In 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul teaches about the centrality of Christ's resurrection. Palm Sunday shows a great contradiction: Christ is welcomed as a king, while the cross stands looming at the end of the Passover Week. He is King, but not the political king or revolutionary that the people were waving palm branches for. Christ delivered us from much more than oppression by a government, but our own sin. In this sermon audio, Pastor Tyler Jones preaches about the death of Jesus Christ, and the true meaning of Palm Sunday.
Revelation 5:6-10 I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth...9 And they sang a new song, saying “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
Luke 19:28-30 And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here.
Luke 19:36-38 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Phil 2:7-8 (Jesus) made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Mark 15:27-32 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.
Mark 15:37-39 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
Questions for Reflection
1) There is this pattern sown in the fabric of creation: birth, life, age, death, life. It is sown there by the Creator to show us our need for resurrection. Paul says, what you sow does not come to life unless it dies, yet everything that dies stays dead. This is the crux of Christianity, if Christ is dead we are fools. However, if Christ did resurrect from the grave, He is the one who fulfills the longing of all creatures—eternity. Where are you with Christ, is He the fulfillment of your hope? What will it look like for you to follow Him?
2) Jesus started a revolution of sacrifice that allows the world to be healed through His love. How will/are you continuing the revolution?