Beacon Sunday Service: April 13th

And remain standing. I'm going to read today's passage. It comes from John chapter 1, verses 9 to 13. And we're taking a couple week break from our Titus study. And here's a reading of God's word. There was the true light, which coming into the world enlightens everyone. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and those who were his own did not receive him. But as many as received him to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Let's pray together. Father, we are exceptionally just grateful that you've called us to be reconciled, and not only to be reconciled to the creator of the universe, but also to serve as a co-laborer, as a friend, and as a co-heir.

But we know, Lord God, that it was not a cost, it was a costly, costly payment, and we're going to be reflecting on this deeply this week. Father, would you grant us hearts that are softened? We cannot soften our hearts on our own. So we pray for your grace to remind us each and every day of our desperate need of you. Remind us each and every day for whom we have been created, and remind us each and every day that you are indeed worthy of all our worship, our praise, and our day-to-day obedience. And so we pray that as just the words that have been prepared are spoken, Lord, that it is accompanied by your unction and your power, and that it will not fall on deaf ears. Teach us, Lord, your heart this morning.

And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright, go ahead and take a seat. Well, today is Palm Sunday, which begins the week we annually celebrate as the Passion Week. The word passion comes from the Latin word pati, which means suffering. And so in this coming week, we're gonna remember and reflect on the sufferings of Christ, his road to the cross, and his being put to death for our sins. So this week we'll be reflecting on what is the most important week in all of human history. Over a third of what is written in the four gospel accounts is devoted to the events of this one week. The Passion Week actually takes up almost half of the Gospel of John. So why so much text devoted to the events and the teachings of just one single week?

It is because this is the most important week in human history. So the reason Christ came in human flesh, lived a perfect life, and suffered and died the way he did according to the scriptures, was for the purpose of reconciling sinful man to holy God. It was so that corrupted people like you and me could have access to the Holy One who created us. So the events of this week are the focal point of all of human history. And the Apostle John from the very get-go opens his account in the gospel of the life of Jesus by alluding to this Passion Week. So I'm going to read just section of 9 to 13 again.

And those who were his own did not receive him. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. So the Passion Week is the most important week in all of history, but is also the loneliest and most painful. God, the creator of the universe, came into the world, and he was not only not received, as we read in John 1 11, he was despised and rejected. He was abandoned and forsaken, and he was betrayed by those he had called, brothers and friends. Later he's ridiculed and mocked. But most painfully he was rejected by and separated from God the Father, whom he loved perfectly, and by whom he was loved perfectly.

And so for the first time, he did not have perfect fellowship and union with his father. God the Father turns his face away in hatred as he saw the sins of all mankind placed upon the man Jesus. And Jesus' perfect union with his father was fractured not because he had done anything wrong, but because he would take on the sins of the world.

And holy God cannot look upon sin without hatred. On the cross, Jesus' sacrificial lamb was looked upon with this utter vengeful, perfect hatred. I'm not sure how many of us have ever been looked at with hatred. Okay, imagine. Has anyone looked at you with absolute hatred, wanting you dead. And I'm not talking about the simple look of like hurt or displeasure or irritation or a momentary fit of anger. I'm talking about a look of loathing, of absolute disgust and hatred. If I were to be looked upon with hatred from an enemy, my guess is that it'll be extremely uncomfortable. But then in response, I'll just naturally want to hate back. But it's difficult for me to imagine being looked upon with hatred from someone I dearly love.

Becky and I just celebrated our 18-year anniversary a couple weeks back. And I have irritated and upset my wife on occasion, and I have just every now and then seen like irritation just on her eyes.

But not once has she ever looked at me with sheer hatred. It would absolutely destroy me to see hatred on her face. Or if I looked at my kids and they looked back with just hatred.

And for the very first time ever, the perfect and intimate fellowship between God the Father and God the Son was broken. As it had been told in Psalm 22, the man Jesus in the sight of God became like a despised worm. He heard the scoffing and the reviling and the sneering of the crowd around him, but it was this rejection from the Father that alone broke him and caused him unbearable sorrow, and he finally breaks his silence at the ninth hour, and he cries out because he's feeling hatred. God turned his face away.

And it begins with what looks like celebration. It begins with what appears to be triumph and victory and elation and great hope. It begins with praises and shouts of Hosanna, Hosanna, and Luke 19, 38. Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. So Hosanna, Hosanna. And this was a lot of people. Okay. Normally in Jesus' day, Jerusalem had a population of about 55,000 total people. But during major feasts, like the Passover, which Jesus celebrates this week with his disciples, the city would go from about 55,000 to about 180,000. As many Jews and many non-devout Jews or devout non-Jews will be coming from out of town to offer sacrifices at the temple.

Perhaps this was the highlight of the year for most Jews. And for Jews during Passover, Jerusalem was where you want it to be.

So when we think of Palm Sunday, we may have in the image of our heads Jesus entering on a donkey, people laying garments and palm fronds before him, shouting Hosanna, Hosanna. So what is this? What is exactly what it what was it that the people were crying out? The word Hosanna comes from the combination of two Hebrew words. Yasha, which means to deliver or save, and Anna, which means to beg or beseech. Okay. Yasha, to deliver or save, Anna, which means to beg or beseech. So they're crying out, Yashanna. Yashana. Okay. And the Hebrew phrase, Yashana is only found once in the Old Testament, and everybody knew it. Because they're all waiting for liberation. And it comes from Psalm 118, 25, which reads, Oh Lord, do save.

We beseech you. Oh Lord, we beseech you, do send prosperity. Yashana Yashana. So there was much hope. Because for the first time, it looked like something was happening, right? And perhaps success and salvation and restoration for the nation of Israel was near. Because this man clearly has power. And that's how Palm Sunday begins. But things go sour really fast. In fact, things get rough almost immediately. Okay, so all too often when we think of Palm Sunday, we don't think about what happens after the triumphal entry. Almost immediately, there are challenges that come from the Pharisees and the crowd. They didn't like it one bit. We read that Jesus is very troubled, very anguished in his soul as he begins to foretell his death.

And for the second time in his many days, Jesus weeps. So Jesus weeps on Palm Sunday. Jesus had wept at Lazarus' tomb. And he weeps as he approaches the inner part of the city. And there are different words for weeping in the Greek. At Lazarus' tomb, Jesus just wept silently. It's like tears just coming down his face. Tears quietly just streaming down from his face, thinking about the pain that Martha and Mary and the crowds were feeling. It was a silent weeping. But as he approached Jerusalem, he sobbed. He wailed. It was a pain filled, bitter weeping of lamentation over the spiritual condition of his chosen people. He is crying out. So Jesus wept bitterly on Palm Sunday, perhaps still while riding on this donkey, and perhaps just a few moments after the triumphal entry, everyone's eyes are on him.

And as he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he cried over it, saying, If you knew in this day, even you, the things which make for peace, but now they have been hidden from your eyes. So there's a lot more to Palm Sunday than just a triumphal entry. The rest of Palm Sunday is nothing close to celebratory. So for the remainder of this morning, I'm gonna walk us through the events of Palm Sunday, and in the process, I want us to think over and mull over two questions, okay? The first one, how in the world did the Jews, especially the Jewish leaders, not receive him? How did they fail to welcome their king, their savior, who had been promised from the scriptures that they've obsessed over?

They were experts in the scriptures. Every Jew was well practiced in observance of all the feasts and prof and festivals. And all of these feasts and festivals pointed to Christ. They were as familiar with all the symbols, the prophecies, the songs, the carols, the meals, the decorations, pointing to the Messiah as we are with Christmas. If I started a Christmas, any Christmas song, you'd probably be able to finish it. If you look at a snapshot, you can tell it's from Christmas. So the Jews were that familiar with all of these festivals that pointed to the sacrificial Lamb, the Messiah who would come. So they were familiar with the prophecies of their coming king, and then they rejected him, made a mockery of him, bargained for him.

So why did the Jews, especially the Jewish leaders, fail to receive their long-awaited Messiah? So that's a very important question. The second question I'd like for us to critically think through is just an examination of our own hearts. Have we ourselves truly received and believed on the promised Messiah, the true light which is coming to the world? Can we be counted among those who, like it says in John 1 13, were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Because like some of these folks in the crowd, we too can get caught up in the hype in the festivities, cry out with our mouths.

And we might only be wanting him for our deliverance from discomfort into prosperity, purpose, and success. We might be in it only for gain. And then by whatever means of disappointment, disenchantment, or discouragement that comes into our lives, we turn around and cry out, crucify him, crucify him.

We're fickle people. So during the Passion Week, there is a lot of lip service offered, especially on this Sunday, by those who had turned out, did not receive him. So I'd like for us to mull over these two questions as we read through Luke's account of Palm Sunday. And I'm going to be walking you through Luke 19, 28 to 44. So I'm actually going to encourage you to keep your Bibles open and follow on with me with this narrative. Okay, so let's take a read through the details of Palm Sunday together. And it actually begins early morning with the procuring of a cult. Luke 19, 29 to 34. And it happened that when he approached Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount called of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying, Go into the village ahead of you, in which, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one yet has ever sat.

Untie it and bring it here. And if anyone asks you, why are you untying it? You shall say this, because the Lord has need of it. So when those who were sent departed, they found it just as it had been told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, Why are you untying the colt? And they said, The Lord has need of it. Najes, if you've read this passage before. Okay? It's comical. Okay. Not many of the details of the attaining of this cult. Now we don't we don't know those details. We do not know who the cult owners are. We don't know their relationship with Jesus or if there had been some previous arrangement that had been made. We do not know if the owners would understand that the Lord meant Jesus of Nazareth.

So what we see here is kind of funny. So the disciples enter into this unfamiliar neighborhood. They are outsiders, and they are walking into a street that is unfamiliar to them. And in a neighborhood that is unfamiliar to them, they see a cult tied up. They don't know the owners, but just simply following Jesus' instructions, they go and they begin to untie the colt. And then the unnamed owners come out, probably run out. Why are you untying the cult? And they simply respond, the Lord has need of it. So this is akin to me. Having a never been driven brand new truck, zero miles on it, it was delivered to the house. Parked outside of my house, and then I'm looking out the window, and two strange people that I've never met before, they're trying to jimmy the car door open, and I go out and I go, Hey, why child break into my truck?

And these two strangers calmly respond, the Lord has need of it. And I say, Okay, cool. No questions asked. So that's pretty bizarre. If you look at Matthew's account, there's both a cult and a donkey. Okay. So if I was preaching out of Matthew's account this morning, it's like two strangers breaking into a truck and a sedan, okay. And why? Simply because the Lord had need of them. So the details of why the owner is quickly obliged are not told to us in any of the accounts, but what we do know is that in the scriptures, an unbroken, never before ridden beast of burden, like this colt or this donkey, it's extremely significant. An unbroken beast of burden or an unblemished heifer was regarded as sacred, holy set apart, and it was appointed that from birth, because of its coloring, because of its look.

It was set apart. So that was specifically set off for something special, and everybody around was told of the purpose. So Numbers 19, verse 2, this is the statute of the law which Yahweh commanded, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel that they take to you a red heifer without blemish, in which no defect on which a yoke has never been placed. So there's supposed to be no defect in a cult of this kind. So unbroken beasts of burden were set apart as sacred and holy. They were set apart their whole lives to be either slaughtered and sacrificed, if it's a big cow, or to be presented as a gift to a king. So the Mishnah, which is a collection of Jewish oral traditions, and according to that Mishnah, a king would receive this kind of unbroken and unblemished horse.

It was sacred, it was set apart, it was holy. And so for the rest of that horse, donkey, or colt's life, nobody was allowed to ride on it except the next king. So in 1 Kings chapter 1, we see a very old and a very weakened King David placing Solomon on his own mule to clear up any confusion for the people, which of his sons would replace him as king. So this was very symbolic. So we don't know why. These owners, they're probably a little crazy from the eyes of the world. We don't know why they set it apart. But the fact that it had never been written on would immediately communicate to everyone that this animal was being prepared for something special. Everyone in the community would know that this cult was special.

You don't go near it. Everyone would know that it was off limits, it was sacred, it was holy. This was a cult, perhaps fit only for a king. But this unique cult was being moved. And where are these two strangers taking this cult? Remember that you notice that the disciples, they don't ride it back, they're walking it back. They walked it to Jesus. And I'm absolutely sure because the crowds keep growing, that this exchange did not go unnoticed. And a crowd starts to form. And when people see a crowd, they get curious. And when people get curious, they follow and they stare at what's going on. And the crowds of curious people typically just get bigger and bigger. You can have you have a picture in your mind, right?

This group of outsiders is walking through the streets of this tiny village on the outskirts of Jerusalem, and they're taking this famous never been written cult away from the owner. And I can easily imagine the people saying to one another, wait, why are they taking that cult? That cult is being taken to Jesus, the guy who raised Lazarus from the dead. Yeah, Martha and Mary's brother, they raised him from the dead. This man, Jesus of Nazareth, is gonna ride on it. No way. What? He's the king. So cultural and Jewish common sense would immediately inform everybody that this was a very, very special, perhaps even a kingly moment. You guys have an image in your head. And they said, the Lord has need of it.

And they brought it to Jesus, and after they threw their garments on the cult, they put Jesus on it. And as he was going, probably Herky Jerky, because this has never been written before. He's like, What is who is on my back? And so it's it's a scene. And so as people are watching this scene, they're throwing their garments on the road. There were many commenters in this group. There were many believers and Jesus followers in this group. There were also many looky loos in this group. And the gospel accounts also tell us that the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who is watching every single step of Jesus, they're also in this group. So these learned folks who were extremely literate of what was written in Moses and the prophets, may have even understood the significance and the symbolism of all of this.

So these sorts of things which were prophesied in both Moses and the prophets were passed down. So the nation of Israel, which consisted of 12 tribes, each of them was named after one of Jacob's sons. Before Jacob died, he had blessed his sons. And Moses recorded and recounted these blessings in Genesis chapter 49. And the descendants of each of the 12 tribes likely knew their tribal blessings by heart. Because it's a very specific promise, right? The descendants of each of the 12 tribes likely had them memorized. So the prophetic blessing given to Judah, the fourth son was the longest and most remarkable. Rulers would come from this tribe of Judah. The Messiah, the Christ of God, would come from the tribe of Judah.

And this was what they all knew was written. Genesis 49, 8 to 11, Judah asked for you. Your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's sons shall bow down to you. Judah is a lion's whelp. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. And he crouches, he lies down as a lion, and as a lioness, who dares rouse him up. The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. He ties his whole to the vine, and his donkey's choice to the choice vine. He washes his garments in wine and in and his robes in the blood of grapes. This is unfolding. And they don't even realize it.

They see part of it, but this is going to unfold. And again, in one of the darker but still hopeful periods of Jewish history, the prophet Zachariah reminded the chosen people of God that God was faithful to his covenant. God had not forgotten or forsaken them, even though they no longer had a king to lead them, though their temple had been destroyed and they had been exiled from their land, God would one day send the king to lead and restore everything. So Yahweh God would be faithful to the house of Judah, and they knew this prophecy as well. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Make a loud shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and endowed with salvation, lowly and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the full of a pack animal.

So these two prophecies from both Moses and the prophet Zachariah would be fulfilled on Palm Sunday. And I don't think that the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were unaware. Because they obsessed over Messianic prophecies.

Because they had a lot to lose. Even though all the facts pointed to Jesus being the Messiah, the man raised a man they knew had died, been dead three days from the dead. But their foolish hearts were so darkened, they suppressed the truth and chose to reject the Messiah of God. Why? Well, first he had spoken so negatively about their way of life and about their outward religiosity. He made them look bad. So there's no way that that guy could be the king. Nope. They had to reject him. Jesus could not be the Messiah. Jesus cannot be king. Because all he is is trouble. He offends us. He challenges our way of life. He puts us at the bottom. We cannot have him become king. So let's get rid of him.

It's been my experience that people don't reject God because the evidence or facts are lacking. They reject God because they don't want God lording over their lives. And because they don't want God as a Lord over their lives, the only thing they can do is to reinterpret or even change the evidence or the facts. Do you know how difficult it is to reason with someone who is in love with their sins and to try to convince them to repent? It is humanly impossible. They say things like, okay, yeah, he raised a guy from the dead. It has to be the power of Satan. Things like that. Wow. So the Pharisees and the teachers of the law had fulfilled the prophecy, staring at them in their faces, and they still chose to reject, not to believe, and not to receive Christ as their Messiah.

So let's turn our attention back to the narrative, Luke 19, 37 to 39. Now, as soon as he was approaching near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God, rejoicing with a loud voice for all the miracles 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. And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. The crowds excited, because there's many disciples and followers now lining the streets. They had seen the miracles big and small. Just before this, an infamous, really rich, short guy who had cheated them. He was a celebrity in their city.

Jesus caused him to repent. And this man starting to dole out four times to everyone he cheated. Huh. When does that happen? Man, this guy is persuasive. And he's sure for sure a miracle worker. Because everyone watched Lazarus come out of the tomb. And Luke 19, 37 tells us that they began to praise God with a loud voice for all of the what? The miracles that they had seen. No human can do this kind of stuff. The people were excited, they were caught up in the moment, and they were celebrating, but it wasn't, it's quite apparent in the scriptures that they don't quite know what they're celebrating, because the John chapter 12 says, even the disciples weren't quite sure what was going on. But there is a growing buzz, there is an excitement in the crowd, and the Pharisees did not like this one bit.

They were disturbed by this. They were beyond angry. And we read in verse 39 that some of the bolder ones said to Jesus, hey, teacher, rebuke your disciples. So here we see conflict is brewing, because most of the Pharisees did not view Jesus of Nazareth being praised by the multitudes. They didn't see that as a good thing. So they had to correct it.

And they were dumbfounded that this mere mortal man would even be okay being treated like God.

They were appalled. Because not even the holy angels, if they looked through the scriptures, would ever be with okay with this kind of treatment. Even the angels say, get up. So they say to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples, but instead of rebuking his disciples, Jesus affirmed that his being worshipped was actually appropriate to the moment. This was a holy moment. Remember, most important week in human history. Focal point of all of human history, holy moment.

Uh to Jerusalem on a donkey. Worship was not just appropriate, it was impossible to hold back and contain.

Everybody understood what was happening here. And Jesus acknowledges this.

But now they've been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you where your enemy will throw up a barricade against you, surround you, hem you in on every side. They will level you to the ground, and your children within you. They will not leave in you, one stone upon another. Because you did not recognize the time of your visitation. So in other words, Jesus is saying here totally missed this. Everything was happening before your eyes. You have rejected the very Messiah for whom you have been waiting. All of those sections of the prophecies that you have memorized, meditated on, obsessed over, has just been fulfilled right in front of you, and you totally rejected the Messiah for whom you have been waiting.

So the triumphal entry, it fulfilled prophecy, and the fulfillment of that prophecy angered the Pharisees. And the mood from this point on grow sour really quickly. Because if you're like, it was Sunday when he entered the, and then by Tuesday, everyone hates him. What happened? This happened. And you see Jesus' raw emotions.

And he weeps because he forecasts great doom, destruction for those in Jerusalem, eternal damnation for many in Jerusalem. And he alludes to the destruction of the temple. And then after that, Jesus and his disciples return to Bethany, and then the events of what we call Palm Sunday come to an end. Palm Sunday starts out with shouts of joy. And a lot of times the we stop there. Right? Like we don't read past what happens on that day. It starts with shouts of joy and ends with a foretelling of condemnation. This is not a good day.

And those who were his own did not receive him. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God. Jew, Gentile, doesn't matter. Male woman, doesn't matter. Rich, poor, doesn't matter. To them he gave the right to become children of God to those who believed in his name, who were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. So the Passion Week is the most important week in all of human history. It is a painful and difficult week. Jesus is tried, he suffers, he is crucified, he dies, and the world literally and figuratively goes dark. He's placed in a tomb. And then comes this crazy plot twist that we take for granted. Jesus does not stay dead.

Sin and death have been defeated. Now those who had once been far away from God, those who had been giving the finger to God, hostile to God, those who had been living in outright rebellion against God, now they're brought near to God. Now they have access to God. They could actually not just be saved from wrath, they actually could be children of God. But they had to be born again. Not of blood through a mother's womb, but born again spiritually by the will of God, as it says there, verse 13, who are born not of the blood, not nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. So here's an important question.

Are you truly born of God? Who is Jesus to you? That's a very important question. Who is Jesus to you? Luke's account, the Pharisees addressed Jesus as what? You guys heard saw that word? Teacher. They saw Jesus primarily as a teacher, an eloquent man, a distinguished rabbi who taught with authority. But he was a threat to their way of life, a threat to their traditions, a threat to their status, a threat to their wealth, a threat to be eliminated. But they still acknowledged him as a good teacher. And the good was not in terms of his skill. It was like they were flattering him. In Matthew's account, the crowds actually did a little bit better. 21, 10 to 11. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, Who is this?

And the crowds were saying, This is the prophet, Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee. If you go to a church and they say, Come and meet the prophet Jesus, you're gonna be like, no, thank you. Sounds like a cult, right? But prophets spoke from God, and they had power. So the crowds were a little bit better. In John's account, we see that people were drawn to Jesus because he had performed a sign, he had raised Lazarus from the dead, he was not only a miracle worker, but he was an influencer. So, John 12, 18 and 19, for this reason, also the crowd went and met him because they had heard that he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, hey, you see that you are getting nothing. Look, the whole world has gone after him.

We have to stop this. Teacher, prophet, miracle worker, man of God. It's not incorrect to see Jesus as a good teacher or a prophet of God or a man of influence. For sure, Jesus is all those things, but he is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and there is salvation in no one else. There is no other name given to man from heaven through which we must be saved. And you need to believe this, that there is no other way outside of Jesus.

We cannot get to God because mentally I acknowledge that he is a good teacher, he's a prophet, he's a miracle worker, he had power, he's a man of influence. I like him.

Or by grieving sin's consequences.

To get to God, we must believe and unite ourselves with him in both his death and his resurrection. The only way we get to God is to put zero hope in this life.

Longing for the next one.

And we have to weep because all of these people, the masses, even who are crying out, Hosanna, Hosanna, they put their hope in this life that's doomed. Now, Jesus' words in John 12, 23 to 26, it comes at the end of Palm Sunday. So if you're thinking, dude, Pastor Peter's going all crazy, this is what he says. And Jesus answered them saying, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. Pay attention here. He who loves his life loses it. He who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves me, he must follow me. And where I am, there my servant's heart will be also.

Palm Sunday ends with Jesus' teaching that eternal life comes only after our rejection of this life. That's why it's very popular at a lot of churches to stop the celebration or to stop Palm Sunday at celebration. But the whole day, this is why he's crucified. We cannot hold on to hope in and for this world and still follow Jesus. Death must precede resurrection. Amen.

If there is no death, there is no resurrection. If there is no death to sin, there is no resurrection into the freedom from sin. And if there is no resurrection, there is no newness of life. If there is no resurrection, there is no eternal life.

The old things have passed away, and behold, new things have come. If the old things have not passed away, a person cannot be a new creation. Doesn't that make sense? One has to be united to Christ first to his crucifixion and his death.

So the Passion Week is the most important week in all of human history. It's full of rejection. It is painful. It is a week spent in preparation for death. Heavy.

And then you can see on the gospel narratives that you can read through it with yourself or your family. And I'm also going to send it by text and email. So we're going to be tracking through this week. Every day just gets harder and harder and worse and worse. To where even Jesus cannot stand Judas being with him because Satan possessed him. And he sends him away. And that same guy comes and gives it gives him a kiss. Right. For us who have been crucified with Christ, may this week cause us to reflect on our union with Christ first in his death. And may we spend this week well so that when we gather together next Sunday, we are overjoyed. We are elated. And we are in awe. For next week, do you know what we're going to cry out?

We are risen. We are risen indeed. Why? Because we've been joined with Christ in his death. And we have been raised with him to newness of life. He is risen. He is risen indeed. Therefore, we are risen. And we are risen indeed. May we fully understand the cosmic significance to what we are singing next Sunday. All the songs that we're going to be praising God with when we sing hallelujah. Christ is risen from the dead. That's going to be the echo of next week, right? Hallelujah. Christ is risen from the dead. And may we passionately sing our testimony that reads, Delivered and Redeemed. Eternal life is ours.

Praise his name forever. Hallelujah. Christ is risen from the dead. Hallelujah. Christ is risen from the dead. And all throughout eternity, the call will be the same. Hallelujah. Christ is risen from the dead. That's what we're waiting for for Easter Sunday. Only if you've been united with Christ in his crucifixion and death.

Who loved me? It gave Hiself for me. Hallelujah. So this is a heavy week. And as we observe this heavy week, may our celebration be all the more sweet. Let's pray. Captivate our minds and our hearts. Cause us to grieve our sins, Lord, for it was our sins that put you on the cross. Help us never to take the grace of God and the sacrifice of the Lamb of God for granted. But as we grow in understanding, help us to go in appreciation. And as we grow in appreciation, increase our usefulness to magnify our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And so this week, Lord, give us wisdom, give us insight, give us sober hearts and sober minds. And we pray all of this in Jesus' name.