Palm Sunday

Matthew 21:1-11- Kirk Rupprecht 

Commonplace Church exists to glorify God, equip disciples & share the Good News of Jesus. Learn more at commonplacechurch.org

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Alright, yeah, pretty straight to the point there, right? Palm Sunday. So good to have Ken back reading. Um Yeah, I should just have him stay up here the whole time. Might be better. Uh voice of an angel. Anyway, uh, good morning. Uh welcome to Common Voice Church. Uh a couple just or one quick heads up for you. Um the middle of this week, I caught the flu. Uh I'm better. Not really, but I feel like I'm a little bit better. So who knows where this is gonna go today? Uh like up until Wednesday, I was like, eh, I'm so pumped for Sunday. And then uh, has anybody else had this flu so far? So you can you can feel me on this one, right? You know, it's like it's like you I can't even no words. But anyway, so God, I am gonna rely on the spirit like I do every week, but just like more intensely this week. And we're gonna look at Palm Sunday. So uh if you're joining us here for the first time, really glad you guys are with us. Thanks for uh just coming out and checking out our church gathering together. Um my name is Kirk, and the pastor here, and have the excitement of teaching and talking about this wonderful uh celebration of Palm Sunday today. Now, uh what we've been doing as a church is we've been going through a series of what we've called where do we stand? And these are just what we're looking at, tough topics of today, right? We looked at some really challenging um just spaces that we deal with as a culture and even as Christians, and just asking, like, where do we stand on these things? And if you were with us last week, um well, we closed our time, it was pretty, pretty, pretty wild. Uh, we closed our time uh with really um the power going out. We didn't really actually finish. So, with that, because that we didn't really finish our series, I think that is kind of like a cliffhanger to kind of keep going with the series and to actually look at Palm Sunday today as like, well, where do we stand, right? Because we didn't really get to close out the series technically, okay? So hopefully the power will continue for at least a little bit longer. Um, but we're excited to look at this idea of where do we stand when it comes to Palm Sunday? Now, I recognize this isn't like a current event that we're dealing with, like we were looking at before some of these other uh moments, but I do think what's important about Palm Sunday is we can look at this and say, well, there's a crowd of people there, right? All standing around Jesus. And and well, where do they stand, right, when it comes to this idea of Jesus as this king, as this Lord? And I think we can look at that because I think that's the same stance we find ourselves even today, as we encounter this idea of Jesus as king, as Lord, right? Jesus is still reigning on his throne. Jesus is still king, right? Even before we see, even though he this is a moment in history, right, the the reality remains of Jesus still being on his throne. Because here's what I want to just recognize as the crowd, as it looked unified, right? There's just this crowded group of people joining together, all screaming the same thing. The reality is, in spite of just standing unified, their hearts and their postures all came from well, different spaces. And I want to explore those spaces with us this morning. Because I think these postures, I think they still resonate with some, maybe even you know, of us who experience Jesus today. Maybe the concept of Jesus, maybe the reality of Jesus is king, right? We might fall into some of these um different postures we're gonna see in this account, as Ken read for us before. And here's the question I just want to put before us. When we're confronted with this reality, this claim that Jesus is king, well, what posture do we take? What is our posture? What is our stance when it comes to Jesus as King, as Lord? So let's do this. Let's first let's start by just speaking into the event itself, okay? Um, how we stand in our understanding of Palm Sunday. So for some of us, maybe we grew up in the church and uh we we recognized that we got some sort of cool palm like we do today, right? On one day of the year, so it kind of stood out to us. We realized there was something going on in that day. And yet for others, maybe this is all very new. Like, why are you giving me this, you know, this branch? What's what's going on here, right? And if that's you, so glad you're here. Uh our one of the hopes of this church is we want to be a space where people can explore faith, right? You can do that safely and look and try to ask honest questions. So if that's you, really glad you're here. Because if I'm honest with you, when I um began my journey on understanding Palm Sunday, let's just say it wasn't the most spiritually insightful journey. Uh I'll I'll share that one of the traditions we had was similar, where we gave out palms. And um when I received one of these, uh, I will tell you that uh I wasn't, you know, first immediately thinking about honoring our King of Kings. Uh immediately I was like, oh, you you just gave me a nice weapon for Sunday morning that I can now uh hit my friends with and my siblings and an occasionally anyone who's just kind of walking past me. And uh yes, they were not branches that would symbolize any sort of worship at that time in my life. They were really like adolescent artillery. That's kind of how I phrased it. And I'm not proud of how I handled those those palms back then, and there's been a ton of repentance, a lot of apologies, but but I share this because it reminds me just how easy we can participate in some sort of like tradition without maybe even understanding the meaning behind it, right? And so here's the meaning. See, Palm Sunday truly is one of the most, I would say, influential moments in the story of Jesus, and it carries some incredible significance. So listen, kids, if you're still in the room, I know it seems like a weapon, it's not, all right? Um, don't hit your siblings with it, at least not during service. Um but those palms were meant for this. Those palms were meant to lay down before a king. It was recognition of royalty. So for those who uh laid down these palms, well, here's what they desired. They desired to pledge their allegiance to a king, right? But what they recognized shortly after, well, it it might not have been uh expecting, they might have expected what they uh what this king actually desired to bring. And so here's where we're gonna look at these postures. Uh and the first posture we're gonna look at is there were some at this moment who saw Jesus for personal gain. That was their posture. There was others who saw this moment for Jesus as one that's politically framed. And yet alongside those postures, standing in this crowd, there was another posture, and that posture that's my prayer for us as followers of Jesus today, or even if we're just exploring today, is that we would see Jesus as the only one who could truly save. So let's look at this these postures. And now before we do that, though, we need to understand the context that's producing uh these these postures. Asking, okay, who exactly is standing in this crowd, right? As Jesus enters Jerusalem, who are the people there? And I think what's really cool is the the importance of the timing of this is really of value, okay? Because Jesus is about to enter Jerusalem. It's during uh during this reminder of God's people, of an act that God had done, a previous work of atonement, of sacrifice. See, Jesus is entering Jerusalem during this Passover, uh, this Passover remembrance. It's an annual remembrance of this, of God's deliverance of his people out of the hands of the of Egyptian slavery. And so God has instructed the Hebrew people to do this back in Exodus, to take a lamb, and they were a lamb without blemish, and they were to sacrifice this. And that blood was to be placed on the doorsteps of their homes. And so when the final plague came around, right, which was the death of firstborn, the angel of death would pass over those homes that were covered with the blood of the lamb. Listen to the instructions that were given in Exodus. It says, Your lamb should be without blemish, a male a year old, and then shall they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorsteps and the lintel of the houses. Now here's what happens: God is faithful to his promise to his people. And the homes covered by the blood of the lamb, yes, they were spared. And now from where we sit today, we can see that those people at the first Passover, something that they could not see. It's the moment was pointing forward to something greater, it's foreshadowing. It was pointing forward to the ultimate Lamb of God. Because what the blood of the Lamb temporarily symbolized, Jesus would do, he would ultimately fulfill. The writer of Hebrews tells us this he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of the goats and calves, but the means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. So as Jesus, as he's entering into Jerusalem, here's the city filled with people. They're preparing to celebrate the Passover. And a crowd is gathered along the road, and they're incredibly diverse. There were Jews who had come to celebrate the Passover feast. There were pilgrims traveling from different regions, even some from Gal from Galilee, Jesus' own hometown. There was also those who had just been following Jesus throughout his ministry. Some just out of like curiosity. Others have witnessed just the miraculous. Some who had uh seen him heal the sick. Some had actually watched him as he, there was blind who then could see. Right? Some had been delivered from demons, some had just been seen as the outcasts of society, marginalized, and yet Jesus had restored them. And so, of course, we have this group, and then we also have these disciples who have been walking with Jesus, right? Those have been followed him closely for three years. And so this crowd is so diverse. It reminds me of like um some sort of crowd if you go to like a big sporting event or like a concert or like an amusement park, right? Amusement park has the wildest group of people, right? Anybody agree? Okay. Uh, but look at different like backgrounds, different stories. But here's what we see in this crowd, although they might have been standing in the same place, the reality is the crowds were not all hoping for the same thing. You see, the Jewish people, for example, they had long been promised from God a king that would come and a king that would deliver them. And in this moment in history, they were living under the oppression of Roman rule. And so many in the crowd, they were longing for freedom. There's freedom, though, from Rome, freedom from political oppression. Others in the crowd, they were hoping for something more personal. They've seen Jesus heal people, they've seen Jesus restore lives, they've seen him uh just perform incredible, miraculous things. And so they were hoping that maybe Jesus could change their circumstances too. Right? Different people, different stories, but a shared longing. Was that longing? Hosanna, save us. They all wanted to be saved, and into that longing walks Jesus. Yet the way he enters Jerusalem is so incredibly surprising because Jesus does not enter like any of the kings of that time would have. He doesn't ride in on a war host, war horse. He doesn't come surrounded by military strength. Instead, he just enters humbly. Look what uh Matthew tells us as he's uh he fulfills the moment that the prophet Zechariah talks about. He says, Behold, your king is coming to you humble, and he's mounted on a donkey. So it's not a war horse, right? It's a it's a donkey. And and I can't help but admit something here that when I picture Jesus on a donkey, I always think of the donkey from Shrek. I know that's like not the case, but anyway. But Jesus, he enters into Jerusalem and he does this, he ref redefines what a king, what a king looks like, and what kind of king he actually is. Right? He's not there conquering over earthly nations, but he's coming as a humble king, he's coming as a savior king, he's a sacrificial king. And so here in this moment, there's a king who's being presented to a crowd of people who, well, they they all share this, they all share a long to be saved. And so what are they desiring to be saved from? That's the question. Well, here's the first posture we look at. The first desire is to be saved from just personal circumstances, it's Jesus for this personal gain. And now here's the misunderstanding with that posture. It's this desire to use like the power, the authority that Jesus has been given, but not to do so for his glory, but rather for our own. It's this advancement of seeing Jesus as like some personal tool, right, to help us to get to where we want to be. It's kind of like the the athlete or the celebrity who achieves something prestigious, and then like in their passing speech, they give a little shout out to God for his help and they're you know getting to their place. And now, of course, that's not every athlete or any celebrity, but it's it's sometimes we see this this this language that says, you know, Jesus, he helped me get to where I wanted to go. But but there's a a danger in that posture because at its core, it does this, it reverses the role of servant and king, right? Because suddenly Jesus becomes a servant for us, and we become the ones being served, rather than serving the one who is worthy ultimately of our devotion, of our adoration, of our offering. Now, listen, yes, there are verses where Jesus speaks about serving. Right? Jesus in Matthew 20 says this the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. And so these words are incredibly true. But what Jesus is describing in this moment is not some like genie-like service to fulfill our wishes. Here's what Jesus is describing: He's describing his obedience to the will of serving the Father, his willingness to serve the will of God, and to do this to model and to demonstrate his followers where the way of God and what the way of God actually looks like. Serving him and then serving others. Because just a few verses later, we see, or before that, it says this whoever would be great among you must be your servant. Whoever would be first among you must be your slave. And so what Jesus is offering here, he's offering the way of the kingdom will look so much different than what we might see in our world. It's a way of life where greatness is not found in power, it's found in how we serve others. So when Jesus serves, he's not somehow just modeling how God somehow exists to serve us, it's the opposite. He's modeling how we are called to serve God and how we are called to serve others. But there's a reality we have to wrestle with. When it comes to some sort of message like Jesus as savior for our personal gain, right, we have to reconcile, I guess, a message from the Bible that kind of says this. Well, Jesus, he didn't really come primarily to save us from our circumstances, our earthly circumstances, or advance us in our earthly ways. He came to do this to save us from our sin. Which means if we approach Jesus only as a means for what we want, we're eventually gonna be incredibly disappointed. Because that's not his primary offering. His primary offering is salvation, right? His primary offering is king, is not found in how we can gain from every circumstance or how he will uh allow us to not have to endure every circumstance or save us. Here's the primary thing. His highest priority is to forgive us and and to cleanse us. And it but here is the joy of the Father of Jesus, right? What Jesus offers instead of just removing every circumstance is greater. He offers himself, he offers that he will be with us, right? He doesn't, he's not always gonna remove every challenging circumstance, but he does this. He promises that he will be with us through, and he'll sustain us in every circumstance. And in King Jesus, here's what we have: God has fulfilled his promise of forgiving us of our sin. Now, listen, of course, the primary work of Jesus doesn't mean that God has no interest in our well-being. I don't want anyone to walk away and think that, because scripture tells us God He does good give gifts, good, give good give good gifts, that's it, to his children, right? Scripture tells us that he has plans for his people, plans for a future, plans for to prosper, right? But the danger is what is this when we desire the gifts of God more than maybe we desire God himself. And that was the posture of many in this crowd. They want what God could give them more than they wanted God. That's that's the danger of just seeing Jesus as only like personal gain. So here just might be a helpful question for us to examine today. When it comes to Jesus as savior, as rescuer, Lord and King, well, do I do I see primarily see Jesus as just my way out? Or do I actually see him as the only way? Do I see him as the one who helps me achieve the life I want? Or is it the one who brings me into this relationship with God, the one who authors all of life? And maybe here's a harder question. If all I had left in my life was Jesus, would he be enough? Right? If everything else was stripped away, right? The possessions, achievements, the recognition, the comforts, and all that remained was the presence of Christ, would I be satisfied? And that might be a difficult question for us, but it's an important one because here's why. Because one day all these things we've accumulated in life will be stripped away. And what we'll be left with is one thing Christ. It's Jesus, his presence. Not what we've earthly gained, but but what we have in him. And so that's the first posture we see in this crowd. Some people they wanted Jesus as savior from their problems, but this thing, they didn't want them Jesus as Lord over their lives. Here's the other posture we see in this crowd: it's Jesus as king that's politically framed. So some people they stood with Jesus because they believed he would become the political solution to their problems. Like as we mentioned earlier, the Jewish people at that time, they were living under the rule of the Roman Empire. They were oppressed, they were governed by the foreign authority, and they were waiting for God's promised king. However, the the sad reality was that many in the crowd were expecting something different from what God actually promised. See, there was they're expecting this like this warrior king, right? Think of like Chuck Norris, rest in peace, but too early, maybe. I don't know. But uh they would someone who overthrew Rome, right? They they wanted to restore Israel's national prominence, right? A king who would reclaim political power, but the prophecy, they were looking at it told a different story. Here's what Zachariah describes as king. He says, This king will be over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, his name only, excuse me, the only name. See, God's promise, ooh, let's go, was never about a king ruling over one particular nation. Right? It was about a king who one day will rule over all nations. That's King Jesus. But sadly, the posture towards Jesus, it still exists today. Right? People still look at Jesus for their political victory. Jesus becomes the emblem for political movements, he's the mascot for political agendas. Like Jesus is like the brand ambassador to advance political power. Now, let me be clear about something. Look, having a desire for the values of Jesus, like justice, compassion, mercy, righteousness, having that as a government system, right? That's not a bad desire. That's actually a really good desire. Things would go much better, right? The ways of Jesus would be profoundly good for society. However, the danger lies this way: not in the ways of Jesus, but rather in the ways we try to bring about his ways, right? The solution of just making Jesus a political way. Because that's sadly that falls short in the fullness of what's fallen in this world, right? Because if we believe that political power alone will bring lasting change, what we're doing is we misunderstand the real problem of the world. Misunderstand the heart of the issue is sin. It's the human heart. And it can't simply just be fixed by some sort of government solution. Because here's what happens. We've seen it. Regimes change, policies evolve, empires rise and fall, right? But if the human heart, if that's remaining unchanged, the cycle of oppression and it just simply continues. Political reform alone, right? If that's what we want, it's just kind of placing a bandage over a deep, deep wound. It can't heal it. Only Jesus. Only Jesus has the power to heal the human heart. Because only Jesus can forgive sin. Only Jesus can transform hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. And so we see many though, we who still approach Jesus the same way the crowds did at this time of saying, Hosanna, but what that really means, Jesus, help us win the election. Jesus help help help us get that guy, you know, get him in the right place. Placing the name of Jesus on political platforms and agendas. And yet, doing so, here's what's often missed. Right? Jesus didn't come to sit on Caesar's throne. He claimed, he came to reclaim human hearts. It reminds me of a moment that happens before Jesus enters uh Jerusalem. See, on his way in the city, he encounters a man named Zacchaeus. So if you guys grew up in Sunday school, you probably have heard of this little song about Zacchaeus. He was like a wee little man, right? Um, but the song doesn't emphasize something uh that Zacchaeus was actually a very powerful man. He was a chief tax collector, he was politically connected, he was financially wealthy. And look how Jesus approaches him. He says, When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said, Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today. So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter. He has gone to be with the guest of a sinner, but Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, Lord, look, here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor. And I have cheated, if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount. Jesus said, Today salvation has come to this man, because this man too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. So Jesus, he recognizes this powerful man, Zacchaeus. He's a man of influence, he's a man of wealth, he's politically connected. Now, here's the thing if Jesus wanted to, he and his disciples, they could have handled this thing like real differently, right? They could have dragged Zacchaeus down from that tree, they could have called him out publicly, overthrown his reign, right? They could have given him like a biblical beatdown, right? And in the name of King Jesus, but that's not what Jesus does. Instead, he looks up at him and says something so incredibly radical. He says, Zacchaeus, come down. I'm coming to your house today. Jesus chooses to sit at his table, and he chooses to do this, to seek after his heart. Because in that culture, sharing a meal meant something incredibly significant. It meant relationship, it meant acceptance, it meant connection. And Jesus was making a statement. He didn't see Zacchaeus as a political enemy be overthrown. He saw him as this, as a sinner who needed to be saved. Now, we don't know the entire conversation that took place at that dinner table, right? But it does tell us of Zacchaeus' response, its conviction, its transformation. Zacchaeus doesn't just change policy. He doesn't just make a political adjustment. Sure, he does say that he'll repay what he's stolen, but something deeper happens. Here's what takes place. His heart changes. Zacchaeus encounters Jesus, not a king who merely came to reform policies, a king who came to restore hearts. And that's the difference. See, the crowd, they wanted policy reform from King Jesus, but King Jesus, he didn't set out to reform. He sent out to transform. Transform hearts. And maybe that's something we have to wrestle with today because look, when we look around this current world, it's natural for each of us to want a desire to see change, right? The reality is there are things in this world that are so broken, systems that are unjust, policies that are harmful. So wanting change is not wrong. But here's the question we have to ask ourselves too. Do we desire policy reform more than we desire hearts to be transformed? Do we want Jesus to fix systems or do we want Jesus to redeem people? Because the truth is this if Jesus just becomes a political mascot, that's always gonna fall short because that's not his goal. Jesus didn't primarily come to give one group of people political power over another. Look what it says. Son of man came to seek, he came to save. But if we're honest, look, look at times the Christian culture we exist in tries to rewrite the miss the mission. Existing with mantras like the Son of Man came to advance political policies, the Son of Man came to secure influence, the Son of Man came to guarantee power, but but here's the thing: that's not the gospel. The mantra of the gospel is this the Son of Man came to forgive sinners, the Son of Man came to transform hearts, the Son of Man came to restore what sin had broken. That's the gospel. So in this crowd, here on Palm Sunday, we see different postures. Some saw Jesus as means for personal gain, some saw Jesus as political solution. But here's the thing there was another group, a smaller group, quieter group, but it's a group who saw Jesus as he truly is. And when this group did this, they they remained, they stayed with him. It's a group that acknowledged who Jesus was and what he was deserving of. And they realized something profound. Jesus was the only one who could offer what they actually needed. And what was that? Salvation, deliverance. Not merely from circumstances, not merely from political oppression, but from the penalty and presence of sin. The first two groups eventually they became disillusioned. When Jesus didn't fulfill their expectations, what did they do? They turned on him. Right? Within just a few days, this crowd goes from shouting, Hosanna, to crucify him. Right? Because why? Because Jesus didn't give them what they wanted. But what they failed to see was this Jesus, he didn't come as a humble king to give them what they wanted. He came as a suffering servant to give them what they needed. Forgiveness, redemption, rescue from sin, freedom from the sting of death. And there were true disciples that stayed committed because they realized this, they realized who Jesus truly was. But just a quick question what caused them to stay? I think um personally, I think it's a similar realization to a group of disciples early on or in Jesus' ministry. Um, there was a moment when the crowd began to uh walk away from Jesus because Jesus started teaching some really hard things, and and and those who followed, they they just turned from Jesus. And John tells us this says, After this, many disciples turned their back and no longer walked with him. And Jesus looked at the 12 and he says, Do you want to go as well? And yet, Peter, he answers one of the most powerful statements in all of Scripture, and I think this goes along with the posture. Says, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And that's the posture, acknowledging that Jesus He offered something no outside power in this world could provide. Not our own personal achievements, not to gain possessions, not to advance political ideologies, they recognize only Jesus, only He has the words of eternal life. Because here's the truth. If we follow Jesus only when it benefits us personally or politically, following Jesus only when he meets our expectations, that's not what it means to follow Jesus, to be his disciple. You see, that posture, that posture towards Jesus isn't discipleship. That's just it's just fanboying Jesus, right? I think an incredible, valuable message we can ask in ourselves is this are we fans of Jesus or are we followers of Jesus? Now that phrase fanboy, it might be a little strange. I picked it up for my kids. Thanks. But uh here's what it describes: it's something real, like it's someone who intensely is loyal to like a celebrity, a musician, athlete, influencer. However, as long as that person performs the way they want, if that person disappoints them, they move on to the next thing. The crowds fade, the loyalty disappears. Why? Because the relationship was never about devotion, it was about performance. Now, let me give you an example of what I mean. Of course, I'm gonna do the 80s, I'm sorry, that's what I know. But back in the 80s, there was a musician named Huey Lewis, along with his band, The News. They were basically 80s royalty, okay? His music was iconic in films like Back to the Future, albums played on top on the Billboard top charts. He had like 25 to 30,000 people at the fans at arenas. He was selling out. Okay, he was a big deal. Now, fast forward last October, my wife and I went on a date to a restaurant in Parsippony. The restaurant was attached to a hotel, and that hotel happened to be hosting an event, and the event was it was something. It was basically like a B and C list celebrity meet and greet from the past. Actors from old TV shows, people who were famous once upon a time. And of course, to my wife's dismay, I said, Oh, we gotta go to this. She's a saint. Um, and so graciously she uh humored me and we stepped into this strange little time warp, okay? And as I was walking there, I was scouting the stars, right? Suddenly I saw him. Suddenly, there, no other than the legend himself, Mr. Huey Lewis, right? Minus the news, big disappointment, but I was still excited. And yet I noticed something quickly, something interesting. There was a line for his autograph. The line had 15 people. Here's a guy who filled stadiums with tens of thousands of screaming fans, and now there's 15 people waiting to meet him in a hotel in Parsippony, New Jersey. Now, I'm not throwing shade at Mr. Lewis, right? My point is this crowds are fickle. What draws thousands today may draw 15 tomorrow. And so that that helps us understand something about Palm Sunday because when Jesus entered Jerusalem, yeah, he drew a crowd. But drawing a crowd, that wasn't his goal. Jesus wasn't looking for a crowd, he was looking for disciples. And that desire of Jesus hasn't changed. Jesus is still looking for disciples today. Because here's the thing in our modern church context, it's it's it's pretty easy to draw a crowd, right? You have some cool lighting, get an awesome band on stage, find a communicator who's funny, charismatic, good looking. Unfortunately, you guys got me. But the point is, crowds are easier to gather, right? Disciples, they're so entirely different. Because crowds consume. If they're entertained, they stay. If they're satisfied, they stay. But the moment the experience no longer meets the expectations, move on to the next show. Disciples are different. Disciples recognize something worth devoting their lives to, not because of what they might gain, but because of what they've already received. What they've received as Jesus, his lordship, his kingship, his grace, his gospel. The good news that through Christ in Christ alone, we are offered forgiveness of all of our sin. I think that's fascinating. Through him, we've received the righteousness of Jesus. Through him, we're invited to follow a good king, King Jesus. This King who showed his love for us in the most fascinating ways. Look at Paul says in Romans, for while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. God shows his love for us and that while we were look still sinning, Christ died for us. Right? Christ didn't enter Jerusalem on some sort of humble donkey. He entered into something far greater. He entered in and he took our place. The place that our sin deserved, the judgment we deserved, the consequence we deserved. And he did it. Not because we've earned it. We did it, not because we can clean ourselves up, not because we became presentable. No, he did it while we were still sinners. He gave his life so that we might live. There's no greater act of love in human history than Christ crucified. There's not. A king who gave up his standing for people who did not deserve that standing. A king who saw our deepest need and he met that need on the cross. And so that's why we celebrate today Palm Sunday. Because Palm Sunday, it's not just about Palms, not just about shouting crowds, it's about recognizing who this king truly is. And it's about examining our own posture, our posture towards him. Because many people stood present at Palm Sunday, but very few remain beyond that point. So let's be those who see Jesus rightly, not as means of personal gain, but as the one who is our ultimate gain, the one who came to rescue us from sin. Yes, we cry Hosanna, but we do so because we recognize that there is freedom. There is freedom that takes place at the cross. If you've never received that incredible gift of salvation, I just want to invite you to that space today. Let's pray and you can pray with me. Lord, I just want to thank you for what you've done. Um thank you that you're a king. You are a good king. Lord, that you entered into this world to offer us restoration to the deepest need we have, which was our separation from you because of sin. And Jesus, you made that way. And I just pray this morning, Lord, if anyone's never taken that step of just claiming you as Lord and as King, God, that that it's a step that you invite us to, Lord, that you delight in, that there is rejoicing when that takes place, God. And so I just pray this morning, God, just that step of just repenting, turning from our sin and recognizing just how good you are, the abundant life that comes from just following you as Lord, as King. Lord, we just thank you. We pray in your name, Jesus, amen.