Holy Week

0:00 Intro 2:14 Joke 2:42 Worship 6:43 Announcements 8:24 Pledge of Allegiance 11:15 Worship Continued 23:29 Message 56:09 Closing Worship What happened after the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem? The people in Jerusalem were celebrating Him as a King. Now, He is the King of Kings, King of Heaven and Earth, but the people wanted an earthly king who would rescue them from their Roman occupiers. Jesus continued to teach and do miracles, proving that He was the Son of God. But the Pharisees and Sadducees, who were the religious leaders, kept trying to trick Jesus into saying something that would go against their traditional religious laws. Jesus thwarted their efforts at every turn. Fast-forwarding a little bit, Jesus and His disciples prepare to have the Passover meal together. No one but Jesus recognized that this would be the last Passover meal they would have together while Jesus was on earth. We know it as the Last Supper. In preparation for the meal, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet. He even washed the feet of Judas, who would betray Him only hours later. Jesus later told His disciples that one of them would betray Him and that He would be handed over and put to death. Every action Jesus did was necessary to fulfill scripture and to give us the opportunity of eternal salvation and the complete forgiveness of sins. The only one who could accomplish this was God in the Flesh, Jesus our King. After the Passover meal, Jesus and the disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus went to pray and told the disciples to keep watch. But the disciples fell asleep, not once, but twice. Then the Roman guards arrived and arrested Jesus. He was beaten, tortured, condemned to death by the religious leaders and later by Pontius Pilate. He was mocked by the Romans who put a crown of thorns on His head. Then He was nailed to a cross with giant spikes through His hands and feet. He took on all the sins of the world, would die with Him, and be wiped away forever. At the exact moment of His death, the veil to the Holy of Holies, which was a couple of inches thick, tore from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the sky grew dark with clouds and thunder. Some people must have seen this and finally believed that Jesus was who He said He was. So now that Jesus is dead, the disciples go into hiding. They were running from the Romans and the Jewish religious leaders. Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Jesus, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb he had cut out of rock for himself. A large stone was rolled in front of the opening. The religious leaders had Pontius Pilate seal the tomb and place a guard on it. They remembered that Jesus had said He would rise from the dead. They would do everything they could to prevent that from happening. That seal meant no one was getting in or out. But on the first day of the week, two women went to see the tomb. All of a sudden, there was an earthquake because an angel had come down from heaven and rolled the stone away. The guards fainted like dead men. The angel told the women not to be afraid because he knew they had come seeking Jesus. He said Jesus was not there but had risen and told them to come see where the Lord lay and then go tell his disciples what they had seen. They did so, and on their way, Jesus met them and they worshipped Him. Jesus told them not to be afraid and to go tell His disciples to go to Galilee, where they would see Him. He rose from the dead as He said He would. Because of His death and resurrection, we have hope in our lives. The prophets foretold it, it happened exactly as predicted, and it shouldn’t have been a surprise. His followers likely doubted it would happen as a couple of days went by. But when the women saw Jesus, they were filled with fear and great joy. But they went and told the disciples as they were told to do by the angel and later Jesus. This showed their faith in Jesus, because faith is not the opposite of fear. It is walking in obedience in the midst of fear. The stone wasn’t rolled away so that Jesus could get out. The stone was rolled away so the women and the disciples could see in and fully realize that Jesus was who he said he was. They saw and believed. Today, through the gospel, we can see into the empty tomb and believe in Him by faith. No one else in history has ever predicted they would return from the dead and then actually do it! Only the King of Kings could do that, and He did it so that we can have the opportunity to spend eternal life with Him. This is not the end of the story. It is the beginning. We have the opportunity to tell others about Jesus. The good news of the resurrection was never meant to stay contained to the tomb, or to our homes, or to our churches. It is meant to go out to the world. That’s our King! Do you know Him?

0:00 Intro 0:37 Joke 1:16 Worship 5:35 Announcements 8:54 Pledge of Allegiance 10:38 Another Joke 11:33 Worship Continued 25:41 Message 1:02:04 Closing Worship The week before Jesus’ death He came to Jerusalem. This event is known as the Triumphal Entry which is recorded in Luke. He sent two of His disciples ahead and told them they would find a young donkey that no one had ever sat on and that they should untie it and bring it to Him. If anyone asked them what they were doing they were to say that the Lord needed it. Jesus was about to enter Jerusalem in a way that was prophesied 500 years ago by the prophet Zechariah. It is recorded in Zechariah chapter 9. The promised King of Israel is described as victorious, yet humble riding on a donkey’s colt. This was the opposite of how an invading king of the time would have entered. That king would be on a horse with an army behind him. But if a king came in peace, he would ride on a donkey’s colt. Jesus was showing that He was the King of Peace. It is also foretold that there will be another entry but this time, it will not be in peace. In Revelation, it says Jesus will return on a white horse and wage war. It describes His eyes being like a flame of fire and that He wears many crowns. His robe is dipped in blood and He leads the armies of heaven. Out of His goes a sharp sword that He strikes the nations with and He will rule over all of them. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He will return as a conqueror, but not yet. Returning to Luke, the two that were sent went and found everything as Jesus had said. They untied it and were asked what they were doing. The disciples told them that the Lord needed it. They brought the colt to Jesus and they laid their cloaks on it as a kind of saddle and Jesus sat on it. As they went, other people laid their clothes on the road. This colt was unbroken or untrained. No one would assume that they could saddle such an animal let alone ride it. This was a divine appointed moment and it would appear that supernaturally this colt knew who was riding him. Perhaps he was calmed and instantly tamed by his Creator. As Jesus descended the Mount of Olives all the disciples began to loudly rejoice and praise God for everything they had seen Jesus do. They shouted, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” This is a direct reference to Psalm 118, which the disciples knew was talking about Jesus. The Pharisees were not happy with this outpouring of praise for Jesus as King. They saw it as blasphemy. They called out to Jesus to rebuke His disciples. But Jesus replied that if they stopped, the rocks would start crying out in praise. Jesus knew the people weren’t being blasphemous and He was telling the religious leaders the Earth would worship its King even if the people didn’t. But the people likely saw Jesus as an earthly king who would rescue them from Roman rule and set up an earthly kingdom. After all, this was Passover week when God had rescued the Israelites from Egyptian rule and slavery hundreds of years before. But they just didn’t fully grasp that Jesus’ kingdom was not of this world and that He would need to die first for the sin of the world. Only a week later, the same crowd that praised Jesus as King would be stirred up and shout instead for His crucifixion. Jesus knew this, and yet He went to Jerusalem anyway. As He came to the city, Jesus began to weep. He was weeping for the people because they didn’t realize who He was. That He was God in flesh who had come to visit them. He also foresaw the future of Jerusalem and how it would be completely destroyed by the Romans with not one stone left on the other. This came true in 70 AD. This is one of two times that the Bible records that Jesus wept. The other time was at the tomb of Lazarus when he wept with Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus. This is a beautiful picture. Jesus identifies with our emotions and walks with us in tragic and difficult situations. He wants everyone to be saved and know the true of who He is. We wants us to come to Him no matter what our circumstances are and He will give us rest from our burdens. But, we have to be willing to accept Him as Messiah, Savior, and King.

As an outdoor church, weather can prevent us from meeting. Since we missed Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday, we’re rolling them all into one service. Before Passover, Jesus entered Jerusalem on the back of a donkey colt. The people welcomed Him, waving palm branches and laying them on the road. Many of us are probably familiar with the imagery from Sunday school illustrations, but this method of entry had a deep significance. It fulfilled what was prophesied in Zechariah about how the Messiah, the promised King, would come. The day of his entry was also the day that the Israelites brought their perfect lambs for sacrifice. Jesus knew that days later, He was going to the Cross. He was sacrificed as the Lamb of God for the sins of the world. He also knew that three days later, he would resurrect from the dead. And, He’s coming back again!