Mark 15:1-39

Jesus' death is full of ironies. The sequence of events is oddly juxtaposed to the actual realities present. For instance, Jesus was accused and convicted of the crime of blasphemy. Blasphemy is the crime of speaking against God or showing disrespect to God. But Jesus is God! Had he spoken blasphemously against himself.

Then there was the crowd. The very people who had hailed him as the king of the Jews on Palm Sunday, wanted him dead on Good Friday. Why did they want him dead? Because he claimed to be the king of the Jews. How ironic that the same crowds that yelled, "Hosanna," now yelled, "Crucify him."

And what of the way Jesus was treated. He was treated as a common criminal, yet he was the only innocent human on earth. In fact a murderer was set free so that Jesus could be killed. He was taunted, persecuted, and killed by the very people he came to save. Ironically as part of this mistreatment soldiers gave him a crown and a cloak and to bowed down to him.

These ironies highlight for us the truth of who and what Jesus was and is. Perhaps the most significant of these ironies is the last one. The only one to notice who Jesus was a Gentile. It was a Roman Centurion who faced Jesus and said, "Truly this man was God's Son!"

How did he know? What did that centurion see that made him realize this truth? Everyone there witnessed the same events. They all saw him nailed to the cross. They all saw the blood and heard the cries. Others in the crowd were close enough to him to see everything that this Centurion saw. The other soldiers who mocked Jesus, the crowd that had said, "Crucify;" they all saw the same events. Yet they did not come to that conclusion.

This is a significant question! Don't dismiss it. After all how many people throughout the ages have come face to face with the crucified Christ and not come to that same conclusion. How many have said, "There died a noble man," or "There died a prophet," or "There died a good moral teacher," but never said, "Truly this man was the Son of God." There are so many people today who know of Jesus' death on the cross who don't say, "This man was God's son." If we knew what that Centurion saw, maybe we could show it to them. If we could just point to whatever it was that drove him to that conclusion then others would say, "This man is the Son of God."

What was it that led a Roman centurion, of all people, to this most profound conclusion? He was a Roman, a Gentile. To him, Judaism was just some provincial oriental religion. He had probably worshipped Zeus or Athena all his life. Yet this Roman said, "this man is God's Son."

How did he know? You know what I believe? I think it was the cry Jesus gave right at the end that made the centurion see the truth. In verse 37 it says that Jesus gave a loud cry and took him last breath. Then in verse 39 it says that when the centurion saw he breathed his last he said, "Truly, this man is God's Son!"

So what was so special about this loud cry Jesus gave right before he died? Many people cry out in pain or agony right before they die. But this was no cry of pain. It was a cry of victory. The centurion who knew about military campaigns and conquests could see the victory. At the moment of Christ's death this military man could see the divine strategy that used the death of an innocent man to conquer God's foes. And in amazement he said, "Truly, this man was God's Son."

What was the victory that Jesus had won? It was a victory over death. Victory over physical death: the separation of a person from their breath. Through his death, by breathing his last, he brought eternal life to all who would accept him. But it was also victory over spiritual death: the separation of the human from God.

Something significant along these lines took place at the moment of Jesus' death; at the moment of his victory. Did you notice? At the moment Jesus' died it says that the veil in the temple was rent in two. In the temple their was a veil that separated the Holy of Hollies from the rest of the temple. It separated the people from the holy presence of God By Jesus' death that veil was torn open. People, once kept from God, now had direct access to God. Through Christ the alienated sinners of the world could see God face to face. Through Jesus the Gentiles and outsiders could come directly to God.

This was the victory that Jesus won. A victory for us against the forces of evil that would separate us from our Heavenly Father. A victory that ensured, not a mere political peace, but lasting inner peace for all who would accept it. A victory that saved not merely physical existence but saves the soul from eternal death. This marvelous victory of victories is what the centurion saw in Jesus' death. It was this victory which caused him to say, "Truly, this man was God's Son!"

Do you want to see this victory - in your life? Then just give your life to Christ. Ask the crucified Christ into your heart today. And through his death he will give you victory over sin and death. The publicly profess that belief in Jesus. That is what these young people will be doing as they come forward later in the service. They will be publicly professing their belief in Jesus as the Son of God. They will be claiming their part of the victory that Jesus won for us all on the cross!

But many of you have given your life to Christ. Yet you don't feel victorious in your life; instead you feel defeated. That is normal. I am sure Jesus' disciples felt defeated right after Jesus' death. They didn't feel victorious. The problem is people believe the devil's lies. The devil tells people, even born again Christians, that they are not victors because they don't measure up by the world's standards of victory. But the truth is that we are victors over sin and death and the devil.

The best example of this is the cross itself. Most people thought Jesus was defeated when he breathed his last. I am sure even the devil thought he had won. But the truth was much different. You see God takes what the world calls defeat and turns it into victory. God's Son Jesus took death on a cross and through it offers you eternal life. Do you know any one who can perform such a miraculous feat? I do! May I introduce you to him? His name is Jesus. Truly this Man is the Son of God!

The Story goes that in ancient Israel there was an Old Wise Woman. An this Old Wise woman wanted to know what the messiah would be like so that if she saw him she would know him. So she prayed that God would show her what the messiah would be like. And as she prayed and angel of the Lord appeared to her and said "Your prayer has been answered. Just watch and you will see the answer to your prayer.

And the old woman looked and there in front of her was a small farm. And she heard a voice and it said: "Joshua." And she heard another voice and it said, "Yes Father." The first voice said, "Go fetch some water for the sheep they are thirsty." Then she saw a young boy running to the well to drawl water. Then she heard the voice again and it said, "Joshua" And the boy said, "Yes Father." And the first voice said, "Go plow the fields so that the seeds can be planted in good soil." Then the old woman watched as the boy plowed a field. Then she heard the voice a third time. "Joshua" "Yes Father" "Go bring the sheep into the pen, for darkness is coming and the wolves will get them." Then the boy went and brought the sheep in.

Then the angel said to the wise old woman: "Do you understand?" And the wise old woman said, "Yes, I understand! The Messiah will do as he is told."

The events of Palm Sunday show us the kind of Messiah Jesus was. The events of Palm Sunday did not take place in a vacuum. They were preceded and followed by events that gave meaning to them. The story of Palm Sunday really begins when Jesus set his face for Jerusalem. Jesus and the Twelve Disciples had been traveling around the holy land. Then, all of a sudden, Jesus up and decided to go to Jerusalem. They had heard Jesus talking about the kingdom to come soon and they had heard Peter say that he was the Messiah. So they thought, "This is it!" "Jesus our Messiah is going to Jerusalem to take his rightful place on the throne of David." "God has sent Jesus to save us from the Romans." They were so sure that Jesus was going to triumph They were so sure that they began to argue over who would sit at Jesus' right hand in the Kingdom. In other words, they were arguing over who would be the Chief of Staff come the Revolution.

To add to this air of expectancy Jesus made a dramatic entrance into the city. When Jesus got to Jerusalem the first thing he did was send one of the disciples to borrow a colt. Now we look at Jesus on this colt and we say, "Oh look at Jesus meek and mild riding that humble little colt." Humility was part of why Jesus rode a colt. But every good Jew, who knew their Scripture, knew that the messiah would ride a colt into Jerusalem. To them it was not a sign of humility. It was Jesus proclaiming "I am the Messiah." This colt was very important to Mark. Mark only wrote 11 verses about Palm Sunday and 6 of them are about the colt. So when Jesus came riding in on that colt people started yelling "Hosanna! Hosanna!" And they laid down their coats for him to ride over. And they shouted that God's kingdom was coming. It was a first century version of a ticker tape parade.

But we all know the glory of that moment did not last long. Oh, Jesus and the disciples did stage a raid on the temple and they even took control of it for a while. And Jesus did show the Pharisees up when they asked him a few tricky questions. Jesus even healed a blind man right there in the temple. But by the end of the week all that had changed. The hosannas were just echoes of the past. The same crowds that had yelled "Hosanna! Hosanna!" at the beginning of the week, were yelling "Crucify! Crucify!" at the end of the week. They said, "What kind of a Messiah are you? "How dare you claim to be the Messiah when you won't even conquer the Romans." "Imagine the nerve of him riding into town on a colt and claiming to be God's Messiah." "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!"

Why did the people turn against Jesus? Jesus was the Messiah after all. The crowds got angry because Jesus was not the kind of Messiah they had expected. They had expected the messiah to establish an earthly kingdom. They expected the messiah to conquer the Romans. But Jesus did neither. They forgot that Jesus had plainly said he would suffer. Everyone recognized that his riding a colt was a fulfillment of Prophesy. But they failed to remember the meaning of the Prophesy. The prophet had said that the Messiah would ride a lowly colt because he would be no ordinary king. The Messiah would not ride in on a white charger and take over the state. The Messiah would on the level of the people and would rule their hearts. Jesus was a different kind of Messiah from what they were looking for.

Like the disciples, we sometimes forget that Jesus came to Jerusalem to die on a cross. If it were not for the cross Jesus would not be our king in heaven. It is Jesus' death that sets us free to be followers of Jesus. Without the cross of Christ there is no crown of glory. Jesus was and is the Messiah. But the only crown he wore on earth was a crown of thorns.

Paul talks about what kind of Messiah Jesus was in his letter to the Philippians. Paul wrote, "Being found in human form, Christ humbled himself and became obedient unto death even death on a cross." Jesus could have called down the angels of heaven to rescue him from death. But he humbled himself to his father's will to die on a cross for our salvation. It was because Jesus was obedient to the Father's will that he can be called the Messiah. Jesus was willing to die on a cross so that you and I could be saved. Because of that he is our Savior and we worship him. Like the boy in the wise old woman's vision: the messiah will did as his Father in heaven told him to do.

So what difference does it make what kind of Messiah Jesus was? It makes a big difference. Paul wrote, "Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus, who, though being in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of human beings." The mind Paul is talking about is Jesus' willingness to obey and serve. Jesus was the son of God. He didn't have to die on a cross for our sakes but he chose to. He chose to take on the form of a servant and obey God even if that meant death on a cross.

As followers of Jesus we need to learn from his example. We should be obedient to our heavenly father just like Jesus was. They say that imitation is the best form of flattery. Well we should be imitators of Christ.

Jesus was hailed as Messiah and King today. And you were part of it. Your children waved palm branched, and you sang "Hosanna Loud Hosannas." It is easy to follow him know. But don't be deluded into thinking that people will always hail Jesus as King. Before the week is over he will be hanging on a cross. Then where will you be?

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Philippians 2:5-11

Matthew 27:15-23

Palm Sunday 30 AD Jesus and his disciples ended their long journey to Jerusalem. Along the way Jesus healed people and taught at length about the Kingdom that was to come. And people believed. They believed his words of grace and truth. They believed that the miracles he worked were from God above. They believed in him and hoped that he was the Messiah who had come from God to save them.

And when Jesus arrived at Jerusalem, he didn't disappoint the crowds. He acquired a donkey and rode into town just as the prophets had said the Messiah would. And the people responded in kind. They turned that little pony ride into a great victory parade. They sang and chanted, "Hosanna" which is a shout of joy which means "Save us!" Other people heard the commotion and said "who is this?" Jesus' followers replied, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth."

That is how it should be! Jesus riding in humility, but at the same time being praised and blessed. We Christians know the joy and blessing of worshipping and glorifying Jesus. And we long to hear the crowds of our day shout "Save us" to Jesus. We want them to know the joy of worshipping Jesus.

Palm Sunday morning, 30 A.D.

I don't need to tell you what happened the following Friday. The prophets had foretold it hundreds of years before. Isaiah spoke of how God's servant must suffer. John the Baptist had called Jesus the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." How does a lamb take away sins? By being sacrificed of course. Even Jesus had warned his disciples that he must suffer and die.

But the way it all happened is what is so shocking. If bad men had just grabbed Jesus from the crowds and shot him or something, it might have been easier to take. But it was his own followers who betrayed him. First the disciples would not stay awake with him. Then Judas betrayed him with a kiss. But the last straw was the crowd. They had cried "Hosanna!" on Sunday, but now on Friday they shouted "Crucify!"

And Pilate, public servant of the Roman Republic, did as they wished. Pilatehad tried to get Jesus off peacefully. But to avoid a riot, he gave in. They nailed Jesus to a cross. His body was broken, and his blood was shed. And he died for our sins.

Why? Why did that happen? There are a lot of answers that could be given. You are probably thinking of them now. "Jesus died because humans, when given a choice between sin and righteousness, chose sin." "Jesus died because we could not repay God for our sins so God gave us his Son to atone for our evil." "The crowds turned on Jesus because they had misunderstood the kind of Messiah he was." "Jesus died because he loved us enough to give himself for our salvation."

Those are all good answers. They are all theologically and historically accurate But they miss the point of the question. They are answers to all the little "whys?" I am asking a different question.

You see Jesus was the last person who should have been on that cross. Pilate should have been there. Judas should have been there. The crowds should have been there. Even the disciples should have been there. All of us should have been there, not him. All Jesus had ever done in his life was bless and heal people. He was the last person who should have been betrayed. I am not asking why God allowed Jesus to suffer, I am asking why God lets the innocent like Jesus suffer; period?

Palm Sunday 1994 Piedmont Alabama. God's people at Goshen United Methodist Church were singing hosannas as it should be. The Small rural church was putting on an Easter musical which included the children's choir. In the middle of the service a storm hit and the electricity was knocked out. Even though the taped music they were singing to was stopped the choir kept singing hosannas. Then the ceiling and walls began to fall in as a tornado hit. 20 people were killed among them was Hannah the 4 year old daughter of the Rev. Kelly Clem. Rev. Clem tells her story in this months Guideposts magazine. But why!? Why does God allow the Hannahs of this world who are praising God to suffer?

October 10, 1991 late in the evening was the beginning of an ordeal that helped teach me part of the answer to this question. Mary, my daughter who was barely one year old, became sick. The illness was severe enough that we called her doctor and took her to the emergency room. We all quickly realized that was there was something seriously wrong of a neurological nature. The doctors decided that a blood sample needed to be taken to discover the exact nature of the illness.

Now, a one year old's arms and hands are the cutest things in the world. They fat and plump and dimpled. But they are a living nightmare to even the most experienced pediatric I.V. nurse. At first they tried unsuccessfully to take blood from her arms. Then they decided to try the veins in the back of her hands. And all through the successive attempts to find a vein I was the one holding Mary down.

As she screamed I wondered what she must be thinking. "Make them go away Daddy. Why are they doing this to me Daddy. Why doesn't Daddy do something to make these mean people stop. Why is Daddy holding me down while they do this?"

The next morning in the doctor's office Mary pointed to the bruises on the back of her hands. She couldn't talk, she was barely a year old, but it was like she was trying to say, "Look what they did to me Daddy." If I could have explained it to her I would have. If she had been capable of understanding, I would have helped her realize the necessity of her suffering. But all I could do was kiss the boo boos and hold her close.

Why does God let the innocent suffer? I don't know. I am too little to comprehend such things. Why does it seem that my Heavenly Father is holding me down while mean people poke me and drive nails through my Saviors hands? I can't tell. But I know that I would not let Mary suffer if it were not necessary for some greater good. And God is a much better father than I am, so he would not let me suffer needlessly.

I don't have the answer to that big "Why?" - "Why do the innocent suffer?" But that is O.K. because God does have the answer. God tries to explain it to me in his Word, but I am not capable of completely understanding. When it's all over my Heavenly Father kisses the boo boos. And he holds me real close.

If you ever ask "why?" and can't find the answer, that's O.K. Just remember God's love. God loves us enough to die for us even though we betray him. And God would never let anything happen to us that wasn't for a good purpose. When you are suffering and it seems that God is allowing it, know that it is a means to a blessing. After all, if God had not let mean men hold his Son, Jesus, down and pierce his hands, we would not have a Savior now would we? And that is what this bread and this cup are all about. God's love and care for us presented in a way that we can see but not fully understand.

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The Bible: it is a common everyday object. If you are at all like me you have a dozen copies laying around the house plus tape and electronic versions. But it was not always like that. For most of the years since Jesus� birth the Bible bas been and expensive object. Before movable type came to Europe Bibles had to be hand copies and were hence rare and expensive.

As a result reading the Bible, much less owning one, was beyond most people�s abilities. So they would go to church to hear the Bible read. In fact most of the Bible was written to be read aloud. One of the traditions that grew out of this reality was the reading of the passion narrative.

At various times during holy week the whole story of Jesus� trial and death were read. In line with that tradition that is what we will do today. We will read the entire story of Jesus trial and death from the Gospel according to Matthew. In short we will allow the Bible to preach the sermon this morning as tit bears witness to the suffering and death of Jesus our redeemer. And to give the message time to soak in, we will stop at points in the passage to sing a few verses of an appropriate hymn.

Luke 19:28-40

When I was a child growing up in a Methodist Church, I knew of three religious holidays. These were Christmas, Easter, and believe it or not Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday was the time that we sang the song which went: "Hosanna, loud hosanna the little children sang, Through pillared court and temple the lovely anthem rang." That song also says that "the children sang their praises the simplest and the best."

My Sunday School teachers took their cue from that song's description of children singing. In Sunday School we would make palm branches from green construction paper and march all around the church singing and shouting "Hosanna, hosanna" as if we were in that crowd on that first Palm Sunday. Once a local farmer even brought us a donkey to touch and sit on. So when that song was sung in worship, all the children could see the pillared courts just as they were pictured in our Sunday School books, And each of us could imagine, "waving the branch of a palm tree high in my hand," and singing "Hosanna, hosanna! Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord."

This is a Christian education success story. You see, we knew about Christmas because of Santa Clause. We knew about Easter because of the Easter Bunny. But we knew about Palm Sunday because of Jesus.

All in all, Palm Sunday is a very important holiday for the church. It is a time when Jesus' disciples hailed him as King. It is a chance for us as disciples of Christ today to acclaim Christ as King.

But there is a danger in the way we worship on Palm Sunday. It is the danger that we will forget why Jesus came to Jerusalem to begin with, and as a result we will forget why we sing hosannas. Often times we sing hosannas on Palm Sunday and then we sing "Christ the Lord has Risen Today" the very next Sunday. The events of Good Friday are not on our personal religious calendars. Oh Jesus death is mentioned. It is not that we completely ignore it. We just move past that fact as quickly as we can to get to the resurrection.

The problem is; we don't like to dwell on unpleasant things. Sometimes we don't even admit to ourselves that unpleasant thing exist. When I was in college I had a bright red button with bold black letters which said, "Stop Torture." I had gotten it from a political rights group. It was part of their campaign to stop torture in foreign countries. One day, out of the blue, someone asked me if I was part of the animal rights group on campus. I said no and gave them a puzzling look. He said, "I saw your button and thought you might be. I said, "It means stop torturing humans." Then he gave me this strange look and said, "No one is torturing humans."

We don't want to admit the pain and the unpleasantness of life. We would rather close our eyes to it the way we do in a scary movie. We allow ourselves to think that people torture animals, but we don't allow ourselves to think that people torture humans. As a result we often overlook those who are suffering and in pain. There is something to be said for accentuating the positive and eliminating the negative. But when it causes us to overlook those in need, the ones God is calling us to help, the lost, the hungry the sick it runs contrary to God's purpose.

Because of this tendency to overlook the negative we sometimes overlook Jesus' suffering and death. We get all caught up in the joy of singing praises to Jesus as he triumphantly enters Jerusalem. And we forget that Jesus came to Jerusalem to die. So when we get to holy week we put our hands over our eyes. And say the the person next to us, "Tell me when it is over." It may be unpleasant to think about, but Jesus did die. People drove nails through his wrists and feet. The nailed him to a cross. Jesus experienced terror and pain. What's most important is that he experienced that pain as an atonement for our sins and for the sins of the world. Jesus' death is a fact of our salvation that we must never overlook.

So, how can we joyfully sing hosannas in the face of Christ's suffering? The people in our story seem to have been grossly ignorant of the facts. If they had known, as we do, why Jesus came to Jerusalem, they would not be singing a song of triumph. You see, they thought Jesus would come in and take over the state. Right before this Jesus had to correct his disciples for thinking that his kingdom would appear immediately.(Luke 19:11) The prophets had said the Messiah would come riding on a donkey. So when the people saw Jesus on that Donkey, they though he was coming to lead an uprising. They thought he would ride right up to Herod's palace and sit on his throne. Then he would order the Romans out of his newly established kingdom. The crowd was partially right. Jesus was and is the Messiah. But they expected a Messiah who would rule and earthly kingdom.

Jesus didn't come to Jerusalem to sit on a throne. Jesus came to Jerusalem to hang on a cross. He said so to his disciples several times. He told them plainly. He said the son of man must suffer and die. How can we see ourselves shouting with those people. How can we joyfully sing their song. After all it was Jesus' suffering that save us.

It makes me want to say, "How dare we sing hosannas in the face of Christ's suffering!" But I realize that I am saying the same kind of thing the Pharisees in our lesson said. The Pharisees tried to keep Jesus' disciples from singing hosannas back then. Can we try to stop Jesus' disciples from singing hosannas today? The Pharisees said, "Jesus how can you let them do this? They will blaspheme! Stop this crowd, silence them! Teacher rebuke your disciples."

What did Jesus say? He said "If these were silent, the stones themselves would shout." If the voices of humans will not shout: "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord," then God will give the stones voices and they will shout. By the will of Almighty God who made both voices and stones, hosannas will be sung and Christ will be proclaimed as King! Mere human that I am who am I to stand in the way of the providence of God!

So what are we to do? Should we revert to our old ways of overlooking Christ's death. Should we forget Good Friday and wipe it off our religious calendars. Can we; forget why Jesus came to Jerusalem and just blend in with the crowd of misled pilgrims? Can we blindly yell "Blessed is the King who comes to sit on Herod's throne."

How can we; how is it possible for us to sing hosannas on Palm Sunday when we know that Christ's passion is just down the road. Perhaps a clue to this answer is in, of all places, the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar." Near the beginning of the opera Jesus is riding a donkey into Jerusalem. The people are singing Hosannas. And they are saying, "Hey J.C., J.C. won't you fight for me." Then the Pharisees tell Jesus to make the people stop and he tells them that if they were silent the stones themselves would sing. When the crowd starts singing hosannas again they are singing, "Hey J.C., J.C. won't you die for me?"

Maybe we should celebrate the fact that Jesus came to Jerusalem to die. That is precisely what the Bible tells us to do. Paul wrote, "(Christ) humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."(Philippians 2:8-11) In other words Jesus is worthy of praise precisely because he went to Jerusalem to die.

This is not just an approach to Palm Sunday, it is an approach to all of life. Jesus' suffering was necessary to win our salvation. Once we open our eyes to the suffering of Christ we see him as Lord more clearly than before. Every knee shall bow and all shall shout "Hosanna!" because he died. In Christ we can look at suffering and see something beautiful. So look at the suffering around you. Open your eyes to it, as unpleasant as that may be. Then hand it over to God. And God in Christ will turn that sorrow into shouts of joy.

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Phillippians 2:5-11

Luke 19:28-40; 23:26-49

Have you ever been caught in the under current. We lived within a half hours drive of the beach when I was growing up. And we went to the beach quite often. I can remember being caught in the undertow. My feet were simply pulled out from under me and the swirling waves rolled me over and over and I was afraid I would never get out. Sometimes life is like that. Life snatches your feet out from under you and you are rolled over and over uncontrollably. You fight and fight but you feel like you will drown.

I imagine that is how Simon of Cyrene felt. He was an innocent bystander. He came to Jerusalem to worship - to celebrate the Passover. To remember how God had saved Israel from the power of Pharaoh's army.

In the end the power of Rome's army was held over his head. As Jesus came by with the cross he fell and a Roman soldier grabbed Simon and made him carry the cross. It was the will of Rome that prisoner number such and so known as "Jesus, the King of the Jews" should be executed. But Jesus was too weak after the beating to carry the heavy cross beam to the execution site. But the will of Rome would not let one man's weakness stand in the way. If the condemned prisoner could not carry the beam than someone else would have to carry it for him. So they grabbed Simon and trust the cross upon him.

Jesus was in that kind of a situation. It was the will or providence of God that the Son die on a cross for the sins of the world. It was the will of the Father that the Son be rejected and beaten. That he be handed over to wicked people. That he be nailed to a cross and die and rise again on the third day. Jesus had said so himself.

The difference between Jesus and Simon was that Jesus had a choice. Rome was not more powerful than Jesus. He could have as the song says, called down 10,000 angels to rescue him. But he chose to die. He chose to die because it was God's will.

It was God's will that he go to Galgatha and hang on a cross. But his human frailty made the trip difficult. If he tried, his frail beaten body might have died there in the road or he may have passed out and Christ of the cross would be unconscious. A death for the sins of the world without pain was not in God's plan. But by the providence of God a man was standing at the wrong place at the right time. And by the providence of God he carried the cross.

The crowds on Palm Sunday faced that same providence of God. They sang hosannas to Jesus as he rode triumphantly into Jerusalem. They didn't understand what was really happening. The envisioned a coming kingdom that was like the earthly kingdoms they knew. They thought there would be a political revolution not a spiritual one. So they praised Jesus as the one who comes in the name of the Lord to bless and liberate.

The religious leaders didn't like this. They told the crowds to be quiet. They warned Jesus to silence his followers. But Jesus replied, "If they do not sing praises then the stones themselves will cry out."

It was the providence of God that Jesus be praised. That was what God wanted and if people did not cooperate it would happen anyway. The crowd had the choice of going along with God or being run over by him. The religious leaders chose to stand in God's way and where are they? The followers of Jesus, however, decided to go along with the will of God and we are still singing hosannas to this day.

It was the providential will of God that Jesus be praised on Palm Sunday and still is God's will. Paul wrote about this to the Phillippians. He first described the willingness of Jesus to surrender himself totally to the will of the Father. Then he said that because he was obedient even to death on a cross at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. Those are strong words. All creation, all things in heaven and on earth and under the earth, shall bow to Jesus and worship him.

That is the will of God Almighty. I tell you that if I put any of you men or women in the place of Simon of Cyrene and you had to face a Roman soldier telling you to take up a cross, you would do it. What is one unarmed person compared to a trained and armed Roman soldier. But you ask most people to praise God and what do they do? Nothing. They don't sing, they don't testify, they don't cry. They just walk away.

But it's the will of God Almighty that you praise God. It is the providential will of God that Jesus be praised for his passion and Palm Sunday shows us that. If, however, you decide not to praise Jesus, God will find others to praise him in your place. So you choose. Will you give God the glory in your life or will you get run over by the providence of God? Tell you what. I'm gonna praise God right now so you join me!

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