3/24 Sermon - Rethink Strength

Rethink Strength

Mark 11:1-10

What does strength look like? Brute strength: a football lineman who could lift a small horse above his head. Money: A CEO who buys anything they want. Success: Your friend who seems to have made it, money, house, family, everything. Fame: the singer whose name is plastered on every headline. But are those things real strength? None of them give contentment, happiness, or life after death. None of those things are really ‘strength.’ But Palm Sunday forces us to rethink what strength actually looks like with some tension in the readings. Let’s take a look. 

On one hand, the crowds love Jesus. As Jesus approaches Jerusalem from Bethany, about 2 miles or a 30-minute walk, a massive parade forms. They shout his praise, lay palm branches on the ground, lay their own coats on the ground! They treat Jesus like a king.

- What happened just one week later? Another crowd gathered to kill Jesus. 

The people shouted Jesus’ praises! Look at what they said, “Hosanna! Save us! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Blessed is the coming kingdom of David!” They acknowledge that Jesus had come from God, Jesus had come to save them, and that he was coming to restore David’s kingdom!

- What happened just one week later? Another crowd shouted, “Crucify him, Crucify him.” They shouted to kill Jesus.

What expression was on Jesus face? You can tell a lot about someone by paying careful attention to their facial expression and their eyes. Was Jesus beaming with joy? Soaking in the praise? Was he enjoying the parade?

- Or did his eyes tell a different story? He knew the coming suffering and death that awaited him, how this crowd would kill him.

Even the donkey tells us two stories! Did you know that a donkey was actually a symbol of victory? If a king was just crowned or victorious in battle, he would ride on a donkey. It was kind of a flex, a way to show off. He was saying, “I don’t need a giant warhorse to fight for me. I am in control, I am victorious, I am king.” By riding a donkey, Jesus was saying, “I’ve already won.”

- Yet a donkey was meek, humble, and lowly. Not a picture of strength. You wouldn’t match a donkey against a horse. He was a humble king who had come to die.

Do you see the tension on Palm Sunday? Jesus rode in as a king… but he came to die! He rode in on humble donkey… but he was saying the victory was already won.

Today, we are trying something a little different on Palm Sunday. It’s called “Sunday of the Passion.” For the remainder of our service, after this devotion and the hymn, we’ll simply read the Passion History from Mark, chapters 14 & 15. We’ll read about the betrayal, suffering, crucifixion, and death of Jesus. We’ll see what real strength actually is. Jesus laid aside his glory and power. He rode on to die for us, to give us forgiveness and life. That’s strength.

The people shouted, “Hosanna, save us, blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD, blessed is David’s kingdom.” But they didn’t understand what Jesus had come to do. Today, we will read about what Jesus has done. By his suffering and death, he has saved us. That is real strength.

Now we also have real strength. Paul writes in Colossians 3:3, “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Our lives are hidden with Christ. God may have blessed us with strength, money, or success. Maybe our lives don’t look that strong from the outside. Worldly strength doesn’t really matter. What matters is Christ lived in my place and died for me, and our lives in Christ, we have his same strength.

- That means we have peace. No matter what shame we feel, what sin we have done, how terrible we might be, Jesus has forgiven our sins. Peace.

- That means we have hope. No matter what suffering, what pain we face, even death itself, we have eternal life promised to us. Hope.

- That means we can love others. To actually serve and love others, it’s often painful, isn’t it? We need to make sacrifices, give up parts of ourselves, be inconvenienced. But we follow Jesus. He lives in our hearts. That means we have the strength to love others, despite the pain for us.

Real strength. Let’s read the Passion history and see what real strength actually is from Jesus.