Latest / Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons / The Humility of the Triumphant King (Luke 19:28-44) - Pastor Jonathan Williams

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The Humility of the Triumphant King (Luke 19:28-44) - Pastor Jonathan Williams · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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I invite you to turn with me in your copy of
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God's word. Today we are looking at that triumphal
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entry from Luke chapter 19. Luke chapter 19 today.
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Luke chapter 19, we will begin in verse 28. And
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then go through verse 44, Luke 19 verse 28. And
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when he had said these things, he went on ahead
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going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethphage
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and Bethany at the mount that is called Olivet,
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he sent two disciples saying, go into the village.
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in front of you, where on entering you will find
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a colt tied on which no one has ever sat. Untie
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it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, why
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are you untying it? You shall say this, the Lord
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has need of it. So those who were sent went away
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and found it, just as he had told them. And as
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they were untying the colt, its owners said to
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them, why are you untying the colt? And they
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said, the Lord has need of it. And they brought
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it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the
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colt, they set Jesus on it. And as he rode along,
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they spread their cloaks on the road, and as
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he was drawing near, already on the way down
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the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his
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disciples began to rejoice and praise God with
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a loud voice. for all the mighty works that they
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had seen, saying, blessed is the king who comes
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in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and
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glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees
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in the crowd said to him, teacher, rebuke your
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disciples. He answered, I tell you, if these
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were silent, the very stones would cry out. And
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when he drew near to the city, he wept over it,
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saying, would that you, even you, had known this
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day the things that make for peace. But now they're
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hidden from your eyes. For the days will come
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upon you when your enemies will set up a barricade
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around you and surround you and hem you in on
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every side and tear you down to the ground, you
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and your children within you. And they will know
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because you did not know the time of your visitation.
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Well, sometimes, probably oftentimes, our expectations
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for life don't match up with reality. And this
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may be particularly observed when you go on vacation.
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I've been talking recently with some of you who
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like to go on cruise ship vacations. And it seems
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to me that I've heard, maybe more than once,
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how the expectation of this kind of vacation,
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which I've never been on, cannot sometimes match
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up with reality. Maybe. You've heard a situation
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where somebody has expected to go on this luxurious
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trip, eat all this wonderful food, go to the
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most exciting ports of call, and enjoy unique
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once in a lifetime experiences, sit by the pool
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that is not crowded, and just relax on this wonderful
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adventure. But in reality, that trip, maybe you've
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heard of one of these trips, did not turn out
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like you expected. The boarding time to get on
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the ship was ridiculous. The boat rocked in the
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storm. You were seasick for days. Maybe you or
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that person you know lost their passport. The
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pool was like a bowl full of Cheerios, as it
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were. And all the hidden costs of this trip blew
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out your budget. Maybe you've had an experience
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like that where your expectations did not. match
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reality. Maybe your expectations were a little
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bit too high for the reality of the situation.
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The situation here with Jesus riding into Jerusalem
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is quite the opposite. Reality is far better
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and far greater than the people could have ever
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expected or than the people desired. The reality
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of Easter week was no cruise to the tropics,
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putting it crudely and mildly, but instead of
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reality not measuring up to expectations, Jesus
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was far greater than the people could have expected
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or dreamed. He was and is far better than any
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of their small -minded worldly hopes. They wanted
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a conquering hero who would actualize their desires
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and their dreams for an earthly kingdom. But
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what they received was a humble savior who would
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secure them for an eternal kingdom that could
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not be shaken. And it would do for them far more
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than they could ever ask or think. Are you in
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awe of this humble king who rides to Jerusalem,
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who comes to you today, humble, and as it were
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mounted on the colt of a donkey? He comes in
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lowliness and gentleness. Why? Because we are
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lowly and needy. While these people wanted Jesus
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to help them have a better life situation, what
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they needed and what we need is not Not really
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someone to change all of our outward circumstances.
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Because no matter what your life looks like on
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the outside, it doesn't really matter if on the
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inside you're miserable. And by nature, the Scripture
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shows us by nature we are actually miserable
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without Christ. We need a King who meets us in
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our misery and changes our standing with God
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and cleanses us from the inside out. So that's
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why this humble King is the King we need to see
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and the King we need to treasure today. That's
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why Palm Sunday is so great because this humble
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King truly helps miserable and hurting people
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like you and like me. Well, how does he do that?
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Well, as we've already said, by coming, firstly
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by coming, and gentleness and lowliness. In other
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words, he meets us right where we are in tenderness
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and in compassion. We get a clue to Jesus' tender
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heartedness even from the very geography that's
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described here when it says he's drawing near
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to Bethphage and Bethany. Do you remember how
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special Bethany was to Jesus and what special
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people were there and special things happened
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there? It was at Bethany that Jesus had the deepest
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of friendships with ordinary people. You remember
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Mary and Martha and Lazarus there at Bethany?
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Mary and Martha who provided that missionary
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home for Jesus. for his rest and refuge. Remember
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how Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus before
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he raised Lazarus from the dead? How he comforted
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Mary and Martha in their sorrow? This is where
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Jesus was anointed for burial. And again, it
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was a place of refreshment and rest for Jesus
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that very week before his crucifixion. And so,
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So what we see in Jesus' relationship to the
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people of Bethany in that place is that though
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Jesus was fully God, he was also fully human
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and needed rest and encouragement and comfort
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himself. Why? Because Jesus was fully human and
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took to himself our frailty. Though he was without
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sin, he entered into our frailty and so he too...
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Needed rest and encouragement. He's both king
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and sovereign Lord and right down on our level
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too. That's why he's able to help us as we'll
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see. And notice how Jesus comes into Jerusalem.
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You know the story by heart. He doesn't come
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on a big charging Arabian war horse. No, he comes
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on the colt, the foal of a donkey. And if you
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read Matthew 21, You also see that Jesus, while
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he rides on this colt, the mother donkey is likely
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right there alongside with the foal of the donkey
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as he goes into Jerusalem. As he sends the disciples
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out, they retrieve this colt from its owners,
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fulfilling that great prophecy. of this day from
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Zechariah 9 ,9. Rejoice, O greatly, O daughter
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of Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem.
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Behold, your king is coming to you, righteous
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and having salvation as he humbled and mounted
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on a donkey, on a colt, on the foal of a donkey.
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He rides in on a humble beast of burden. Yesterday
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some of the men went hiking up Table Rock and
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one of you who will remain nameless mentioned
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that they would possibly like a llama to take
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them back down. Jesus rides on an even more humble
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animal than that. How humble, how lowly, how
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meek is this king who is in charge of the cult,
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in charge of this moment, yet decides to find
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the least glorious ride into the city. Also,
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think about this. He brings the colt and with
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the colt, the colt's mother, the donkey, likely
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in order to help that small animal feel comfortable
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with the presence of its mother. I mean, you
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remember what's going on. There's a lot of shouting,
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a lot of yelling, a lot of waving of palm branches.
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You know, this could. could possibly spook a
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small animal yet Jesus bringing that comforting
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presence of the animal's mother along shows us
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that Jesus is tender -hearted even to even to
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the lowliest of creatures isn't he he is as the
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Bible describes as he describes himself gentle
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and lowly He's the sovereign king, but he's the
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humble savior. He who was rich beyond all splendor
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because he loved you so much, he became poor.
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So that through his poverty we might become rich.
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He's gentle and lowly. He says to us, come to
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me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and
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I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and
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learn from me. I am gentle and lowly of heart,
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and you will find rest for your souls. My yoke
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is easy, my burden is light. Oh, don't you love
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how Isaiah describes this tenderness of the Lord
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Jesus to those who are needy, those who are like
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you and me? Says of the suffering servant, the
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Lord Jesus in Isaiah 42 -3, that a bruised reed
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he will not break, a faintly burning wick, He
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will not quench. Whether you have been marred
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by sin or suffering, He is gentle and lowly and
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will deal gently with you and me. He will not
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remove, no, He will not remove all your troubles
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from you, and He will not remove you from all
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your troubles, but He will tenderly strengthen
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all those who are troubled. by sin and suffering
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in the midst of it. He is so near to us. Hebrews
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chapter two, 17 and 18, one of my favorite passages
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says, therefore he had to be made like his brothers
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in every respect so that he might become a merciful
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and faithful high priest in the service of God
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to make propitiation for the sins of his people
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for he himself suffered when tempted so he is
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able to help those who are being tempted. Dear
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ones, he knows suffering better than you because
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he suffered the agony of the cross and his father
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turned his face away. He knows temptation better
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than you because he never gave in to temptation
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but bore it all the way down. He knows what you're
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going through and he's lowly and gentle. He's
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come in humility to a people who are miserable,
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a people who are humiliated. Isn't it nice to
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know though, isn't it nice to know that through
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all the peaks and valleys of life, isn't it nice
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to know when you have somebody who's been there
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too, who's experienced what you've been through.
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C .S. Lewis says it this way, friendship, Friendship
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is born at the moment when one person says to
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another, wait, you too? I thought I was the only
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one. Wait, you too? I thought I was the only
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one. What a friend we have in Jesus. He says
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to you, yes, me too. You're not the only one
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who has been there. You're not the only one who
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has been to that dark place. I've been there
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too. You're not the only one who's been down
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this road. I have been there as well. I can relate
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to your darkness and I am the answer. So as we
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celebrate on Palm Sunday, Jesus comes because
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as he is born on this beast of burden, he's coming
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to help us bear our burdens. If you find yourself
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downtrodden or suffering in some way, maybe circumstances
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have left you in some sort of gloom or despair
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or inwardness that just doesn't seem to go away.
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Just as Jesus rode in triumph to Jerusalem, He
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comes to meet you where you are now. He comes
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to be the satisfaction for your soul in whatever
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situation. Maybe it's not suffering today, but
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maybe it's some temptation. Maybe you're laden
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with the guilt or shame or temptation of sin
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or to sin. In some way, see Jesus riding to you
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today, not to condemn you, but in love and in
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compassion to set you free from the encumbrance
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of every sin and every weight that is hindering
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you. He has the power to set you free. And he's
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done so, Christian. This is the kind of king
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you want to pour your heart out to. This is the
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kind of king, is it not, that you want to embrace
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in faith and repentance as the savior from your
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sin. We should long with the people to cry out,
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yes, Lord, Hosanna, save me now, when we see
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who this King really is and what he has really
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done to comfort the hurting, to strengthen the
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struggling sinner. And that's what these last
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verses speak of as we look from verse 36 to verse
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34. Why is it? that he can help. How is it that
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he can help the lowly, the hurting, the miserable?
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But by doing what he speaks of here, he makes
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lasting peace and victory as he goes to accomplish
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love's redeeming work at the cross. As he comes
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back to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, he
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is... once again, bringing the glory of the Lord
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back to the temple. In Ezekiel we're reminded
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that the glory of the Lord had left the temple.
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Now he is coming in glory back to the temple
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to cleanse the temple. And yet the people are
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praising him and they know the prophecy of the
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coming son of David and so they're hailing him
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as the promised Messiah. The Pharisees know the
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implications of this. That if Jesus comes and
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overturns the power structure that the Romans
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have set up, what's gonna happen? It's gonna
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be very bad for them. It's gonna be very bad
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for the religious establishment. And the Romans
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are going to impose martial law and there's gonna
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be a lot of people killed. And so the Pharisees
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are saying to Jesus, here, keep your people quiet.
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Tell your disciples to quiet down. And Jesus
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refuses. For the very stones would cry out, he
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says. if the people cease to praise Jesus. The
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people rightly praise him. But, but, if you skip
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ahead just a couple of verses, you see in verse
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41, Jesus isn't really smiling, is he? No, what's
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happening? What's Jesus' face? Oh, he has big
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tears rolling down his cheeks. This isn't some
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sentimental tear. No, he is sobbing. He is weeping.
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He wept over the city. Do you know what it's
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like to weep? Jesus is weeping. The juxtaposition
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of the praises and the weeping could not be more
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extreme here. Jesus weeps because they don't
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understand, they don't understand that Jesus
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did not come to abolish. and cast out the Romans.
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No, he wasn't coming to restore David's earthly
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kingdom as they cast their cloaks on the ground,
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worshiping him rightly as the king. He did not
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come to end their earthly humiliation and deprivation
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that they'd suffered at the hands of so many
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empires over the centuries. No. Oh, he had not
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come to set up an earthly kingdom then. And how
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tragically small -minded they were. How tragically
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small -minded they were thinking that Jesus had
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simply come to actualize their desires. And how
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tragic, even more so, that the tongues that cried
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out, praise him. Blessed be the one who comes
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in the name of the Lord on Palm Sunday. Very
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soon, within the week, would be crying out, crucify
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him. Why? Why does Jesus weep? Because as he
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says in verse 42, they did not know, even as
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they cry out peace, they did not know the things
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that made for peace. Oh, the sorrow and the irony.
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So what are those things that they didn't understand?
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What are those things that make for peace? What
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is... What is the way in which Jesus brings lasting
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comfort and hope and help to the lowly? It's
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by doing what he did to make for peace. By firstly,
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providing atonement through his blood. He was
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coming to conquer, but he was coming to conquer
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through death. God was holy they and we are sinful
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and and and and that's why they came to the temple
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to offer sacrifices for their sins But as we
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studied in the book of Hebrews those sacrifices
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never ended They begged and they caused the people
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to long for one final atoning sacrifice and Jesus
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himself is riding as it were to the altar of
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sacrifice to be the final offering the eternal
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spotless lamb of God to be the final covering
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for all sins of his people." Oh, they should
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have known this, shouldn't they? They had heard
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John the Baptist when he proclaimed as Jesus
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approached the water, behold, the Lamb of God
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who takes away the sin of the world, yet they
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weren't looking for that kind of Messiah, were
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they? They were looking for a political hero,
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not for one who would atone for their sins. They
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needed to know the atonement. They needed to
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know about Jesus' resurrection, the promise that
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He would rise from the dead providing certainty
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of victory over death, vindicating and validating
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that His sacrifice to God was truly acceptable.
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They didn't realize that even though they were
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God's chosen people in a sense, they still needed
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repentance and faith. They needed to remember
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that they needed atonement for sins. The resurrection
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and repentance and faith, these things are the
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things that make for peace. Jesus had proclaimed
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repentance of sins. He'd called the people to
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turn from their sins and to put their faith and
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believe in him. Whoever believes in me, Jesus
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said to them, would not perish but have eternal
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life. In this moment, they're missing all this.
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They're missing the fact that they needed to
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be right with God. They needed to be right with
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God by receiving Jesus by faith and therefore
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being justified and having a right relationship
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with God by receiving that righteousness that
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comes through faith. It wasn't through the sacrifices
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of the Old Testament. It's not through any of
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their works, it's not through any of our works
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that we're made right with God, that we receive
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peace with God, but by faith alone. We're justified,
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we're made right with God by faith alone, in
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Christ alone. And it's been that way from the
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beginning, folks. Even in Genesis, even in Genesis,
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Abraham believed God, Genesis 15 -6, and it was
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counted to him as righteousness. They needed
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to remember that Christ's blood atoned for their
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sins, that he came to die and to rise for them.
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And then by turning from their sins and trusting
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him by faith, they were made right with God and
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had peace with God. Those were the things that
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made for peace. Do you and I know the things
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that make for peace? Maybe we know them in our
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minds. Maybe we've heard them from the pulpit
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week in and week out, but do we savor them in
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our hearts? Do we savor and rest upon and rejoice
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in Christ who was given for us on a daily basis?
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Because it's as we rest in the reality that we
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have ultimate peace with God through Jesus' blood
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that we have a stability in our souls that speaks
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to every sorrow, speaks to every hurt. It's as
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we rejoice that we have final and lasting and
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ultimate peace with God that we enjoy a tranquility
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that commands every other anxiety to cease. It's
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as we behold Jesus that our fears turn to confident,
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loud hosannas. And as we hear Jesus sobbing in
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verses 41 through 42, it redirects our hearts
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to the true reason to have joy in Jesus, not
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because he gives us all the goodies that we want
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here and now, but because Jesus fixes everything
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forever. His blood makes us right with God now
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and eternally. That means that No matter what
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kind of a mess you're in today, you're okay.
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You're right on schedule. And one day everything
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is going to be okay because of Jesus as he rides
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into Jerusalem to take upon himself the humiliation
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of our sin and to die and rise on the third day.
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He does so so that we would know eternal joy
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with the Father forever in a new heavens and
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a new earth. Isn't that so much better than what
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the people were expecting? Isn't that so much
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better than having every earthly desire fulfilled?
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Everything on our bucket list checked off. Everything
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that we wrongly presume that God should give
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us, an eternal home with our Father. That is
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what Jesus is coming to accomplish as he comes
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to reconcile us to God through his shed blood.
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And so what a tragedy if on this Palm Sunday
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we would leave standing in the same place spiritually
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where the people of Jerusalem were then. What
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a tragedy if we stood in their place and remained
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in their place, simply seeking God to fulfill
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all of our small -minded earthly desires. Now,
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caveat, does... Does Jesus teach us to pray for
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our daily bread? Yes, he teaches us to pray for
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our needs and praise God. He gives us a competent
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portion of all the things in this life that we
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need and also a measure of earthly happiness
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and joy. But that is not the primary reason why
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Jesus rides in to Jerusalem for them or for us.
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If Jesus were to bring you every external comfort
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that you could wish for, yet your life was eaten
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up by the cancer of sin, it would not matter
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what comforts you had in this life, because externally
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and internally, you would still be perishing.
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What does it profit a man if he gains the whole
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world and yet forfeits his soul? Let us see that
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the people praise him rightly, but let us praise
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him rightly from the heart for who he is and
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what he has truly come to do to save us, to transform
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us from the inside out, to give us eternal peace
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with God in his presence forever. Let us see
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our true need of him. Maybe today you've not
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embraced this Savior King for the true salvation
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from sin that he offers. Luke, the writer of
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the gospel, describes the time of Israel's visitation
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and that terrible things would happen to them
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in verse 43 and 44 because they did not understand
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the day of visitation. Do you today? Maybe someone
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in this room, maybe someone within the sound
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of my voice understand that maybe today you realize
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that you haven't received Christ for who he is,
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your savior from sin. If so, today is the day
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of your visitation. Turn to the Lord Jesus Christ
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and be saved. One more application here as Jesus
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rides into Jerusalem. What is he doing? He's
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come to purify the temple We didn't read those
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verses, but but hear this Jesus comes to cleanse
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the temple. He comes to bring holiness He died
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for a people of his own possession to make them
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a holy people to himself. That is God's end goal
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for you is Your holiness as a byproduct of that
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you will be happy all of your days, but are you
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longing for the same? and for which Jesus died.
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A holy people for himself. Are you longing for
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holiness? And by the spirit's power that is at
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work within you, are you pursuing holiness? By
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being in the word, by coming on the Lord's day,
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by surrounding yourself with godly people who
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love Jesus, who embrace the gospel. Jesus came
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for a holy people to make a holy people to himself,
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and so we should pursue. holiness as well. He's
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shown us the things that make for peace. He's
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shown us that he comes to help those by making
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peace for those who are lowly and miserable.
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And so dear ones, if you have rejoiced in the
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Lord Jesus for who he truly is on that Palm Sunday,
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you will be ready for the Palm Sunday to come.
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And yes, there is a Palm Sunday to come. You
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can read about it in Revelation. And in that
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day, Jesus will come again, not lowly so much
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on a donkey, but on a white horse, conquering
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all of his and our enemies. And on that day,
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Christian, if you know him, you will rejoice
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when the Lord our judge shall come, because he
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will take you out of this life of sorrows and
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this veil of tears to be satisfied. in your eternal
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home with your Father forever. Now that is a
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reason to shout Hosanna. That is a reason to
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praise Jesus. Even so, we pray, come Lord Jesus.