and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me” Matthew 18:3-5, ESV
Children often admit they need help and know they don’t know everything. Approach Christ this way. We don’t know how deep our sin is or how salvation works, but we need Christ to save us.
21 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.”
Palm Sunday 2020 (The Church Next Door) – Matthew 21:1-11 – Worshiping Without Understanding
Imagine being a 1st Century Jew.
A hostile government
Foreign soldiers walking the streets
Turncoats siding with the hostile government (tax collectors, joining the army)
Weak and compromising leadership
And here comes Jesus, the one everyone is calling the Savior of Israel! Finally! Someone to throw out the Romans and restore Israel to greatness! Here is a great prophet and king! Save us!
And then there is Jesus. He knows our expectations, but he subverts them. He knows our longings, but He has His purpose.
Triumphal Entry: Celebration “God has come to do what we expect!”
But the cross … Not what we expected. “In this world you will have trouble …” (John 16:33)
Triumphal Entry: Worship Christ still receives worship, even amidst our misunderstanding.
So, the cross … Shows us why He can accept. So, we should show grace to our brothers & sisters in error of understanding.
January 17: Took Caitlin to the airport, stopped at a favorite coffee shop. Was updating the owner about my 10-month-old nephew being hospitalized with Hand Foot Mouth, Pneumonia, RSV, and other stuff. Customer asks if has gotten better, and I mentioned that as a Christian I believe all of the prayers helped get him home on Christmas night. Oops. Angry atheist. If any god exists, he “royally ****** up with humans. So you probably believe he made your nephew sick, which means he’s evil! If anyone helped your nephew it was the doctors.”
I went from celebrating my God for healing my nephew to getting attacked for my faith.
But I had a peaceful calm the moment this man blew up. And, how come our world is so messed up? “Short answer: sin. God gave us free will, and we choose to mess up this world by rejecting Him. But He plans on fixing it one day.” I did not get to share the full gospel with this man, but he respected meeting a Christian not afraid to tackle the hard questions. God gave me His grace to peaceably talk with a hostile man, calm him down, and even get a “It was nice talking with you! Have a nice day!” as he left.
Why?
Because I celebrated, without knowing what was coming. (But I also put in the groundwork of worshiping with my heart, soul, mind, and strength, studying the Word and answers people have provided.)
But because of what did come over the week after Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem – the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus – I could still worship Him by loving one who hates Him.
Think back to those worshiping on Palm Sunday: (Matthew 21:11) “This is the prophet Jesus.” They see Lazarus – the man who was dead just a week earlier! – and think of Elijah and Elisha raising women’s sons. They see the donkey, and they think of Zechariah 9:9 prophesying the King coming on a donkey, and then probably skipped ahead to Zechariah 14: (vv. 1-5)
Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
Here comes the King, on the Mount of Olives, to fight off the invaders and restore our nation! Especially with the other events of the week:
Clearing the Temple with zeal for God’s house
Rebuking and shaming the Pharisees and Sadducees
Celebrating the Passover, the first time a mighty prophet led Israel out of subjugation into freedom
But our Lord does not meet their expectations. What else happened that week? The arrest. The abuse. The crucifixion.
No one saw it coming. (Even with Jesus’ own warnings!)
If only they had continued reading in Zechariah [14:6-9]:
On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.
On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter.
And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.
When coupled with Daniel 9:24, “Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place”, we see that the Messiah would bring an end to sin and then establish His worldwide, eternal Kingdom.
So, on Palm Sunday, we are reminded of three things:
Jesus accepts our worship, even when we misunderstand and believe wrongly about Him.
So, we need to show grace to those we disagree with.
The disciples did not understand that this King was going to die in just a few days time, and it caused them to scatter. (Self-isolate?) And Jesus still loved them!
There are many who teach things wrongly, but they may still be our brothers and sisters.
Though, just as Jesus rebuked and shamed the leadership in His day, we must watch for and correct false teachings.
If the teachers repent, awesome!
If not, then we distance ourselves from them.
NOT EVERYTHING WE DISAGREE WITH IS NECESSARILY FALSE TEACHING!
Look at George Whitefield and John Wesley: a Calvinist and an Arminian who were dear brothers in Christ.
We worship and celebrate God without knowing everything that is coming.
The disciples did not understand that this King was going to die in just a few days time, and it caused them to scatter. (Self-isolate?) But it led to our salvation from sin!
Palm Sunday during C-19 Pandemic
Didn’t see it coming, but look at us trusting our Lord and meeting in innovative ways (such as Zoom!)
We know God leads us through hard things, and we rejoice and share the Gospel. (2 Corinthians 5 – Ambassadors for Christ sharing the message of reconciliation and peace)
Just as I was ready with an answer for an angry atheist, we are all commanded to be ready to give a reasoned defense for the faith that is within us, especially when bad/hard things happen (1 Peter 3:14-15).
We remember that our King shall return triumphantly to institute His eternal Kingdom!
Jesus warned (yes, warned!) and promised us He will return.
He was the gentle lamb in His ministry, but He is returning as a strong Lion and conquering King!
We need not imagine what ancient Israelites thought about our coming King. The book of Revelation shows us that God’s wrath will be poured out on the entire earth, all of Creation will be renewed through fire, and His eternal Kingdom shall be established as heaven and Earth become one. [READ Revelation 22:1-7, 20-21]
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
“And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
This is still happening online because of the current mandate for isolation for the C-19 pandemic.
As I, Daniel, am preaching for Palm Sunday, my lovely other-half, Caitlin – who is our Children’s Director at the Church Next Door – recorded a related lesson! Therefore, instead of my wonky mug, you can see her lovely face this week!
So, gather up the kiddos (or enjoy this at any age), and enjoy the collab between a youth pastor and children’s director:
Questions to consider:
Have you had to change your thinking about something? Think of a time you thought you knew what your parents or your friends were doing, but you were wrong.
Even when you have been wrong, did your family still love you? Did you change your mind or make different choices when you found out the truth?
Palm Sunday – Matthew 21:1-11
Jesus is the Son of God, God’s only Son by birth.
He was coming to save us from our sin, but how did the people see Him?
On the first Palm Sunday, when the people laid down palm branches for this king they had been expecting, they had no idea what his real mission was.
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 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. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
“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.’”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 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!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
They saw:
A king coming to change the government
A leader kicking out the bad army
A prophet, a person who speaks God’s word, making God’s house great again.
Look at verse 11 (read again), here comes Jesus, the one everyone is calling the Savior of Israel! Finally! Here is a great prophet and king like Moses or David! He will save us!
The people expected Jesus to change the government, kick out the bad army, and make Israel God’s country, again. He did kick out the businesses selling in the Temple. And He corrected the teachers for teaching the Bible wrong.
And then Jesus, knowing what the people expected of Him, did something unexpected. He was arrested, beaten up, and killed on a cross.
They did not understand that Jesus had to save us from our sins before He stopped all the bad guys.
Remember, Jesus took everyone’s punishment for sin by giving His life, and He gives us righteousness. That does not mean he will remove all of our problems now, but He will provide the solution.
And Jesus our Prophet, speaking the word of God, did promise that His first triumphal entry into Jerusalem was not His last. He is coming back to change the world and stop all of the bad things from happening forever. And we will be with Him forever on a new Earth.
Today is Palm Sunday, everyone, and our King is coming!
Memory verse:
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! Revelation 22:20
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16, ESV
To be saved from sin and God’s wrath, we must believe that Jesus is the perfect Son of God who died for our sins and rose again to life. There is no other way to eternal life.
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. 1 Corinthians 1:18, ESV
Do not try to convince someone of the truth of the Gospel. Share the truth. Even give evidence. We merely share the Gospel. Let the Holy Spirit change their minds.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, ESV
We have the true gospel that saves, therefore we can endure a disbelieving world that taunts, mocks, beats, and kills us until Christ’s return.
Especially when hard times hit – such as the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic – people begin asking difficult questions about God, the Church, and our world.
Here are some questions to ask ourselves:
Has anyone ever ignored me? How did it feel?
What if I had something very important to say, but they still would not listen?
Am I patient enough to keep trying, or do I figure “They don’t want to listen anyway, so why bother?”
Now, to the big question of the day:
Why would God send people to Hell who have never heard the gospel? What happens to those who have never heard?
“The heavens declare the glory of God …” – Psalm 19:1
The rest of Psalm 19 speaks to all of Creation crying out “There is a God! He is powerful! Seek Him!”
Likewise, Paul tells us in Romans that:
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:18-21, ESV
People are without excuse. All of Creation declares there is a God who exists, but people choose to ignore Him.
But still, not all people have heard the Gospel, so what about them?
Well, we see from passages such as Acts 10, when Cornelius has a dream to go talk to Peter, and Peter himself has a vision from God. The two talk, and Cornelius comes to salvation in Christ.
Likewise, Mary and Joseph had visions and dreams, as did the Patriarchs (i.e. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) as well as so many others throughout our Old Testament. Even today we hear reports of people around the world who had dreams of Jesus saying “Go talk to this person” or “You will meet someone who will tell of you me.” I have even met some of them, during my time in Morocco in 2005!
It also seems that some people flat out reject God. Look at Joshua 2:9-11, when Rahab tells the Israelite spies that the people in the land know what their God did to the Egyptian army and how He parted the Red Sea, and they were terrified. Yet, they did not choose to believe in this God, rather they wanted to get rid of Israel and ignore their God!
We know God is omniscient. He knows our hearts and our minds. He knows how we will react in any and every circumstance. Including how we will respond to His message of the cross.
If you were ignored, you probably would not want to talk too much with those people.
If God knows people will reject Him regardless of the evidence, the call, and the need, why should He call out to them by sending His Church to share the Gospel message?
And yet, we live in the age of the internet, printed Bibles, and apps that can connect us like never before to God’s truth.
They are without excuse.
So what happens to those who have never heard the Gospel?
They have already rejected God in their hearts.
Therefore, do not turn from God, but make sure you have received the Lord Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Do your part to tell others the good news of His live, death, and resurrection for their redemption, as well.
Will you share the gospel with those who may not have heard?
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Hebrews 11:6, ESV
You cannot be saved without believing God exists, the Son came bodily and without sin to die for our sin, rose again to life, and will return to earth to spend eternity with His faithful servants.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23, ESV
We know that God is faithful in love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness, because the cross of Christ proved His faithfulness.
Do we truly love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths? Maybe I can help with the mind part, at least! This is Daniel M. Klem, apparent poet, reluctant yet passionate Disciple (Peter?), and foolish man attempting to understand theology!
a simple man of God 