CHEERS or JEERS MAKE UP YOUR MIND! Matthew 21:1-11 1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, & came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, & immediately you will find a donkey tied, & a colt with her. Loose them & bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them, & immediately he will send them." 4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: 5 "Tell the daughters of Zion, Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, & sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey. " 6 So the disciples went & did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey & the colt, laid their clothes on them, & set Him on them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees & spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before & those who followed cried out, saying: "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 had come into Jerusalem, the entire city was moved, saying, "Who is this?" 11 So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee." This is Palm Sunday. The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is one of the very few events in the life of Jesus that is recorded in all 4 of the Gospels. Today we re going to closely examine that event. But first, a little lesson from American history. I d like to tell you the story of Woodrow Wilson. Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States. He was a devoted Presbyterian & leading intellectual of the Progressive Era. With Theodore Roosevelt & William Howard Taft dividing the Republican vote, Wilson was elected President as a Democrat in 1912 receiving less than 50% of the popular vote. He proved highly successful in leading a Democratic Congress to pass major legislation including the Federal Trade Commission, the Clayton Antitrust Act, the Underwood Tariff, the Federal Farm Loan Act & most notably the Federal Reserve System. 1
Wilson spent 1914 through the beginning of 1917 trying to keep America out of the war in Europe (which became known as WW1). Re-nominated to run for President in 1916, Wilson s major campaign slogan was "He kept us out of the War. The final result of the election was exceptionally close & the result was in doubt for several days. Again, Wilson was elected with less than 50% of the popular vote. The only other president to win with under 50% voter approval was Bill Clinton in the 1992 & 1996 elections. We ll hear more of the Woodrow Wilson story later! 1. Do what the people want & you will be well received. Verses 8-10 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees & spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before & those who followed cried out, saying: "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 had come into Jerusalem, the entire city was moved, saying, Who is this? The whole city was enthused about the arrival of Jesus. Normally, there would be about 60,000 people in Jerusalem. But Passover time was drawing near. So that brought thousands more to Jerusalem (some scholars say from 150,000-300,000.) Word got out that a young rabbi from Galilee was coming. Now, what was so special about Him? Well, listen to John 12:17-18 Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb & raised him from the dead, bore witness. For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. Being able to raise people from the dead would draw a crowd. Maybe He could do that for a relative who died! Jesus did other things that pleased people! He fed 5,000 people with 5 small loaves of bread & 2 fish! He made the blind see, the deaf hear, & the lame walk. He commanded demons to come out of people! Maybe He would do things like that for other people, too! There were other things that drew people to Jesus. He was not a rich man who had no compassion. Here was a simple man whom they could identify with. 2
He cared about those in pain & suffering! He was a friend of the poor, the discouraged, & the sinners! He was different from the religious leaders who showed off their righteous standing with God. There is another reason why Jesus drew a big crowd! People loved to hear Him speak. His teaching & ways were different from all the others! However, Jesus had His enemies, too! Matthew 26:3-4 Then the chief priests, the scribes, & the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 & plotted to take Jesus by trickery & kill Him. The Scribes, Pharisees, & some other Jews wanted to get rid of this young troublemaker. These big religious leaders saw Jesus as a threat. The same reasons why people cheered for Jesus on Palm Sunday apply to many people today. They come to Jesus for healing for prosperity for help from something that is oppressing them! As long as they believe Jesus is going to do something for them They ll come to church! They ll pray & read their Bibles. They ll act like Christians should act! And there are those today who are like the enemies of Jesus. They try to take prayer out of schools. They want no Christian symbols in public places! They criticize the church & the Bible. They make fun of sincere followers of Jesus! Let s hear some more about Woodrow Wilson! Woodrow Wilson s 2 nd term focused almost exclusively on World War 1, which began for the U.S. only a little over a month after the term began. His statement announcing a "war to end all wars" meant that he wanted to build a basis for peace that would prevent future catastrophic wars & needless death & destruction. After World War I, Wilson participated in negotiations for an equitable peace. On January 8, 1918, Wilson made his famous Fourteen Points address that among other things established a peacemaking organization later to become the League of Nations. 3
Upon the end of the war, people were optimistic. They believed that the last war had been fought. The dream was that the world had at last been made safe, & the way had been paved for democracy & freedom everywhere. Woodrow Wilson became the first president to visit Europe while still in office. He traveled to Paris for the 1919 Peace Conference & was greeted by large crowds. Wilson was cheered every place he went. For his peacemaking efforts, Wilson was awarded the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize. Our story about President Wilson will continue later. 2. Popularity comes with expectations There s another reason why people came to welcome Jesus! We find it in Mark 11:9-10 Then those who went before & those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! 10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David. That comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! " Did you notice that phrase: Blessed is the kingdom of our father David? They wanted Jesus to overthrow Roman oppression & restore Israel to its days of glory when David was king. They were tired of being ruled by the Romans. This had to be the man sent by God to deliver them From the oppressive rule of the Roman Empire! Jesus would lead the nation into world prominence again. Notice what the Bible about this Palm Sunday crowd. Matthew 21:8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees & spread them on the road. Luke 19:37 says: Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice & praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, Some of them knew that God s Messiah would come that way Just as Zechariah had prophesied some 500 years earlier. That s why they placed palm branches down symbolizing the peace & victory they hoped He would bring. They yelled out the words from, Psalm 118:26 Baruch haba B shem Adonai = Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Then just when everything seemed to be going so right, something really strange happens. Luke 19:41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city & wept over it, 4
Why did Jesus weep? Because Jesus knew the cheering of the crowd would not last. He knew He had come to Jerusalem for one purpose & that was to be crucified. He knew the devotion of the crowd was a fickle thing. He knew it would only last as long as He would please & serve them. The crowd was looking to be cared for & to be catered to. That was what Jesus would have to do if He were to continue to receive the praises of the crowd. He knew as soon as He failed to meet their expectations the crowd would quickly turn on Him. The same thing happened to Woodrow Wilson! In all, the cheering lasted for about a year. Then it began to stop. On the home front, Wilson had ignored the problems of demobilization after the war, & the process was chaotic & violent. Four million soldiers were sent home with little planning, little money, & few benefits. A wartime bubble in in the prices of farmland burst, leaving many farmers bankrupt or deeply in debt after they purchased new land. In 1919, major strikes in steel & meatpacking broke out. Wartime prosperity turned into postwar depression. Serious race riots hit Chicago & other cities. Wilson failed to win Senate support for ratification & the United States never joined the League of Nations. Wilson desired a third term, but his Democratic party was in turmoil, with German voters outraged at their wartime harassment, & Irish voters angry at his failure to support Irish independence. Wilson had lost favor with the women of America. After years of lobbying & public demonstrations, Wilson finally announced his support of the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. Wilson was sympathetic to the plight of Jews. However, he repeatedly stated in 1919 that U.S. policy was to not officially support Zionism. Why did the cheering for Jesus stop? Why did the cheers turn into jeers? 3. Rejection Comes When We Expect the Wrong Things. Before Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane He prayed these words: 5
John 17:20-23 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, & I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, & You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, & that the world may know that You have sent Me, & have loved them as You have loved Me. The people failed to realize that Jesus did not come to serve them. He came to save them. He came to call them to repentance. He came to give them an eternal kingdom. We want the love & mercy of God. We want to experience His salvation & deliverance. We ask God to bless us & grant us success. But are we different from that Palm Sunday crowd? People are by nature selfish beings. We wonder what others can do for us rather than looking to help meet the needs of others. We just finished a Presidential Race where people were voting for candidates that they believed would push for things that would benefit them personally. Jesus knew what these people on Palm Sunday wanted from Him. He knew the CHEERS that Sunday would turn to JEERS on Friday. He knew those who called for His crowning as a king would call for His crown of thorns. He knew that the crowd s acceptance of Him would turn into rejection in just a few days. The crowd wanted a man who would provide their physical needs! The sad story of this crowd is seen several places in scripture Matthew 27:15-22 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. 16 And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" 18 For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. 19 While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, 6
saying, "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him." 20 But the chief priests & elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas & destroy Jesus. 21 The governor answered & said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" They said, "Barabbas!" 22 Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said to him, Let Him be crucified! John 19:14-16 adds: Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, & about the sixth hour. And he (Pilate) said to the Jews, "Behold your King!" 15 But 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 Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus & led Him away. Mark 15:29-32 adds: And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads & saying, "Aha! You who destroy the temple & build it in three days, 30 save Yourself, & come down from the cross!" 31 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see & believe." Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him. Luke 23:35 says: And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God. " The cheers for Jesus turned into jeers! What about Woodrow Wilson? President Woodrow Wilson collapsed with a stroke in 1919. He became paralyzed on his left side & blind in his left eye. For at least a few months, he was confined to a wheelchair. Afterwards he could walk only with the assistance of a cane. The full extent of his disability was kept from the public until after his death on February 3, 1924. History is filled with examples of people who started out humbly, rose to great popularity, & came to the end of their life in utter humiliation. Woodrow Wilson, who almost two years earlier was heralded as a hero, came to his last days as a broken & defeated man. What happened to Woodrow Wilson has also happened to preachers, politicians, & all kinds of people, even the rich & the famous. Yes, it even happened to Jesus. 7
Maybe you re frustrated with Jesus because He didn t give you what you asked Him for? Maybe you are angry with Him because things just haven t gone your way lately? If so, it is time to step out of your self-centeredness! Let Him take up His rightful place on the throne of your life. Jesus created us. We are here to serve Him. Everything revolves around Him & His purpose. Jesus came to save us from our sin! He may not choose to heal you! He may not choose to make you prosperous! He may not deliver you from your problems! But He will save your soul & give you eternal life! Isn t that what really matters? Isn t He worthy of our cheers in any & all situations? Hosanna Baruch haba B shem Adonai Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Let s Pray 8