Palm Sunday Every Picture Tells A Story (and asks a question ) (John 12) 1 I don t know if it is old age and the whole walk down memory lane thing or what, but I like looking at photos. Not just any photos, but photos that bring back memories. At home we have 4-5 of those wires with magnets that display our photos, and of course there is your screen saver links you into the photos on your computer. At times when it activates, I sit and walk down memory lane. The other time when photos tend to get looked at is when we move. Photos are always stored in those hard to get to places but when you move they can often get looked at, with you laughing at what you looked like when you were younger. Photo are great and can be enjoyed in so many different ways. Gay and I enjoy snap chats from our daughter and our grandkids. As the saying goes a picture is worth a thousand words. This is one of my favourite photos. I can look at that picture, and a thousand thoughts race around my mind. Apart from being reminded that I am married to one good looking woman It was part of an amazing trip we did back to Bangladesh with Karissa
2 The simplicity of the home we were invited into and hospitality those showed us The braveness of this little girl sitting with these very scary white people The tongue poking out showing her shyness The power of the still photo, or the snapshot, lies in its ability to stimulate the imagination. The picture lingers in our consciousness as a vivid image. This morning, we begin a journey that we take every year in this season. It will be Easter in a few days - and so we turn our attention to the story of Jesus. Today s Scripture leaves us with select snapshots of Jesus life that move us to reflect on the quality of our worship. And we are going to take the still shots from the twelfth chapter of the Gospel of John. We are actually going to begin this morning by looking at Jesus final Saturday. Snapshot #1: Mary Got It Right - Extravagant Worship is Good! (John 12 :1-8) As we open the photo album, we find snapshot #1 taken at the home of Jesus good friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus in the city of Bethany. Bethany was just outside of Jerusalem, and Jesus has come to this home to relax and unwind with three good friends over a good hot meal. 12 Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus the man he had raised from the dead. 2 A dinner was prepared in Jesus honour. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. 3 Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. 4 But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, 5 That perfume was worth a year s wages. It should have been sold and the
3 money given to the poor. 6 Not that he cared for the poor he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples money, he often stole some for himself. and the snap shot is right at the end. 7 Jesus replied, Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me. Mary Look closely at this snapshot. Mary kneels at Jesus feet, perfume-soaked hair wiping His feet, lost in devotion. Judas is there, a disapproving frown on his face. Mary loved Jesus with every part of her being. After all, he had changed her life. She trusted Him as Saviour and as friend. She had watched Him perform miracles. Now she worships Him Worships him for who He is. Judas Judas was one of Jesus twelve handpicked disciples. Like Mary, he had seen Jesus work miracles. He had the respect and the trust of his fellow disciples - they gave him the moneybox to tend! He was the only disciple from the supposedly godlier southern region of Judea. But, when Judas finally realized that Jesus was not on the same page as him and therefore it would not profit him, his rejection was immediate and complete! The snapshot contains an image of Judas and Mary. The photo has developed right before our eyes and invites us to reflect. Which of these two best reflects your attitude to worship? Is your worship extravagant, no holds barred, like Mary s? Or is your expression of love to Jesus more calculating, how is this going to help me, I will give just enough to get by, how much sacrifice can I get away with? - like that of Judas? What does your worship cost you in terms of time, energy, money? And what are you going to get out of it? Jesus is worth our whole hearted and yes extravagant worship. This snapshot prompts each of us to ask the question about the value we personally put on worshiping Jesus. And I don t mean singing songs! Snapshot #2: The Evidence (vv. 9-11) Let s move on. Later on that same evening, after the meal was over, and while Jesus and His disciples were all still in Bethany, the camera clicks again. The print comes in to focus in verse 9.
4 9 A lot of people came when they heard that Jesus was there. They also wanted to see Lazarus, because Jesus had raised him from death. (v.9) Understandably, Lazarus was quite a draw card! It was not everyday that people got to see someone who had been dead for four days, walking around in perfect health. So, the crowds came to Bethany, some to see the evidence of this walking miracle, they wanted proof. They wanted to see both Jesus and Lazarus, both Miracle Worker, and the walking miracle. Others couldn t care too hoots about miracles, they didn t come to see the evidence but to do away with the Evidence (vv. 10-11) 10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus. 11 He was the reason that many of the Jewish leaders were turning from them and putting their faith in Jesus. (vv.10-11) The religious rulers were actually plotting to kill Lazarus - again! As if the poor guy hadn t died enough! They observed that many people believed in Jesus because of the miracles He was performing. And they were prepared to do whatever it might take to keep people from believing in Him, including doing away with the evidence - in this case, killing Lazarus. An interesting snapshot. Some of the crowd wanted to crown Him the King of Israel. But the power brokers wanted Him dead, and all evidence of His power buried with Him! Some came to Jesus with hearts open to believe, others with an agenda to destroy. Where are you in this snapshot? Do you look for the evidence of God s handiwork all around you? Or trying to bury it, or just ignore it.
Are you willing to marvel at the power of God as you see it in Scripture and in nature and in your life? Or do you look for ways to explain away, and therefore suppress the evidence of God, because well it doesn t fit with your beliefs or theology or world view. Now obviously we need to be careful here, it doesn t mean we believe everything we hear, because there are some pretty woolly things that get reported out there. But as we look at this picture. None of us would want to identify with those who condemned Jesus to death. Where would you have landed? With the crowds who honestly wanted to look the evidence in the face and come to a conclusion based on the facts of the matter? Or with the rulers who didn t want to be confused by facts because they had their minds made up? Snapshot #3: The Royal Arrival (vv. 12-19) There is one more scene to explore out of John 12 this morning. All those in Mary s and Martha s and Lazarus home enjoyed a good night s sleep. And the next morning, Jesus and the disciples started walking the two miles from Bethany toward Jerusalem. Beginning at verse12 of chapter 12, we encounter the final snapshot for the morning. 5 This still shot shows the kinds of receptions He received from various people as He entered the city. First, there were the crowds of people who lined the road leading into Jerusalem, and who had come to celebrate the Jewish Passover. The multitudes welcomed Him! (vv. 12-13) These crowds had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the great Passover. They saw Jesus as the Messianic King, the one who would release the nation of Israel from Roman chains. The palm branches they were waving symbolized victory. And, the word they were shouting ( Hosanna ) means Save us, NOW! The people in these crowds were looking to Jesus to save them from their oppressor.
6 The trusty steed upon which Jesus rode was a donkey! This might have prompted a few to raise an eyebrow. But for those in the know this even further fueled the people s beliefs that Jesus was the long-awaited King, as verses 14 and 15 make clear. 14 Jesus found a donkey and rode on it, just as the Scriptures say, 15 "People of Jerusalem, don't be afraid! Your King is now coming, and he is riding on a donkey." (vv. 14-15) Had Jesus come into town riding on a big, strong horse, He would have communicated a different message - it s time for war! But He came riding a donkey. And this humble beast reflected a peaceful, nonmilitary reign. The donkey symbolized the idea that all was well. Jesus has everything under control. The Prince of Peace has come to town. The crowds were bursting with enthusiasm, and in the excitement of this day, Palm Sunday, Jesus enjoyed the greatest popularity of His life. In fact, this was to be His finale. From this point on, everything goes downhill. But, the crowds - for now - were with Him. The resurrection of Lazarus from the dead was the evidence that had finally convinced so many of the crowd that Jesus was truly who He had claimed to be all along. His life, taken as a whole, was remarkable. His baptism was special. His teaching was without equal. His miracles - water into wine, a nobleman s son healed, healing at the pool of Bethesda, feeding of the 5,000, walking on water, giving sight to a man born blind - all testified of His deity. But this last miracle, raising Lazarus from the dead, was the final proof to those who lined the road on Palm Sunday. You can sense their excitement. You can feel their eager anticipation. Here is the One for whom they had been longing all their lives. Jesus, King Jesus, is here! Worship is the only possible response. Well, maybe not the only possible response.. Already a crack begins to develop in what appeared for a moment to be a monumental show of support for Jesus. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!" (v. 19)
And what does their conversation with each other tell us? It tells me that they had been trying to accomplish something, but had been unsuccessful. They had been trying to keep people from following Jesus! 7 They had spread lies about His family, had tried to dirty His reputation, had accused Him of drunkenness, had identified Him as being in partnership with the devil. But their efforts to keep people from following Him has failed. And now, because of their failure to squash the crowds loyalty, they have ended up pointing fingers at each other, accusing each other, and placing blame on their comrades in crime. And the question pops up yet again - Where are you in this photo? Are you lining the road, enthusiastic in your reception of Jesus? Are you celebrating His Kingship, even though His Kingship is not fully seen yet? Are you laying down your robe so that the donkey on which He is riding won t dirty its feet? Are you calling out to Him to do what only a Sovereign King can do? Save me! Or, are you back in the shadows, off to the side, making snide comments, not entering in to worship, wishing that others wouldn t make such a big fuss over Jesus. This morning, are you a Palm branch-waving fan of Jesus Christ, or are you in the camp of the Pharisees? Conclusion: We see today three still shots that compel us to reflect on the quality of our worship on this Palm Sunday, five days away from what we call Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Let us each ask ourselves: Is there a Mary-like extravagance about my worship? Or, like Judas Iscariot, am I a bit resentful of what worship might cost me? Do I, like the crowds who gathered to see Jesus and Lazarus for themselves, eagerly look for evidence of God s work to fuel the fire of worship? Or, like the chief priests, do I deny the evidence to avoid the need to submit to God? Do I enter into fanatical worship with a palm branch, as the crowds did who lined the road to Jerusalem? Or, am I standing off to the side, disgusted with the childlike behaviour of those who get all excited about Jesus? These are the questions that the photos of John 12 require us to ask.