Palm Sunday: Destroy and Deliver

Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain

Presbyterian Church, and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you today. A special welcome if

you're new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here, and we're glad that you're here not

because we're trying to fill seats, but because we're following Jesus together as one community,

and as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced that there's no one so good. They

don't need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it, which is why we come back

week after week to hear what God has to say to us in His Word. We're taking a little break from our

series in the Gospel of Mark for the season of Easter this morning for Palm Sunday. We're going

to take a look at two passages, John chapter 12 and Hebrews chapter 2, and I'll warn you right away,

John 12 · chapter mention Hebrews 2 · chapter mention

I'll be focusing mostly on Hebrews chapter 2, but I want us to look at John chapter 12 so we have

Hebrews 2 · chapter mention John 12 · chapter mention

this reminder, this context of what it is we're talking about when we talk about Palm Sunday, that

Jesus is coming in as a king into Jerusalem. And we're just going to have a simple question, which is

this, why would we sing at Jesus entering Jerusalem? In our passage from John, I'm not sure if there's

singing or not, but they're certainly praising Him. They're excited about the fact that Jesus is

coming into the city, riding in like a king. Why should we be excited? What would move us to sing

for Jesus entering Jerusalem? So with that question, I invite you to turn with me. You can find both

passages printed in your worship guide. You can also flip quickly in your phone or in your Bible,

no matter where you go, remember that this is God's Word. And God tells us that His Word is more

precious than gold, even the finest gold, and it's sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight

from the honeycomb. And so that's why we read now, starting at John chapter 12, verses 12 through 15.

John 12:12–15

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 went out to meet Him, crying out, Hosanna! Blessed is He who

comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel. And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it,

just as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Zion. Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt.

And we turn now to Hebrews chapter 2, verses 14 and 15.

Hebrews 2:14

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things,

that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil,

and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's Word.

Our Father in heaven, we praise you that Jesus is not just our Savior, but He's also our King.

And we thank you that you've given us your Word to instruct us and to help us.

We ask for that help. This morning, we confess that we are not up to the task of understanding

and believing what you have to tell us unless your Spirit and your help is with us.

And so we ask for that Spirit and that help, that as we look at your words to us,

that you would move in our hearts and our minds, that we would see and love and adore you more and more.

We thank you that we don't have to worry right now about whether we've done enough or been good enough

to earn these things from you, but instead we simply ask them in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

The 2004 feel-good sports movie Miracle tells the story of the USA hockey team in 1980

and how they defeated Russia, and it opens in Colorado Springs, of all places, in 1979

at the headquarters of USA hockey.

Later in the movie, we'll get to see a little bit of the Broadmoor World Arena from 1979.

And there's this meeting, this interview with Herb Brooks, who they're considering to be the coach of this team,

about how in the world they're going to be able to defeat the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union has this lock on the Olympics.

They've won it for three or four Olympics in a row.

And the American team has been incredibly embarrassed.

They recently lost to a B team from the Czech Republic.

And so they have this discussion about whether they have any hope

and what they're going to be able to do if they're going to be able to pull together a team fast enough

and train them quickly enough.

Now, there's lots of ideas that are put onto the table about how it is they're going to be able to accomplish this,

whether they have any chance against the Soviets.

There's one idea, however, that never gets put on the table.

No one suggests that they should try to find better players from other countries.

Now, it seems like an obvious solution to me.

The Russians are beating you.

What should you do?

Hire some Russians.

Right?

I mean, that seems like that would solve the problem immediately.

And so why do they not do this?

Why do they not recruit people from another country?

If you think I'm asking a stupid question, it's because I am.

It's obvious, right?

That is part of the logic of the Olympics.

That's part of the logic of victory.

The champion has to be one of you.

That question is not even raised.

You probably think I'm an idiot for asking it because those are the rules.

No one would think anything different.

Of course, the USA Olympic team is made up of Americans.

That's the only way it's going to be able to happen.

You don't get to hire mercenaries.

Mercenaries are in it for themselves, right?

It's one of you who does it for all of you.

Americans are required for an American victory.

This principle is obvious to us when it comes to the Olympics.

It is so obvious to the author of the book of Hebrews that he assumes it.

Verse 14.

If Jesus is going to be our great champion, of course, he's going to have to become human.

That is the only way he's going to be able to represent us.

Verse 14.

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things.

In other words, he became a man that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death.

Only Americans can represent America.

Nothing else makes sense.

It's obvious.

Only a man can represent men.

Jesus, as the champion of his people, becomes like his people.

Jesus, as the champion of his people, wins for his people.

That's the only way it can happen.

Who won in 1980 against the Russians?

Was it the 20 members of the team?

Or was it the United States of America?

Yes.

Yes.

It was the 20 members of the team and the United States of America.

It was necessary for American players to defeat Russian players.

It's the only way it could be a victory for America on behalf of America.

It was necessary for a man to defeat Satan.

That's the only way it could be a victory for men.

That's what we see on Palm Sunday in our passage from the Gospel of John.

Jesus, as the king, is coming in to defeat Satan.

When Jesus rides into Jerusalem, he rides in as our champion.

He rides in to be a conqueror.

In the movie, when the final showdown comes between the Russian team and the American team,

we see the Americans coming onto the ice for the first time as the crowd welcomes them

because they have arrived to have the final showdown in battle.

When Jesus rides in as our king on Palm Sunday,

he is skating in on the ice, getting ready to defeat and conquer Satan.

He is preparing for that battle.

Jesus has showed up here in John chapter 12 because it's time for Satan to get trashed.

John 12 · chapter mention

Why is it that we sing about Jesus entering Jerusalem?

Why is it that we celebrate Palm Sunday?

There are many things, certainly, that we celebrate around Easter.

One of them is this.

Our champion, Jesus, is entering the arena.

Our champion, Jesus, has finally come into Jerusalem for the final showdown.

Our champion, Jesus, is here to take Satan out back.

If you look in your worship guide, page four, we have this verse from 1 John chapter 3, verse 8.

1 John 3:8

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

Jesus came because Satan had to be crushed.

Jesus came because of the promise that we read in Genesis chapter 3

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

that one day the offspring of the woman would come and bruise the head of the serpent,

which is a nice way of saying that Jesus came to curb-stomp Satan.

That is why he is arriving here in Jerusalem.

As the USA team enters into the arena before the game, what are the people shouting?

It's USA, USA, right?

Because that's what you do when your champion arrives.

John chapter 12, what are these people saying as Jesus enters the arena?

John 12 · chapter mention

Verse 13, Hosanna.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.

What do we do with Jesus, our King?

We follow the people of Palm Sunday, and we praise him.

We also are able to sing hallelujah.

We are also able to say that Jesus is our great and mighty King,

and we are excited in praising him here, now, this morning,

because he has come as our champion to finish our enemy once and for all.

That is why and what we celebrate at Palm Sunday.

That's what we did earlier when we sang shout to the Lord together.

We said, power and majesty, praise to the King.

Jesus has skated onto the ice.

And now, for the rest of Holy Week, we get to watch the game,

knowing how it ends.

The time for Satan to be defeated has come.

And so we see here this answer, right?

We praise him because he comes.

He comes to wreck the devil, and we find out more,

verse 14 of Hebrews chapter 2, what that means.

Hebrews 2 · chapter mention

He himself likewise partook of the same things,

that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death.

Now, what does it mean here that Satan is the one who has the power of death?

Well, I want you to think about it this way.

I'm someone who enjoys a good trail run.

One of my favorite places to go run is in Cheyenne Mountain State Park,

which is just 10 minutes south of here.

And when you run in Cheyenne Mountain State Park,

one thing you have to be aware of is there's a lot of snakes.

And snakes, during the summer, or really all the time, like to stay warm.

Where's the best place for them to hang out if they want to stay warm?

Right on the trail.

Because there's no cover or protection on the trail.

So they can just sit and lie out in the sun.

And so my job as I'm running along is to keep my eyes open

to make sure I don't step on a snake.

In fact, there was one time I jumped over two snakes in a row.

You might be thinking at this point,

what is wrong with me that I would be running in the state park with all these snakes?

Why do I not have a healthier fear?

And the reason is this.

It's not the bite that kills you.

It's the venom.

Most of the snakes in Cheyenne Mountain State Park are harmless.

They are garter snakes.

Garter snakes can bite you.

They can't kill you.

I did my research.

There's only one snake in Cheyenne Mountain State Park that can kill you,

and it's the rattlesnake.

Now, I had a conversation, I think it's been a couple years at this point,

with one of the park rangers over there,

and they told me,

you don't need to worry about the rattlesnakes too much

because the rattlesnakes are extremely territorial,

which means there's only a few of them.

So you got all these garter snakes.

I want to say, don't quote me on this,

there's maybe like,

I can probably count the rattlesnakes on one hand

that are in Cheyenne Mountain State Park,

and it's a big park.

Okay?

It's not the bite that kills you.

It's the venom.

The point is this.

Outside of Jesus,

death is a rattlesnake.

Outside of Jesus,

death is a rattlesnake.

It doesn't just kill you physically,

it doesn't just hurt you physically,

the bite,

it can also kill you spiritually,

the venom.

Death doesn't just kill you physically,

the bite,

it can kill you spiritually as well.

It has venom.

It can separate you from God forever.

Outside of Jesus,

death is a rattlesnake.

With Jesus,

death is a garter snake.

The power of death has been removed.

When death bit Jesus,

he absorbed all its venom.

There is no venom left.

When death bites you,

there is no venom left for you either.

Okay?

That's part of what 1 Corinthians 15 means

when it says this.

Oh, death,

where is your victory?

Oh, death,

where is your sting?

The sting of death is sin,

and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God

who gives us the victory

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Oh, death,

where is your sting?

In other words,

death,

where is your venom?

You know what all you can do now is?

All you can do is bite.

You can't kill.

The reality of death

is still here for all of us.

If you're a Christian,

its threat and its power is gone.

That's why we both lament

and rejoice at the funeral of a Christian.

1 Thessalonians 4 tells us

that we grieve,

but not as the world grieves

because we have hope.

We know that this person

has experienced the bite.

They are dead physically.

We also know

they have not experienced the venom.

They are not dead spiritually.

In fact,

what's true of Paul

says in Philippians 1

that if they die,

they go to be with Christ.

They're in the presence of Jesus,

and death cannot keep them from that.

Death has lost its power.

If you are a Christian,

death will bite you,

it will not and cannot

ultimately kill you.

It is inconvenient.

It is uncomfortable.

It is tragic.

It is not ultimately fatal.

Jesus dealt with the venom

when he dealt with Satan.

It cannot kill your soul.

Death is not your end.

Jesus disarms death.

He has removed the power of Satan,

which is the power of death.

Now, if you were with us

a few weeks ago

when Jonathan Clark preached,

he gave us this amazing,

wonderful quote about our hope,

and so I pinned him down on it,

and I made him help me find it.

And that quote is on page three

of your worship,

no, it's on page five

of your worship guide.

And he told us this,

that if we're in Christ,

we know that our bad things

will turn out for good,

our good things cannot be taken from us,

and the best things are yet to come.

Our bad things will turn out for good,

our good things cannot be taken from us,

and the best things are yet to come.

Those things are true and only true

because the power of death

no longer has a hold on us.

Our bad things will turn out for good,

so there's nothing Satan can hold over us.

Our good things cannot be taken away from us.

Death does not threaten the inheritance

that we have as sons and daughters of God,

and the best things are yet to come.

We know how the story ends.

The story ends in a great,

the greatest feast

as we're gathered together again

as God's people and brought back into his presence.

In other words,

no matter what happens in this life,

we cannot lose what is most precious and valuable.

No matter what happens in this life,

it's what we talked about in 1 Peter 1,

Satan cannot threaten our inheritance.

We have a treasure that's been stored up

that is untouchable.

Why is that true?

Because Jesus destroyed the devil.

And that's what we're celebrating on Palm Sunday.

Verse 14 also tells us about his strategy.

It's not just that he destroyed the devil,

but he did it through a specific way.

Through death,

he might destroy the one who has the power of death.

He used death to destroy death.

In the movie Miracle,

as they're watching the game tape of the Russians,

the coach points out to them

that you don't defend the Russians,

you attack them.

You take their game

and you shove it right back in their face.

Because the Russians were used to being able

to outskate anyone,

and so they'd always stay on the attack,

never on the defense.

Their goal was to return

and play their same game against them,

to make them,

force them to play defense

and let the Americans play offense.

Jesus takes death,

he takes its game,

and he shoves it right back in its face.

Jesus does the unexpected,

the counterintuitive,

he uses death to destroy death.

And so that's why verse 15,

he's able to deliver us

from the fear of death.

He delivers all those

who through fear of death

were subject to lifelong slavery.

This means a lot of things,

to be delivered from the fear of death.

It certainly means that we're delivered

from death being held over our heads

as a threat.

We saw that with John the Baptist last week.

Herod kills him.

So what?

John the Baptist gets to go

and be with Christ.

That's one of the amazing things

about Christians during persecution.

Death is not a threat to them.

And so it's a challenge

and a witness

to those who are opposing them

and persecuting them,

that they have a supernatural hope

beyond the grave.

Doesn't just mean that death

can no longer be held over our heads,

but death not being a threat anymore

means that we can look death

in the face without fear.

We live in a culture right now

that refuses to look death in the face.

That's why we live in a culture

that is obsessed with youth.

We live in a culture

that's obsessed with looking

and staying as young as possible,

as long as possible.

Why?

Because they're subject

to lifelong slavery

through fear of death.

If there's nothing after death,

then you have to do

everything you can to avoid it.

You must not look it in the face.

It's the same reason

our culture can't talk about death.

We used to have funerals

and memorial services.

Now we have celebrations of life.

Now, first of all,

don't hear what I'm not saying.

If you've had a celebration of life,

I'm not throwing you under the bus.

What I am saying

is that Christians

are the only ones

who can truly celebrate

the life of someone who's died.

If there is nothing

after this life,

then at some level,

ultimately,

everything in this life

is meaningless.

We cannot have

a true celebration of life

without grieving

what needs to be grieved.

And that celebration

is hollow

if there's nothing

after death.

That celebration

is hollow

if you and I

are simply tortured

atoms in this universe.

But it's Christians

who are no longer subject

to lifelong slavery.

It's because Jesus

came and crushed

the head of the serpent

that we no longer

have to fear death

that we can look it

in the eyes.

We don't live

with the fear of death

because we look

to something after it.

We have hope

for more.

Tim Keller

talks about this

in his book

Hope in Times of Fear

which came out last year

which is about the hope

that we have

because of the resurrection

and he points out

that life in this world,

living in this world

and our culture,

we're told that there's

nothing that comes

after death.

And he points out

that ultimately

that makes our lives

meaningless.

We try to take comfort

in symbolic transcendence,

the idea that what we do

will live on

in our work

or in the lives

of our children.

But the reality

is that in the end

whether you live

a life of goodness

or of cruelty

will make no final

difference at all,

the knowledge

of ultimate oblivion

even when somewhat repressed

seeps in

and robs life

of significance.

No one can live

consistently

with the belief

that we are only matter

and that our ultimate end

is oblivion.

So we have no hope.

Unless.

Unless there is a God

who has promised

to guide history

not to an end

but to a new beginning.

to a world

in which finally

death and evil

are completely destroyed

and justice and peace

reign supreme

the sign of which

is the resurrection.

Brothers and sisters

because Jesus

rides in on Palm Sunday

to crush the head

of the devil

you have hope

not just in this life

but in the life to come.

What you do now

truly does

echo through eternity.

what you suffer now

cannot threaten

what is most precious

and most valuable.

You no longer live

in the lifelong slavery

that comes

through the fear of death.

In the 2008 movie

Gran Torino

Clint Eastwood

plays this man

named Walt Kowalski

and Walt is a bitter

Vietnam War vet

who forms a relationship

with his neighbor

a young boy

named Tao.

And Tao gets mixed up

in a violent gang

in town

and finally gets

on the wrong side of them

the violence

escalates

more and more

until Walt decides

it's time

for him

to defend Tao

and finish it

once and for all.

And so we see him

making his preparations

for his final showdown

with a gang

that's threatening

his friend.

He goes

and he gets a haircut

he makes sure

his lawn is mowed

he makes his final confession

to a Catholic priest

and then he shows up

at the gang's apartment

and he stands

on the street

in front of it.

They open up

their windows

and they look

out at him

and Walt begins

to yell at them

telling them

all the things

that they've done wrong.

While he's doing this

all the windows

in the neighborhood

around him

also open up

and so we have

this scene

with tons of spectators

watching every move.

As the gang members

draw their guns

we see Walt

pull out a cigarette

and then he reaches

into his jacket

like he's going

to pull out a gun.

instead

he pulls it out

and all he's holding

is a lighter

for his cigarette

and at that moment

the gang kills him.

They just open fire

in the street

and we see this man

fall down dead.

What he does there

is the exact opposite

of what we expect.

The last thing

we think is going

to happen

is that Clint Eastwood

is going to show up

to a gunfight

with nothing but a lighter

and give up his life.

What we want

in that situation

is for him to come

and bring full

and final justice

by being the one

not who is shot

but the one

who does the shooting.

But instead

he reverses

all of our expectations

as something radical

and counterintuitive

and different.

Walt decides

that he is going

to defeat death

by death.

he is going

to defeat this gang

not by shooting

but by being shot.

And so in the next scene

we see the police officers

showing up

and they tell Tal

that because Clint

has done this

in the open square

where everyone

can see it

they have all

the witnesses

they need

to finally convict

and imprison this gang.

Walt knows

that the chain

of violence

is not going

to be ended

by more violence

but by death.

brothers and sisters

we also have a king

who rode in on a donkey

and did something

the opposite

of what the Jewish people

wanted and expected.

They were looking

for a conqueror

who would clean house

with the Romans

who would use force

to end force.

Instead he comes

to trample

and crush

the head

of the enemy

of his people.

He comes

to take care of

and destroy

Satan

once and for all.

he defeats

death

through death.

Tal

is no longer

subject

to the lifelong

slavery

the fear

of the gang.

He is now

able

to live

his life.

Why is it

that we celebrate

Palm Sunday?

We celebrate it

because it is

when Jesus

came in

to fully

and finally

destroy

the works

of the devil.

And so that's

why we're able

to say

with the people

in the crowd

Hosanna

blessed is he

who comes

in the name

of the Lord

even

the king

of Israel.

Let's pray.

our father

in heaven

we praise

you

and thank

you

that you

are not

just our

savior

but our

king

that you

came

and you

defeated

and trampled

Satan

once and for all.

We ask you

would give us

the hope

that comes

from knowing

that death

cannot threaten

what is most

valuable

to us

that it can

bite us

but it cannot

kill us.

We ask that you

would show us

Jesus this week

in all his

beauty

and his

glory

and you'd

bring us

back together

on Friday

and on Sunday

that we would

remember and

celebrate and know

what it is

that he's done

for us.

We ask all

these things

in the mighty

name of Jesus

Christ.

Amen.

I invite you

to stand

for our

closing hymn.