When the King Is Lifted Up

Today, the gospel lesson is a reading from the gospel according to John.

The next day, the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.

They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the King of Israel.

Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written,

Do not be afraid, daughter Zion. See, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt.

At first, his disciples did not understand all this.

Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him

and that these things had been done to him.

Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead

continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign,

went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another,

See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him.

Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival.

They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request.

Sir, they said, we would like to see Jesus.

Philip went to tell Andrew. Andrew and Philip, in turn, told Jesus.

Jesus replied,

The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies,

it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world

will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me,

and where I am, my servant also will be.

My Father will honor the one who serves me.

Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say?

Father, save me from this hour?

No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.

Father, glorify your name.

Then a voice came from heaven.

I have glorified it and will glorify it again.

The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered.

Others said an angel had spoken to him.

Jesus said,

This voice was for your benefit, not mine.

Now is the time for judgment on this world.

Now the prince of this world will be driven out,

and I, when I am lifted up from the earth,

will draw all people to myself.

He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

This is the gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Good morning.

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for being a God who writes better stories than we would write for ourselves.

We thank you for sending forth your son,

a better king than we could have dreamed of.

And we pray that as your word goes forth this morning,

that your presence would go with it.

That we'd behold him, our king.

And that we would sing our hosannas to him.

And hear his words of assurance that there is salvation in his name.

Because of what he's done.

So bring glory to your son this morning, we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Alright, so this is my sixth time,

sixth time in my life,

preaching a Palm Sunday sermon.

It kind of comes with the territory when you're not the lead pastor.

Because next week is Easter, right?

And I'm definitely not going to get that one.

Not ready for the big boy pants.

But you know, I've always thought Palm Sunday was kind of strange.

I've always felt a little unsure about how to handle it,

or like how to enter into Palm Sunday emotionally.

Because like, on the one hand, it is a celebration.

It really is.

And that's why we have these cute little kids walking up,

you know, entering into that tradition

that started all the way back in the fourth century

of reenacting what happened in Jerusalem

on that first Palm Sunday.

When Jesus came in as king, right?

Rode in on a donkey.

Palms were waving.

Crowds were chanting and singing.

No doubt, as we heard read in this passage,

there was a ton of joy and energy

and excitement on the first Palm Sunday,

and rightfully so.

They were right to recognize Jesus as their king

with joyful exuberance and singing.

Yet on the other hand,

as much as they had reason to honor and acknowledge

that Jesus is king,

we also know that they sang far better than they knew.

And that this moment, though genuine,

was also filled with a lot of misunderstanding.

No one had any idea what kind of king

was riding into Jerusalem.

Even his own disciples had no clue.

No one but Jesus had any idea

that this triumphal entry

was far from the happy ending

that they all expected to unfold.

No one had any idea

that this was not the climax,

not the pinnacle,

not the final destination.

Actually, things were about to get

a lot worse for Jesus.

And it kind of makes you wonder

if they knew what was about to happen.

If they knew that just in a few days,

Jesus would be arrested,

beaten, mocked,

and lifted up on a cross,

would they still be celebrating?

Would they still claim him as their king?

Or would they just walk away?

So like, knowing what happens next,

it's hard to read these Palm Sunday accounts

throughout the Gospels

and not wonder,

was Jesus' Palm Sunday celebration

something to be celebrated?

Or was this just the short-sighted,

nationalistic fervor

of a people who saw in Jesus

a kind of king

that he actually never intended to be?

What are we supposed to feel on Palm Sunday?

Joy and triumph?

Or something more like uneasy anticipation?

You know, I'm beginning to think

that it's actually both.

Palm Sunday shows us something true

but not yet complete.

It tells us that Jesus really is king,

but it doesn't show us yet

what kind of king he is

or what his glory really looks like

or consists of.

And you can feel that tension

when you picture the scene.

Recently, I watched some of the

Palm Sunday episode of The Chosen.

Anyone watch The Chosen?

I love The Chosen.

And I have no idea, you know,

how it actually went down,

and neither do the writers of The Chosen.

I have no idea what Jesus'

actual emotional state was

on Palm Sunday,

but personally,

I thought The Chosen did a great job

capturing all that Jesus

might have felt

as he rode into Jerusalem

on that donkey

with palms waving,

people singing his praises.

So like in The Chosen,

Jesus is, he's smiling,

he's enjoying the moment

with his disciples,

he doesn't stop the people

from singing Hosanna,

he doesn't stop them

from lining the path

with palms and with their cloaks.

And when the religious leaders

tell him to silence the crowds,

he's even bold enough to say

that if they stop,

what will happen?

The stones will cry out

in their place, right?

He willingly receives

all this glory, praise,

and honor that's being

heaped upon him.

And yet at the same time,

if you watch closely,

he's also not nearly

as enthusiastic as disciples,

as his disciples,

especially Peter, right?

He doesn't let himself

get caught up

in the fervor of the crowd.

It's not like he hops

off the donkey

and body surfs

through Jerusalem, right?

No.

In The Chosen,

they did this so well.

But like what happens

is he gets into Jerusalem

and he gets to this point, right,

where he's riding

into the city,

everyone's cheering,

everyone's chanting,

the disciples are on cloud nine,

right?

This is our guy, right?

We've got access

to the guy

that the whole city

is glorifying.

But then at one point,

while the crowd

is going wild,

Jesus rides up

to one of the walls

of the temple

and what he sees,

staining the cracks

of the stone wall,

is the blood

of countless lambs

slain for the sins

of the people.

And it's like time stops

for him.

And his breath gets heavy.

And all the singing

and noise gets drowned out

and it's like he's frozen.

And this is so puzzling

to his disciples

because this is like

the greatest moment

in their lives.

Surely it must be for him,

right?

And they cannot fathom

why he might not be

soaking in the moment,

soaking in all the glory

that is being poured out

upon him.

They cannot understand

what is going on

in the mind of Jesus

all because

while they rightly

see his glory

and while they rightly

celebrate his kingship,

there is still something

about his glory,

something about his kingship

that they have yet

to understand.

And this is what

Palm Sunday invites us into.

On this side of the cross

and resurrection,

we do join in the joy.

We do join in giving

Jesus the glory.

He really is the king.

But the glory we celebrate

has far more to do

with his wooden cross

than his golden crown.

That's what the crowds

didn't understand.

Even as they shouted

their hosannas,

meaning save us now,

and even as they called him

the blessed one

who comes in the name

of the Lord,

the king of Israel,

no one understood

the nature of Jesus' glory.

Verse 16 says,

even his disciples

did not understand

all the depth

of what was happening

in the scene.

All that they knew

was that Jesus

had come in power

full of signs and wonders.

He'd just raised

Lazarus from the dead

and word was spreading

and momentum was gaining.

And much to the dismay

of Jesus' opposition,

the Pharisees

are just whining

to each other.

Verse 19,

see,

this is getting us nowhere.

Look how the whole world

has gone after him.

So I mean,

when you're being hailed

as king

and you're the most celebrated

person in this place

that's supposed to be

the very city of God,

and when even your enemies

are throwing up their hands

in frustration

and in defeat,

isn't this,

isn't Palm Sunday

the ultimate picture

of glory?

I don't know about you,

but that sounds

pretty good to me.

If I were to write

a story for myself,

Jesus' story

up to this point,

it sounds,

pretty good.

A miracle baby

with massive prophecies

spoken over him,

narrowly escapes death

in Bethlehem,

flees to Egypt,

and though growing up

in relative obscurity,

even as a 12-year-old boy,

he shows incredible promise,

incredible wisdom,

incredible theological prowess,

and though coming up

in the no-name town

of Nazareth

and rejected by

maybe his own village

and maybe some

of the religious establishment,

here he is,

a man of the people,

demonstrating a power

and authority

unlike anything

anyone had ever seen

up to this point.

What a story,

right?

With the exception,

you know,

of a few small blips,

the temptation probably

wasn't very great,

and also the beheading

of his cousin,

but apart from those,

just a couple things

like opposition,

rejection here and there,

but for the most part,

Jesus' story

up to this point

is basically going

up and to the right,

right?

Is that up and to the right

for you?

It's up and to the right.

More and more influence,

more and more attention,

more and more momentum.

And at this moment,

as he rides into Jerusalem,

his stock's at an all-time high,

right?

His glory level

is over 9,000, right?

And if we're honest,

this is a storyline

most of us

would want for our own lives,

is what we'd want

for our children.

Wouldn't it be nice

if all our stories

could just end here,

right?

And just like Palm Sunday,

because this,

this to us,

is glory.

This is a weighty life.

This is a life that matters.

This is a life

that's made a difference.

This is the kind of life

that's revered,

respected,

admired,

and adored

as praiseworthy.

This is winning at life,

right?

This picture right here

of Palm Sunday.

He's winning at life.

And yet,

if we're honest,

can you think of a story

like this

that has moved you,

stirred you,

inspired you,

surprised you,

and shaped you

to be a better,

deeper,

more loving human being?

Can you think of a linear,

up-and-to-the-right story

that you find yourself

returning to again and again

and modeling the whole pattern

of your life after?

You know,

we may think that we want

an up-and-to-the-right story.

We may think that we want

our stories to end

at the triumphant entry.

But at the same time,

let's be real.

These aren't even the stories

that stick with us.

The stories that we come back to,

the stories that move us

and shape us,

the ones that we tell

again and again,

the ones we hope

will inspire generation

after generation

are the stories

of selfless love,

service,

and sacrifice

in adversity.

The stories of people

laying down their lives,

choosing others

over themselves

at enormous cost

to themselves.

Think of Harry Potter,

Deathly Hallows.

Think of the Iron Giant,

right?

Stopping the nuke.

Think of that final pilot

in Independence Day,

Bing Bong from Inside Out.

Tony Stark, right?

Avengers, Endgame,

the billionaire

who had everything

he ever wanted,

power, influence, legacy,

and yet in the end,

what made him unforgettable,

what made him a hero,

what made so many people

cry in the movie theaters?

It wasn't what he built,

it was what he gave.

He laid down his life

to save the world.

There is something

about these kinds of stories

that feels like

both unnatural, right,

and yet somehow

more true

than anything else,

even supernatural,

as if these stories

are portraying for us

the life

as it was meant

to be lived.

See, these stories,

they aren't just moving

and inspiring

in and of themselves.

No, actually,

every story of love,

every story of sacrifice

and service

that stirs our soul,

every single such story

is a derivative story,

an echo,

a shadow of something

far greater

and far more real.

And here in John 12,

Jesus begins to show us

what glory really looks like

and what kind of king

he truly is,

and it's nothing like

what was expected.

So remember in verse 19,

the Pharisees are despairing,

the whole world

is going after Jesus,

and it's as if

they are prophesying

because in verse 20,

they say,

we see that some,

you know,

God-fearing Greeks

are in town to worship,

and then these Greeks

are desiring to see Jesus.

Word has spread.

His glory cannot

and will not be contained.

And at this point,

you might expect Jesus to say,

here,

bring them to me.

Bring all the nations.

Let's scale the kingdom up

from the river to the sea

and from Judea to Samaria

to the ends of the earth.

But that's not what he does.

Instead,

Jesus' reply

seems almost like

a complete non sequitur.

He starts talking about his death.

He says in verse 23,

the hour has come

for the Son of Man

to be glorified.

And you might think

that he's saying,

this is it,

glory time,

time to be glorified

as all the nations come

flocking to me

to worship me,

to bow down to me

as king.

But if you've been paying attention

to John's gospel,

you'll notice that

when Jesus talks about

his hour coming,

it is most often used,

what?

To note the hour,

the time,

the moment

of his death,

of his crucifixion.

So you see,

the hour of his glorification here,

it's actually the hour

of his murder,

the moment of his murder.

What Jesus is saying here

is that yes,

he has just received

a ton of glory

in this triumphal entry

and even the Greeks

are looking to see him

and soon the whole world

will come.

But, he says,

this fame

and this popularity

are not the center

or the essence

of his glory.

No.

Rather,

what Jesus understands

as the primary

and most essential moment

of his glorification

is actually his death.

Good Friday.

Friday's still ahead.

Verse 24.

He says this.

Truly, truly,

unless a kernel of wheat

falls to the ground

and dies,

it remains only

a single seed.

But if it dies,

it produces many seeds.

For Jesus,

scale and multiplication

come not through,

come,

I wrote that poorly.

Scale and multiplication

do not come

through self-preservation,

but through self-sacrifice,

through dying to oneself.

The whole point

and the whole glory

of a seed

is not to be preserved

and put into

a nice fancy glass container

to be showcased

for the world

to see and admire.

You don't see farmers

going out there

and say,

check out my seed.

Oh, my precious seed.

Right?

Everybody look

at my seed.

No.

Isn't it glorious?

No.

The glory of a seed

is the way it falls

into the ground

and becomes undone

in order to generate

new life

and multiply

other seed-bearing

organisms.

And that's what

Christ came to do.

Not to preserve

his own life,

but to bring new life

into the world

through his death

and resurrection.

And he says,

this is his glory.

It's his cross.

His glory is his agony.

That's the most glorious

thing about him,

actually.

Not that he avoids

the cross,

but that he chooses

the cross.

You see,

the cross is not

the interruption

of his glory.

It's the revelation

of his glory.

Because on the cross,

we see the most glorious

thing about God.

And in Jesus'

glorious willingness

to go to the cross,

he simultaneously

testified to the world

that there is more

to life than life.

At least life

in this world.

He says in verse 25,

anyone who loves

their life

will lose it.

While anyone who hates

their life in this world

will keep it

for eternal life.

And what he means

by that

is that there is

a glory more glorious

than the glory

of self-preservation

and survival.

A glory that

outlasts the glory

of self-preservation,

shines more brightly

than it.

It's the glory

of self-surrender,

the glory

of understanding

that my life

in this world

is not the main event,

not the most necessary,

not the most essential thing,

not the center

of the universe.

And therefore,

it need not be cherished

as my highest,

greatest possession.

In fact,

if I should love my life

as if it were

my most treasured possession,

then that is the surest way

to lose it.

Like, think about it.

If your whole life

is about protecting yourself,

feeding yourself,

securing your own future

and well-being,

keeping your comfort,

protecting your reputation,

gaining control,

sure, you might preserve

your life for a moment,

maybe longer

than the next person.

That tech billionaire,

Brian Johnson,

he's probably going to live

20, 30, 40 years

more than me

based on my lifestyle.

But in the end,

if we all live,

if all we live for

is to preserve

our own lives,

if we're committed

to a life

of self-love only

and not self-giving love,

have we even really lived?

Have we even really lived

a full life

as we were meant to?

And maybe that's a question

for all of us

to grapple with.

Which is more unnatural?

Which is more unnatural,

a life of self-giving love

or a life that revolves

entirely around

self-preservation?

What Jesus is saying here

is that if you hate

your life in this world,

that is if you loosen

your grip on the here and now,

if you stop acting like

you are the center

of the universe

and if you're willing

to subordinate

your love for yourself

in order to love

something higher,

something more worthy,

that is how you will

keep your life in the end,

Jesus says.

But listen,

this isn't just about

being more selfless,

loosening your grip

on life in this world.

More importantly,

it's about what you're

gripping most tightly,

who you're entrusting

your life to.

We're all gripping

onto something,

who you're following

as your way,

your truth,

your life.

Look with me at verse 26.

Whoever serves me

must follow me,

and where I am,

my servant also will be.

My Father will honor

the one who serves me.

See what he's doing?

You don't just let go

of your life,

you commit your life

to serving and following

a king.

Even perhaps denying yourself,

taking up your own cross,

and following him to his.

To those who simply,

excuse me,

following him to his.

But get this.

Listen to Jesus'

incredible words

here after he says this.

He says,

my Father

will honor the one

who serves me.

My Father will honor

the one who serves me.

You hear that?

The very thing

we're all after,

honor,

glory,

a life that matters.

Jesus says,

you don't earn it,

you don't build it,

you don't secure it,

but if you follow me,

my Father

will give it to you

freely,

freely.

And that should change

everything.

That changes everything

for us.

Because if that's where

glory comes from,

you don't need to spend

your life chasing

after it anymore.

You don't have to

glorify yourself,

you don't have to

build your brand,

protect your image,

prove your worth.

No, because the very

thing you've been chasing,

the Father freely

gives you.

To those who simply

serve and follow

his Son,

he'll give honor

to you,

just as he's about

to give honor

to me,

Jesus says.

And again,

this changes everything.

Because listen,

if the Father

can take a cross,

an instrument of shame

and suffering

and death,

and he can turn it

into the most

glorious moment

in history,

if the Father

can bring the highest

honor to his Son

nailed to a cross,

then what would

make you think

he can't take

your life,

your weakness,

your losses,

your sacrifices,

your hidden obediences,

and turn them

into something

incredibly glorious too?

Do you believe

that he's a good

Father who loves

to give us

good things,

a good Father

who delights

to honor his children

and to answer

their prayers?

I love what it says

here in verses

27 to 30.

So Jesus,

he's admitting

that his soul

is troubled,

right?

And if he were

like most other

kings,

he would wield

this power

to relieve

his troubled

heart,

right?

Just as he could

have turned

the stones

to bread,

just as he could

have said no

to the cross,

just sat on

the throne,

on top of the

world as king

of it,

because he already

was.

He also could

have asked

his Father

to send legions

of angels

to save him

from his hour

of death,

right?

Father,

save me from

this hour.

But that's not

the prayer

that he prays,

because he knows

who he is,

he knows why

he's come,

and he knows

who he serves,

he knows whom

he wants to

glorify.

He submits

to his Father's

plan,

verse 27,

shall I pray

for deliverance

from my Father's

plan,

which includes

my torture

and crucifixion?

No,

he says.

It was for

this very reason

I came to

this hour.

And so in

this moment,

this kind of

pre-Gethsemane

moment where

his soul

is troubled,

because everyone

is celebrating

him,

everyone is

glorifying him

while he

knows the

truth,

the truth

of what

his glory

will involve.

In this

moment of

anguish,

he does not

pray for his

own comfort,

he does not

pray for his

own deliverance,

he does not

pray even for

strength to

endure what

he's about

to go through.

No,

he simply

prays the

prayer that

he taught

us to

pray.

Our

Father in

heaven,

hallowed be

your name.

Verse 28,

Father,

glorify your

name.

Father,

you are still

the center,

even if that

means death

for me,

even if that

means suffering

for me,

your kingdom

come,

your will be

done,

glorify your

name,

the name

above all

names,

whatever it

means,

that's what

I want,

Father.

And for me,

it is enough

that I

can start my

prayer with

Father,

my Father,

our Father.

This is

absolutely

incredible.

He is

practicing what

he is

preaching.

This is

him hating

his own

life in

order to

maintain a

life with

his Father.

This is

him becoming

a humble,

lowly,

unglorified

servant and

trusting that

his Father

will indeed

honor him.

And as

soon as he

prays this

prayer,

verse 28

says,

a voice

came from

heaven.

I have

glorified it

and will

glorify it

again.

Which was

the Father

saying,

yes,

my son.

You know

that this is

the one

prayer I

will always

say yes

to.

I have

always existed

and acted

to glorify

myself and

my name

in any

and every

circumstance.

And I will

continue to do

so.

I will

glorify my

name again

and again

and again,

even on the

darkest day

of history

when my

son,

my only

son,

the son

whom I

love,

will be

lifted up

on a

cross.

This was

the Father's

comforting

word to

his son.

As his

son faced

his hour,

he alone

understanding

the weight

and significance

of his

entrance into

Jerusalem as

king,

a king not

coming to

dawn a

crown of

gold but

a crown of

thorns.

And even

though the

people on

that day

could not

understand what

was said,

thinking it

was a

thunder,

some thunder

or an

angel,

Jesus says

in verse 30

that it was

for their

benefit and

not his,

meaning that

one of our

greatest needs

and one of the

greatest gifts

God has given

us is the

rock solid

assurance that

he will always

say yes to

this prayer,

Father, glorify

your name.

If you want to

that can never

crumble beneath

you, if you

want to pray

the kinds of

prayers and

set your

hearts upon

the kinds of

things that

God will

never say

no to,

pray this

prayer.

Father, glorify

your name.

Our Father in

heaven, hallowed

be your name.

Your kingdom

come, your

will be done,

and the answer

will always be

yes, always.

Delight yourself

in the Lord,

right?

That's what the

psalm says,

delight yourself in

the Lord, and

he will give

you the desires

of your heart.

Do you realize

what a gift this

is in all the

uncertainty that

exists in our

life and in our

world?

And maybe you're

thinking to

yourself, but

what if God is

glorified in my

suffering?

What if God is

glorified in the

loss of my job?

What if God is

glorified in the

loss of my

health, in the

loss of my

child?

Jesus would

remind us,

anyone who

loves their life

will lose it,

while anyone who

hates their life

in this world

will keep it for

eternal life?

Jesus says,

sure, sure.

God may glorify

himself in any of

those situations,

maybe even worse

ones.

He says, even look

at me, he glorified

himself in me,

naked, tortured,

forsaken, and

crucified on a

Roman cross.

But what if that's

the best news of

all?

What if my cross is

my glory?

What if that means

that there is

nothing God can't

redeem?

That there is no

way we can screw

up his plan to

glorify himself, and

not only to glorify

himself, but to

bring honor to his

children?

Because don't you

see, the glory of

the Father is the

glory of his

children.

And as Jesus says

in verse 26, if we

follow him, we follow

our big brother Jesus,

the Son of God, the

Father will honor us.

That's his promise.

Glory for him and

glory for us by virtue

of our union and

communion with the

Son of God, Jesus

Christ.

This is the cheat

code.

This is power

overwhelming.

The cross is the

glory of our Savior.

It's his victory over

the world and all

that is evil.

Verse 31.

Now is the time for

judgment on this

world.

Now the prince of

this world will be

driven out.

This is Jesus doing

the ultimate judo

move, right?

Putting death to

death by his own

death on a cross,

right?

This is Harry Potter

laying down his life

to destroy the

horcrux.

This is Jesus breaking

the power of sin,

the power of the

prince of this

world.

Because of the

cross, the enemy

has no claim, no

charge, no dominion

over us.

He has no say, no

word of condemnation

that he can level

against us.

Every lie that

comes into your

head telling you

that you are not

worthy and that you

are not enough and

that you cannot be

loved and you cannot

be forgiven and that

there is no hope and

that you are unwanted

and that you have no

value.

The glory of the

cross is that it

speaks a better word

and not a word of

positive psychology or

optimistic therapy,

but the gospel is

what it speaks to us.

The gospel that says,

yes, you are far more

sinful than you could

ever imagine and yet

at the very same time

far more loved than you

would ever dare hope.

Yes, your sins are many,

but his mercy is more.

Your sins were that bad.

They cost the son of

God his life and yet

your worth is infinite

because the son of God

purchased you with that

life.

Our sins have been paid.

Our debt's been canceled.

Apostle Paul writes this

in Colossians 2,

when you were dead in

your sins, God made you

alive with Christ.

He forgave us all our

sins, having canceled

the charge of legal

indebtedness which stood

against us and condemned

us.

He has taken it away,

nailing it to the cross

and having disarmed the

powers and authorities,

he made a public

spectacle of them,

triumphing over them by

the cross.

You see, upon the cross,

when the entire world

believed that Jesus was

losing, he was actually

winning.

High and lifted up.

It's like what the

prophet Isaiah wrote,

see my servant, he will

be raised and lifted up

and highly exalted.

Just as there were many

who were appalled at him,

his appearance was so

disfigured beyond that of

any human being and his

form marred beyond human

likeness, so he will

sprinkle many nations

and kings will shutter

their mouths because of

him.

But he was pierced for

our transgressions.

He was crushed for our

iniquities.

The punishment that

brought us peace was on

him and by his wounds

we are healed.

Therefore, I will give

him a portion among the

great, he has promised,

because he poured out

his life unto death.

And though the prophet

did not know exactly

what this would look like

today, we can find

depictions of this event

all over the world.

Over the past 2,000 years,

many of them ghastly,

many of them frightening,

many of them hard to

look at and troubling to

gaze upon, and yet at the

same time, beautiful,

preserved for ages,

venerated, they continue

to exist for centuries

now.

Why?

Because of the enduring

glory of the cross.

There is no symbol of

violence and bloodshed in

all of history that has

ever approached the glory

of Christ's cross.

But in fact, Christ's

cross has only continued

to inspire and transform

and unite.

The Son of God lifted up

from the earth,

drawing all people to

himself, not through power

or popularity, but through

his self-giving love.

This is the only kind of

glory that can draw the

entire world to itself

without it becoming a

fierce battle of competing

levels of glory.

Only the glory of Christ

revealed in his cross,

where shame was subverted

and glory transfigured.

That's the only place,

that's the only place

where all people can be

drawn to Christ, to the

glory of something so

bloody, so violent, his

cross.

So now, you know, today we

know.

We know what they didn't

know over 2,000 years ago

on that first Palm Sunday.

They saw glory, but they

didn't understand it.

They saw a king, but not

the kind of king he was.

They shouted, Hosanna,

save us now, not knowing

how he would do it.

But we do.

We know.

You know, when we think

about whether or not the

original Palm Sunday

celebrators, whether or

not they would have

celebrated as they did if

they knew where Jesus was

headed, we'll never know

that answer.

But what if the question

is not whether or not

they would glorify, honor,

and follow Jesus as their

king even to the cross,

but whether we will?

The story of Christianity

is that the stone the

builders rejected has

become the chief

cornerstone.

But the question is, is it

marvelous in our eyes?

A crucified king, do you

have eyes to see the glory

of his cross?

And will we invite that

kind of glory to shape our

own lives?

Will we wave our palms

today on Palm Sunday, but

still follow him tomorrow on

Monday?

Will we loosen our death

grip on life in this world

world so we can enjoy life

with him, eternally abundant

life forever?

And will we pray with

confidence, conviction,

surrender, and faith?

The one prayer God always

says and promises that he

will say yes to.

Father, glorify your name.

Will that be the cry of our

hearts?

If so, if so, the same

father who turned his son's

darkest hour into history's

greatest victory, he will

take our weakness and our

losses, our hidden obedience,

he'll turn even our darkest

moments into glory greater

than we could possibly

imagine.

In Christ, who through the

glory of his cross, through

the glory of his cross, he's

shown us the glory of the

father is the glory of his

children.

He will honor us, not because

of anything we've done, but

because of what Christ has done

for us.

So let's serve him, let's

honor him, let's bow down to

this king.

Will you pray with me?

Father, we thank you that you

are a God who glorifies

yourself.

You have always glorified

yourself, and you will

continue to do so.

And we thank you that even

while we were sinners, your

glory was not at odds with our

salvation, but in fact, your

glory was magnified in our

salvation.

Not because you are a God of

compromise, but because you are

indeed a God of holiness and

justice, and you sent forth your

son, a king like no one the

world has ever seen, to bear our

sins on a cross.

Oh God, only you could write a

story making beauty out of a

cross, and that's what you've

done in your son.

So we worship him.

We want to live like him.

We want to be shaped by him, oh

God, for your glory and for the

good of the world.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

Amen.