1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:02,880 If you've got a Bible, go ahead and get that open to Genesis 2. 2 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:05,160 If you don't, that's OK. We'll have all the words on the 3 00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:08,400 screen for you. We're in Genesis 2, just two 4 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:11,960 verses, chapters or chapter 2. Verse 24 through 25. 5 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:15,600 Today liturgically is called Palm Sunday. 6 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:17,760 I've already brought this to our attention, but the kids are in 7 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:21,400 the room this morning. Kids, I am psyched that you're 8 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:25,080 in here, OK? If you guys are loud, that's 9 00:00:25,080 --> 00:00:28,680 between you and mom and dad. I personally like it loud in 10 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:30,520 here. OK, You're not. 11 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:33,360 You're not going to interrupt me by being loud. 12 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:36,640 If anything, I find a quiet church distracting. 13 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:39,800 OK, so we're we're glad that you're here. 14 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:44,960 And I love a loud church. And so like every preacher on 15 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:49,880 Palm Sunday, I am preaching from Genesis to Nobody's doing that, 16 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:54,360 but we're doing our quiet walk through our long walk through 17 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:57,280 the Book of Genesis that happens to be where we're at this 18 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:00,200 morning. And so you may get 2 sermons for 19 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:05,239 the price of 1, not in length, but you might get 2 sermons. 20 00:01:05,239 --> 00:01:07,000 I think I'm actually going to keep it pretty tight and pretty 21 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:09,400 quick this morning. Last week, if you were with us, 22 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:11,080 if you weren't, that's OK, I'll cut yourself. 23 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:15,880 Last week we saw the 1st wedding ceremony in human history, Adam 24 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:17,920 and Eve and God the Father in the garden. 25 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:24,240 Today we pivot and what we see is the result of that first 26 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:26,120 wedding ceremony. And so maybe another way to ask 27 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:27,960 the question is what? Why get? 28 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:31,280 Like, why get married? What's it actually accomplish? 29 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:37,360 What's it, what's the result? What are we, what are we doing 30 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:42,920 when we're linking up with I do's and the Bible's actually 31 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:45,080 really clear on that. So if you're able, let's stand 32 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:46,320 for the reading of the word of God. 33 00:01:52,180 --> 00:01:55,300 OK, So you see Adam, you see Eve coming to the picture. 34 00:01:55,300 --> 00:01:58,140 God's created everything. They come together for a wedding 35 00:01:58,140 --> 00:02:00,180 ceremony. And then God essentially 36 00:02:00,180 --> 00:02:03,820 explains what happens when two people get married. 37 00:02:05,340 --> 00:02:12,200 Genesis 2, verses 24 through 25. Therefore, a man shall leave his 38 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:16,320 father and his mother and hold fast to his wife. 39 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:18,800 Pause that. The biblical idea here is 40 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:20,280 simple. It's not saying that you cut 41 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:22,080 your mother and father off relationally. 42 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:24,120 That's not healthy. That's not what's going on here. 43 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:27,960 OK, But in a culture like this, in the ancient Near Eastern 44 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:32,240 world where family loyalty is everything, it's everything. 45 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:36,800 It was a radical thing for when a marriage happens, for a 46 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:41,640 priority shift to happen, when that when two people come 47 00:02:41,640 --> 00:02:43,880 together, there's a priority shift that happens. 48 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:47,920 Not a relational cutting off, but your husband or your wife 49 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:52,000 becomes your first priority. Why? 50 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:59,120 Keep reading and they shall become one flesh. 51 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:02,840 Notice. Notice that biblical math is not 52 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,160 1/2 person plus 1/2 person equals 1 flesh. 53 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:07,360 That's not what's happening here, Adam. 54 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:10,120 Adam doesn't complete Eve, he's got God. 55 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:13,680 Eve doesn't complete Adam, she's got God. 56 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:19,800 The biblical math here is that two complete humans, 2 come 57 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:25,000 together and they form 1-2 become one. 58 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:26,320 And how does that happen? Kids? 59 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:27,760 Plug your ears for just a second. 60 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:30,960 Keep reading the Bible. Hey, it's in the text. 61 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:32,360 You guys want me to preach the text right? 62 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:39,280 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. 63 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:43,400 Hey yo, the Bible is saucy. Get used to it. 64 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:52,040 You can have a seat. I'm be quick this morning to the 65 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:54,960 point. Here's the the big idea of these 66 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:57,720 two verses. This right here is actually the 67 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:02,840 first instance of new creation that we see in the entire Bible. 68 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:05,640 First instance of new creation. Everything else, the heavens, 69 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:09,360 the earth, the sun, the stars, the moon, all of creation up in 70 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:11,560 this point is just that it's creation. 71 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:16,040 But then at this wedding ceremony, something new explodes 72 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:20,000 into the cosmos. Adam and Eve come together to 73 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:24,760 form a new creation 2 become one. 74 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:26,200 That's what's happening. New creation. 75 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:29,080 The the pastor who trained me and developed me, He always did 76 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:32,520 this funny thing in wedding ceremonies where whenever he did 77 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:35,160 a wedding ceremony, I can't even remember if he did this at my 78 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:37,600 wedding ceremony. I don't remember a lot of of the 79 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:39,760 day. But he would do this thing where 80 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:42,360 he would try to prove he he would try to really illustrate 81 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:44,080 that the two are becoming a new creation. 82 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:49,440 And he would say, OK, Cole, you from this moment on are no 83 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:53,720 longer Cole. Chloe, you are no longer Chloe. 84 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:55,640 The two of you are coming together. 85 00:04:55,800 --> 00:05:01,960 And now you have become Coley. And I don't, I always thought, I 86 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:03,280 always thought that was kind of funny. 87 00:05:03,280 --> 00:05:06,200 And I sometimes I try to do that with the wedding ceremonies that 88 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:07,680 I do. I couldn't do it at the last 89 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:10,600 wedding ceremony even though I wanted to because I was doing a 90 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:12,360 wedding ceremony for Peter and Megan. 91 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:15,720 And I was like, I was like running through it luckily the 92 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:17,840 day before and I was like, OK, so I'm going to say, what am I 93 00:05:17,840 --> 00:05:18,520 going to say? That part? 94 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:22,360 I'm going to say, OK, you are no longer Peter and you are no 95 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:26,680 longer Megan, but together you have become Pagan. 96 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:30,720 I was like, I can't because they're Christians. 97 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:33,920 They're not pagans. So I was like, I can't do that. 98 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:36,200 And they're like, well, you can just do meter. 99 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:37,960 And I was like, yeah, I like the joke better. 100 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:43,320 But here, here's the point. There's this new thing 101 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:46,280 happening, this new creation that is exploding into the 102 00:05:46,280 --> 00:05:47,760 cosmos. And this is massive. 103 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:51,200 Adam and Eve to form a new creation, come together naked, 104 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:55,600 yes, and unashamed. And of course, that's really the 105 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:57,720 math for every good marriage. It is. 106 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:01,240 It's really the math for every good relationship to be truly 107 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:05,080 known and truly loved. Both, not one or the other. 108 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:08,880 If you're, if it's not enough to be loved, if you're not known 109 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:10,840 because then you can't receive it. 110 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:13,320 They're like, no, they don't love me. 111 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:15,040 They love this fake version of me. 112 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:17,680 So that's not enough. And on the other end of the 113 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:20,880 spectrum, it's also not enough. It's actually everybody's 114 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:24,600 greatest fear to be truly known without being truly loved, 115 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:27,840 right? Like that's what the FBI is 116 00:06:27,840 --> 00:06:29,960 accomplishing when they investigate criminals. 117 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:35,760 What you need are both of that truly loved and truly known, or 118 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:39,840 the way that Genesis describes it, naked and unashamed. 119 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:44,280 I got a pro tip, and this is a pro tip a while back, that every 120 00:06:44,280 --> 00:06:47,760 time you you leave a wedding ceremony and the bride's walking 121 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:50,440 down the aisle, take, take a good look at the bride. 122 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:52,840 But then I don't know if you've ever done this. 123 00:06:52,840 --> 00:06:54,520 If you haven't done this, you should try it at the next 124 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:58,240 wedding you're at turn and look at the groom's face. 125 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:03,160 And I love that. I love it for a lot of reasons. 126 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:05,640 It's a pro tip. It's moving. 127 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:09,720 Adam and Eve, their walk down the aisle, that's what's 128 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:12,160 happening in Genesis 2. That must have been glorious 129 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:14,160 too, right there in paradise. They're in Eden. 130 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:17,840 When I when I imagine Adam's walk down the wedding aisle to 131 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:22,880 wait for Eve at the altar, I imagine it as a pretty triumphal 132 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:24,440 entry. Picture it. 133 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:28,160 Picture this paradise. Adam's walking down the aisle. 134 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:30,720 The birds in the air and the creatures on the earth are 135 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:33,960 singing and shouting. The sun and the stars are 136 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:39,680 singing and dancing. Even the palm leaves on the 137 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:45,240 trees are clapping their hands in celebration of the arrival of 138 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:47,840 the first new creation, all of creation. 139 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:51,920 As Adam was walking down that wedding aisle shouting He's 140 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:57,200 here, she's here, the king and the queen, the ones who are to 141 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:02,160 rule over all of creation kindly and generously, they're finally 142 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:03,800 here. It would have been epic. 143 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:10,200 Adam imagine after only seeing animals, turns, wakes up from a 144 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:14,520 deep sleep, sees Eve, explodes into poetry. 145 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:15,760 It would have been awesome, right? 146 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:27,400 First first groom, First bride. Jesus is a groom. 147 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:36,320 The church is the bride. What was Jesus walk down the 148 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:40,360 wedding aisle like? You ever thought of that? 149 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:45,600 Because if you haven't, welcome to Palm Sunday. 150 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:49,600 Here's what Jesus has walked down the wedding aisle was like 151 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:52,920 Matthew 21. They call this the triumphal 152 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:55,960 entry. It's absolutely electric. 153 00:08:55,960 --> 00:08:57,520 It just goes right into your veins. 154 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:02,080 Jesus is he's entering in on Palm Sunday to the holy city of 155 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:03,440 Jerusalem's. And this happens. 156 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:07,080 They brought the donkey in the Colts and put them on their 157 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:10,560 cloaks and he sat on them. And then when Jesus is entering 158 00:09:10,560 --> 00:09:13,640 into the city, most of the crowds spread their cloaks on 159 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:17,560 the ground and others cut branches from the trees and 160 00:09:17,560 --> 00:09:21,080 spread them on the road. Palm Sunday and the crowds that 161 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:23,240 went before them and that followed him. 162 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:25,480 So you got people in front of him, you got people behind him. 163 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:28,800 It's basically it's like a UFC entry, right? 164 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:31,440 Or like a fighting entry. Like it's just everybody around 165 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:34,800 them is going absolutely crazy. They're saying Hosanna to the 166 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:37,680 son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the 167 00:09:37,680 --> 00:09:40,960 name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest. 168 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:44,200 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city, the whole city 169 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:45,880 was wild. And they were stirred up. 170 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:47,640 They were saying, what's going on? 171 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:50,600 Who is this? And everybody yells. 172 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:57,720 The crowd said this was the prophet Jesus from Nazareth and 173 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:00,640 from Galilee. This is awesome. 174 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:03,240 If you don't know what's going on here, this is basically 175 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:07,480 ancient street theater, right? It's St. 176 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:09,440 Theatre. The crowds are full of exuberant 177 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:13,200 joy and genuine celebration. Did you see what they're doing? 178 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:16,040 They're ripping off their coats like ripping off their cloaks, 179 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:19,080 throwing them on the road. They're cutting palm branches 180 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:20,160 down and throwing them on the road. 181 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:24,320 What's going on street theatre? What they're doing is they are 182 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:29,400 enacting something deeply symbolic in the ancient world. 183 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:35,960 This is what crowds of people would do when a king arrived in 184 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:39,440 his city after a military victory. 185 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:42,480 You guys with me? Jesus knows this. 186 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:47,920 He's also twisting it. He's also publicly redefining 187 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:51,600 kingship. This is crystal clear by the 188 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:55,600 choice of his ride. He doesn't pull up on a War 189 00:10:55,600 --> 00:11:01,120 Horse, like you had guessed. What's he pull up on a donkey? 190 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:03,480 What's going on here? What's going on? 191 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:07,080 This is a redefining of kingship around Jesus. 192 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:11,040 What's going on here is that when you need to get this, when 193 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:17,880 Jesus, when he pulls up to earth on a ride, he doesn't, he 194 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:21,080 doesn't pull up in events, right? 195 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:24,160 What he's doing is he pulls up in a Hearst. 196 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:29,560 That's why he's going donkey rather than War Horse. 197 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:33,520 He knows that this is a slow death March in front of us. 198 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:35,840 He knows everything that's about to happen. 199 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:38,920 And in the midst of all of it, the crowd is freaking out. 200 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:41,760 They're hooping and hollering. And probably the most important 201 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:43,480 observation I can give you about the crowd is this. 202 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:51,680 The crowd here is 2/3 right and 1/3 wrong, 2/3 right, 1/3 wrong. 203 00:11:51,680 --> 00:11:56,600 They think Jesus is the king. That's right. 1/3 right. 204 00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:01,520 They know what true kings do. So they think he's going to win 205 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:06,280 a military victory. That's right, 2/3 right. 206 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:11,560 But they also think that the military victory is going to be 207 00:12:11,560 --> 00:12:21,320 a victory over the government of Rome, and that is wrong, 2/3 208 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:26,080 right, 1/3 wrong. What they don't understand is 209 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:30,000 that they don't need to ultimately be set free from 210 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:33,600 Rome. What they need to be set free 211 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:36,520 from ultimately is their own sin. 212 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:42,440 And so suppose we take this analogy of Palm Sunday and Jesus 213 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:46,240 triumphal entry, and rather than just seeing it as a King's 214 00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:49,040 victory, marched to his throne, which it is. 215 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:54,040 Suppose we also imagine his triumphal entry as a groom's 216 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:58,560 March down the wedding aisle to go wait on the wedding altar for 217 00:12:58,560 --> 00:13:02,160 his bride, which it also is. So as you think about this 218 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:05,600 triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, think about it, visualize it. 219 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:11,560 What we need to know is, I hope you can see clearly what the 220 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:13,520 groom is like. What's Jesus like? 221 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:19,280 He's heroic, kingly, sacrificial, worthy of praise. 222 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:23,960 That's the groom. What's the bride like? 223 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:28,560 What's the bride like during this March down the wedding 224 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:30,080 aisle? Well, we know that the bride of 225 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:33,240 Christ is the church, and the church is composed of all 226 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:36,000 believers. So what's the bride like during 227 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:38,000 the March down the wedding aisle? 228 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:42,800 Exuberant, cheering hosanna, which essentially means save us, 229 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:49,440 save us, they think from Rome, Jesus knows from sin, Hosanna, 230 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:52,840 save us. Hosanna in the highest they love 231 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:55,400 him. On Palm Sunday, they love him 232 00:13:56,880 --> 00:14:02,120 right now, but let's step back that moment. 233 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:04,960 The triumphal entry is on a Sunday. 234 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:07,400 That's why we call it Palm Sunday. 235 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:11,480 Beginning of the week. Cool cool. 236 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:15,760 Jesus is going to be crucified roughly 5 days later at the end 237 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:22,720 of the week, correct? On Friday, besides a few people 238 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:26,000 at the cross, what are the crowds yelling at the 239 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:29,040 crucifixion of Jesus? Hosanna. 240 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:35,480 Now, what are they yelling? Crucifier. 241 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:40,720 That's interesting. Who are those people? 242 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:47,160 Probably the same people at his triumphal entry. 243 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:52,440 So here's what I need you to give The same people who at the 244 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:57,240 beginning of the week were yelling at Hosanna are probably 245 00:14:57,240 --> 00:15:01,120 the same people at the end of the week who are yelling crucify 246 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:06,600 him. In a week when they found out 247 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:09,000 that God ain't going to do exactly what they want him to do 248 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:12,640 for them, they stop yelling Hosanna and they start yelling 249 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:15,400 crucify him. And who are these people? 250 00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:18,120 These are the people that Jesus died for. 251 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:23,640 These are the people who would by faith, through grace, become 252 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:27,560 the bride of Christ. So who are these people? 253 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:31,760 This is you and it's me. It's me. 254 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:34,360 Like can I just be cool for a second? 255 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:36,240 I know I'm a pastor and sometimes people think there's 256 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:39,280 like 3 categories of people, non Christians, Christians and 257 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:41,440 pastors. There's not there's two 258 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:44,200 categories of people. There's there's people who 259 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:47,480 aren't believers and need grace and there's people who are 260 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:51,360 believers and receive grace. OK, and so I'm just going to be 261 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:56,240 frank with you guys. Like sometimes I sometimes I 262 00:15:56,240 --> 00:16:02,720 don't even need a full week to go from Hosanna to crucify. 263 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:07,120 Sometimes I don't even like sometimes that happens in a day 264 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:11,160 for me. It was that kind of week for me. 265 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:14,400 Like I did not a lot of not a lot of sleep this week, some 266 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:17,360 lingering family sickness behind on things. 267 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:20,920 All it took for me it was like 1 migraine. 268 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:25,840 It sometimes beginning of the day, ma'am, at the beginning of 269 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:30,520 the day I'm in the word of God and I'm like, oh God, you are 270 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:33,000 everything. Thanks for saving me. 271 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:36,160 Everything's for your glory. You're awesome Hosanna in the 272 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:38,840 highest and the noon comes around. 273 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:44,400 I get a bad text or a migraine and you know what happens in my 274 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:47,120 heart? That's all it takes. 275 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:49,600 And I'm like, what are you doing up there? 276 00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:55,440 What what's going on? Curse you right in a single day. 277 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:02,960 Hosanna in the morning to crucify him at noon. 278 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:06,319 And like, it sucks to admit this, right? 279 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:10,240 It, it sucks to admit that even as Christians we're like this 280 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:16,079 weird mixture of beloved and sinful of made righteous before 281 00:17:16,079 --> 00:17:19,960 God and still jacked up. But that's something that 282 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:23,560 especially on Easter week, we just, we got to come to terms 283 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:27,319 with it and coming to terms with your own sinfulness. 284 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:31,160 Please hear me here like you got to hear me on this coming to 285 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:34,960 terms with your own sinfulness. It's not ultimately about having 286 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:41,120 a negative view of self. No, it's not even ultimately 287 00:17:41,120 --> 00:17:43,920 about having a realistic view of self, although it will result in 288 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:47,000 that. Coming to terms with your own 289 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:55,880 sinfulness is ultimately about like seeing the glory of Jesus 290 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:05,360 and the holiness of Jesus and the perfection of Jesus and the 291 00:18:05,360 --> 00:18:09,440 grandeur of Jesus. It's about seeing Jesus as big 292 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:13,360 and self as small. Easter week is all about coming 293 00:18:13,360 --> 00:18:16,120 to terms with that. As uncomfortable as it is, maybe 294 00:18:16,120 --> 00:18:17,640 it'll be like that for you this week. 295 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:20,480 Maybe this week you'll even get a blank sheet of paper out later 296 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:23,080 today and throughout the week. Maybe you'll even make a list of 297 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:26,080 all the things that Jesus died for in your own life. 298 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:30,720 Your sins, your besetting weaknesses, your addictions, 299 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:34,360 your vices, all of that stuff. It's really convicting. 300 00:18:34,360 --> 00:18:39,560 Conviction, definitely. But not only not just 301 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:41,960 convicting, it's also comforting. 302 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:43,760 And here's the comfort about this, OK? 303 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:48,320 The comfort is that the triumphal entry isn't just about 304 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:50,840 the crowd getting Jesus 1/3 wrong. 305 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:57,040 It's about Jesus getting the crowd 3 thirds right. 306 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:06,880 Jesus knows exactly who we are and he still chose to come to 307 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:13,280 save us. Isn't that crazy to phrase him 308 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:18,440 as flamboyantly as possible with the groom and bride analogy? 309 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:20,560 You just need to hear me say this, OK? 310 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:24,320 You need to, especially when you make mistakes and sin and screw 311 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:25,360 up. You need to hear me say this. 312 00:19:25,360 --> 00:19:31,080 You need to hear that Jesus knew he was marrying a crazy bride. 313 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:34,880 He knew he was marrying A bridezilla. 314 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:38,280 And you can relax. I'm not going to tie that back 315 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:39,280 to you. Your marriage. 316 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:42,040 That's not a gender thing. I'm the crazy one in my in my 317 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:47,400 wedding, in my marriage, OK, but it is a Jesus and bride thing. 318 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:50,320 Like Jesus did know that we were jacked up. 319 00:19:50,360 --> 00:19:54,080 It doesn't surprise him as you picture his triumphal entry into 320 00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:56,760 into Jerusalem, his March down the wedding aisle. 321 00:19:56,840 --> 00:19:59,560 He knows exactly what he's getting into. 322 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:02,200 He knows that he's got a bipolar wife. 323 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:06,400 You know what the good news is? The good news is, you know who's 324 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:08,840 not bipolar? Jesus. 325 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:12,480 No, he's not crazy. Jesus. 326 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:15,920 You know who doesn't change at the beginning of the week and at 327 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:20,080 the end of the week? Jesus on changing, theologians 328 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:24,480 say immutable on changing in all of his ways and all of his wants 329 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:27,200 and all of his character. He does not change. 330 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:29,040 He's not gravity. Don't relate to him. 331 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:31,360 Luckily, he doesn't change, so I may as well just he's not 332 00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:33,120 gravity. He's not an impersonal force, 333 00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:37,080 but he is an unchanging in all of his ways, in all of his wants 334 00:20:37,360 --> 00:20:39,480 and in all of his character unchanging. 335 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:42,920 Look at the triumphal entry, Jesus at the beginning of the 336 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:45,680 week. He's fixed on dying for his 337 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:48,360 bride. What's he doing at the end of 338 00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:51,000 the week? Dying for his bride? 339 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:55,800 He's unchanging. Like do you want to know how 340 00:20:55,960 --> 00:21:00,200 much Jesus doesn't change? If you've never read this, wear 341 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:02,200 a helmet. This is going to blow your mind. 342 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:07,240 This is Revelation chapter 13. It describes Jesus as quote, the 343 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:17,080 Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world before 344 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:21,400 the world was even created. You know, that means that means 345 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:24,200 that Jesus wasn't just thinking about dying for his bride on the 346 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:26,400 cross. He wasn't just thinking about 347 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:28,640 dying for his bride at his triumphal entry. 348 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:34,960 He was thinking about dying for his bride before he even created 349 00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:43,680 the world on changing and his commitment to crazy Christians 350 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:48,200 who are jacked up and just need constant, constant grace. 351 00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:52,800 The whole reason that all of human history exists, all of 352 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:56,200 reality. It's all a elaborate playset. 353 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:02,160 It's all a plot. It's all one massive story 354 00:22:02,360 --> 00:22:07,920 that's built around 1 moment in human history when Jesus dies on 355 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:11,680 a cross for his bride. He's on changing. 356 00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:15,880 You're not. He's on changing. 357 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:20,240 I'm not. And when you get this, the 358 00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:24,800 triumphal entry, when you understand your own changing 359 00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:28,840 nature, the crazy bride of Christ, the spiritually bipolar 360 00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:35,760 crowd, when you face this honestly and intentionally, then 361 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:43,080 and only then is your soul ready, Ready. 362 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:44,840 You ready? Catch it on a hop. 363 00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:46,880 Can you catch it on a hop? Here comes Julian. 364 00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:49,320 Get it. Get it, get it, get it, get it. 365 00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:57,640 That's right. Then and only then Are you ready 366 00:22:57,640 --> 00:22:59,680 for the good news of the resurrection. 367 00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:03,160 But that's next Sunday, so let me pray as I'm praying. 368 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:07,200 Families dedicating kids, come on up, Heavenly Father. 369 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:13,760 I pray that we would see Jesus as an unchanging God, an 370 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:20,360 unchanging groom who is fixed, fixed from beginning to end 371 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:23,280 before the creation of the world and after the creation of the 372 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:29,040 world, fixed on saving people that he knows needs salvation. 373 00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:32,600 That can be anybody and everybody in this room. 374 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:35,880 If somebody doesn't know that, Jesus, I pray that you would 375 00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:39,960 give them the Spirit and that they would come to know this 376 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:42,600 Jesus this morning. So it's in the precious name of 377 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:44,680 Jesus that all God's people prayed. 378 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:47,080 Amen.