4/2/23 Palm Sunday Mark 15:21-32 “Lost and Doomed…Or?”

31 Mar 4/2/23 Palm Sunday Mark 15:21-32 “Lost and Doomed…Or?”

4/2/23  Palm Sunday    Mark 15:21-32       “Lost and Doomed…Or?”

Every year when I was still in full time ministry, we had a very special service this time of the year because we had the confirmation class give the sermon.  These sermons were what they wrote, not what anyone else wrote.  I think they all did a super job.  Doing this was one of the requirements I had to be confirmed.  Many of the students told me how nervous they were before and during their sermons.  I would guess that if you asked them a week later if they were still nervous, they would say no.  They were done with this so why be nervous anymore.  It only makes sense.  This is not unlike the week we have ahead of us.  I think this is one of the hardest weeks in the Christian calendar.  The reading today, is one of the hardest in the Bible because it takes a lot of emotional energy.  Just try to imagine the Sunday so many years ago that began the week with a parade celebrating Jesus, the Messiah.  Things sure got bad in a hurry.  And as hard as this week is, it had to be in order to get to next Sunday, Easter.

I purposely chose this part of the passion because it is after many of the bad things that had happened to Jesus.  The trial is over.  Jesus has been beaten almost to death.  He has been mocked and spit upon.  I remember seeing a video series once that depicted this week.  One of the posing questions the narrator asked was ‘why?’  Why did all these things have to happen?  Why did Jesus have to suffer so much?  And then my question was why do we need to watch these depictions?  Suddenly, God gave me an answer to my question.  We need to see a series like this or the movie ‘The Passion of the Christ’ because we need to feel what happened.  It isn’t good enough just to read about it.  It isn’t enough to picture things in our minds.  These things don’t tell the real story.  We need to feel what happened.  We need to get emotionally involved and shed some tears because of this.  It may be hard to watch but we need to be reminded every once in a while, just what happened on this week so many years ago.

Just prior to this reading we have Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey with people waving and throwing down palm branches before Him.  This is a time of celebration for the people.  Many knew that Jesus was not supposed to come to Jerusalem because the authorities were out to kill Him.  But He comes anyway.  This could only mean that Jesus was coming to take on the kingship of the land, of Israel.  I mean, why else would He risk His life like this.  Everything that happened to Jesus this week, He knew about in advance.

So, there is a tremendous amount of love for Him during this parade.  But there is also a huge amount of tension in the crowds.  We need to remember that it was the Romans who were in charge and they didn’t allow for anyone to present themselves as king.  If Jesus came to Jerusalem to claim his earthly kingdom like the people expected, then there would be bloodshed.  There would be fighting so the crowds were tense even if they were jubilant.

The week rolls on and there is the clearing of the Temple.  Jesus would have been teaching.  We have had the arrest at Gethsemane and the trials with the chief priests, Herod and Pilate.  He has been severely whipped and beaten.  He has been mocked.  And now we have Jesus in a forced march to His death at Golgotha.

I think that we have to stop here and ask the question again, ‘why?’  Another reason why this had to happen was because God had told us this would happen.  God had Scriptures written in the Old Testament telling that these things were to come.  There are many, many Old Testament prophecies about Jesus.  I’m only going to name three readings here that pertain to our passage.  In Psalm 22:16-18 we are told ‘they pierced my hands and my feet,’ and later ‘they divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.’  Then we read in Zechariah 12:10 which says in part, ‘They will look upon me, the one they have pierced.’  In Isaiah 53:5 we read, ‘He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our inequities, this punishment that brought us peace was upon him.  He did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter.’

God tells us here and in other places that these things had to happen.  Our God is the God of truth and what He says will happen, will happen.  This is something we like to forget.  When God says something will happen, it will happen!  So, Jesus had to go through all of this and we have to know and understand what happened at the cross and after.  Please remember that because Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected back to life, we have the assurance of eternal lives ourselves.

As we begin to read our Scripture, I ask you this.  How would you like to be walking along the street, minding your own business and soldiers grab you and tell you that you have to carry 100-125 lb. cross for a condemned man you don’t even know for probably more than a mile?  We have to wonder what Simon of Cyrene was thinking.  We have to wonder what happened to Him after this.  Did he become a follower of Jesus?  Did his life change?

I think that this is something that happens every day in our world.  I think that Jesus happens to people and they don’t even know it.  I look back on my life before Jesus and I can see many times when He was knocking on my door.  I can see the times when I was forced to carry burdens that I thought were not possible.  Anyone who has been through a death or divorce or some life changing experience without Jesus, knows what I am talking about.  These are the hard times when we are forced to do what we don’t want.  These are desperate times.  But they are also the times when Jesus is walking right beside us.  He is there within reach.  The only thing we have to do is reach out to Jesus.  All you have to do is call out to Jesus.  We don’t know about Simon in our story but I would guess that he was changed forever.

Much of this reading is devoted to the people mocking Jesus.  They shout out, “He saved others but He can’t save himself.”  The trouble with these people is that they are too literal.  They don’t have a clue as to who Jesus really is and what He has to do.  Let’s take a look at some of the events and things that led up to the cross.

Jesus had a successful ministry going in Galilee.  He had been healing people left and right.  He had fed people, 5000 in one place and 4000 people in another, with next to nothing.  He performed miracles every day for these country folks.  They knew who He was.  Anyone who could do the things He did could only be God himself or in this case the Son of God.

Look around you in your life.  Have you seen miracles that are totally unexplainable?  Of course you have.  Everybody has.  The trouble is that in about the 1500’s we invented something called science so that we can explain things naturally.  Since then we have refined science to a point where we rely on it for everything and we don’t rely on God anymore.  But I want you to think about this for a moment.  Who gave us science?  Who gave us our inquisitive minds?  It was God.  He wants us to be like this.  He wants us to use science to help each other.  What He doesn’t want is for us to use science to replace God.  He can explain everything in the universe. But none of this will do any good unless Jesus first goes to the cross.  He didn’t have leave Galilee and go to Jerusalem.  He could have saved himself but then He couldn’t have saved us.

Think about when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane.  It was a dark night.  They didn’t have streetlights in those days.  They didn’t have flashlights.  All they had was torches and primitive lanterns.  Even with these flames, it would have been dark.  Jesus could have just walked away.  Then we read in John where when Jesus spoke to these people coming to arrest Him, they all fell to the ground on their faces because they were in the very presence of God.  These big, tough, brawny soldiers were all face down worshipping God.  Jesus could have just walked away again.  But He couldn’t because it had been promised that He would do this.  And God doesn’t break promises.

You need to remember this also.  When you face the scandals, the financial losses, and other things that you think you will never survive, Jesus will not walk away from you.  When you sign on with Jesus, you sign on for life.  He is always right there with you to help you and to comfort you.  And if you don’t know Jesus, then He is also right there ready to be asked into your life.  Don’t be afraid to ask Him because it will be the best thing that you ever do in your life.  That is a guarantee.  On that night to so long ago, Jesus could have saved himself and walked away but then He couldn’t have saved us.

There was also the time of the trial when Jesus could have escaped all of this hurt and pain.  If you remember, Pilate didn’t want to put Jesus to death.  All Jesus would have had to do was say something in His own defense.  I don’t think that it would have taken much for Pilate to release Him.  But Jesus says nothing before Herod or Pilate in His defense.  This fulfills another prophecy.  Once again we see that we have a wonderful God who is true to His word.

I think that there is a hidden message here.  Sometimes you can do more good in spreading the Gospel by keeping your mouth shut.  I have a huge problem with this.  Please don’t misunderstand me here.  You need to talk about Jesus and all that He has done in your life.  You need to be asking people to invite Jesus into their hearts just like I do on many Sunday mornings. (of these broadcasts) But you also have to learn to be quiet and let the person make up their mind.  No matter how great their lives will be, no matter how happy they will become, no matter how much comfort they will get from Jesus, the decision is theirs and theirs alone.  You have to allow the Holy Spirit to work in people.  Jesus changes hearts, not you or anything that you say.  Jesus remained quiet in front of Herod.  He could have saved himself from further torture but then He wouldn’t have been able to save us.

Or how about when Jesus was hanging on the cross?  I agree with some of the medical experts who say that Jesus should have been dead long before He even got to Golgotha.  With the beating and blood loss, this final walk should have been fatal.  I think that God held him together so He could get to the cross.  He died very quickly for being on the cross and they didn’t have to break his legs, which was also told in prophecy.

At any point in all of this Jesus could have just hopped down from the cross and walked away.  After all Jesus is God and He had all the powers.  It would have been quite a miracle if He had jumped down and walked away.  It would have been the easy way out.

Far too often we like to take the easy way out of things.  That is like the series I mentioned earlier on Easter.  It was very hard to watch but many people did and I commend them for it as it was not the easy way out.  I would have been very easy for people just not to come to see this series.  Sometimes the easy way is the best way of doing things and many times this may be what Jesus wants from us.  However, when it comes to your walk with Him, He wants you to actually go, physically, and minister to your neighbors.  He wants your physical presence to people who are hurting.  Far too often we feel that we have hired the pastor to do these things but this is not right thinking.  Far too often we feel that if we write a check for a good cause that this will be our mission work.  This is not right at all.  These things can be part of your mission work but you have to, have to be physically present to do the good that Jesus wants from you.  And the reason for this is simple.  If Jesus had taken the easy way out at any of these junctures, He would have saved himself but we would all be lost and doomed.  The world would be without hope.

But that is not what happened.  Jesus had no choice because of the promises He had made to us in Old Testament Scripture.  Jesus knew what was coming.  He knew He had to go through all of this.  And when He finally died on that cross, He had your name in his mind.  He was thinking of you.  He loved you 2000 years before you were born.  This love He has for us is mind boggling.  It is incredible.  (As you go into your next prayer time,)As we take communion this morning, think about what Jesus has done for you, just you.  Make a list.  Your list will be unbelievably long.  Praise the Lord.  And thank you, Jesus, for first loving us.  Let’s pray.