Lord.

Oh Lord, we pray, give us success. This is from Psalm one eighteen twenty five twenty six, it is a ESV. Blessed is he who comes in the name of Lord. We bless you from the very house of the Lord. We bless you.

And so Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it. There are parallels in the other gospels for this account too, but this is all from John. Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it just as it is written in Zechariah, minor prophet that we have not yet gotten to on Sunday morning, but we got to it in various Bible studies that y'all have been in. And Zechariah is tough, but this is a point of it's one of those silver linings in the very dark cloud of Zechariah's prophecy. Rejoice greatly, oh daughter of Zion.

Shout aloud, oh daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, for your king is coming to you. He is righteous and having salvation is he and he is humble and mounted on a donkey on a colt on the foal of a donkey. And that is the way that Jesus entered into this triumphal procession from the Mount Of Olives down and up into the city. Fear not just it is written.

Fear not, daughter of Zion. Behold, your king is coming sitting on a donkey's colt. So that is John explicitly attributing this. The just as it is written, as this had been foretold for many many years, and as we're thinking about it, Amos. Amos says, the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants, the prophets first.

He's told you ahead of time that goodness is on the way. He's told you ahead of time. And he's not just capricious and he doesn't do anything just willy nilly. He has a plan. He's working a He reveals that plan in a veiled way, we will say to the prophets.

But he doesn't do anything without revealing a secret to his servants, prophets, and it helps greatly with your faith. If you know these verses and then you see them happening in front of you, that was what was happening with this group of people right here. Here we go. Fear not, daughter of Zion. Behold, your king is coming sitting on a donkey's colt.

His disciples did not understand these things at first. Can I get a witness? Do you ever feel like that? I'm his disciple and I don't understand these things at first. His disciples did not understand these things at first.

But when Jesus was glorified, so they had been this band of various people from zealots and pharisaical types, all blended together, tax collectors, sinners gathered together into this band and they're following after men. We see them putting their foot in their mouth over and over and over again, asking what we think now are stupid questions. But they were seeing Jesus before he was glorified and we are seeing him after we've had a while to process through this. Right? They didn't understand these things at first but when Jesus was glorified, they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him and so, what are those things?

Well, we know explicitly this one because he literally is sitting on a donkey, right? The foal of a donkey. He comes in on that and so that one's explicit. That's the verse right before this. They didn't understand these things but then they remembered but there were a lot of others too.

Psalm one eighteen, this is what they're calling out. So this they're recognizing. I'm gonna read the whole shebang right here. The last portion, that last half, I guess, of Psalm one eighteen. Shouts of joy and victory.

We call this the triumphal entry. So they are singing out shouts of joy and victory. They're resounding in the tents of the righteous and they saw themselves as being the righteous. The Lord's right hand has done mighty things. The Lord's right hand is lifted high.

The Lord's right hand has done mighty things. I will not die but I will live. I will proclaim what the Lord has done. The Lord has chastened me severely. You hear the hint of oppression in there?

But he's not giving me over to death. Open for me the gates of the righteous and I will enter and I will give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks for you answered me. You have become my salvation.

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is true of Jesus. It was true of Jesus when it was written. It's true when these people are calling back on it and singing just a quick verse of it. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

The Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes. The Lord has done it this very day. Let us rejoice today and be glad. Lord, Hosanna, save us. Lord, grant us success.

Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord, we bless you. The Lord is God and he has made his light to shine upon us with bows in hand, palm branches in hand. Join in this festal procession up to the horns of the altar.

You are my God and I will praise you. You are my God and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.

Speaker 2His love endures forever. Forever.

Speaker 1They were singing it back then. It's not just Chris Tomlin. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His love endures forever. And that refrain goes throughout not just this Psalm but Psalm one thirty six and other Psalms and other places in the Old Testament.

It's a fairly frequent refrain that the has said, the sticky love of God endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His love endures forever. Perhaps, if you're this if you know, you know. Alright?

Daniel nine twenty five, they may have been thinking about it. This is not explicit. The other two are explicit. But Daniel nine twenty five for especially folks from a dispensational background, you hear seven weeks and sixty two weeks, and if you do the math on this, it's 477766666977483. And Artaxerxes, the first of Persian and Nehemiah dated 445 to 444.

If you add to that four eighty three, you come up with Jesus's triumphal entry. Okay. I'm not saying it's not true, but it's a lot more math than I usually do. It's from the time that the announcement that the temple was going to be rebuilt, it will be sixty nine seasons of seven before this happens and the anointed one will come into Jerusalem. That's Jesus.

Okay. The crowd that had been with him, when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead. You remember that story? Lazarus come forth. I love the story.

I heard a guy say one time, the reason he said Lazarus come forth is because if he had just said come forth, everybody everybody would would have have come come forth. Forth. Lazarus, come forth. He calls Lazarus out of the tomb, he raised him from the dead, y'all take those grave clothes off of him. Those people continue to bear witness.

Witness. So if you saw somebody literally one week before Passover and you believe that he might be the Messiah and then he calls a dead man out of the grave, what's a really really good thing that you could have if you were hoping to proclaim war on the oppressive Romans. The ability to call back your soldiers from the dead would be pretty good. They continue to bear witness. I saw him do it.

I saw the guy dead. I know it was four days. It's not three days. It's not two days. It's four days.

I know I was one of the mourners and then I saw him call him forth. They continue to bear witness about it. So the raising of Lazarus in close proximity like this is how far away it is. Bethany is less than two miles. It's just on the other side of the Mount Of Olives from this shape, whatever that is.

Polygon is is the Temple Mount. So from the temple, it's less than two miles to Bethany. And that's where Mary and Martha and Lazarus lived and that's where he was buried. And so for this to travel two miles, that's not a big deal. That's from here to the Maverick.

Okay? That's not far. Word gets around. If you raise somebody from the dead at the Maverick, word will get around. So crowd one is the witnesses to Lazarus' resurrection but it goes on from there and it says, the reason why the crowd though went out to meet him because the the crowd that was with Jesus at Lazarus' resurrection were staying with him But there were others that came out to meet him and those that says, they had heard that he had done this sign and now they're saying, this is our guy.

This is our guy. And these are the ones that are coming out with the palm branches. These are the ones that are coming out saying, this is the this is the one. Blessed is he. He's coming in the name of the Lord.

This is the king of Israel. I don't care who Herod which Herod is on the throne right now. I don't care if Pontius Pilate is in charge as governor. No. This guy is our king.

So I would call them nationalists went out. They were Jewish nationalists, and they were the crowd that went out to meet him when they heard that this and you might say, I don't know how you get Jewish nationalists from that. Well, taking branches of palm trees is how I get to that. Palm trees were a symbol of Israel. They had been for a long, long, long, long time.

And if you look at the coins from the Hasmonean revolt about a hundred and thirty five BC, you get that as a palm branch. You look at Maccabees. Now, I know we don't have it in our Bible, but that doesn't mean we can't read it. Okay? Y'all read Sports Illustrated too, don't you?

So, Simon regains the citadel at Jerusalem. It says, the Jews entered in with praise and palm branches with harps and symbols and stringed instruments and hymns and songs because a great enemy had been crushed and removed. These were the Seleucids at the time. The Seleucids were a 135, 144, hundred and forty one BC was when it happened. But that coin that was minted was a coin in remembrance of this occasion and it had the palm branch on it because it's I hate to say it's like old glory, but it's kinda like old glory.

When you're waving the flag, you're waving the flag, you're saying something, you're stirring something up. And that's what they were doing with the palm branches then, so that's a different coin. This is the coin of Herod Antipas who is in charge at this time. So you see the palm branch right there. And this is kinda under the radar.

This is like, yeah, the Romans are in charge, but they're letting us mint this money. We're gonna mint the money the way we want to mint this money. Do you get it? It's on a lot of their currency. It just keeps going.

So also the instruments are on there. It's celebrating that time when you remember those bad guys that used to be in charge here and we kicked them out. This is current currency at the time when this happened. So the background of the raising of Lazarus, I think is a big deal that you can't underestimate. Man raised from the dead two miles from the temple and he's coming in just at the right time.

Something greater than Solomon is recognizing that. Humble and mattered on a donkey. Now, could say this, he did not enter on a big white Arabian steed, Clydesdale, Fargo, anything like that. It wasn't a big strong war horse with armor. It's a foal of a donkey, humble and mounted.

Now, when he was approaching Jerusalem, it says in Luke, he saw the city and he wept over it. And he was saying, if only you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace. He was not coming in for war. Now, what they wanted was war. That's what they were going out to greet and blessed is he who comes in the name.

He's our deliverer. Send prosperity now. Great is thy faithfulness. But lord, great is our fickleness. Because we see it turn oh, forgot to put this in there.

Great is thy faithfulness, oh, God my father. There is no shadow of turning with thee, thou changes not, thy compassions they fail not. As thou hast been, thou forever will be. Pardon for sin, a peace that endureth, thine own dear presence to cheer into God, strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow. Blessings all mine with 10,000 beside.

Great is thy faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness. Morning by morning, new mercies I see. And if God is offering us mercies, what should we be offering other people? Mercy.

All I've needed, thy hand has provided, great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me. Fickle. God is faithful and he is good. And he when he describes himself, he says that he is patient and long suffering. He's merciful and he forgives iniquity.

But we are fickle. We are marked by a

Speaker 2lack of

Speaker 1steadfastness, constancy or stability. And we are given to erratic changeableness. Would you say that's true? Yeah. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.

Of mankind, I've got a few quotes for you. Of mankind, we may say in general, they are fickle, hypocritical and greedy of gain. Machiavelli said that. Don't quote him very often, but so why am I doing this message on Palm Sunday? I mentioned it.

But this, the next thing we get to, you know, this is where we just were. Hosanna, hosanna, triumph, triumph. That's 12. John thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, and 17 are all with the disciples, upper room. And then we get the arrest in the garden.

And in John 19, it picks up right here. So Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. By this time, he's already declared him innocent more than once. His wife has said, please have nothing to do with the execution of this man. He's took Jesus and scourged and the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on his head and they put on him a purple robe and then they said, hail, king of the Jews, knocking him.

And they struck him with their hands and Pilate then went out again and said to him, behold, I'm bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no fault in him. He's declaring him innocent again. And then Jesus came out. He was wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe and Pilate said to them, behold the man. And therefore, when the chief priest and officers saw him, they cried out saying, crucify him.

Crucify him. Now, a week before, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Now was it the same crowd? Pretty much. Now maybe not.

Chief priest, they always hated him. And officers, they always hated him. Crucify him. Pilate said to them, you take him and you crucify him for I find no fault in him. He declares him innocent again.

He is innocent. He's innocent. And from then on, Pilate sought to release him. And what a little delivered chicken he was because he had the power to release him. But he didn't because he was scared of politics of the situation.

And unfortunately, human beings are pretty scared of politics of the situation. It just is that way in most situations. From then on, Pilate sought to release him but the Jews cried out saying, if you let this man go, you're not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar. Now, when Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and he sat down in the judgment and he said to the Jews again, behold your king and then they cried out, away with him, away with him, crucify him.

Pilate said to them, shall I crucify your king? And the chief priest answered, we have no king but Caesar. Really? They're the chief priests? God forbid.

We have no king but Caesar. And then he delivered him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and they led him away. We are a puny and fickle folk. Avarice hesitation and following are our diseases.

That was Emerson. I've got one more in there, I think. Our criteria for deciding what's good and what's bad is very fickle, especially in this country. This is from the seventies. Roberta Flack said that.

Oh my goodness. Killing me softly, softly, Roberta Roberta Flack. Fleck. Alright. Is the story just gonna repeat itself?

Is it gonna just be that way where we want what we want? I hope not. I'm gonna pray right here and then I've got fifteen more minutes. We're gonna do Ephesians two. Ephesians three also.

Yeah. Can I pray? Lord God, we come to you confessing that we are indeed a fickle people even when we don't wanna be, lord. Fear gets the best of us. We say we want you to be in our life and we applaud you, but then we wander.

We don't always wanna listen to the truth that you are teaching us about ourselves. And there are times, Lord, when we don't wanna hear the truth. So if you wanna tell us, if you won't tell us, Lord, what it is that we wanna hear or if your truth makes us uncomfortable, we often just listen to someone else. So today, Lord, you're calling us to be more loving and you're calling us to be more compassionate. You're calling us to arrest our fickle behavior, our wavering between two opinions to fully trust in Jesus.

You're calling us to strengthen ourselves in the faith. So you want us to trust that you love us. You want us to know and trust Jesus, not religion or procedure, protocols, politics, tradition, or even superior education. Lord, you're calling us to love you with our all, with our whole heart and mind and soul and strength. And you're calling us with everything that we have in this world to put our relationship with Jesus first.

And in so doing, to love our neighbors as ourselves. You want for us to do our part to help make this world a place that's free from hate and brutality. You want for us to be doing that. That's what Jesus came to do and we are the continuing body of Christ. Christ.

Lord, help us. You want us to fill this world with your unconditional love and compassion through living out the gospel. God almighty, would you show us how in our day, would you show us how? You want us to demonstrate the kingdom of heaven on earth by loving others in such a way that you could call others to your grace and your repentance for them to earnestly seek your face and your truth. Lord, you want us to be with you forever and ever and not shrink back in fear or pull away in pride.

Lord, I pray that you will speak and you will teach and that we will listen and we will learn. Amen. Amen. So Ephesians, here we are. Ephesians three starts this way.

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles. He's in jail. He hasn't mentioned that lately. He's gonna mention it again at the end of this chapter. For this reason, I, Paul, I'm a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles.

If indeed you have heard of the administration of God's grace which was given to me for you. Paul recognized this as God's grace to him. He had a very daunting task of, well, I'll tell you what it is. Let me let him tell you. If indeed you have heard of the administration of God's grace, the form that God's unmerited favor took on Paul was you get to share this with the Gentiles.

You get to share all of the history of the Old Testament and you get to frame it in a way that says, God loves you and he has a plan for your life. That by revelation, God revealed it to him. There was made known to me the mystery. As I wrote to you before briefly, we don't have that first Ephesians letter. We don't have that note that we know of.

Okay? But he had let them already know kind of how it happened. I assume that he let them know the story of acts on the Damascus Road and all of that sort of stuff. Story. And the my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to mankind.

There have been years and years and years where we had a glimpse of it from the prophets. But there have been a silence of four hundred years intertestamental silence. And so for at least four hundred years, the authoritative voice of God was just ringing out from the major prophets, minor prophets, Torah, and the books of the history, they're still ringing out, but they haven't had an authoritative word from God until Christ, until John the Baptist, speaking of Christ. Right? So by referring to this, when you read and you can understand my insight into the mystery of the anointed one, Christ, Messiah, which in other generations was not made known to mankind as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles, the ones he himself sent out and prophets in the spirit.

Those could be the old time prophets, but he's saying that there are some who are prophesying now. And we do have Agabus and a few others in the New Testament that were prophesying about Christ. To be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and they are fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the good news, gospel. So this section right here, he's saying that's the specific part that I am here to tell you about. Like, if you go back, this is the mystery that is being revealed that it's not just for the Jews.

So if you add this to my triumphal entry and the nationalistic tendencies, it's if you're gonna be the victor, you're gonna conquer over someone. Right? He's saying, it's for everyone. The gospel is to go forth for everyone. Christ says, love your enemies.

Oh, really? The Gentiles are fellow heirs. They're fellow members of the body. They're fellow partakers of promise in Christ through the gospel of which I was made a minister. This is the gift that he's given to me.

According to gift of God's grace, his unmerited favor towards me means I get to be the spokesperson that tells this, that the gospel is for everybody and it always was. We were misunderstanding. We're no longer misunderstanding. It's for everybody. Of which I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given to me according to the working of his power, Dunamis.

His power, his spirit. To me, the very least of all the saints, he means that. He's he recognizes that it's God's grace that it's not merited, that he had been opposed to the way. And now, he is the spokesperson. He knows he doesn't wreck.

He knows that he doesn't merit it. To me, the very least of all the saints, this grace. Now, this grace was given. The grace that was given Paul was to preach to the Gentiles. The unfathomable riches of Christ and to enlighten all people as to what the plan of the mystery is which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things.

To preach to the Gentiles and to enlighten all peoples. I could put an s on the end of that. To clap your hand all ye people. When they were singing that triumphal entry song, they were just singing to me my four and no more, just us. Right?

We're the victorious ones. God's gonna save us. Paul recognizes that God is gonna save through us. Yes, he saved us but he's gonna save through us and that is the mystery. He's saying, I'm supposed to preach to Gentiles unfathomable riches of the anointed one, Jesus.

He's the only one And to enlighten all the people as to what the plan of the mystery is which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things. Why? So that the multifaceted wisdom of God might now be made known. If you sit with that and go, God is infinitely wise and his infinite wisdom is now being made available in all its different forms through the church. Now, I'm gonna capitalize the c on church.

Okay? Through all of the believers and all in Christ throughout all the eras, the ones who put their faith in God for Messiah. So that the multifaceted wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and to the authorities in heavenly places. If you go back to the first chapter, I didn't break this all down. I didn't think I have this much time.

Sorry. On the slides. Right? But if you go back to the first chapter, he says that you are alive in the heavenlies. Though you were dead in your trespasses, you are have been made alive in the heavenly places.

This is already true. Now, be acting on that. Right? So this is how God is going to make known. When I say that we are the body of Christ or when we say as the church that we are the body of Christ, we are continuing the mission that Jesus began.

He did stuff that we cannot do. But because he has done that, the proclamation of that falls upon us. To proclaim this to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places to the whole cosmos. That God is using the church. The ones who have taken him at his word and trusted him to proclaim the goodness of God to the whole cosmos And this was in accordance with the eternal purpose.

He's working a plan. He's got a plan and he's working the plan. Now, Jesus was the plan from the beginning and those who trust in him is the plan from now on. Okay? From now to the end of the time, the church is plan a.

There is no plan b. If you wanna be a part of that, you wanna be in accordance with the eternal purpose which God the father carried out in Christ Jesus our lord. It's in him, Christ Jesus our lord, that we have boldness and confident access through him, through faith in him. Now, that takes us back to the last chapter where it says, it is by grace, unmerited favor. Through faith and it is our little measure of belief.

It's our little measure that God has given us our ability to place our faith in Christ. We can place it in anything, but it's only saving faith if it's placed in the savior. And so, we have confident access and boldness and we can be a part of the plan of God for the rest of the world because this is his plan for the rest of the world. Through faith in him. In whom?

In Christ Jesus. That's right. And I think that's the last slide. Is that the last slide? Yeah.

That's the last slide. So the last song we're gonna sing today, and I might come back and hit on Ephesians three, but I told Van I'd preach it today because he's preaching in two weeks. And he needed to know where he was gonna and say, oh yeah, don't worry about me being in prison. I needed the rest. Okay.

I'm fine. It's for your glory. It's not a big deal. It's fine. That's verse 13.

Would you stand? Judy's gonna play. Maria, would you come forward and sing? And we're gonna sing, were you there? We're only gonna sing the first three verses.

Now, know that y'all know the story and y'all know that resurrection is coming and that's what we're celebrating next week. We'll sing the fourth verse next Sunday. Okay? We're gonna sing the first three. And this will be our closing benediction and when we close out, would you just play something pretty?

Okay. Here we go. Lord, may we remember that Good Friday precedes resurrection Sunday. And may we live this week in knowing that it was for us, Lord, that you died, but also, Lord, for others. Would you proclaim your goodness through us, through the way we walk out our steps in our life that you prepared ahead of time for us, Lord.

Would you also, Lord, have the meditations of our heart and the words of our mouth be acceptable in your sight. May they lead other people into relationship with Jesus as we look forward to resurrection Sunday. In Jesus name, amen.

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