RUMORS OF REVIVAL

20 March 2016 (Palm Sunday)

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in your Bibles to John 12:12-19

John 12:12-19 (NIV)

12 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!"

            -- one Palm Sunday, little 5-year-old Johnny had a sore throat and really didn’t feel like going to church -- so his family let him stay home with a  babysitter -- when they got back to the house, they were carrying several palm branches -- just to let you know, on Palm Sunday a lot of the larger churches actually pass out little palm fronds and let the people wave them during the service as a reminder of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem almost 2000 years ago -- and evidently that’s what Johnny’s church had done

            -- well, when Johnny saw his family come walking in with those palm branches, he wasn’t happy -- Johnny said, "Where did you get the palm branches?  What are they for?” -- Johnny's older brother said, "People held them over Jesus' head as He walked by" -- Johnny looked disgusted and said, "That's just great -- The one Sunday I don't go to church and Jesus shows up!"

            -- well, that’s exactly what this passage in John is all about -- it’s about Jesus showing up -- it’s about God coming to town

            -- today is, of course, Palm Sunday -- it marks the start of Holy Week -- the holiest and most important week of worship in the Christian church

      -- the next important event occurs on Thursday, what many call Maundy Thursday -- we get the term “Maundy” from the Latin term "Dies Mandati" meaning the Day of the Commandment, referring to Jesus' command to us to love our neighbors

      -- this is the day of the Last Supper in the Upper Room -- the Betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane -- followed by the trial of Jesus by Annas and Caiaphas, the high priests of Israel, and the rest of the Sanhedrin, the religious and political leaders of Israel

      -- we remember Jesus being turned over to the Romans by the Jews and Pontius Pilate eventually caving in to political pressure and condemning Jesus to death by crucifixion

      -- Friday of this week is known as Good Friday -- the day of the crucifixion -- the day of Jesus’ death and burial in the empty tomb -- a time of darkness and sadness for Jesus’ disciples as they mourned the death of Jesus

      -- but finally we reach Sunday -- Easter -- the day of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and the pronouncement of His victory over sin and death forever

            -- this is such a momentous week, and so much is happening, that it’s sometimes hard to really understand the significance of it all and how it would have been experienced by the people in Jerusalem who lived through those events

            -- to truly understand how they would have received those events -- how they would have interpreted them -- you need to put yourself in their place and understand how the Jews would have viewed themselves during that time

            -- the Israelites recognized themselves as God’s chosen people -- out of all the people in the world, God had chosen the Israelites to be His special people -- and He had established a covenant with their ancestors -- Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- and promised to be their God and to bless them and all the world through them

            -- but their lives were anything but easy -- they spent 400 years in captivity in Egypt -- slaves in bondage to Pharaoh and the Egyptians -- but when things were at their darkest and the Israelites were wondering if God had finally forgotten His covenant with them -- when the people were ready to receive Him again as their Lord and Savior, He sent Moses to lead His people out of captivity and across the Red Sea

            -- God’s was present with the Israelites in their journeys through the wilderness -- He appeared as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to show them the path they should follow -- God’s grace leading the people to salvation -- speaking to them through Moses and Joshua and the prophets -- giving them His word and His law to guide them as they settled in the promised land

            -- but familiarity breeds contempt -- and the people kept turning from God to follow after foreign gods, worshiping idols and graven images -- and although God would speak to them and call out for them to return, they wouldn’t hear His call and would continue on their path until God disciplined them and allowed them to experience the consequences of their sin

            -- and, just like in Egypt, when it seemed as if all hope was lost and the people’s hearts finally turned toward God again, God would deliver His people and restore them to the land and revive worship in Israel again

            -- this went on time and time again -- this wandering away from God -- this refusal to seek His presence -- to hear His voice -- to follow His commands -- and then, when things got bad, the people cried out again and God would save them by sending His word to the people through a prophet and reviving their faith in Him yet again

            -- the people of Israel had enjoyed their special relationship with God for a long time -- but one day, it seemed like God quit talking -- times had gotten bad again and the people were experiencing difficulty and discipline in their lives, but this time, instead of sending another prophet into the world to warn them and lead them back to Him as in the past, God just quit talking

            -- you see, God had warned the people through the prophet Malachi -- the last prophet in the Old Testament -- and told them to return and to worship Him again with all their hearts and souls and minds and strength because the end was coming -- the great Day of the Lord would soon be at hand when they would be judged for their sins -- and when Malachi wrote down all that God had told him to write and he proclaimed it to the nation of Israel, God stopped talking because the people weren’t listening and weren’t responding

            -- so for the last 460 years, the people of Israel had not heard a word from their God -- God had never left them alone so long before -- even in their sins, God would speak to them and would call them home -- but now, no one heard from God -- there had been no prophets since Malachi for almost 500 years -- and the people were lost

            -- but rather than calling on the Lord with their whole heart and opening their ears to hear from God and responding to His message through Malachi, the people of Israel just went through the motions, like so many of us today

            -- they continued to go to church -- they continued to offer sacrifices -- they continued to follow the law of God -- but it was all lip-service -- it wasn’t real -- it was just an act without heart -- and because the people did not respond to God with their hearts, God was silent -- there was no inspiration -- there was no word from God -- there was no indication that He was near

            -- for 500 years God was silent and the people suffered and wondered and hoped -- until one day, a man dressed in camel hair and wearing a leather belt appeared in the wilderness proclaiming the coming of the Lord and calling people to repent

            -- and, as John baptized people in the Jordan River, the people wondered if this could be the messenger that Malachi told them about in the last book of the Old Testament --- the one who was going to be like the prophet Elijah and who would prepare the way for the return of the Lord

            -- the faith of the people began to catch fire again -- they began to seek the Lord -- to respond to His word -- to chase after Him with their whole hearts

            -- and then Jesus appeared as a great light shining in the darkness -- a man who was more than a man -- a man who spoke with power and authority -- a man who touched the blind and the lame and the sick and they were healed -- a man who knew God and who spoke with God and who seemed to be God -- and the people wondered at this sight in their midst

            -- the nation of Israel flocked to Jesus -- they surrounded Him wherever He went -- some came for the healings -- some came for the bread from heaven -- some came to watch the show -- but others came seeking that which they had lost -- they came looking for God and hoping to hear His voice again

            -- the people began to whisper that God was back -- they began to hope and believe that God had returned -- there were rumors of a revival going on in Israel through the ministry of Jesus as the hearts of the people were turned towards God once again

            -- this is the setting of this passage -- just as in the past, the people are beginning to return to God with their hearts -- they are finally getting ready to receive God into their presence again -- and the time has come for God to return to Jerusalem

            -- this time He comes on the back of donkey

            -- look back at verse 12  

12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.

            -- the city of Jerusalem was crowded that day -- faithful believers from all over Israel and beyond had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread -- we know it better as the Passover Feast

            -- this feast celebrated the protection of Israel by God as the angel of death passed over Egypt and slew the first-born children in the land as the final plague on the Egyptian Pharaoh -- only those people who had sacrificed a lamb and placed its blood on the doorposts of their homes were protected and delivered from death on that night

            -- as commanded in the Jewish law, every year people would come to Jerusalem to remember the Passover and to worship in the temple

            -- but this year was different -- this year it seemed as if the celebration was more than just a party -- more than just a mandated gathering required in the law -- this year it seemed as if the people were truly looking for God -- remembering His deliverance in the past and, hoping beyond hope, that He might return to deliver them again

            -- so on that Sunday before the Passover, Jerusalem was filled with people who had truly come to worship God -- it was literally busting at the seams with people -- and all of them had heard of Jesus and were wondering if He was coming or not

            -- verse 13-15

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."

            -- when the people heard that Jesus was coming, they ran out to meet Him -- John says here they took palm branches with them and waved them in the air in anticipation of His coming

            -- palm fronds signified victory -- they were waved when a victorious army came back home after winning a battle -- and they were waved when the king returned back to his palace -- through their actions, the people were saying what they truly believed about Jesus -- although they might not have fully understood that Jesus was God -- they knew that God had returned and that He was speaking through Jesus -- and so the people flocked to the road to welcome the voice of God back to Jerusalem after He had been silent for nearly 500 years

            -- one thing to note here is that our actions proclaim what we believe, too -- more so than our words, what we do and how we live our lives tells others what we truly believe about God and about Jesus -- do we go through our lives proclaiming Him for the world to see -- or do we act like we haven’t heard from Him in a long time?

            -- the other three gospel writers tell us that the people also spread their cloaks on the road in front of Jesus as He passed -- this was symbolic of royalty -- it’s kind of like our red carpets that we put out today for celebrities and dignitaries

            -- this was another way for the people to show that they were offering themselves and their possessions to Jesus -- by placing these cloaks in front of Him, they were saying, “We trust you -- we believe in you -- take our lives and take all that we have -- be our King and restore Israel to its former glory”

            -- as Jesus made His way down from the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem, the people shouted at Him and said, “Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

            -- “Hosanna” means “Save” -- it carries with it the idea of God delivering the people just as He had done during the Passover -- it is a cry to God for salvation and deliverance and healing

            -- the phrase “Hosanna” was usually only heard during official worship services as an expression of praise -- but here, the people are shouting it in the streets to Jesus, showing that they recognized Him as worthy of their praise -- as someone who was touched by God -- as someone who might be their long-awaited Messiah -- God returning to Israel

            -- verse 16

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.

            -- isn’t this verse amazing? -- “the disciples did not understand all of this” -- isn’t that the way it always is?

            -- the people closest to someone can’t always see them for who they really are -- sometimes it takes distance and a new look in order to fully see and understand just how special someone is -- let me give you an example of what I’m talking about

            -- a few years back there was a miniseries on television called, “The Kennedys,” about the Kennedy family and their political dynasty, focused primarily on the life of John F. Kennedy

            -- and during this miniseries, the director recreated a scene that you may have seen pictured before -- John F. Kennedy is at his desk in the oval office working, and peeking out of the modesty panel underneath the president’s desk is JFK, Jr.

            -- and what has always struck me about that picture is that JFK, Jr. really has no idea who his father is or how important he is because he’s so close to him -- he doesn’t understand what it means to be that close to the president of the U.S. -- the leader of the free world -- he could only understand later, when he looked at his father’s political career from a distant viewpoint, at just how privileged he was to have been ushered into the presence of the President in such a close and personal way

            -- well, that is what is going on here in this passage -- the disciples were Jesus’ closest friends -- they had come to know Him in a special way -- they had lived with Him for three years -- they had traveled together -- they had shared meals together -- they had seen Him do miracles

            -- but, because they were so close to Him, they just couldn’t see Him for who He truly was -- it was only later -- after the resurrection -- after Jesus’ ascension -- that they finally started to understand who this Jesus was that they had been with for so long and started to see Him as more than just a prophet but God Himself

            -- verse 17-19

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!"

            -- now here’s what I really want you to see in this passage -- word had spread about Jesus and what He had been doing -- especially after He raised Lazarus from the dead

            -- so, when news that Jesus was coming to town spread, the entire town gathered on the street to praise His name and to wave palm branches and put their cloaks in the road

            -- they had heard the stories of the miracles -- they had heard of the miraculous healings and the bread from heaven -- they had heard of the teachings and all that Jesus did -- and the people came to see for themselves if Jesus was the Messiah

            -- this is always the pattern of God’s work in our world -- when God begins to move, people respond -- when they hear rumors of revival -- the rumors of God showing up in power and presence -- people flock to be with Him and to hear His voice and experience His presence -- let me give you an example

            -- on February 3rd 1970, the students at Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, were having their regular morning chapel service -- instead of preaching, the leader that morning gave his testimony and encouraged the students to come forward and talk about their own Christian experiences

            -- one student came -- and then another and another -- the entire altar filled up -- and students began to confess their sins and offer forgiveness to others for wrongs that had been done and offer their lives back to God

            -- this wasn’t a normal chapel service -- everyone could sense that -- everyone knew that God was truly there

            -- the service was supposed to last 50 minutes -- instead, it went on non-stop for 185 hours -- 24 hours a day -- as students and faculty poured into the chapel and turned back to God with their whole hearts

            -- just like on Palm Sunday, word began to spread about what God was doing -- and the revival grew and grew and grew -- people started flocking to tiny Wilmore, Kentucky -- seeking God and His presence in their lives

            -- they knew God was there -- they knew He was doing something special -- and they wanted to be a part of it

            -- by that summer, the revival had spread to more than 130 other colleges and seminaries and scores of churches -- there were reports of revivals occurring from New York to California and even as far away as South America

            -- that’s what happening here in this passage as John tells us about a nationwide revival that took place about 2000 years ago -- a revival that started a fire that has still not been extinguished

            -- the Pharisees, who had been hoping to capture Jesus in secret, looked at the crowd and listened to their voices of praise and said, “The whole world has gone after Him.”

            -- isn’t that the way it is supposed to be? -- why should Palm Sunday just be one day on the Christian calendar? -- why aren’t we expecting our churches and our streets to be filled with people looking for Jesus every Sunday? -- why should this be something that we just read about and not something that we are experiencing?

            -- I think it comes down to the condition of the heart -- looking at the history of the Jewish people, it was only when their hearts were right and they actively sought the Lord were they able to hear His voice and experience His presence

            -- when the people went their own way and tried to live life in their own power and their own strength -- when they refused to follow God’s word or listen for His voice in their lives -- it was as if God didn’t exist -- and that didn’t turn out so well for them

            -- the true message of Palm Sunday is of a God who loves to save and deliver His people -- when the people turn to Him and cry out for His deliverance, God responds -- when the people begin to seek God with their whole hearts, they begin to hear His voice again

            -- the word revival means to bring one’s faith back to life again -- it means to return -- to repent -- to remember God -- to seek Him and to trust that He is there -- to rely on Him and know that He will save

            -- this is more than just lip-service -- this is more than just going through the motions and showing up to church on Sunday mornings -- revival only comes through a change of heart

            -- in this passage about Palm Sunday, we see a change of heart in the people of Jerusalem, and the nation of Israel experienced the presence of God returning to their land

            -- as we begin this Holy Week together, let our first prayer be that our hearts might be changed through the power and presence of God -- that He would revive our hearts and renew our lives and restore our faith in Him -- that we would truly seek His presence in our lives and in this church and in this land

            -- let us pray