Palm Sunday - Loyalties
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· 49 viewsUsing chapter 21 of Matthew we will look to see what changed between Palm Sunday and Good Friday
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It was my intention to open this sermon by stating that it is my personal policy not to use this pulpit as my own personal soapbox, but then I began to think about all the different things I have said about Yamaha motorcycles, the New England Patriots and other subjects that may be near and dear to me and it occured that I do, in fact, like to use this pulpit as my own personal soapbox
So why should today be any different?
I want to begin with a pet peeve of mine
And no it has nothing to do with whether or not people return their carts to the cart collection area
This morning I want to talk about loyalty, or the lack thereof
Recently Liane and I went through a process that we do from time to time which is to review our bills and see if and where we might be able to save a little bit of money
Although many expenses are fixed and there’s nothing that you can do about them, we have found that many of our monthly expenses creep up with time with a small increase here and a small increase there and that with a little due diligence we can reduce these costs, usually while improving the service
Anyway, the last time we did this we came across one such scenario, when we looked at our internet bill and compared that to the rates our company had posted on-line we realized that we could triple our internet speed while at the same time reducing our monthly bill
Win-Win right?
Well except for one little hitch, when we called the company to make the change we heard the one reply that is perhaps more infuriating than any other, “That deal is only for NEW customers.”
Whatever happened to a time when companies rewarded the loyalty of their customers?
It seems to me that the majority of larger companies tend to forget that it is easier and more cost effective to hold onto a loyal customer than it is to try and attract new ones
And unfortunately this trend is not only between companies and customers but between companies and employees
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average worker currently holds ten different jobs before age forty, and this number is projected to grow. Forrester Research predicts that today's youngest workers will hold twelve to fifteen jobs in their lifetime
While that is an American statistic, workopolis.com recently did a study in Canada and concluded that “Canadians can expect to hold roughly 15 jobs in their careers.”
That’s not in their lifetime mind you but just once they get into their chosen career
I guess I better pick up the pace then because that means if I want to retire at 65 I still have at least 13 churches to Pastor in the next 16 years
Loyalty is just not something that our society seems to put a high value on any more which is a real shame
Of course, as Solomon said, “There’s nothing new under the sun” meaning that the more things change the more that they stay the same
Today as we celebrate Palm Sunday and the “Triumphant entry” of Christ into the city of his fore-father David, the city where Christ promised to establish His reign that would never end, we have an excellent opportunity to witness the importance of loyalty
This morning I want to the opportunity to stir anew our loyalties to Jesus Christ our Lord by considering the different ways that people failed in their loyalties during this most holy week
As we consider the different times that Jesus entered Jerusalem and what happened each time
To do that we’re going to consider Matthew’s perspective of this story as recorded in the 21st chapter of his gospel
Just before we get into the text and my 3 points I want to make sure that we are all thinking about the same thing when I talk about loyalty
Just before we get into the text and my 3 points I want to make sure that we are all thinking about the same thing when I talk about loyalty
I’m not talking about blind faith but rather as the dictionary defines it, “faithful to one’s oath, commitments, or obligations” “The state or quality of being faithful. Faithful adherence to a person, cause, duty etc”
The first are where we see that loyalty is of supreme importance is in our service to Christ
Let’s go to our text,
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me.
Matthew 21:1-3
The “biggest” day of Christ’s ministry was about to take place, Jesus was going into Jerusalem and everyone was excited
Crowds were forming, the city was buzzing and people were looking towards Jesus for some kind of big announcement or action
And in the middle of all of this excitement Jesus calls 2 of His disciples and tells them to run ahead, get a donkey and bring it back to Him
Now while all of the gospels record the triumphant entry none of them tell us who these 2 disciples were but I don’t really think that it matters who they were, knowing the disciples reputation for fighting to be #1 in this little group, this command had to be a shot to the ego
I don’t know how far ahead they had to walk ahead to get this donkey but you can imagine their conversation, ‘Are you kidding me? 3 years we have been working along side Him preparing for this moment and He sends us to go get a donkey. Why did He choose me anyway? You could have done this on your own.’
Of course I am just speculating here but imagine the fear of missing the big event because of some menial task
Yet Matthew tells us just how important a task this really was as he continues on in the story
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”
Matthew
These two disciples probably had no idea of how important a job they had been given
It was their task to facilitate the fulfillment of this prophecy of God
What if their egos had gotten in the way? Or if they decided it was beneath them or they didn’t want to miss the big event?
The big event wasn’t even possible apart from their loyalty, their faithfulness to Jesus and so Matthew records,
The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.
Matthew 21:
In King Saul is given very specific instructions by God through the prophet Samuel to “…attack the Amelekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them… men, women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.” ()
Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt. He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.
1 Samuel 15:
Saul claimed that he had done this to make sacrifices to God but because of this lack of total loyalty to God and His commands Saul grieved God and God ultimately removed Saul from the throne and gave it to David
Because of this lack of total loyalty to God and His commands Saul grieved God and God ultimately removed Saul from the throne and gave it to David
This is where we get that famous verse “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”
To make matters a little more interesting I suggest that when you get home you continue reading on in where you will also find the Parable of the 2 Sons
The second area that we need to make sure we are being loyal is in the area of our gifts and talents
saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
Matthew 21:7
They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.
What would you do if someone walked up to your driveway, got into your brand new car and prepared to drive away with it telling you, ‘It’s okay Jesus needs it.’
Do you have any idea why God has gifted you with the gifts and talents that He has?
The reason is simple, because He knew that one day He would need them
In the parable of the talents Jesus talks about how God gave to different people according to their abilities but the one person chose to do nothing with what God had given
Do you remember the master’s reaction when he returned and demanded an account?
“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
“ ‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.
“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
“ ‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
A little bit different than his response to the other two servants to whom he said, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”
How about you?
Can you say with complete certainty that you are being loyal with your talents, that you are being faithful to your obligation?
Our final point is found in the first 11 verses and it is a strong reminder to us to be loyal in our worship
Matthew 21:7-
They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
All of this praise, all of this worship
But why here and why now?
Well the answer to that question can be found in a prophecy spoken by the prophet Zechariah
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
The people were full of praise and worship on that particular day because of what they were expecting this man Jesus to do for them, He had come to set them free
Free from the tyranny of Rome, free from the oppressive taxes, free from the constant threats and the forced obedience, free to have their country back
But oh how their loyalties changed when only a few days later they realized that Jesus wasn’t going to do for them what they had expected, or as we know, not in the way they expected
This is the scenario on Friday,
“What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
Matthew 27:
Now before we are too quick to condemn them for their abrupt change, we had first better take a look at ourselves and make sure that we’re not guilty of doing the same thing for the same reason
In the Mercy Me song inspired by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, called “Even If” we find these lyrics
They say sometimes you win some
Sometimes you lose some
And right now, right now I'm losing bad
I've stood on this stage night after night
Reminding the broken it'll be alright
But right now, oh right now I just can't
It's easy to sing
When there's nothing to bring me down
But what will I say
When I'm held to the flame
Like I am right now
I know You're able and I know You can
Save through the fire with Your mighty hand
But even if You don't
My hope is You alone
They say it only takes a little faith
To move a mountain
Well good thing
A little faith is all I have, right now
But God, when You choose
To leave mountains unmovable
Oh give me the strength to be able to sing
It is well with my soul
David wrote a similar song, we call it and in it he said
Psalm 42:3-
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
under the protection of the Mighty One
with shouts of joy and praise
among the festive throng.
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Psalm 71:14
As for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.
Good times, bad times or anything in between we need to be loyal in bringing our praise and worship to God
In a society that places so little value on loyalty it is even more important that as disciples of God we ensure we place a greater value on this Godly attribute
To do anything else but is to miss the mark of being a disciple by a wide margin
So let us examine ourselves and make sure that we are indeed being loyal, loyal in our service, loyal with our gifts and talents, loyal in our praise
Let’s pray