Sir, We Wish to See Jesus

In one paragraph

On Palm Sunday 2019, Pastor Carl walked the congregation through the world Jesus entered when he rode into Jerusalem, using John 11 and 12 as the frame. He wanted people to feel the weight of that moment before celebrating it, so he started with the raising of Lazarus and the political storm it set off, building toward the triumphal entry and the question of who was actually ready to receive...

Read together

1. John 11:1-46 primary text read aloud covering Lazarus's sickness, death, and resurrection
2. John 12:1 Jesus comes to Bethany six days before the Passover
3. John 12:12-16 the crowd takes palm branches and shouts Hosanna at the triumphal entry
4. John 20:31 quoted as the stated purpose of John's gospel, that readers may believe and have life in his name
5. Luke 19:41 Jesus sees Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives and weeps over it
6. Psalm 118:25 source identified for the word Hosanna, meaning oh Lord save now
7. Zechariah 9:9 prophecy quoted that the king comes humble seated on a donkey's colt, fulfilled at the triumphal entry
8. Revelation 7:9-10 benediction describing a vast crowd from every nation holding palm branches shouting that salvation comes from God and the Lamb

Talk about it

1. Pastor Carl walked through the political, economic, cultural, and religious tensions of first-century Judea. Where do you see parallels between that setting and the world we live in now, and how does that change the way you read the Palm Sunday story?
2. When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, he waited two extra days before going, knowing Lazarus would be dead more than three days by the time he arrived. What does that deliberate waiting tell you about how Jesus works, and have you ever experienced a season where God seemed to be dragging his feet in your own life?
3. Jesus wept over Jerusalem even as the crowd was celebrating around him. What does it mean to you that Jesus looked at a city full of people who would reject him and wept rather than turning away?
4. The crowd shouted 'Hosanna,' which means 'save us now.' They were crying out for salvation from real political, economic, and religious pressures. What are the places in your own life where you find yourself crying out 'save us now,' and how does the cross speak to those places?
5. D. A. Carson's quote describes the church as 'a band of natural enemies who love one another for Jesus' sake.' In the context of the divided groups in this sermon, and in your own experience, what makes that kind of unity possible, and where do you find it hardest to live out?