Flipside Christian Church

I want to transition now into, Matthew 12

as we're going right
through the book of Matthew.

This is Palm Sunday.

And to set this up, I want your attention
directed to the screen.

I got this little video
just in set up of Palm Sunday.

Watch the screen, please.

And. All of.

This week is
what is typically called the Passion Week.

The week leading up to the crucifixion
resulted in the resurrection.

It starts with what we call
Palm Sunday, with Jesus's

entry into Jerusalem
when he's finally honored as the King.

Up to this point, he has not been,

And to set all of that up,
we're going to be in Matthew 12.

Matthew 12
is not about the triumphal entry,

but it's the first place
that is listed in the Scripture

that there's a plot to kill Jesus,
which will result in the crucifixion.

It's the first place where Jesus will talk
about his death and resurrection.

And so it's pivotal.

This Passion Week is the hinge point

of, of, of all of history, culminating in
the death and the resurrection of Jesus.

The hinge points what everything
turns on this week Easter, resurrection.

Matthew 12 is the hinge point of Jesus's,

ministry.

This everything changes at at Matthew 12.

And that's why it's important for us. It's
a very important chapter.

But before we get there, I know we've done
a lot of extra stuff today,

but in kind of setting this up.

I want I want to, I don't know,
set the record straight or some of

you have heard,

I was hit by a Chevy 2500

truck this week while running.

Yeah.

So, it was Wednesday morning.

I was running down Marshall.

All of a sudden. Bam!

And this truck drives by me.

Big 2500 Chevy.

And the mirror on it is just destroyed.

He comes to a stop, just glass everywhere.

And he just clipped me.

The ma'am, right here.

And so he gets the kid, gets out,
and he is a graduate.

I coached him for four years at football.

Graduate a few years back.

I think it was upset because I didn't get
to play the position he wanted to play.

But he just hit me with his truck

destroyed, the mirror gone.

And I'm like, what are you doing?

He was. Oh, I didn't see you.

I'm like, well, like, look, I'm
right in front of you.

And I don't know if you broke my arm
or what, but I'm like, I guess I'm all.

And so, the angel that was with me
took the brunt of it.

So, like, I'm fine.

Like no bruising.

I, like, destroyed.

I love the fact.

And so, yeah,
I got hit by a Chevy to 2500.

But you should see the truck.

And so I'm like, well, I got
I got three more miles to do.

So I finished my through the three miles.

I had to run still,

and I went home and, like,
I gotta make sure I can do some push ups

till, like, I'm okay.

So I did some like, oh, I'm, I'm no good.

This kid's texting me.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

I said,
listen, we're gonna laugh about it later,

but you need to understand
that what this tells me

is that I still have more messages
to preach,

more Bible to teach,
and more young men to coach.

So just keep your eyes open next time.

But in,

in, in
all of that, when you have those moments

where you and I told him,
I said six more inches you drifting.

I'm not telling this story

like you're going so fast.

And it's like six more inches
and it's a whole different ball game.

And when you have moments like that,
if you've ever been blessed

with moments like that,
you just start to pray like

you start to think about life.

Tuesday is my 59th birthday.

And so this I'm going to walk

you through my heart
and my mind and my prayer

as I was sitting by myself yesterday

just thinking through stuff.

And I wrote it down because I just want
you remember this stuff.

This was Philippians two three, let
nothing be done through selfish ambition.

Here's my thought.

What a wasted life, wasted resources,
and what a small way to live.

To use my time, my money,
and the first 60 years of my life

as if it was simply to build
my own nest egg

for my own selfish leisure
at the last portion of my life.

If that were where

I find happiness, I would know
nothing of the joy of the Lord.

Oh God, that I would give more to you

who has given it all for me.

Please, my God,
I ask you to give me the grace

and the privilege of more years,
more energy, and more passion.

For if I were to leave this world
now, I'd have done.

I have had such deep regret
of how little I've done for you.

I've not yet exhausted

my body witnessing
or doing work for your kingdom.

Give me more.

Give me more days of my life, more breath
in my lungs, more strength in my back.

More courage in my soul.
More boldness in my heart.

More understanding in my mind
that I may give more of me to you.

An ever increasing measure.

You've been so gracious
and good to keep me here and on mission.

At 18 years old, in maximum security
prison with the inmates, with no guards

and inmates, in the yard
of the most violent prison in Costa Rica,

with no guards around,
detained in Cuba, shot at by drug runners

in Guatemala, eluding kidnapers
in Nueva Laredo, Mexico,

on the frontlines of the war in Ukraine
and now hit by a Chevy 2500 while running

the testimony of Scripture.

The life of Jesus teaches that life
on mission with God is invincible.

Until that mission is complete,

I guess I've got more mission,
more messages to teach

and to preach and more young men to coach.

Father, thank you that I'm not done

because I've done so little.

Allow me time and opportunity to do more.

That's all my heart.

And so I come to this day

with a great deal of reverence.

Because I'm not done yet.

And the kingdom

and the Christ deserves

so much more.

In Matthew 12

is the hinge point
for Jesus's life and ministry,

and it will set in motion
what we'll celebrate next week

the the crucifixion and resurrection,
the hinge point of all of history.

And so, with some sobriety

and seriousness, we open up the Bible

and go to Matthew 12.

And the thing that sets this chapter apart

is that Jesus makes some audacious claims,

and he forces every person
who hears his words

to make a decision.

Are you ready? Yep.

The claims that Jesus makes
and he makes it in ways

that that I'm going to help us understand
why they're so audacious for him to make.

But the overall claim that Jesus makes.

Oh, yeah, that's our Mexico team.

They're in Mexico doing ministry.

Pray for them.

Dot dot dot.

They're

they claim that Jesus

makes as I am greater than you.

Fill in the blank.

Now Jesus fills in the blank with a few
things he's going to tell us today.

He's greater than
two things. Specifically.

And then next week he's going to he's
going to predict his death

and his resurrection
is the first time he mentions it.

And he's going to talk next week.

About the one unforgivable sin.

And then the week after that, the week
after Easter, he's going to say,

listen, I'm greater than anything
that's come before me in.

Anything that's going to come after me.

If you're waiting for something else,
you're not going to get it.

And this is what it means
to be part of my family.

So Matthew 12 is is it's really important,
huge.

It's crucial. It's vital.

It's the hinge point of Jesus life.

It's a hinge point
that sets, that sets in motion

the hinge point of all of history.

And so my I implore you,
in the name of Jesus, especially for next

Sunday, invite, invite, invite
to understand, get on mission with God.

Let me just read.

I'm gonna read the first eight verses

and it's going to sound like this doesn't
sound like it's that big of a deal.

It was a huge deal to them.

And we'll unpack it,
but I'll explain as we go through.

But let me read the first eight verses.

At that time, Jesus went through the grain
fields of on the Sabbath.

His disciples were hungry and they began
to pluck heads of grain and to eat.

But when the Pharisees saw it,
they said to him, look,

your disciples are doing
what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.

He said to them, have you not read
what David did when he was hungry?

And those who were with him,
how he entered the house of God, and ate

the bread of the presence,
which was not lawful for him to eat,

nor for those who were with him,
but only for the priests.

Have you not read in the law
how on the Sabbath

the priests in the temple profane
the Sabbath, and are guiltless?

I tell you something
greater than the temple is here.

And if you had known what this means,
I desire mercy and not sacrifice,

you would not have condemned
the guiltless.

For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.

That doesn't
sound like it's that big a deal to us.

It was huge to them. Why?

Because the Sabbath command
was part of God's Ten Commandments.

He said, honor the Sabbath
and keep it holy.

And they took that to such abusive
degrees.

The religious leaders
came up with 39 prohibitions

that you could not do on the Sabbath.

All God said was, keep it holy.

That's all he said.

Then they add all this stuff to it.

There's too much work, Jesus said
last week in Matthew 11, are any of you

just beat down and heavy laden from all
the religious rules people put on you?

He's all come to me.

That's not how it should be.

And so what?

They took this one simple command
keep the Sabbath holy rest.

Thank God for all he's given you.

And they add all this other stuff to it.

It got so bad that they, as part of these
39 prohibitions, they said,

you can only walk this many steps
in, no further out of your house.

And so they came up
with all these intricate things about

how they would how they would
justify their house being the entire city

so they could walk anywhere in the city
without violating the Sabbath.

It was just ridiculous.

They had, as part of the law of the
Sabbath laws, you couldn't start a fire.

And this has gotten so out of control
religiously that there are still

neighborhoods and pockets in Jerusalem
where the most devout and orthodox live,

where they won't let any cars drive
into their community

because just turn on the ignition
of a key.

It causes spark plugs to fire and pistons
to fire, which is starting fires.

They had
they had laws that you couldn't tie a

you couldn't tie knots in a rope,
but you a woman could tie up her girdle.

And so if they needed to draw water
from a well,

they couldn't tie a bucket to a rope
because that violated the law.

But they could use a girdle and tie it

to the bucket to get water,
because that was it.

It was just out of control.

They were so manipulative
and so abusive to the people.

And so

what we see in Matthew 12 is Jesus
and the disciples are walking

through the field grabbing grain grains
of wheat or whatever and eating the seeds.

And the Pharisees say
that's a violation of the Sabbath command.

And it wasn't.

In Deuteronomy
25 says that farmers may not

harvest the edges of the field
or the corners, so that poor people

can walk through and take grain
without stealing and feed themselves.

And so that's all Jesus in this
episode, doing it was allowed in the law.

And it also tells us that Jesus
and disciples are really, really poor.

They were the poorest of the

poor because that they're doing
what the poor people do.

The problem, not the Pharisees had in it,

is that in doing what the Loc allowed,
they saw four violations

because they had manipulated
and changed the law so abusively.

What they saw in the picking of the grain
was the work of harvesting

what they saw,
and when they would rub the grain together

to get the seeds out of it,
was the work of threshing the grain

when they would blow the chaff away,
so they were left with the seed.

That was the work of winnowing.

And when they would put it to their mouths

to eat it,
that was the work of preparing food.

And then they're like, you're violating
four commands by doing this in Jesus.

You guys are absolutely out of your minds.

And he says,

this is waste, and I'm going to impact
this is this is this is what this writes.

This is
what sets the stage for them to kill him.

Look at what he says.

Verses three and four.

He sent them.

Have you not read
what David did when he was hungry?

And those who were with him,
how he entered the house of God,

and ate the bread of the presence,
which it was not lawful for him to eat

for the or for those who were with him,
but only for the priests.

He says, listen,

do you guys not know

your own history of King David?

Now? The story that Jesus,

the historical account
that Jesus is referring to,

takes place way back in first Samuel 21
and the first chapter 21.

The first king of Israel was King Saul.

Everybody say King Saul.

And so God said, you know what?

My hand is off you now, Saul

and I put my hand on David
because Saul was just out of control.

And so God anointed David.

Everybody see King David, you know, King
David to be the king.

So God already chosen king to
he was the anointed one.

Okay, but Saul is still alive.

And so Saul is chasing David.

So David's running around and Saul
is trying to hunt him down to kill him.

Okay, so David and his men are starving.

So they go to where the high priest is.

Abimelech is his name. Say Abimelech.

And and David says, listen, Abimelech,
here's the deal.

My me and my guys are so like,
we need some, we need food.

And a bullock says,
the only food I have is the showbread,

or the bread of the presence.

And what they did,
the high priest did every Sabbath.

They baked 12 loaves of bread and said

on the table as their memory, on reference
in honor of God,

that God is the provider
for the tribes of for his people.

So every tribe had their own bread
as symbolic that God,

your provider,
you're our sustainer and we honor you.

And then they we take the 12 bread,
the 12 other loaves that have been

make the week before, and the priest
could eat them, but only the priest.

So David comes
in and says, we're starving.

Give us the old bread.

And Obama says, I can't do that, man. It's
against the law.

And David says, what's more important,

the bread or us
or people who are starving?

And the man was like,
yeah, okay, I get it.

And so give day. And they did.

David took some of the loaves

and he and as many Dave said, don't you
realize that this has already happened?

Now here's why this is so important.

Before that, in first Samuel 21,
there was first Samuel 16,

and the first Samuel 16 is
when God anointed David as the king.

The prophet
Sam became a new head with oil.

He is the king but is rejected.

He hasn't been accepted
as the king by the people yet.

So you see what Jesus is doing.

He's comparing himself to David.

He said, not only did
David eat this grain on the Sabbath,

but David was anointed by God
and rejected by you people.

Guess who I am?

I'm the anointed one.

I'm the king, and you're rejecting me.

You see what he's doing?

David was the greatest king
that the nation had ever had.

And Jesus is saying

I'm greater.

Do you see?

That doesn't set well

what Jesus is saying to every one of us.

I'm greater.

I'm greater than anything you've known.

I'm greater than anything

that you're given your time
and your allegiance and your life to.

I'm greater.

In verse five he says.

Have you read in the law
how on the Sabbath

the priest in the temple profane
the Sabbath on are guiltless?

He said, the

when the
priests do their work on the Sabbath,

they're breaking the Sabbath laws.

And you guys don't have a problem
with them,

is that they're breaking the law
because you can't work on the Sabbath

according to your law.

Yeah, they're they're going
and catching the animal.

They're sacrificing the animal.

They're butchering the animal.

They're processing the animal.

They build a fire to roast it.

They're breaking the law over the bush.

I'm problem with them.

And then he says this,
and this is what gets him.

So he sets us up and he says, verse six,
I tell you something

greater than the temple is here.

What, like in their minds, like you did
you just say you're greater than the

temple, you've already claimed equality
or you're greater than King David?

That's ridiculous.

Now you're saying your greater
than the temple.

Here's why that's so important.

When he says I am greater than the temple,

what the temple meant to the New Testament
Jews and to the Pharisees was this

the temple in their minds
was the dwelling place of God.

It's where God abided at the temple.

And Jesus is saying,
I'm greater than the temple. Why?

Because he would say,
I and the father are one.

You think God lives in the temple?
Guess what?

I am him.

I'm greater than your temple.

The temple was the place.

It was the center of forgiveness.
They would go to the temple

to get forgiveness
by the sacrifice of the animals.

And Jesus is saying, listen, this is love.

Not that we love God,
but that he loved us and sent His Son.

This is what John is saying about him
as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

We don't go to the temple for forgiveness.

The lamb
has been slain for our forgiveness.

Already he's greater than the temple.

He's greater.

The temple was the center
for all religious authority.

And Jesus, knowing
Jesus, will say in Matthew 28,

all authority in heaven on earth is given.

Given to me is not in the temple.

I'm greater than the temple.

The temple was the place that was sacred.

It was holy.

It was the most holy place
in all of Judaism.

Three

the demons will say,
it's not the temple that's holy

Jesus, you are the Holy One of God.

The very demons will acknowledge
his holiness.

Well, man wouldn't miss it.

He was 726, for

it was indeed fitting that
we should have such a high priest.

Holy innocent, unstained, separated from
sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

He's saying, I'm greater than your temple.

I'm the God abides in.

I am God in the flesh.

I am where you go for forgiveness.

I am the Holy One.

I am the one with all authority.

I'm greater than everything in the world.

I'm greater than everything in your life.

I'm greater than everything
that you're giving your life to.

And you have to deal with me.

This is the hinge point.

And he forces a decision.

There's no middle ground,

and he is speaking blasphemy.

Then he deserves death.

But if he is God,
then he deserves a worship.

And he said, I'm
greater than everything in her world.

I'm greater than every desire you have.

You've been chasing shadows.

I'm the reality.

And you have to deal with me now.

He forces them to make a decision.

See, the temple
was the place people went to find God.

Jesus is God.

Come into to come in.

Two people.

And he would say the same thing
to every one of us.

He's greater

than everything else in your world,
than every desire that you have,

than everything that you're chasing.

You're chasing shadow.

He would tell us you're chasing shadows,

and the time for your excuses
and time for your games is done.

I'm greater than it all.

And I demand your worship.

This is the hinge point.

You got to make a decision.

And he's forcing these religious people
to make a decision.

See, they knew the rules,
but they didn't know the ruler.

And so many of us know the rules,

and we try to follow the rules,
but we don't know the ruler.

And we fool ourselves
because when you know the rules

and not the ruler,
you try to be good and you can't be.

And you know that

when you know the rules and not the ruler,
you have the rules

to everything else, to your life
because you hope

the rules will make everything else
your life better. In Jesus.

I'm bigger than that. You've missed me.

It's the hinge point of it all.

And then look what he says.

He just keeps pushing.

Because here's the thing.

Jesus knows this,
and we see it all through scripture

that he's he's on mission from God.

He's God, and he knows that this mission
is going to lead him to the cross.

It's going to lead him to a grave that's
going to lead him to a resurrection.

He knows it.

And so he knows he's invincible.
Until that time comes.

Now he's not chasing death,

but he's not afraid of it because he knows
until that time comes he's invincible.

So he just keeps pushing.

And look at what he says
in verses seven and eight.

And if you had known what this means,
I desire mercy and not sacrifice.

You would not have condemned
the guiltless.

For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.

And at this point they're like, I don't
even know what to do with this guy.

What do you mean?
You're the Lord of the Sabbath?

See, for them,

the Sabbath was of utmost importance,
because this was one of the signs

of the covenant
that God made with his people,

that he was their God,
and they were his people.

There was no other culture than what
their society,

no other religion in the world
that had this Sabbath idea.

This was new to Judaism.

It was new to God's people
and this was their thing.

And now you're going to claim your Lord
over the Sabbath.

It's ridiculous.

He says, no, no, no, I am greater
than any of your Sabbath rules.

You've missed it.

You try to obey the rules
and you missed the ruler.

I'm lord of it all.

I'm authority over it all.

You don't play games with me.

So what are you saying?

There's no more excuses.

You don't live in the shadows
anymore. It's either me or it's not.

He says you look at this.

You look at the Sabbath
as the sign of your covenant.

I got news for you.

There's a new covenant coming

in in Jeremiah 3131 eight, behold,
the days are coming, declares the Lord.

One I will make a new covenant.

And Jesus fulfills that in Matthew 2628,
when the in communion

he says, for this is my blood
of the covenant, the new covenant

which is poured out for the many,
for this forgiveness of true

forgiveness of sins,

he said, I'm greater
like I'm Lord over the Sabbath.

The whole thing points to me,
and I'm put to your rules.

I am the Sabbath.

And that's exactly what Hebrews
four will say.

He said,
do you think the Sabbath is about a day?

The Sabbath is about a person.

The person is me.

This whole thing points to me
you got to deal with me.

You've been dodging me for too long.

You were making excuses for too long.

You sat on the fence for too long.

You played your rhythms, rules
and your games for too long.

You try to know the rules
and you missed the ruler for too long.

You got to do with me now.

What are you saying?

To understand this or

do you hear me?

Look at verses 9 to 13.

Look at this.

He went on from there and entered

the synagogue in a mound there
it was there with a withered hand.

And they asked him,
is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?

They asked him that
so they might accuse him.

And he said, which of you who has a sheep,
if it falls into a pit on

the Sabbath,
will not take hold of it and lift it out?

How much more value is a man than a sheep?

So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.

Then he said to the man, stretch out
your hand, and the man stretch it out.

And it was restored, healthy
like the other.

When the Bible says his hand was withered,
it means literally, completely

dried up and dead.

That's what the withered means.

The it is completely like there's
no there's no

there's no elasticity in the flesh.

There's no there's no the you know, it's
completely there like it's done.

It's dead.

And so

Jesus is going to address this,

but where does it
where does all this happened?

Where is he when all this happens?

Don't look at me. Look at your Bible.

Where is he?

He's no synagogue.

Thank you. God, he's in the city.
He's a church.

Think for a minute.

What did Jesus have to learn at church?

It's.

You never thought about that?

Like Mark four will say, as

was his custom, it was his custom
every Sunday to go to church.

Well, it wasn't Sunday for them. Yeah,
because that happened of the resurrection.

But on church day, they was at church.

What did he have to learn?

Do you think Jesus ever sat in the
synagogue and listened to some preacher

preach about the law and think,
that was brilliant?

Do you think he ever said that?

What did he have to learn?

Nothing.

Yet he was

there every Sabbath at the place
of worship and the place of the word.

If Jesus was there every Sunday

who had nothing to learn from it,
what is our excuse?

What's our culture excuse? No, not you,
because you all are here.

You're better than everybody else. But

do you ever think about that? No.

He's at the place of worship and word.

Because that's just what we do.

So when I shall and I.

Well, you know, you're do

you guys do all this church stuff
because you have to and

and you have your kids there all the time
because, you know, you have to do that.

You're the pastor.

And we tell people all the time
has nothing to do with my role.

This is just what we do.

Well, my parents did.

They were never pastors.

It's just what
we do has nothing to do with our role.

Do you understand that

you parents

who drug your kids to church every Sunday,
good for you?

That's what you should do 100%.

If they want to move out of your house
and do their own thing and be dumb,

then that's on them.

But at least you drug them to church.

Well, you had them.

Just like Jesus did.

And he's he's that church.

She's got a withered hand.
He says, stretch it out.

Listen, Jesus, it doesn't work.

Right.

How do you tell someone who's a hand
doesn't work to make your hand work?

That seems cruel.

But here's what we have to understand.

God's command is God's enablement.

The moment

God commands you to do something,
he enables you with the ability to do it.

But you don't get the ability to do it
before you do it, you got to do it.

They don't have the ability to do it.

When God says do it, then he's enabled you
to do it, but you got to do it

to follow everything.

The moment he says, this is what I want,
he has it just enabled you to do.

It is shown. Here's the deal.

God will never ask you to do that
which he doesn't enable you to do.

He will never ask you to do that
which he does

not enable you to do.

The issue is one's

willingness to trust
and do before you're able to.

There are so many people.

I just feel like God's
lead me to asking me do blah blah blah.

I just don't know if I can.

And you come up with all these excuses

and God says, look,
all you have to do is do what I said

and then you'll be able to.

But right now
you can't because you haven't done it yet.

But if I'm asking you to,
you'll be able to.

So just do it.

See, in the doing of what God

commands is the ability
for what God commands.

To many of you has told God no,

because you don't think you can,

and you can't until you say yes.

Then you can.

Do you understand?

So he tells us where they stretch it out.

Because in the moment he commanded that
that that made this work,

you stretch it out, it's fine.

And at this point.

At this point,

verse 14,

but the Pharisees went out
and conspired against him.

How to destroy him? That was it.
They'd had enough.

You're going to claim
you're greater than everything,

than the greatest king we've ever known.

You're greater than him.

The Sabbath, the thing that sets us apart
from everybody else.

Are you going to say it's about you

and not about the rules?

Are you kidding me?

You're going to demand allegiance to you

and you alone.

And at this point, they had had enough.

To every one of us, Jesus is demanding.

I am above all other things in your life.

I'm the king.

I'm the ruler. I'm not to be trifled with.

I'm not to be played with you.

Don't add me to your stuff.

Hope so.

I'm going to make your stuff better.

You honor me as the king.

As the ruler of your life.

That's what he's saying.

Quit making excuses. Get off the fans!

Come out of the shadows.

All whatever however you want to say it.

Quit.

Excuse in your sin.

Quit excusing your missed all the stuff.

That's what he's saying.

And this is why they're so put off.

Because here's the thing.

If you
don't want to put Jesus on the throne,

you will expel him from it.

Verse 15 Jesus is aware of this
and knew they wanted to kill him,

withdrew from there.

I mean, it's not like
Jesus has a death wish at this point.

You know what I'm saying? He knows
it's coming, but he's not chasing it.

He knows he's invincible till it comes.

He was not chasing it down. You know.

And so he withdrew and many followed him,
and he healed them all

and ordered them not to make him known.

So was, this was to fulfill
what was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah.

Behold my servant whom I have chosen.

Behold, my beloved, with whom my soul is
well pleased,

I will put my spirit on him, and he will
proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor
will anyone hear his voice in the streets,

a bruised reed.
He will not break in a smoldering wick.

He will not quench
until he brings justice to victory.

And in his name
the Gentiles will hope. He's like, listen,

I demand to be honored as the ruler,

but I will let you deny me and walk
away from me, if that's what you choose.

That's what
he says to all who came to him.

He healed him just like he will do for us.

And the Scripture says,

God has put His Spirit on him.

He is the anointing of God.

He'll bring justice to the Gentiles.

But look what he says in verse 19,
he will not quarrel

or cry aloud, nor
will anyone hear his voice in the streets.

He's not.

He's not banging his own drum.

He's not demanding in a in an abusive way.

It is a you're not,
he says, you're not going to see me.

You know,

on the on the street corners holding up
signs and on overpasses, you know,

that's not what this is about.

Am I the ruler? Yes. I'm the king. Yes.

Do I demand religious? Absolutely.

But I'm not going to holler at you
and twist your arms and make you.

You have to decide.

The bruise read.

He will not crush.

If any of you felt
just beat up by religion, beat up

by this world, bruised and abused,

he says, I get it.

And if you feel like you're broken,
I'm not going to.

I'm not going to further break you.

I will restore you

a smoldering wick you will not put out.

The Bible says there are times,

even for the best of Christians,

if you want to use that term,
you know you just got no fire left.

You're just cold to or indifferent to it
all, barely even smoldering anymore.

And Jesus says, no, I get that.

I'm not going to.

I'm not going to snuff you out, man.

I'll restore you.

I'll build you back.

I will reignite the flame.

But you have to honor me as the king.

I'm not going to force you into it.

It's got to be your decision.

He says in his name

the Gentiles will hope
that's finally happened

at the triumphal entry.

Finally, this is the prophecy.

This is what was coming.

This section sets up the crucifixion.

But before that is this triumphal entry.

And finally he comes to Jerusalem.

This is going to happen in
just a little bit.

Finally, in, in, in Jesus the Gentiles,
the people will have hope,

hope for salvation,
hope for rescue, hope for healing.

That will finally happen at the triumphal
entry when Jesus rides into Jerusalem

on a, on a little baby donkey,
one that had never been written before.

He didn't write in on a war horse
to claim, you know, war over people.

He came in a donkey. Why?

Because donkeys is what kings rode.

So he rides into Jerusalem
on a donkey. Why?

Because he is the king.

He's announced it here in Matthew 12,
and he writes in As the King.

And to his entry, the people

finally respond
appropriately as the to the king.

Hosanna, Hosanna!

When they say the word hosanna,
it means save.

Now save us now you're the king.

You're our rescuer.

We give our allegiance to.

You're the only one worthy of worship.
Save us now.

And they cry out, save us now.

When you understand who you are,
we recognize who you are.

We affirm who you are.

Saved.

Now, all of this allegiance
that he's crying for here in Matthew 12

finally is realized
in this very brief moment on Palm Sunday.

But five days later,

those voices who shouted Hosanna!

Save! Now! Blessed is he
who comes in the name of the Lord.

Five days later we'll shout, Crucify him!

Friends, be warned.

There are times in our lives of faith
that we cry out, Hosanna!

Blessed are you, Jesus!

And then the next breath and the next act,
we with those same voice is cry,

crucify him! Why?

Because of our sin.

He was crucified every time that we choose
selfishness, every time that we choose

sin over allegiance to Christ,
we shout out with the cross, crucify him,

crucify!

Jesus knew

that those who in one breath were crying,
Hosanna!

Praise God in the next breath
are going to say crucify! Why?

Because of sin.

He himself bore our sins in his body
on the tree, that we might die to sin

and live to righteousness by his wounds
we've been healed.

It's because of me.

It's because of you

that he was crucified,
because my sin and your sin

shouted, crucify him!

For Christ also suffered once for sins,

the righteous for the unrighteous,
that he might bring us to God.

Being put to death in the flesh, but made
alive in his spirit because of my sin.

Because of your sin.
You cried, crucify him!

And he was.

Jesus, who was delivered up

for your sin, my sin, our trespasses.

It was raised for our justification.

We're the ones who cry, Crucify him!

It's so easy in situations like this
to be like, oh my God, I love you.

I had to ask you about,
And then we walk right out the door.

Crucify him.

Knowing that Jesus rides into Jerusalem,

knowing that that ride into Jerusalem
was going to lead to a cross,

but knowing that that

cross was going to lead
to an end to grave.

And Matthew
12 is what sets the whole thing in motion,

because in Matthew 12
he demands our allegiance.

He's greater than at all.

You understand?

God's word to you individually.

I want you to hear this as an individual,

not as a collective you,
but as a personal you.

God's word to you.

Is that he's greater

than everything else in your life.

And he demands to be honored as such.

He won't do it in an abusive way,

but he will make it clear
that you have to choose.

That your sin cried out, crucify!

And he was

so that he could be resurrected

so you could be forgiven.

You understand,

friends, it's the hinge point.

Everything turns on this right now.

Into your birthday, father.

Thank you.

Thank you that you love us.

Thank you that you've loved us
with an everlasting love.

Thank you that there's nothing we could do

that would make us
or make you love us more.

Or make you love us less.

Your love is constant.

It's secure and it's unchanging.

Thank you.

Have mercy on us now.

In light of your love.

For when we have in our lives

cried out, crucify, crucify!

Forgive us.

Friends of end,

if you have not accepted
the forgiveness offered to you by Christ

and His sacrifice on the cross,
would you do that now?

Would you just simply say, father, I'm
sorry for my sin.

I was the one who cried out, crucify!

I confess that to you, I

admit it,
and I accept your forgiveness over me.

Thank you.

Would you tell him today I pledge
my allegiance to you and you alone.

You're the ruler.

I don't want to know the rules.
I want to know you as the ruler.

And I give myself to you
fully and completely.

I don't want to live
in the shadows of faith anymore.

I want to come down for the fence.
I don't want to walk a line.

I want to be yours completely and fully.

I accept you as the leader of my life.

I give my allegiance to you. I'm yours.

You don't got to stop, man religiously,
and I just.

I need to be restored.
Would you restore me?

God, I feel
like there's not much left in my tank.

I'm just.

I don't have much fire left anymore
for this whole facing.

I need it again.

Would you give it to me?

Jesus.

Thank you that you rode into Jerusalem.

Honored as king.
We honor you today as king.

Forgive us for our shouts
later of crucify.

Thank you for your resurrection.

Holy spirit,
I ask that you would come over.

These are giving themselves to you
with with fire, with power,

that they would know
the power of the cross,

the power of the resurrection,
the power of your presence.

Oh Holy Spirit,

we love you.

In your name I pray.

Amen.

This in I love you.

Good job.

Matthew 12 stuff

It's tough, it's good, but it's tough.

We're going to look at,

the huge part of it
next week on Resurrection Sunday.

And she's going to talk about his death
in his resurrection.

First time he ever mentions
it is in Matthew 12

where we look
at what that means to truly be his.

Get those.

I'm telling you, friend,
get those in, invite cars

and get on mission with God and start
inviting people next Sunday.

You understand that?

You understand that?

Yeah.

I need to quit talking, listening.