Religion Or Jesus

As I mentioned earlier, this morning is Palm Sunday - the day we traditionally celebrate Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It's hard to believe that Easter is next week. And for many, this will be the first Easter Celebration in two years that will feel a whole lot more 'normal'. And as we prepare to celebrate 'Resurrection Sunday' - I want to look at the account again, in the proper order, to help us remember the events that led up to Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. And to help us, I want to start with a video clip from the History Channel movie, 'Son of God'.

For context, this clip picks up right after Jesus was in Bethany having dinner with Lazarus whom Jesus had previously and publically raised from the dead. - So there was a lot of excitement about Jesus and this miracle. So let's pick it up there...

(Video: "Son of God - The Coming King")

In this story, we see many people starting to believe that Jesus was, in fact...

I. The Coming King

And in this video clip, the section we saw is mostly from the passage found in John chapter 12. So let's look at that now...

John 12:12-19 (NIV)

The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. (13) They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!" (14) Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, (15) "Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt." (16) At first his disciples did not understand all this.

Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. (17) Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. (18) Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. (19) So the Pharisees said to one another, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!"

People didn't have social media back then - so news about Jesus' incredible miracles continued to spread by word of mouth. And Jesus' popularity skyrocketed as people had to see for themselves. And even as people were calling Him "The King of Israel", he came in a very different manner than Israel's' other kings. We know that Jesus came as...

A. A servant King

Israel knew 'warrior kings' like Saul and David. They had seen a wealthy and powerful king in Solomon, along with many others when the Kingdom was divided and eventually conquered. And there was a prophecy in the Old Testament story that really defined the difference between Jesus and the many other kings. It was referenced in the video, it's a prophecy that was written around 500 years before Jesus' birth from Zechariah 9:9-10 (NIV)...

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (10) I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Israel had clamored for their first King, Saul, to lead them into battle; to fight against the other nations. Many of their kings were military leaders; they were surrounded by splendor and power. But Jesus arrived gently on a donkey - not the usual mode of transportation for a King. And even as Jesus fulfilled the prophecy written hundreds of years earlier - His entrance still brought about a bit of confusion over...

B. Jesus' identity

Even though the prophecy showed Jesus as vastly different from other Kings, people still projected their own ideas onto who they thought Jesus should be. In the video clip, we saw a dramatic confrontation between Jesus and Barabbas, "Save us from the Romans!". Now the Bible doesn't record any such meeting, but - it did accurately illustrate what many might have been thinking.

We don't have many kings nowadays - but we do have political leaders - and we have expectations for them. We've seen in the news this terrible, ongoing war with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. And it's been amazing to see the Ukrainian people fight back under the leadership of their President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Now here's a guy who previous to being elected - he was actually a comedian and an actor. But after becoming Ukraine's leader, and choosing to stay and fight against Putin - he's transformed into this rugged, bearded, legitimate military 'tough guy'. He's become a courageous 'man of the people' who has inspired his nation to resist against a massively larger force. And he's become a hero to his people!

And I kind of think that's perhaps what many of the Jewish people back then expected of Jesus. The Romans were an occupying force that allowed the Jewish people some religious freedom, but they demanded tribute and taxes and placed all sorts of restrictions and laws on the people. There was a strong tension between the people and the ever present Roman guards. So, many were thinking - here comes our King who will defeat the Romans and free us from oppression.

They were expecting an inspirational, political, 'hero' leader. But Jesus comes along, gentle and riding on a donkey. Jesus had this incredible power to raise Lazarus from the dead, but He didn't powerfully overthrow the Roman government...? Why didn't He lead the people in a magnificent battle where they destroyed their enemies with amazing strength? Wasn't it within His power?

Sure it was! He could have done that, but He didn't - He didn't do what they thought He should do. Their personal desires colored their idea of a Messiah, this coming King - and we of course know that the cross followed closely after this triumphal entry. There was confusion because Jesus was so much more than any earthly king.

Matthew 16:13-16 (NIV)

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" (14) They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." (15) "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" (16) Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus didn't come just to save the Jews from the Romans but for something much larger. Jesus came to save them from sin and death! Jesus wasn't just some king; Jesus was and is The Son of God! But because Jesus didn't bend to their plan for the Messiah, they rejected Him. And this sort of confusion about Jesus still seems to continue in many people's...

II. Modern perception of Jesus

Because Jesus and His teachings and His life were so influential in ancient and modern times - people still seek to understand Jesus. And because we're so far removed from 'Bible times', many may have a lot of questions.

Questions about who Jesus 'really was' have preoccupied philosophers, historians and theologians for centuries. And modern believing and unbelieving authors alike have written many books claiming to have stripped away all the myths and agendas to reveal the "true" Jesus. Yet all these accounts somehow tend to paint a drastically different picture.

Many claim we misunderstand Jesus and then recast Him as a political revolutionary, or a religious rebel, or an overly mild pacifist, or maybe just a quiet mystic whose life simply got blown out of proportion. All of these 'theologians' try to get at some sort of 'root truth' about Jesus unvarnished by time. But what's amazing is - they tend to come up with a Jesus that looks like them. Their conclusion is usually a 'Jesus' who fits their agenda and personal beliefs.

Times have changed, but people haven't. People back then projected their views and opinions onto Jesus and people still do the same today. But that's not following Jesus - that's making a 'false idol'. And Jesus has never allowed for that. For instance...

Matthew 16:21-24 (NIV)

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. (22) Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"

(23) Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." (24) Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

Jesus bluntly and unapologetically rebuked Peter. He didn't allow any misunderstanding or confusion. Jesus was basically saying, 'You don't get to tell me what I will do or who I am or what my agenda is - you follow me, not who you think I am or who you want me to be but follow ME! And He would say the same thing to us today...

And even we can say, "Yes, I understand that - I will follow Jesus", but then do we still follow our own plans or hold values that conflict with what is clearly revealed in God's Word? Do we just assume we're following God's will, or do we regularly seek His will in prayer?Are we seeking God's will first or do we project our own will onto Jesus and then still ask God to bless our plans?

Back then, the Jewish people wanted Jesus to save them from the Romans, but Jesus actually wanted something far greater for them. Are we seeking Jesus as The King, as our Lord, as our authority, our boss - or are we seeking who we want Jesus to be? Are we seeking His plans, or are we just trying to fit Him into ours?

You see, if we're not intentionally, deliberately submitting to Jesus in every area of our lives, if we're not seeking Him for who He says He really is - we run the very real risk of becoming...

A. Modern Pharisees

It was some of the religious folk in this story who missed Jesus' true identity. The Pharisees were concerned that Jesus would ruin their plans for the Passover Celebration. There's an irony there - they were worried the 'Lamb of God' would upset their Passover Festival. They let their 'religious traditions', which in and of themselves are not bad things - but they let them get in the way of actually seeing Jesus, their King.

And there's a warning here. Easter is coming. Do we ever get so caught up with the celebration, the big meals, our families getting together, preparing for Easter egg hunts and baskets, Easter outfits - all of which are very good things... But do we ever let those traditions get in the way of us focusing our attention on Jesus? I've seen Christians, people who say they accept Jesus as Lord - who suggest that they're too busy fixing their Easter meal and getting ready for their guests - they are too busy to attend Church service on Easter Sunday.

And I'm really not trying to be judgmental - I don't want to be a Pharisee myself and make perfect Church attendance a 'litmus test' for salvation... But I don't want to hear Jesus say to me like He said to Peter, "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." We have to put Jesus first. We have to make our plans around Him and His plans. We need to...

B. Allow Jesus to be King

And of course Jesus is King whether you accept it or not, but it's the idea of allowing Jesus to be YOUR King - you submitting everything to Him, you recognizing and obeying His authority in your life. It's one thing to know what Jesus asks of you, it's entirely another thing to actually do it. If Jesus is to be our King, we need to let Him have control of our time, control of our money, control of our dreams and personal plans and goals. It's a matter of learning to give over everything to Him.

And again, many of us know this - we've heard plenty of sermons, but it's so easy to just slip back into doing things our way. It's just easier. Following Jesus is hard. Going to Church is easy. Giving up our plans and dreams is hard. Going through the motions and following tradition is easy. Putting a few bucks in the offering plate is easy. Loving our neighbors, loving our enemies is hard.

But learning to allow Jesus to be your King in every area of your life requires something of you - it requires you to admit and fully embrace that God is smarter than you. "Well of course God is smarter than me!" Yeah, we say that, but we don't always live it. We say God is smarter, but then continue to do things our own way hoping that it will somehow lead to Heaven in the end. But that's not how it works.

Do we always follow God's plans, or do we only allow Him to be in charge when it fits with what we were going to do anyway? ...Or am I the only one who struggles with that? Just being religious doesn't make you a follower of Jesus. Just being around Church and religious stuff doesn't automatically give you a free pass to Heaven. What was the difference between the religious leaders back then and those who truly followed Jesus as King?

Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Knowing all the right Bible verses didn't make any difference with the Pharisees. But actually knowing Jesus makes a huge difference now, in this life and into eternity!

So What?

I want to challenge all of us - those who have only been around a little while and those who have been in the Church for decades. Examine your relationship with Jesus. Is it based on you giving everything to Jesus or you following nice religious things? And this is something that I can't do for you. I usually see your Sunday best. You can say the right things, do the right things - you can serve on the praise team, or prepare communion, or even teach a class all by just following religious tradition without really, daily giving yourself to Jesus.

Only you know if you are serving Jesus or religion. That's why we have to continually humble ourselves before Jesus and ask Him to change us into who He wants us to be in order to serve Him well.

One last thought - in the story we saw in the video - which character do you think you might have been? Would you have been in the crowds shouting? Would you have been following Jesus closely? Would you have been among the 'religious folk' who rejected Jesus because He didn't fit into their plans? Maybe talk it over quietly with your family at our luncheon after service today. Where are you in relationship with Jesus? And if you're not where you want to be - what are you going to do today to change that?