John 12 (Pastor Jeff Shipley)

Now I want you to pay attention it wasn't anything in Israel wasn't their military.

Palm Sunday in John 12 and the Meaning of Hosanna

We're gonna be in John chapter 12 today, and I guess first of all the awkwardness of.

Which I.

Enjoy producing, but the awkwardness of the situation is That today is Palm Sunday. And if you grew up in the Catholic or Episcopal or Methodist faith you're probably expecting Some palm fronds right.

Can I get an Omni Odeo spiritual sanctu from my Catholics. Where are you all right? We don't we didn't have any because to be quite honest. There ain't no palm trees in Memphis, okay? Ain't no way to cut down palm trees if you've been here long enough.

We really don't preach about moms on Mother's Day. We really don't preach about dads on Daddy Day or whatever. It's called Father's Day. We don't preach about America on July 4th. We preach the gospel of Jesus Christ because it's really cool.

If you preach that it covers all of that right. This is not made for entertainment. This is the Word of the Living God. That some of y 'all desperately need to get because y 'all have been stuck in chains and mire long enough, but just to play along.

Happy Palm Sunday you filthy animal. Alright, so I want to talk to you today about crowds Christians and the choice of Christ now for those of you. They were wondering and I'm sure most of you were if the juxtaposition of Witten is that we don't do anything.

What do most people around the world do now? I know you probably can't see this real. Well, so I put my magnifying glass. I'm a technological genius check this out. In Belgium twelve men. Today or Sunday morning.

It's actually Monday over there twelve men carry a wooden statue of Christ around while children go door-to-door selling palm fronds. That's a pretty good racket right there, you know in England from 1600 to 1800 England.

It was traditional on Palm Sunday to make a straw effigy a straw man Judas Iscariot and then they would beat it and set it on fire to get revenge for Jesus because Jesus needs that and then in Egypt in Ethiopia palm leaves will be blessed and distributed in Finland children dress up in Easter as Easter witches.

They get this confused with Halloween and go in the neighborhood and sell decorated branches. You know why they use branches because I know palm trees in the Netherlands either and in India. The Catholic Church in India palms are blessed and the priest hand them out in Ireland.

Once again, they have to use spruce and cypress branches are blessed with holy water and on and on and on and on in the Philippines they have a special statue that they go out and the little kids run around with palm branches and.

They they do their thing guys. Do you notice that in all of these now in America? We do the same thing. We do probably all of that more.

Do you notice something?

And this is why religion is so stupid it will take the symbol of something and Elevate it on equal platform to that which it's supposed to symbolize. That's amazing to me. We do that. I thank God that we have no original autographs of New Testament.

Are the Old Testament. I'm so glad that we don't have the original letter Paul wrote to the Romans. Do I guarantee it if we did it'd be in six inch thick glass with some church built around it? And people would go by and try to hug it kiss it or touch it to get some special anointing from God.

We don't need any palms. We don't need no badges to find Jesus. All right, but here's how I want to break us down today. I want to show you from John chapter 12 What the crowd did with Jesus what the church or the Christians were trying to do with Jesus the disciples were doing and then?

Eventually what the choice of Christ is going to be the first of all turn with me to John chapter 12 and Verse 12 and it says this the next day the large crowd That had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.

So they took branches of palm trees and they went out to meet him crying out Hosanna Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord even the king of Israel now. Hosanna means save us or save us now and what they're quoting is Psalms chapter 1 18 verse 25 what they were wanting Jesus to do was to come in and kick butt and take names.

That's what he was wanting them to do. He would they were wanting them to take them old nastily Scraggly-beard Italian Romans and run them out on a rail and make Israel Jewish again where everybody's running around with a little pigtail saying oi.

That's what the Jews were wanting to happen. They wanted Jesus to pull a sword and lead them in a revolt. But that's not what Jesus did you see what Jesus did on that morning? He wrote in and as he was writing writing through the gates in fact if you look at your little paper There's actually the route from Bethany.

You'll find that in chapter 12 verse 1 He left from Bethany and it'll show the exact route. He went in the temple complex. It was during the Passover and people from all over the known world at that time Would show up for Passover for some of us rednecks in here.

It was when the county fair would show up. Everybody from 42 counties would come and eat, you know fried snicker bars and fried Twinkies and whatever else. Everybody was there and the one thing they had to do to celebrate Passover is that each Family each person had to have a lamb sacrificed for them.

There was at one count and I can't I can't cite where this is found. But at one count there were over two hundred and fifty six thousand lambs on Passover in Jerusalem one year. So I want you to picture this why the crowd is sitting there With their palm branches getting ready for the big game the big fight.

Jesus is riding on a colt a baby donkey going through the gate with the other lambs that are going to be slaughtered and people had no.

Idea.

You see Christ had an ambition on that day. And it wasn't to overthrow the government or get Biden out of office or put Trump into office. It wasn't to elect this or that or to have this Ideologue or to have this thing that I stand for or this denomination or I believe in this Jesus was there to do one thing obey and Sacrifice and he did them both.

The crowd though was in the idea of it's us. Versus them verse 17. Let me show you something else the crowd needed the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and Raised him from the dead.

Continued to bear witness. I love this because it gives a credence to the authenticity of Scripture. In other words if I saw Mercedes right now get up and There's nobody dead in here. Well carries close to being dead carries real old.

If she walked up to carry I call her Grady. Now if she walked up to Grady and said. And carry went from being 67 all the way back down to being 20 again. I'm gonna be following Mercedes around for a little while.

Okay, I'm gonna be checking out what Mercedes is doing if this is just a Shakespearean novel. Jesus read Lazarus from the dead everybody went home and had a ham. Well, it's not a ham sandwich, but they had a beef sandwich, right?

The kosher come on. I can't do it. Lamb chops. There you go. They're still following Jesus around. Because this dude had done something they had never seen before. They heard he was in Jerusalem and so the crowd gathers.

Like on a Sunday afternoon in the stadiums around the United States. We need to see something. We need to be fed something. You see our lives are so empty and miserable. I need a sign of vision a validation of life.

I need something other than God to give me value. So here's Jesus he raised someone from the dead man. We're following him around and it says. The reason why verse 18 the crowd went to meet him was that they heard that he had done this sign.

How many of you are trying to get sober and you made this statement man? I need to get back in the church. How many of you your marriages are a wreck and if you get back in church It's gonna get fixed.

You see you're looking for a sign rather than a Savior. You're looking for a religion rather than the Lordship of Jesus Christ. You want him to fix something for you instead of you dying to yourself and following him?

You're in the crowd. See you're in the crowd. You're looking for something that's not really even there. Verse 19 the Pharisees said to one another now, these are the pastors think of these guys as Apostle prophet.

Something something. I have to have 42 names and be dressed in a 3 ,000 piece suit. They got to have a 50-piece orchestra wherever they go going. Hallelujah. Praise God. Smacking people in the head. I could never be a Pentecostal.

I'll be honest with you because you smacked me. I'm gonna jack you up, right?

Be healed.

Knock you out. The Pharisees sat there and noticed their attitude noticed their attitude. It says. You see? You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him. Now if you kick back up to verse 12 Here's what the Pharisees are planning.

There's a whole group of them and like any Baptist committee you get 12 Baptists in the room, they're gonna come up with 14 different opinions. Okay, and so the Pharisees in the same way. They're saying we got to do something about this Jesus and a bunch of them said I know what to do.

I'll get Vinny Luigi. They'll take him up to the top floor. He'll get stabbed in the back 40 times and fall off committing suicide off the top building. That's what we'll do. We'll put him a horse head in his bed.

We're gonna knock him out and the other decide the other Pharisees are like no, we can't do that. We can't go around killing people like oh, we've been doing it for a thousand years. Yeah, we can't somebody was like going man.

By this time now if you look back in verse 12, they don't want to just kill Jesus, you know else they want to kill. They want to kill Lazarus. Cuz that dump this guy got raised from the dead everybody saw him in the grave.

In fact, if you read the King James Version, you know, he stinketh, right? He was in that tomb. Rotten everyone knew it. All sudden this dude comes up and he says a Lazarus. Come forth. They moved the stone away and that dead man walked again.

They were freaked out. But notice this. They weren't so freaked out by it that they were willing to lose their position or their power. You hear what I'm saying? Some of you preachers out there. We've been talking.

Yet you need to put down the platform and pick up the pulpit again.

Guys.

If your.

Christianity is based on your circle of friends and it's a self-gratitude. Grandiose thing in which you pat yourself on the back. Striving for holiness yet. You are nothing more than a sepulcher full of dead men's bones.

You are in the crowd. You are not with Christ. Well pastor, how do I know that? If you find no value in the whore walking down the street. But you're excited about the type of music. If you think revival has to do with everybody else in this country except you.

Look right here. You are who the gospel is speaking to today. You need to repent. Let me ask you how long has it been since you've been to the altar. How long has it been since you realized I? Don't care if they're gay.

I don't care what they do. I'm no better than they are. That adulterous woman you gossip about. Listen to that statement again. The adulterous woman that you gossip about. Guess what boat she's in. Yo's.

Okay, you see the Pharisees knew all of the scriptures. They had all the best clothes. They listened to TG Jakes. They listened to all the trendy if you named a new Christian book. They had it in their bookcase.

Man, Joel steam was their favorite guy. He'll be joining them soon.

Um.

They were focused not on Christ they were focused on themselves. Now look at verse 28. Here's another characteristic of the crowd. Jesus said in 28 father glorify your name. Notice just for a second the absolute Diametrical opposition between these two mindsets.

A church folk. Now listen to me. Listen to me. Especially you folks that are holier than thou. Listen father. Glorify your name now. Witten Baptist Church. Not pastor. So-and-so. Not my family. Not my heritage.

Not my letter. Not my tithing. Not my music program. Not the children program. Father glorify your name and your name alone. Then a voice came from heaven. Who I have glorified it. Now watch. And we'll glorify it again.

Now that you sit there and go. Are you gonna do a rap song. God? What do you mean? I got. You are great great great great great. You not know the Greek word there again. Does it mean simply a repetitive nature it means a growth?

Exponentially in intensity. In other words 10 ,000 years.

Watch this.

You know how like when you're singing one of them songs. You ever been to a metallic concert? Okay, we'll pretend like you had. And someone like I don't know poison opened up for him right little sissy girl band.

Right and you kind of get through that to get to the good stuff. Or maybe better put it like this in other words like I'm up here leading singing in worship. And y 'all are like going Praise God, we love you pastor.

Get off to stay and then the praise team comes up. You know an amazing grace where it says and we will praise him for 10 ,000 years and we've only just begun. We're always gonna get one more better song one more better verse one more better moment, and it will never ever.

Ever.

End.

Guys.

The other part of that is this. For some of you that have put your faith in religion or asking Jesus Christ in your heart as your Lord and Savior. You're gonna get something that lasts every day, too.

Where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched and there'll be no weekends. No parole. No recess. No time off for good behavior. No double days. You're gonna be in hell forever. If you run with the crowd now notice this.

The crowd that stood there and heard it they didn't quite understand what was happening. They said oh that was just thunder or someone had been to Taco Bell. That was just thunder or some other people said an angel has spoken to him you see.

They didn't quite Understand they didn't quite get it when the Word of God is spoken. They don't really understand that their comprehension is not necessary for God's Word to complete its task. And that task at that time Was for it to be heard to those it was intended to be heard by because most people didn't get it.

But there were a few that did. Last thing about the crowd is this verse 34. So the crowd answered Jesus. We have heard from the law that Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up?

Who is this Son of Man? Now I want you to understand something these people. Memorized entire but what y 'all's favorite verse. If someone says John 3 16, I'm a vomit. Okay, what's your favorite verse?

Second if any man be in Christ what? Philippians 1 9. I.

What.

What's your favorite book? Ephesians quote it. Wait a minute. Quote it. These guys that were in the crowd. Could quote the first five books of the Bible.

My heart heart.

Jesus called himself the Son of Man. And you have to understand in the Semitic idiom of what son of men and men in the likeness of. So when Jesus said I'm a son of man, he was saying I'm in the likeness of a man.

They didn't get it. Even though that had been prophesied in the Old Testament. The same Old Testament they had read and they knew they still did not get it. Say it with me.

For God.

So hope so loved the world that he gave. Okay, stop. You're butchering it. You sound like Bellevue. Some of you know it. But you still don't get it. Because you walk down an aisle in a Baptist Church and pray Jesus into your heart and maybe you got a little feeling.

And then you got baptized and you got a little blue or pink Bible with pastor put your name in it and you were good to go and Nothing changed in your life. You didn't get it.

Okay, and maybe.

There are churches out there and more interested in growing their numbers. That ain't gonna tell you that. Care. I'm fixing to retire in a few years. I Don't want your membership or your filthy money.

What I want is for you not to go burn in hell forever. That honest to God. Look at my eyes that is the passion of my life. Sometimes much to my wife's embarrassment when we're on airplanes.

That's the crowd.

The Disciples Learn by Staying with Jesus

Now let's look just for a second at the disciples the crowds clueless. But I'm gonna be honest with us Christians. I'm talking about real Christians now. I'll be honest We're just as clueless. But here's the good part.

We got a Savior that we can still be clueless with look at these Christians verse 16. His disciples did not understand these things at first now. Listen, Jesus is talking. He said I got to be lifted up.

I got to go die. I got to do this. They're like what? What are you talking about? They did not understand things at first. But when Jesus was glorified Then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.

You see when you stay with Jesus enough when you walk with him daily Christian you'll begin to understand things that there is no explanation of Anywhere in this world. It's amazing. I can tell you the exact flight patterns and Timeframes of the attack on Pearl Harbor, I can tell you the exact casualty number.

I can tell you all of that I can tell you the Battle of Bunker Hill, you know where the Battle of Bunker Hill was fought Breeds Hill who said it good man to good history nerds. I Know all that stuff. I knew that before I was a Christian, but here's what I'm telling you after I became a Christian I started seeing God and things that I'd never seen God in like there is no military Economic way that we won the Revolutionary War.

It's impossible. Can I get an amen history nerds? There's no way and yet we won. Guys, there's no way the state of Israel can fight seven nations at one time and beat them in six days. It's impossible.

It can't happen but when you begin to see things through the vision of God's Word rather than the Academia that the world's trying to make you sick with you'll start seeing God in miracles and signs. Everywhere you see the signs are already there.

The proof is already there. The truth is already there. You just need to have the blinders taken off your eyes. In other words some of y 'all need to take that red pill and shut up. Us Christians, even though we're truly saved Sometimes we still just don't get it.

Look at this verse 20. Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. That was Greeks. So these came to Philip who was from Bethesda in Galilee and asked him sir We wish to see Jesus.

Philip went and told Andrew. Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus now, let me explain this to you real quick Miss Gwynn, and I just got back from San Francisco. Stop it. We just got back from San Francisco.

Yeah, that's one of the things I want you to edit out. I just got back from San Francisco and what I noticed in San Francisco is that the people cutting the yards and doing the menial work that Latinos do here are the Chinese there I Don't get it, but that's the way it is there, right?

And it was funny. I watched Certain folk and they were being served dinner. But they didn't really notice the server. They were just kind of there. You know what? I mean? In other words that wasn't a human being there.

That was my water glass getting refilled or my food being brought to me the people out selling hot dog.

On a stick.

Cats whatever they are.

Right.

They were just a background annoyance to the agenda that I have for myself that day. It's funny to watch people push by them. That's who the Greeks were to the Jews. They were barbarians. They were a lesser group of people now watch this and some of y 'all need to hear me on this the Greeks.

Come up now. There was one disciple out of all 12 disciples that had a Greek name. Everyone else had Hebrew names. But there was this guy.

Named.

Philip and.

In it strange. That the Greek named dude. There was the guy that the Greeks showed up to and I want you to watch this for a second. I want you to watch this for a second. Hey, we want to see Jesus. No longer.

Did the disciples sit there and go get these kids out of here the masters talking because they had learned the lesson from the rebuke Christ had given them suffer these little children to come on to me because unless you have the faith of a child.

You'll never see the kingdom of heaven. They had learned. Somebody said I want to see Jesus. Philip went, okay. How do we do this? What's the protocol? Do I need a green sheet, right? Hate them green sheets.

Do I need a green sheet? Nah Philip said I got you Andrew. Where Jesus at? Oh man, he's over there. Hey, man, let's go. So they grabbed the Greeks they walk up to Jesus. They go Jesus. Greeks. Greeks.

Jesus Christians. How's your witness and doing, you know, sometimes Christians need to be seen without being heard. But dang nowadays we need to be heard a lot more than just being seen. Dad gum once the last time you witnessed somebody.

When's the last time you brought someone to the Word of God to Jesus to the logos. When's the last time you opened the Word of God with an unbeliever? When's the last I'm saying a rhetorical question.

Farley think about it for a second. When's the last time? The grace that you want to sing and drop a tear at because of special music. If it's so precious to you in that five minutes of getting that filling of the Holy Spirit.

Quote-unquote. Why is it not? More feeling to actually use it. To let the light of Christ take the blinders off someone who desperately needs it. You see my summation is this. I think you're full of poopoo.

I think you're looking for an emotional feeling rather than truly serving God. And I think you've lost your way. I still believe you're a believer. I Know because in your heart you want to do what is right?

You want to be more bold. You want to do this you want to do that? But you feel like I've heard so many people Christians tell me this in 30 years of pastor and well pastor I would witness. I just don't know what to say or I'm afraid I'll say the wrong thing.

I'm gonna teach you you ready. Jesus loves you. Yes, I know because the Bible tells me so. Right. There is the best apologetical sentence you can come up with. Why do you believe the Bible tells me? Well, who Jesus loves me.

Well, how are you saved? Jesus loves me and I know it in the vacuum of absolutes in our culture today The absolute fact of Jesus loving me. It's like a warm blanket this world never be able to match. You don't need to know the apologetics of lapsarian theology.

You don't need to know all that garbage.

All you need to be able to do is take someone bring him to the Word of God and show him the truth of the life of Jesus Christ. Look at this verse 26 If anyone serves me he must follow me and where I am there will my servant be also.

If Anyone serves me the father will honor him. Man who's in that crowd watch this. Here's the crowd. If anyone serves me He must follow me and where I am There will my servants be also. So right now how many of you can say that this week?

Everywhere Jesus has led you followed perfectly. Thank God because I thought you're gonna have to fire me because it ain't been me. Because I've just been to San Francisco and flying on an airline in coach.

I promise you my heart was not with Jesus. Okay, it wasn't I Also found the anesthetic for your rear end if you ever have to have surgery. You sit in a southwest seats coach chair. You will be numb for days.

I'm still trying to learn how to walk. You know, what's really cool is That his disciples that we are standing on their shoulders today. Christian One will. Well they all betrayed him but one betrayed him three times.

Peter.

The Rock.

Folded like a cheap Walmart lawn chair when a 13 year old girl came up and said you were with Jesus. He goes, I don't know man. No, no, no, no, no, you were Jesus. I don't know the man. The third time it says Peter Cursed swore an oath to God.

In other words, he said may God strike me dead If I know Jesus. You know what happened to Peter? Jesus showed up three days later on the shore. Said come here son. Peter was like yes Lord sit down and Let's have breakfast now before I understood the doctrine of grace.

Me standing for God always involved this either. God going. Son you make me sick because that's what my dad said to me. Son, you're so stupid. You couldn't pour water out of a boot if the directions were on the heel.

You are absolutely worthless you piece of. See that's. I knew what God would do to me or the other vision I had was something like this. Now I can't do this but picture thunderbolts coming out of my fingers and me frying for an eternity in a boiling vat of.

Some sort of hot flaming liquid right.

Those are the two visions. I had a God. Jesus showed up after he rose from the grave and he said to Peter. Hey, man, let's eat. I like that Jesus. I like that Jesus said let's eat. But he didn't stop with food.

Then he said to Jesus he goes. Hey, son. Now go feed my sheep. Go be a pastor. You mean you can be a pastor even though you're a loser. Yes. 100 Unmerited. Favor grace you see Christian when you walk with Christ.

You're going to fail. But the grace of God is more powerful than your sin will ever be. He will never look at your past to judge your worth in the present nor your destiny in the future. You are free.

Notice this.

You notice what all these these little silly disciples did. This is gonna sound crazy church. I'm almost done y 'all hang in there. You know what else they did they argued amongst themselves who was right?

Can you believe how childish they were? You know, I mean, it's not like us. You know, I mean, we're we're we're evolved in our Christianity. Right, you know the most segregated place in America is in the houses of God on Sunday mornings.

Cuz in white church and that black church and hey dummy, there's only one church. Now you can sit there and have whatever name and building you want, but just like there's only one race of people. There's only one church when God sounds that trumpet and the dead and Christ shall rise.

It ain't gonna be no Baptist Presbyterian Pentecostal. It's gonna be those covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. I want to be in that boat. I don't really care who's sitting beside me. I just want to go home.

Hear what I'm saying? Now I'll close with this. You got a choice this morning and I know for some of you especially those you are visiting. This has been a culture shock for you.

Okay.

Cuz I ain't wearing a suit and tie I Didn't say pretty nice words about little donkeys and draped clothes and palm leaves and by the way, they weren't waving them. They throw them on the ground. So why are you people running around waving them anyways, but guys I Want you to look deep in my eyeballs here.

Look right here. I Don't care about your church.

Membership.

You have nothing I want or need. If you're a lost person, you ain't got nothing. I want or need because my God shall supply all of my needs. The reason I'm standing up here this morning It's because I desperately want you to make a choice for Jesus Christ today.

And for some of you it might be the first time you've ever made one. Okay, it might be the first time you truly are saved. For some of you you may have been a Christian. But you've chosen the world and the love of man rather than the love of God.

And you little dried dusty on the inside.

You know.

Let me try to describe it. You feel like you and God are this far apart. Your prayers don't get further than sailing. You're wondering whether you're even a Christian or not anymore. There ain't no joy in your life.

Your prayer life stinks. You really don't care about reading your body. Am I hitting anybody up in here? Yeah, keep your silence because God forbid that you actually confess God before men. Let's see, what was that.

How'd that scripture finish? Oh, yeah, he won't confess you before the Father. Look at the choice. I'm just gonna read two more verses to you. Relax. Verse 24. Truly truly I say unto you unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies it remains alone.

But if it dies it bears much fruit. Let me ask you a question if the seed of the Holy Spirit is in your life right now. Ask yourself pastor. I don't know if I'm a Christian or not. Yes, you do. Someone said 2nd Corinthians 517 over here if any man be in Christ he is a new.

Is it creation or creature. All things have passed away? Behold listen to this word all have become new. You know, I learned to love people after I was a Christian. I thought I knew how I did.

All things are new all things.

You're gonna bear much fruit if you got saved 20 years ago and nothing's changed you ain't.

Saved.

Look right here. I want to tell you before you stand before God you are not a Christian. Watch this. Watch this last thing. I know I keep saying that but just hang on me. It's first 39 Jesus is talking it says this day.

Therefore they could not believe for again Isaiah said he has blinded their eye and hardened their heart. Lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart and turn and I would heal them. There's some scary stuff right here kids.

Jesus is talking and he's quoting the Old Testament so you can pretty much book. This is absolute truth. Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. Nevertheless many even of the authorities Believed in him.

Now Jesus is talking our Jesus is sitting here and many of the Pharisees who were going to try to have him killed Believed in him but for fear of the Pharisees They did not confess it so they would not be put out of the synagogue.

Verse 43. For they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. You want to be accepted in this world. Don't be a Christian.

Don't be a Christian.

Because I promise you you walk in the power of the Holy Spirit in this fallen lost world. You got a target on your back, but I tell you right now praise God. You also have the armor of God and there ain't no dart of Satan and get through it.

But I promise you you're gonna be a target. Well pastor. I haven't had this problem. Things that make you go. Mm-hmm ain't got no fruit. You ain't no target. You walk like a duck. Sound like a duck fly like a duck.

Whatever else you do like a duck you a duck. Okay, I ain't good with it, you know little idioms, but anyways. But I want you to notice this verse right here where it says.

God hardened their heart.

So they would not believe. Remember that first time you heard the gospel and you were convicted you had to push that way down deep in there. Pass all that childhood trauma. You had to push it down deep but somewhere over the years that is now more like.