Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday, beginning of Holy Week as it leads up to Easter,

the time where Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem takes place.

We're going to talk about that in a few minutes,

so I don't want you to think we're leaving Palm Sunday behind.

The first verse in our psalm tonight is important because it's what the psalm is about.

We kind of can figure that out because it's repeated at the end and the beginning.

Everything in the middle pointing back and towards the end of what is being said.

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.

The first Lord, all capitals, Yahweh, the covenant name of God.

When Moses was talking to God and he says,

Who do I tell them is sending me?

And God says, I am has sent you.

The God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob has sent you.

In Exodus 3 he says,

This is my name forever and thus I am to be remembered by all generations.

That's the first, O Lord.

The second, our Lord, is that of a master.

So for the child of God, it is the great I am.

You are my Lord, my master.

You rule my life.

So there's this position of God and creator as well as master, slave to the one true God.

How majestic is your name.

Think of majestic like that of royalty, like a king, but add to that majestic in power.

So the first thing that came to my mind was that of the ocean.

It's awe-inspiring to look at the ocean.

Depending on where you're standing and what you're looking at, it's just huge.

It's massive.

It can also be relaxing and calming and refreshing to be in the waves.

But don't miss its power because the ocean can destroy.

So think of majestic like the royalty of a king reigning and ruling with power that is unmatched by anything else.

How majestic is his name in all the earth.

There is no royalty greater than God.

There's no ruler above him.

There's no power or strength or wisdom that is greater than he.

He alone created all things and controls all things.

His name is power in all the earth.

His name is power in all the universe.

There's no place where God has no power because there's no place that God has not created.

Even today, Sunday, across the world, we know that his name is being praised and proclaimed by millions.

Now we also know that even though there are many that haven't acknowledged him,

his name is proclaimed in all the earth.

And it is the only name that will be acknowledged by every man and woman,

whether here, now, or after our life ends when we get to heaven.

Romans 1.20 says,

There is not an excuse for saying that there is no God or I don't believe in a God or I will not submit to a God

because God says,

You can't miss it in what I've created.

So in this psalm, we see David is talking about the majesty of God's name

and the power being proclaimed through his creation.

But not just on the earth.

It says,

You have set your glory above the heavens.

What does that mean?

We have the clouds.

We have the sky.

We have space.

We have the universe.

All those are glorious,

but God's glory exceeds them all.

Next in this chapter, we see verse 2,

which is really,

it's kind of an odd verse.

If you're reading through it,

you can almost take the verse out and it still flows.

And yet it's still here,

so we need to see why.

We're going to talk about it now for where it is in this chapter

because David has put it here.

But we're going to come back to it

because this is the verse that actually connects us to Palm Sunday.

It says,

Out of the mouth of babies and infants,

you have established strength because of your foes

to still the enemy and the avenger.

Out of the mouths of children,

babies,

the weak,

those who seem to be insignificant,

from them will come strength

to defeat God's foes.

He will silence those

who seek to live contrary to his rule

and his design.

I don't have to tell you that we have a desire

to be our own God

and that we want to rebel against his commands.

We see that all throughout Scripture

and we see that in the world today.

Starting in the beginning,

Lucifer wanted to be like God.

Cain killed Abel.

He wanted to worship God his own way.

The people of Babel ignored God's commands

because they wanted to make a name for themselves.

And we could go on and on,

but I think you understand.

1 Corinthians 1.27 says,

But God chose what is foolish in the world

to shame the wise.

God chose what is weak in the world

to shame the strong.

He doesn't want to see how strong and great we are.

He wants the world to see how majestic he is.

It's not about us.

God has power over everything.

There is nothing created

that can stand against the creator.

And yet,

God has designed power

to come from the mouths of those who are weak

to defeat God's enemies.

It's an odd thing.

It's helpful to see in this verse

there's this contrast

between the dependency of the babies

and the self-dependence of God's enemies.

God establishes strength through the weak

who depend on him,

and he silences the enemies

that seek to depend on their own strength.

Now, David here never says exactly

what is coming out of the mouths of babies.

Perhaps David is thinking of Moses

as a baby,

crying in the basket

that is hidden in the reeds of the Nile River

because his mom is trying to save him

from being murdered.

And you know the story.

Pharaoh's daughter finds him,

and in Exodus 2.6 says,

as she opened the basket,

she saw the child,

and behold,

the baby was crying.

We know what happens after that, right?

She keeps the baby

and raises it herself,

and the baby grows up to be

the one that God uses

to stand up in front of Pharaoh,

the king of Egypt.

Pharaoh being God's enemy

because he's standing in the way

of God and his people.

God says to Moses in Exodus 3.10,

Come, I will send you to Pharaoh

that you may bring my people,

the children of Israel,

out of Egypt.

God refers to the people of Israel

as children

a number of times in the Old Testament.

So we can see where that lines up

with the mouths of babies

and infants

and those who are weak.

God does this

because he wants to remind them

of their need and dependence for him.

And when they stop depending on him,

that's where things start going south.

They set up their own God.

They don't need him anymore,

and they find themselves

running after idols.

All through the Bible,

we see God using weaker things,

smaller things,

to defeat larger and stronger enemies.

Battle of Jericho.

If you read that story,

how did that battle go?

They were told to walk around the city

for seven days,

and at the end of the seven days,

when they were given a cue,

they all shouted,

what was it that destroyed

the walls of Jerusalem?

It was the mouths of his people.

How about the Battle of Gideon?

Starting with 32,000 men,

God cut them down to 300,

a pretty small group,

told them to encamp

around the Midianites,

and when they were given the sign,

they were to shout.

And it was the shout

that caused the Midianites

to basically kill each other

out of confusion and all of that.

God uses the weak.

He uses their mouths

to defeat His enemies.

Let's move on to verse 3.

Still looking at the majesty of God.

Verse 3,

when I look at your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars

which you have set in place.

You can get this,

just imagine in your mind

if you can,

we can't because we've never seen Him,

but if God is here

and He has hands

and He's forming

and He's forming

these planets.

Just,

that's a good size one.

I'm going to put that one here.

I'll make this one a little smaller.

Let's put that here.

No, a little too close.

Put it over here.

the power

and yet the delicate work

of a hand creating a universe.

The unimaginable greatness

of God to form these things,

the heavens,

the moon,

the stars.

As I was preparing for this message,

of course I got a little sidetracked

and being kind of science-minded,

I started looking up things like,

what if?

What if the moon were closer to the earth?

What would happen?

Well, if the moon were closer to the earth,

we would have large chunks of our land

that we could not live on anymore

because twice a day

we would have tides

that were ten times what they are now.

Or,

what if the sun was smaller?

Well, if the sun was smaller,

then the earth would automatically

move further away

because of the gravitational pull

and we would either die

of freezing to death

or starvation

because the plants couldn't live anymore.

So at some point I had to like

cut that off

because I would just dig in

and,

but you get the idea.

Some people say,

well,

the earth is inhabitable

because all those things lined up

and that's how life was able to form.

Yes, that's true.

But all those things lined up

because God lined all those things up

and put us here.

Johannes Kepler,

famous German astronomer

of the 17th century

who was a mathematician,

a teacher,

he wrote books,

but he's best known

for his laws of planetary motion.

Johannes was a believer in God

and he always tried

to find arguments and reasoning

to explain what he found out

and discovered.

He was troubled

because he had a friend

who denied the existence of God

and took the view

that the universe came to be

by itself.

Kepler,

in an attempt to convince his friend,

constructed a model

of the sun

and the planets

circling around it.

Some of you guys

might have done something

to a smaller scale

when you were

in elementary school

for a science project.

So his friend comes

into the observatory

and he sees

this beautiful model

and he explained

with delight

how beautiful that is.

Who made it?

Kepler carelessly answered,

no one made it.

It just made itself.

His friend looked at him

in surprise and said,

that's nonsense.

Tell me who made it.

Kepler then replied,

friend,

you say that this little toy

could not make itself.

It is but a very weak

imitation

of this great universe

which I understand

you believe

did make itself.

And so he's left

with that truth

that we look at

so many things

that we know

man created

and we miss

the bigger things

and think that

it created itself.

in view of all

that God created

verse 4 says,

what is man

that you are mindful

of him

and the son of man

that you care for him?

Now in this verse,

man that you are mindful

of him

and son of man

meaning generations

coming from man.

so as men

exist on the earth

is what's being said here.

I also know

that this verse

means more

when we're talking

about the son of man

but for the first pass

we're talking about men,

mankind

as they exist

on the earth.

Who are we

that God would care

for us?

Have you ever flown

in an airplane before

and looked out the window?

It's kind of cool

at first.

Things,

you can look out

and see things

maybe your house,

cars,

buildings

but what happens

is you get higher,

things get smaller,

people disappear

and suddenly

it's hard to see

buildings anymore.

The world

that we know

fades.

Problems

that we can

imagine

or struggle with

seem to kind of

fade away

and what we're

left with

is this

beautiful earth

that God created,

the mountains,

the rivers,

the sky,

the lakes.

It can be breathtaking

unless of course

you're up above

the clouds

and you can't see a thing

and then you just

have to wait a little bit

but you understand

what I'm saying.

Who are we

that God

should be

mindful

of?

Or as the

King James Version

puts it,

who are we

that thou

would visit us?

God is

mindful of us.

He does care

for us.

He doesn't,

like on the plane,

He doesn't

rule us

from 30,000 feet

but He comes

down to us.

He meets us

in our struggle

and He walks

with us.

He comforts us.

Psalm 23, 4

Even though I walk

through the valley

of the shadow

of death,

I will fear

no evil

for you are

with me.

Not just

you are watching

me,

but you are

with me.

And your rod

and your staff,

they comfort me.

That's the God

who is our

creator

and our savior.

Verse 5,

yet you have

made him

a little

lower

than the heavenly

beings

and crowned

him with glory

and honor.

Mankind

has been

made a little

lower than

the heavenly

beings

and we have

been crowned

with glory

and honor.

What exactly

does that mean?

What is that glory,

that honor?

If we jump

back to

Genesis 1,

we see

where God

says,

let us,

speaking of

God and

his Trinitarian

form,

in the beginning,

let us make

man in our

image,

after our

likeness.

So he created

male and

female.

Then verse 28

says,

and God

blessed them

and God

said to them,

be fruitful,

multiply and

fill the earth

and subdue it

and have

dominion over

the fish of

the sea,

over the

birds of

the heavens

and over

everything that

moves on

the earth.

We are

made in

God's image

and given

the honor

of ruling

over his

creation.

While we're

here at this

verse,

I just want

to remind

us how

God has

blessed us

and how

we have

been

created

special

by God,

let us

not think

that we

are any

better than

someone else.

And by

that I mean

let us not

think that

our education

or our

wealth,

our skin

color,

or our

sex,

or anything

else

separate us

or make

us like

we are

better than

anyone else.

God

has made

all of

us a

little

lower

than

the

heavenly

beings

and

crowned

all of

humanity

with glory

and honor.

And so

let us

not for

any

reason

diminish

or dishonor

that glory

that God

has placed

on us.

another thing

to point out

about this

verse is

that the

book of

Hebrews

says this

verse is

about

Jesus.

Jesus.

Paul

quotes

Psalm

8

at least

part of

it

and then

he says

this

but we

see him

who for a

little while

was made

lower than

the angels

namely

Jesus

crowned with

glory and

honor

because of

the suffering

of death

so that by

the grace

of God

he might

taste

death

for

everyone.

It was

God's

grace

for us

to make

a way

of salvation

through

Jesus

who for

a time

was made

a little

lower than

the angels.

In

verse 6

we see

that God

made man

dominion

over all

his works

made in

the image

of God

and set

to rule

over his

created

world.

So live

in

and use

the resources

but let's

do it

wisely

as God's

representatives.

Verses

7 and

8

we see

an echo

of what

God says

in Genesis

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

in the

beginning

summarizing

what God

has given

us

dominion

over.

It's

summed up

here pretty

briefly

in verses

7 and

8.

The sheep

and the

oxen

the beast

of the

field

that is

wild

animals

the birds

of the

heavens

and the

fish

of the

sea

and then

there's

this little

interesting

add one

whatever

passes

along

the paths

of the

sea

why did

David add

this one

he just

said the

fish

so what

else

passes

I think

this was

David

just not

wanting to

leave out

the big

boys of

creation

as we

read the

Old

Testament

you run

across

creatures

like

Leviathan

which are

large

aquatic

creatures

I think

were probably

a type

of

dinosaur

but for

us now

if you

think of

like a

blue whale

which is

the biggest

animal

on the

earth

it's not

a fish

but it

passes along

the paths

of the

sea

all of

that

created

by God

and given

to us

to rule

over

as his

delegates

and then

we get

to the

end

verse 9

and David

ends it

the same

way he

started it

oh

Lord

our

Lord

how

majestic

is your

name

in all

the

earth

his

glory

is above

the heavens

where he

rules

over all

and

mankind

given a

rule over

the earth

is down

here

so let's

not forget

our

position

before our

heavenly

father

God

being

the glory

set above

the heavens

and man

given

dominion

down here

on his

creation

I hope

those

thoughts

as we

read over

Psalm 8

leave you

with a

feeling

of purpose

and hope

from a

creator

who's not

only all

powerful

but who

personally

cares for

you

powerful

enough to

wipe out

all who

are against

him

yet he

chooses

weak

things

like the

mouths of

babies

to silence

his enemies

okay

that's part

one

now we got

part two

don't worry

though the

second part

is not

as long

but we

gotta get

to

Jesus

I don't

say that

irreverently

it's

Palm Sunday

we need

to get

to Jesus

it's also

in the

title

so we

need to

get to

Jesus

but it's

hugely

important in

our lives

that we

get to

Jesus

that Satan

doesn't want

us to

get to

Jesus

let's

jump over

to

Matthew

21

we're

going to

spend

the rest

of our

time

in

Matthew

21

it's

Palm

Sunday

Jesus

has

ridden

into

Jerusalem

on a

donkey

and people

have

laid

their

coats

and

branches

on the

ground

in front

of them

and they're

shouting

Hosanna

to the

son

of

David

blessed

is he

who

comes

in the

name

of

the

Lord

the

whole

city

of

Jerusalem

is

stirred

up

the

number

of

people

in

the

city

is

increased

because

Passover

is

approaching

crowds

are

saying

who

is

this

other

people

are

saying

it's

the

prophet

Jesus

from

Nazareth

so

there's

this

wonder

there's

this

mixture

of

awe

and

uncertainty

in

the

city

and

then

the

next

day

when

we

read

Matthew

it

sounds

like

it

happens

right

after

but

we

know

from

the

gospel

of

Mark

that

this

next

event

actually

took

place

on

Monday

Jesus

comes

back

into

the

city

let's

read

verses

12

and

13

of

chapter

21

Matthew

21

12

and

Jesus

entered

the

temple

and

drove

out

all

who

sold

and

bought

in

the

temple

and

he

overturned

the

tables

of

the

money

changers

in

the

seats

of

those

who

sold

pigeons

he

said

to

them

it

is

written

my

house

shall

be

called

a

house

of

prayer

but

you

make

it

a

den

of

robbers

so

Jesus

comes

back

into

the

temple

and

drives

out

these

people

think

about

for a

moment

what

that

might

look

like

who

he

might

tick

off

who

is

this

person

who

would

come

into

the

temple

and

knock

over

the

tables

either

a

crazy

person

or

the

son

of

God

who

says

my

house

shall

be

called

a

house

of

prayer

now

Jesus

is

quoting

Isaiah

56

7

here

where

it

says

these

I

will

bring

to

my

holy

mountain

and

make

them

joyful

in

my

house

of

prayer

their

burnt

offerings

and

their

sacrifices

will

be

accepted

on

my

altar

for

my

house

shall

be

called

a

house

of

prayer

for

all

peoples

now

I

look

at

this

and

I

see

Jesus

saying

my

house

God's

house

my

house

but

I

know

some

people

look

at

this

and

think

well

he's

not

saying

he

is

God

he's

just

defending

the

temple

for

God

let's

keep

reading

verse

14

and

the

blind

and

the

lame

came

to

him

in

the

temple

and

he

healed

them

so

he

strips

out

all

the

commercialism

all

of

the

worldly

goods

and

he

opens

up

the

temple

for

those

in

need

you

need

prayer

you

need

healing

come

to

the

temple

where

God

dwells

come

to

the

temple

where

Jesus

is

your

salvation

verse

15

but

when

the

chief

priest

and

the

scribes

saw

the

wonderful

things

that

he

did

and

the

children

crying

out

in

the

temple

Hosanna

to

the

son

of

David

they

were

indignant

the

chief

priest

and

the

scribes

were

furious

I

can

imagine

some

self

proclaimed

man

comes

into

their

temple

the

place

where

they

feel

they

own

and

flips

over

the

tables

makes

a

mockery

of

God's

house

and

then

he

doesn't

just

make

empty

claims

he

heals

people

he

actually

heals

people

in

their

presence

the

sad

part

is

in

all

of

their

anger

and

unbelief

the

truth

is

hidden

from

their

view

it

says

they

saw

the

wonderful

things

that

he

did

and

the

children

crying

Hosanna

to

the

king

of

David

and

yet

they

were

indignant

if

God

ever

busts

into

the

scene

of

your

life

or

makes

himself

known

in a

miraculous

way

in

our

church

may

we

never

get

indignant

may

we

never

fail

to

see

the

working

of

the

Holy

Spirit

move

or

a

healing

take

place

because

of

our

hardened

heart

or

a

judgment

that

we

placed

on

someone

else

because

of

actions

that

they've

done

or

something

that

they've

said

may

we

not

be

blinded

from

what

God

might

be

doing

may

we

step

back

and

say

wow

my

God

is

at

work

here

may

I

not

get

in

the

way

the

children

are

seeing

people

in

the

temple

be

healed

now

just

try

to

imagine

what

that

might

look

like

parents

friends

who

couldn't

walk

before

are now

running

and

jumping

or

your

grandparents

a

sibling

who

was

once

blind

can

now

look

you

in

the

eye

and

see

you

for

the

first

time

this

is

something

that

has

never

happened

before

so

you

can

imagine

the

excitement

of

the

children

as

they

are

crying

Hosanna

to

the

son

of

David

as

Jesus

performs

these

miracles

the

word

Hosanna

while

it is

used

as

expressive

and

joyful

wasn't

always

the

case

in

the

old

testament

Hosanna

was

a

cry

for

help

to

God

for

salvation

and

in

the

new

testament

the

meaning

of

this

word

changed

to

salvation

is

coming

so

think

of

it

as

a

cry

to

be

saved

turned

to

the

shout

of

hope

that's

the

shout

of

hope

that

the

children

are

crying

out

salvation

from

heaven

through

the

line

of

David

in

the

gospel

market

says

they

shouted

Hosanna

blessed

is he

who

comes

in

the

name

of

the

Lord

the

children

and

those

being

healed

saw

Jesus

as

the

Lord

the

Messiah

once

sent

from

God

to

save

them

however

the

Jewish

leaders

did

not

and

so

in

their

outrage

they

turned

to

Jesus

this

is

when

it

gets

good

look

at

verse

16

and

they

said

to

him

do

you

hear

what

they

are

saying

and

Jesus

said

to

them

now

before

Jesus

even

finishes

what

he's

saying

we

know

that

they

at

this

point

are

full

of

anger

defensiveness

at

what

is

being

said

because

they

don't

agree

with

it

who

is

this

guy

who

is

trying

to

teach

us

Jesus

says

to

them

yes

have

you

never

read

so

now

you

know

their

anger

is

like

100

percent

have

we

never

read

are

you

kidding

me

you

are

talking

to

the

elite

no

one

has

read

or

studied

the

scriptures

like

we

have

who

are

you

teaching

me

Jesus

says

have

you

never

read

out

of

the

mouths

of

infants

and

nursing

babies

you

have

prepared

praise

Jesus

here

is

acknowledging

that

not only

what the

children

are

saying

is

true

that

he

is

the

promised

Messiah

but

also

they

are

saying

is

the

praise

to

God

and

power

against

his

enemies

right

here

at this

point

the

enemies

being

these

elite

spiritual

leaders

the

scribes

the

Pharisees

now

there's

an odd

translation

that I

want to

address

because I

don't

want to

leave

too