Palm Sunday

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Good morning, church. My name is Dylan, I'm one of the pastors here at Caboolture Baptist Church, and just a couple things for our partial spot this morning. As Dave's mentioned, I want to extend my welcome to you, whether you're online or in person. This coming Sunday, so not today, next Sunday, we have six baptisms as we celebrate Resurrection Sunday. How exciting is that? That's something to celebrate together. On top of the fact that we get to celebrate the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. Praise God. Young adults, if you're here in the room, if you're watching online, we have a young adult's board games tonight, it's starting at four, so it's kind of an afternoon, but if you need more details on that, if you haven't received the information that's gone out, please make sure you come and speak to me or Zali after the service. We'd love to make sure that you're able to be there with us. After the service this morning, we've got a prayer forum, and it's going to be a time to feedback, to give all the things that God's been revealing to you throughout our season of prayer, to discuss, to seek together as a church family, what it is that God's leading us to for 2026 and beyond. We've got so much exciting stuff happening in the church, but before we go anywhere, I'm getting some weird looks already. It might be because the partial spots already happened, but imagine for a moment that very truly I came this morning prepared to do a partial spot and nothing else. In fact, I'd come so prepared that this was hands down the best partial spot that I'd ever put together. I'd spent all week preparing how I was going to communicate, what needed to be said, what didn't need to be said, how we were going to pray over the tithes and offerings and commit to God the service and the things that were to come. And imagine I invited us to prayer, I went and sat down. How would you respond? Doug and Dave would probably be looking at each other going, I thought he was preaching. What's going on here? How do we pivot from this moment? You all sat there as I got up expecting a sermon. But very truly, if I had done that, for me, I still came to church prepared this morning. Right? I put a whole week of effort into a partial spot. I'd come prepared, ready to share the things that were going on in the life of the church, ready to commit them to God to lead in prayer, to communicate all that was going on. I would have come to church this morning knowing that we would have all been here, prepared to do a partial spot. I mean, the reality is there's a lot of exciting events happening in the church. Pastor Dave got to do the partial spot this morning. It only seems fair that I get a chance to as well. Right? So I've come prepared. I'm ready to do this. The reality is whilst I could have been prepared, I would have been prepared for the wrong thing. And by being prepared for the wrong thing, I would have missed out on participating fully in what I was actually invited to do. If I had come fully prepared for a partial spot, I would have missed out on the opportunity to be able to preach from God's word this morning. Thankfully, this isn't true in this case. But I wonder whether there might be truth in this illustration for all of us as we approach Easter this week. Today has been said that is Palm Sunday. Today we look at Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem a week before his resurrection, five days before his death and burial. In seven days' time, we get to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. And today we look to Palm Sunday. Before we dive into Scripture, would you join me as we pray? Heavenly Father, we thank You for Jesus. Lord, we thank You for the significance of the fact that You, our God, loved us so much that You sent Your one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. We didn't send Him to this world to judge the world but to save it through Him. Lord, as we open Your Word this morning, we pray for softened hearts. Lord, would You reveal to us what it is that You're saying? Would You speak to us clearly? And would You help us by Your Holy Spirit to respond in obedience and faith? We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. How prepare to You for Easter church? And Friday is this Friday coming, Sunday, Resurrection Sunday is only a week away. In fact, give me a little bit of a gauge, I want you with your thumbs to either give me, I'm 100% prepared, I have no idea what's going on, somewhere in between. Give me a gauge, how are we going for Easter this year? Yeah, a mix. More thumbs up than thumbs down, so that's good, that's good. I wonder for you, what does Easter look like in 2026? What are your plans for this Easter? If I had to guess, within this room there'd be a varying array of answers. For some it might mean coming to a Good Friday service or an Easter Sunday service or both. For others, it may be, praise the Lord, we have a long weekend, I'm going to disappear and go camping, it's been far too long since the last long weekend. Time to go, I cannot think about work for a while. For anyone under the age of 17 and teachers, Easter might mean the beginning of school holidays, which is fairly exciting. Easter this year might mean family gatherings, food, and of course, as the supermarkets promote chocolate, right? But regardless of what it looks like this year, Easter is a significant event. We know this because it's one of the very few events that is recognized, that is celebrated around the world every single year. It's more important, but let's just narrow it back down. Whether a birthday or a wedding or even a funeral, any significant event in our lives requires preparation in the lead up to it. It's just the reality, when you think about a birthday or a wedding, there's weeks if not months or years of preparation that go before the actual event. Now I want to suggest whether consciously or subconsciously this morning, each and every one of us in some way, shape, or form have in fact begun to prepare for Easter. Just by a raise of hands for me, who has already this year bought some Easter chocolate or a hot cross bun? Yeah? Who knows what they're going to be doing over the next weekend? Even if it's going to church, throw your hand up. We've put some thought into what the next seven days look like in our life. And yet I wonder how many of us here this morning have actually intentionally planned to prepare ourselves spiritually for Easter this year. Before we dive into context, this morning we're going to be reading from Luke 19. For context, it's helpful to just get a glimpse of what's happened in this gospel so far. See by this stage, when we're about to read, Jesus has spent almost three years teaching, preaching, and performing many miracles in his earthly ministry. He's a known quantity, a known figure. And the lead up to this event, Passover, is about to occur. So Jesus, like many of the Israelites, headed to Jerusalem, God's chosen city within the land he promised to his people, the city of peace, the foundation of peace. They head here to celebrate the Passover together, to participate in it together. And the lead up to the events that we're about to read, Jesus has heard about the death of a dear friend Lazarus. He's wept over that fact, and then he's brought Lazarus back to life. And then at a dinner, Mary has anointed Jesus with an ointment. And throughout all this time, Jesus has grown in popularity. The crowds, the masses know who he is. They've seen the works that he has done. They've heard the things that he has taught. So much so that as we come to read what we're about to read, we need to understand that the authorities, the Pharisees, the religious leaders, they were being so stirred up by Jesus and the people that were following him, they declared that the public needed to inform them, to help them locate Jesus so that they could arrest him. The order was out. Help us arrest Jesus. And it's in the midst of all of this context that we then come to Luke 19, verse 28, this morning. If you've got your Bibles there, read along with me. And when he had said these things, he went on ahead going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethlehem and Bethany at the mount that was called Oliver, he sent two of the disciples saying, go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a cult tide on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you why are you untieing it, you shall say this, the Lord has need of it. So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untieing the cult, its owners said to them, why are you untieing that cult? And they said, the Lord has need of it. And they brought it to Jesus and throwing their cloaks on the cult. They set Jesus on it. And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near, already on the way down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen. I mean, blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, teacher, rebuke your disciples. And he being Jesus answered, I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out. What's going on here? In the midst of all this context, Jesus sends two disciples. He instructs them to go and collect a prearranged cult, which is a baby donkey. Never been written before. We know that it was more than likely prearranged because there seems to be this password, this cue that the owners know means it's going to Jesus. He says the Lord has need of it. And the two disciples, they go off, they find the cult just as Jesus had described. The owners ask, they tell him that it's for the Lord and they let the disciples go with the cult. After returning to Jesus, they put their cloaks on top of it as a saddle. Remember, this thing has never been written before. It's unbroken. And yet Jesus on a saddle made of coats gets on it and enters Jerusalem. Church, this is already significant. See within the context of this culture, donkeys were ridden by men of peace, merchants and priests. I think the king could and did ride a donkey as well, but more than likely they would have appeared on a mighty war horse to show power, to show strength as they entered the kingdom that they were going into, to demonstrate that they had power and authority. They would enter in on this massive war horse. Going in on a donkey was a demonstration of peace, of humility. What also is fascinating is understanding that the Pharisees, the teachers of the law, they had put a hit on Jesus to get him arrested so that they could interrogate and get rid of him. Jesus doesn't go into Jerusalem through the back alleys. He doesn't make sure the coast is clear before he tips toes into some sacred, secret haven. Jesus mounts a donkey and enters into Jerusalem prominently and with courage. He's not afraid of the threats of man. Despite his position, his rightful claim is the son of God, the king of all creation. He doesn't enter in with a shell of force, a demonstration of his might that humbly on a donkey. By doing so, he fulfills Zechariah's prophecy from Old Testament times in Zechariah 9.9. It's recorded this prophecy. He declared, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you. Righteous and having salvation is he. Full and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. The crowds knew this background. They knew the Old Testament prophecies. For them, the New Testament was still being written. This was their history. This was their scripture. They knew what was going on to some degree and they loved it. Luke 19, verse 36 says this, and as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. And as he was drawing near, already on the way down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Bless in heaven and glory in the highest. If you move to John 12, it's recorded this way in John 12, 12, it says, the next day, the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the king of Israel. And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it just as it was written, fear not, daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's cult. To some extent, the crowds knew the significance of what was coming. They knew the significance of Jesus' entry on that donkey. And in the midst of this praise, in the midst of the crowds glimpsing the Messiah, the king of Israel, the king of all creation, the Pharisees retort, teach or rebuke your disciples. When Jesus tells them the truth, he says, I tell you, if they were silent, the very stones would cry out and replace the praise. This account is amazing church. Up until this moment, for the entirety of the three years of his earthly ministry, up until this moment, Jesus had actively discouraged people from publicly celebrating him as the Messiah. When he did miracles, it wasn't uncommon for him to say, go away, don't tell anyone what I've done for you today. But upon seeing him entering Jerusalem in this way, the masses were stirred to remember all the mighty works they had witnessed him do over the past three years. They lifted their voice in praise and adoration of the coming Messiah, the prophet, the priest, the king, Jesus Christ. And when the Pharisees try to stop it, Jesus declares that it's good for them to do so. Because if they stopped the praise wouldn't, the stones would cry out in the crowd's place. And here's the thing, here's the thing we need to capture here this morning as we read through this Palm Sunday account church. None of this happened by accident. This actions recorded in the four gospels, his entrance into Jerusalem, isn't the impromptu actions of a man who is fearful of being arrested. They're not. They're the prepared actions of the Son of God. Jesus knew exactly what lay ahead of him. He knew what needed to be done. He knew the risk of his life that was put out by the teachers of the law, the Pharisees. And still he entered into Jerusalem with humility and intentionality. This was no accident. Jesus was prepared for what was to come. So too the crowd was preparing. They saw Jesus coming. They had the background of information understanding somewhat of the significance of what was going on. They praised him and already in their praise they were preparing for the rest of the week. See John's account declares that the crowd was shouting out Hosanna, translated that means I beg you to save this. This word Hosanna, it's not the same as hallelujah. It's not a cry of praise. It's a plea, please deliver us. I beg you to save. See the crowd saw Jesus entering on a cult and they very truly were preparing for Jesus to be their earthly messiah. They were expecting him, they were preparing for him to miraculously restore Israel to its former glory. To be their king, to liberate them from the Roman rule that had oppressed them. They were preparing for Jesus' rule on earth. Here's the thing church, a little bit like if I had prepared the best partial spot in the world, got up here during the sermon time and done that and prepared for the wrong thing. So too the crowds were preparing. In fact they were prepared for Jesus to come and do this but they were prepared for the wrong thing. We see the truth of this as we continue through the gospel. We see the fact that this same crowd that declared the coming of the messiah that lifted their voice in praise. By that Friday just five days later this very same crowd had shifted from praise to cries of crucify him. They seem like polar opposite responses. Why? Because Jesus didn't fulfill their expectations. They had prepared for the wrong thing. And because they prepared for the wrong thing. Because they had prepared for Jesus to come in, earthly power, earthly ruler, overthrow the Roman Empire, liberate Israel. They missed out on fully participating, fully understanding the significance of the events that were going on about them. Church there's some similarities and warnings for us here this morning. Very truly we have spent the last almost hour singing songs of praise. We have declared that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. And in five days we will remember his death and burial on that cross. We will remember that Jesus Christ, the one and only Son of God, died in our place to pay the full debt of our sin that we would not perish for eternity but have restored relationship with God. We will celebrate on Easter Sunday his resurrection from death. The fact that very truly he's seated right now at the right hand of God the Father in heaven awaiting the time that he will return. That's a promise church. The question is how prepared are you for Easter this year? What are you preparing for this Easter? See the reality is there's so many distractions which tempt us to lose the significance of this Easter time. That's just the reality of it. It's temptation for us to focus on and just prepare for attending a church service. It's an eight o'clock Good Friday service I've got to make sure that I get up early enough so that I can get here. I actually need to be here half an hour earlier so I can get a seat because community people will come in. Oh Easter Sunday there's baptisms that means more people so I've got to be there extra early. Church we can become distracted by coming to church if we make that the whole thing. There's a temptation to focus on and to prepare for the long weekend. We're going away or I'm absolutely doing nothing. How's this going to work? What is it going to look like? There's a temptation to focus and prepare for our plans over the school holidays or for family gatherings. There's a temptation to focus and prepare for food that will be eaten. There's a temptation to focus and prepare on the Easter bunny and Easter eggs and chocolate and all the secular things that bombard us. And church I want to urge each of us this morning as Easter approaches don't prepare for the wrong thing. Easter is upon us and it's all about Jesus. It's all about Jesus. It's not about church. It's not about chocolate. It's not about family time or food. It's all about Jesus. Those other things are nice and can contribute as we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus, but they cannot become the focus. And so I want to challenge you this week as Easter approaches to spend more time bearing yourself spiritually for Easter than you do spend time preparing physically for Easter. What do I mean by that? Over the course of the next week, spend more time in reflection, in scripture and in prayer. Then you do in planning and preparation for a meal that you might have or for buying chocolate to give to people or whatever may still focus away from Jesus. There's a couple of ways that this can happen. I'd encourage you in this week, read through Luke 19 to 24, immerse yourself in the events that led up to Jesus' crucifixion. If you can read an entire gospel, mark the shortest, spend time over the next five days, read through a gospel, spend time reflecting on why it is that Jesus had to die for you. Why it's so miraculous, so grace-filled, so loving that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, would die on a cross completely blameless for my sin. As you immerse yourself in the events that led up to this first Easter. As you reflect prayerfully and in scripture, be prepared to come to a Good Friday service. Be prepared to come to Good Friday and truly engage with the fact that Jesus died for you. Jesus died for your sins, for my sins, for the sins of the world. Not because he had to, not because he deserved to, but because he loved you and me. Come prepared on Easter Sunday to very truly celebrate having experienced the depth of your own sin, the gratitude of Jesus' death to celebrate the fact that he is risen and he promises he is coming back. Church, don't fail to prepare yourself properly this year. Don't leave this place after declaring that Jesus Christ is Lord and Saviour, only to prepare for the wrong things this Easter. If we do, we end up like the crowds who come Friday wanted nothing to do with Jesus. The very same Jesus that they declared the Messiah is coming, they also cried crucify him. This week, prepare for what truly matters. If you're here this morning and you don't know Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour, if you've still got questions about this whole Christianity thing, can I encourage you that there is no better time than this week, this day, to begin the conversation, to wrestle with what is the good news of Jesus? Why is this so significant? How should this impact my life? If you don't know how to start doing that, can I invite you to talk to someone that you came here to church with, if you're online, reach out to someone that you know as a Christian, reach out to me, to Dave, to Doug, any of the partial team, whether here or online. We'd love to talk you through the good news of Jesus. The Bible tells us it's a decision that each of us have to make for ourselves. And so, if you don't know Jesus, wrestle with this over the next seven days. And if you do know Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, can I urge you, make sure you prepare properly to participate fully in all that we will remember and celebrate this Easter. Don't let your focus become distracted by things that aren't Jesus because Easter is upon us and it's all about Jesus. Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, we thank you for Jesus. We thank you that it's recorded in Scripture this entry into Jerusalem. The Son of God, all-powerful, almighty, fully God and fully human, authority over all creation, entered in unafraid of human threats, entered in with humility and intentionality. A plan for salvation that all who believe, all who accept Him, would be saved and reconciled with God the Father, their sins forgiven in full. Heavenly Father is Easter approaches as we look to Good Friday. As we anticipate Easter Sunday, Lord, this week would you convict us? Would you prompt us? Would you stir us? Not to prepare for things that do not matter, not to be distracted about what Easter is truly about, but to prepare properly, to reflect, to recognize the fullness of our sin, the fullness of our need for a Savior, to realize the grace that has been so freely given to each of us, and to respond with praise and thanksgiving. Lord help us to prepare for Easter. Thank you that it's all about Jesus, amen.