Easter Changed Everything!

Message by Barbara Shafer preached at Advocate Condell Medical Center, April 20, 2014

For almost a decade, I taught flower arranging at the College of Lake County.  I enjoyed teaching and I enjoyed flowers and gardening, so it was a perfect fit.  Each semester, I’d have the opportunity to talk about the life cycle of a flower and floral senescence…how from the moment it forms as a bud, it has begun the process of dying. 

From the moment it buds, the goal of the flower is to go to seed and carry on the next generation.  Cut a flower off from its roots to bring it inside and let’s face it: it’s going to end up in the dumpster eventually or become part of the compost pile for the greener ones among us.  The goal of a florist is to keep the flowers as beautiful as possible for as long as possible.  To slow the senescence process and to enjoy them while we have them here.  No flower bud lives forever.  That’s why man created silk flowers.  Most of the students in the class were there to learn how to make their own flower arrangements so they didn’t like to hear the reality of today’s beauty is tomorrow’s compost.

If we think about it, from the moment we’re conceived, we grow and mature and blossom in life and we grow old and fade away.  From the moment we’re conceived, we’re basically terminal.  The goal of life here on earth seemed to be nothing more than to prolong the time we’re here to enjoy it as much as possible before our dust goes to dust.

But then Easter happened.  And Easter changed it all.

Not the bunnies and the peeps and the jelly beans and colored eggs.  Nope.  I’m talking about what the true meaning is of Easter.

The tomb was empty and Jesus Christ has risen indeed.  That’s what changed everything!

In today’s passage of Scripture, the women were planning on doing to Jesus what they would have done to anyone else who died but couldn’t be fully embalmed.  They’d bring spices and cover the person’s body and that’s how they’d properly honor his body.

Luke 24:1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.

They went to the tomb and they were expecting what they would have been expecting had Jesus been a regular guy.  His body would be there, they’d unwrap it and perform the grisly task that was a measure of their true devotion to the man.  They were prepared to do this…right after the Sabbath was over.

So here it is, Sunday morning and they’ve fulfilled the commandment to rest and as the sun is rising these women—a couple of Mary’s and a Joanna (Luke 24:10) who may or may not be the woman named Salome by Mark (Mark 16:1)—are on their way to the place where they’d already scoped out since they were watching where Joseph of Arimathea had placed Jesus’ wrapped body.

As they were on their way, the Gospel according to Mark records the ladies asking each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”  (Mark 16:3) What were they expecting when they got to the tomb?  They were expecting the natural…a big stone blocking the tomb where Jesus was still dead would still be a big stone blocking the way in.

I love the humor element here:  a bunch of ladies inquiring who was going to move the stone.  Not 3-4 body builders or 3-4 men from the stone mason’s guild.  And this wasn’t like a tiny stone or a little boulder.  No, this rock is really big and very, very heavy and even if it was on kind of a track, the track made it easier to roll the stone in place, not so easy to remove it.  That’s intentional.  The purpose of the stone was to keep people (such as robbers) and animals out.  1 Big heavy immovable stone and 3 or 4 women.  The odds were against them.

Matthew’s Gospel account tells us that there was an earthquake and an angel rolled back the stone (Matthew 28:2).  The ladies hadn’t counted on this.  So this was the first of the happy and unexpected events that make it evident that Easter changes everything!

Luke 24: 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

They didn’t find His body. 

They expected His body all wrapped up if they ever got the stone moved.

Instead, the stone is rolled away but His body is gone!

Luke 24: 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

Supernatural.  Yes, they’re angels.  Definitely unexpected.

Luke 24: 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?

What?  The Living?  How is it possible?  Could He be alive?  How did He get out of the tomb?  Let’s look at the rest of this:

Luke 24: 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen!

Risen?  What does that mean?  We weren’t expecting this!

Luke 24: 5b “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:

He told us lots of things that didn’t make any earthly sense!  What do you mean Living?  What do you mean Risen?

Luke 24:6 Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'”

Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men…

Check

…be crucified

Check

…and on the third day be raised again.'”

Check!  This was all predicted!  It wasn’t unexpected at all, if we’d only understood!  It was planned!!!

 Luke 24: 8 Then they remembered his words.

It doesn’t mean that they fully understood all the ramifications of that.  You see, death is something we understand by nature.  Resurrection is not.  Resurrection is supernatural…not natural at all.  Because resurrection is not natural, it is unexpected, and we can miss the point of what God is doing even after we are told something explicitly!

How easy is it for us to miss what God is doing in and around our lives…simply because it defies the natural, the expected, and the way we’ve always done things?

Easter changed everything! 

On Good Friday, death appeared to defeat the Messianic Hope.

On Easter Sunday, the Messianic Hope had clearly defeated death.

Not delayed death, not delaying senescence so that we could enjoy this life here for just a little longer!  No!  Messianic Hope in the Risen Lord had defeated death.  The life we live by faith in Him lasts forever.

We may hope for a cure for the sake of our family members and because there’s more we want to enjoy in this life and that’s great, but Easter Changed Everything!  The tomb was empty.  Jesus is Risen!

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Back to our passage Luke 24:6 Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men…

Check

…be crucified

Check

…and on the third day be raised again.'”

And the plan continues with raised again to eternal life. 

Here’s the beauty of it:

Not just for Jesus.

It has implications for us.  For our faith.

Because Easter changed everything.

A friend of mine posted a cartoon on Facebook that looks like this:

Yes, the demonic celebration was premature because death didn’t have the final say.  Death couldn’t hold Him.

Jesus was raised again.

Luke 24: 9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

Resurrection has the power to turn skeptics into believers. 

It turned me from a skeptic into a believer.

I’m comforted knowing the earliest skeptics were Jesus’ own followers, but Easter Changed Everything! Peter didn’t hear the women’s words as nonsense.  No, it says Peter however got up and ran to the tomb.  He witnessed the empty tomb.  He saw the strips of linen.  It made no natural sense.  Where was Jesus?  Peter left wondering and marveling but was already on his way to being part of the supernatural plan of carrying the Gospel forward by faith in this Messiah.

Peter saw that the tomb was empty of Jesus’ body.  The grave clothes, however, were still there.  A natural explanation wouldn’t have folded up the clothes as the beloved disciple John tells us John 20:7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.  A supernatural explanation is that Jesus didn’t want anything of the earth and the grave holding Him back.  He is Risen!  Easter Changed Everything.  If Jesus’ body wasn’t there, then by faith we can understand our bodies won’t be left behind at the last resurrection either.

Jesus appeared to His disciples over and over again in the days following His resurrection, and Luke 24 tells us He even ate fish to show He was not a ghost or an apparition.  He had a new body just like we will someday.  And at that time, Luke 24:44 [Jesus] said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Remember the check, check, check of God’s plan? 

Here’s the last check: the Good News that Easter Changed Everything will be preached everywhere. 

To all nations.  Beginning with Jerusalem and not ending until His return. 

He’s told us that this is how it’s going to happen.  Will we believe only the natural and that all these earthquakes and mudslides and planes disappearing, and ferry boats sinking, and droughts, and wildfires are just part of this natural world?  Or is there something supernatural going on…events that drive us to our knees in prayer, events that show a world out of control and cause us to long for heaven…to long for God?

There’s something supernatural going on.  The Good News of repentance and forgiveness of sin is being preached in Jesus’ name and in all nations because Easter Changed Everything.

And the best thing about the reality of Heaven is that The Messiah is for Real.  Christ Jesus is there.  He is alive.  He has His glorified body….because Easter Changed Everything! 

The tomb was empty!

Death was defeated and Jesus is Lord because He did it all…check, check, check, and check!

When He returns for you and me, will you believe that the tomb was empty so that you could enjoy more than just life here…and by faith in Christ’s power to forgive your sins, have eternal life in Christ, too?

Will you be ready to embrace the unexpected supernatural and awesome event of that Easter morning?

Will you know as millions of followers of Jesus Christ have known since the day He arose from the dead, that Easter Sunday is more than an empty natural tomb?

It is powerful evidence that Jesus Christ’s sacrifice was accepted by God, that forgiveness of sin is possible in Him, that eternal life is available to you and to me because of what He did on the Cross and in the tomb.  His resurrection means that God’s plan of salvation unfolded and Easter Changed Everything.

Chapel Worship Guide for Easter Sunday 9 AM, April 20, 2014

The Nemmers Family Chapel at Advocate Condell

Worship this morning is provided by the First Presbyterian Church of Libertyville

Prelude—LeAnn Malecha

Welcome—Barbara Shafer, Christ Church Highland Park

Worship in Song –

Hymn 163, Christ the Lord is Risen Today

Hymn 85 Crown Him with Many Crowns

Scripture Readings (Old Testament)  

Isaiah 53:1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Scripture Reading (New Testament) 

1 Corinthians 15:20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

Prayer 

Message by Barbara Shafer “Easter Changed Everything”

• From the moment we’re conceived, we’re basically _________.
• The women coming to the tomb expected to find ______   ______.
• The angels said, “Why are you looking for the ________ among the ______?
• Resurrection is __________…not natural at all.
• Easter changed everything!  On Good Friday, ______ appeared to defeat the Messianic Hope.
• On Easter Sunday, the Messianic _____ had clearly defeated death.

Luke 24:1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'” 8 Then they remembered his words. 9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

Luke 24:44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Worship Response – My Redeemer Lives!

Benediction

Palm Sunday Message “The Unmet Expectations of Jesus”

Preached at Advocate Condell Medical Center by Barbara Shafer (April 13, 2014)

I go through phases in which I enjoy Country Music.  Not everyone does, for sure.  I remember at one point that at the Home Depot in Vernon Hills (where I worked for years as a garden associate), the management decided to switch the music for a little while to Country.  It brought many smiles and many complaints—people loved it or they hated it.  One customer pronounced to me in the cleaning aisle, “You do know that more people have suicidal thoughts while listening to country music than any other type of music, don’t you?”  I was thinking of suggesting that the Blues probably have their share too, but decided just to smile and tell him this phase will pass.  People were rather surprised to hear me talk about Country Music—in a positive way–as one of 3 distinctly American larger genres of music the other two being Jazz/Blues spectrum, and Soul/Gospel spectrum.  Other forms of music are obviously popular—but much of the music either originated on other continents or simultaneously arose with, for example, a British invasion versus a distinctly American twist on Rock&Roll.

Well, one Country song that might apply to today’s message is from the No Fences album by Garth Brooks entitled Unanswered Prayers.

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you’re talkin’ to the man upstairs
That just because he doesn’t answer doesn’t mean he don’t care
Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers

What do you do with unanswered prayers?  Some people stop believing.  Some people keep on praying.  Some people move onto praying other prayers, hoping to find one that works.  Some people read books on prayer to see if there’s a formula that is more effective in getting what they want.

The Jewish people had been praying a long time for the Messiah who would come and free them from oppression, vindicate them as God’s chosen people, and give them peace. 

God didn’t answer their prayers…at least, not in the way they expected.

Like our song Blessings from this morning, written by Laura Story, the lyrics say,

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

‘Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

For the Jewish people of Jesus’ day, there were unanswered prayers and unmet expectations. 

Jesus was a letdown. 

Even among the disciples, Jesus took a turn from what they expected and from what they wanted…and they all fell away during His final days on earth.  Jesus was thoroughly alone and rejected by man.

But God in His wisdom chose to have Scripture fulfilled and He loved us way too much to give us lesser things.  As our OT reading this morning stated, Psalm 118:22 “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone.”

On this side of the Cross, we can see that we wouldn’t want God to have answered our prayers the way people wanted them answered back then.  He loved us way too much to give us lesser things.  He wouldn’t let us settle for temporary political victory when He had eternal spiritual victory in mind.   He wouldn’t let us settle for a tiny victory over Rome when He wanted to give us the greater thing of victory over death.

Today’s passage of Scripture, known as the Triumphal Entry is traditional for Palm Sunday.  Yet, if we’re not careful, we can find ourselves in the same boat as those Jews of Jesus’ day who wanted a conquering king.  We can try to force Jesus into a box of our own making.

Maybe we think of Him as the answer to every world problem.  There wouldn’t be war if we just had a little more Jesus as a negotiator.  There wouldn’t be hunger if we just had a little more Jesus multiplying loaves and fishes.  There wouldn’t be debt if had Jesus here and Jesus there showing us how to budget a little better.  Jesus is not a Band-Aid for world problems.  He’s not a quick fix.  And that’s why He didn’t meet the expectations people have had of Him, back during the original Passion Week and He doesn’t meet many people’s expectations today.

We have unmet expectations because God knows we don’t need a quick fix and a little tweaking here or there. We need God to give us what we need instead of what we want.

How well do you do when you have unmet expectations?  What kind of reactions do you have?  Do you get angry?  Depressed?  Frustrated? Do you get busy trying like Cinderella’s stepsisters to make the shoe fit by cramming the Messiah into the box you have in mind?  Do you trim your Messianic expectations so much that He’s no longer the full Messiah in your mind?  Do you resort to Plan B?  Do you look for a way out?  Do you back away from the person who let you down?  All those reactions surface during Passion Week.

If there’s one thing I’d like for you to remember about unmet expectations about Jesus, it’s this: the problem is with our expectations and not with Jesus.

What were the various people of Passion Week expecting? 

• The crowd expected a political leader who would be victorious in war.  They got a peacemaker.
• The crowd expected a Messiah who would vindicate them.  They got one who died.
• The crowd expected a man they’d rally behind, propelling him to power, and they got the Son of God who had all the power in the universe at His disposal and didn’t need any of their help.
• The Pharisees, too, didn’t understand.  They wanted a Messiah who was a mere man elevated to fame and favor, but not one who came from God, who is God, and who accepted praise as God.
• They all expected a Jerusalem that would be freed.  They got a Jerusalem that was destroyed.

There were so many unmet expectations of Jesus.  It’s no wonder, given all this that the crowd would turn on Him.  On Palm Sunday, they’re praising Him and on Friday, they want Him dead. 

Luke 19: 28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.'”

Jesus wasn’t a psychic able to tell the future.  Jesus knew what He was heading into and what He was heading to Jerusalem to do.  He was in sovereign control over all the circumstances and He wanted the disciples to see that.

Luke 19:32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.” 35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.

The disciples were slow to catch on.  Isn’t that how it is with our expectations?  Expectations are tenacious.  We don’t want to let go of them.  The disciples thought they had the inside track and were special for being near this political Messiah.  He was coming as Davidic royalty, riding in as Solomon did to Gihon in 1 Kings 1:38-39 (1 Kings 1:38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites went down and put Solomon on King David’s mule and escorted him to Gihon. 39 Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!”)

But wait, this Messiah was expected to be a warrior king of raw power, not riding on a humble animal of service.  So caught up in the moment, the disciples failed to see Jesus correcting their view of what He was doing.  He refused to give them lesser things.  He loved them way too much.

Jesus had been telling them all along what He was going to be doing.  In Matthew 16:16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. 21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

Men wanted a conquering Messiah, not the Son of God.  Even the disciples would have unmet expectations.  The crowd did too,

Luke 19:36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. 37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

The disciples are at the height of Messianic fervor.  The crowd of disciples and a crowd in general are filled with joy.  It’s a great moment that they all hoped to live to see:  the Messiah has come!!!  They’re propelling Him to kingship…setting human expectations He will not meet.

Not everyone is feeling that great about all the Messianic hype.  The Pharisees didn’t like the way Jesus was coming in.  To them, He is nothing short of audacious for allowing claims of regal Messianic status—they are inappropriate at best, blasphemous at worst.  So they ask Him to make the disciples stop:

Luke 19:39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” 40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

Earlier in Luke, the Pharisees tried to trim Jesus to fit in their box because Jesus was teaching stuff they didn’t like very much and He was healing on the Sabbath.  Luke 13:17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

The people loved all that Jesus was doing and since He wouldn’t stop, the Pharisees tried to convince Him to go away.

Luke 13:31 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” 32 He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ 33 In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day– for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! 34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'”

Jesus, knowing with complete confidence who He is and what He is doing, knows that He is going to the Cross. 

He is going to die. 

He is going to conquer death and He is going to return, at which point these Pharisees will acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God.

But right now, they have unmet expectations.  Jesus isn’t behaving by their rules.  And they have already begun to think about how they’re going to get rid of this guy.  But there’s a Messianic motorcade and a bunch of cheering disciples.  It wouldn’t do to break into that.  There might be a riot.

If you’ve ever been to Jerusalem, you know that the path down the Mount of Olives and into the east gate of Jerusalem involves going past the Jewish tombs on your left and into the valley outside of the walls of Jerusalem.

The east entrance that Jesus entered is now blocked off with bricks.  It was walled off by the Ottoman Turks when the Muslims conquered Jerusalem in 1530.  They consider it their exclusive territory, but God knows better.

Luke 19:41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace– but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

No one recognized the time of God’s coming when Jesus came the first time.  Everyone will catch on when Jesus returns.  But by that time, it will be too late to join the Messianic fervor.  When Jesus returns, He will already have conquered death and He will bring those who know Him as the Son of God to be with Him forever. 

God didn’t want to give us lesser things of a political victory.  Jesus is the conquering King and the battle He fought was on the Cross and the empty tomb proves He was victorious over death.

In Jerusalem, it’s kind of ironic.  The Muslims who control that area of Jerusalem may have planted a huge cemetery in the valley right outside the eastern gate.  They may have walled off the entrance.

But this Messiah—this Jewish Messiah– defeated death on the Cross and no cemetery, no walls, no blocking off the gate will keep this Messiah from entering Jerusalem. 

There is no stopping God.

So what about our unmet expectations?  Do you see that God has given us something greater than a temporary political victory?

Unmet expectations of Jesus.  The Pharisees had them.  The crowd had them.  Even the disciples had them.  It’s how we could go from a celebration on Palm Sunday to Jesus’ Crucifixion on Friday.

Unanswered prayers.  Unmet expectations.  God’s mercies in disguise.  Jesus didn’t give them the lesser things that they wanted.  He didn’t take the easy route of meeting with everyone’s low expectations.  No.  He gave us all what we really needed: salvation.

So what do we do with our unmet expectations? 

Maybe some of you are in your rooms today and you are unhappy about being in the hospital.  I have been there.  I know how it feels.  Maybe some of you have expectations that Jesus will heal you.  I’d like to offer a possibility that maybe today is a divine appointment that God made so you’d be here and hear about the Messiah, the one who truly saves.

If all our expectations are for this world and for this life, we’re sure to be disappointed in Jesus.  We can become disillusioned with unanswered prayers.  But what if the trials of this life are God’s mercies in disguise?  What if He wants for you to be with Him when He returns for the faithful…and what if your being in the hospital today can answer your prayers in a far more meaningful, powerful, and eternal way?

There is one prayer that never goes unanswered: that’s the prayer for salvation in Jesus Christ. 

It’s easy enough to acknowledge that death has the final say in our lives apart from Him.  We all carry the curse of sin and apart from Jesus there is no overcoming that.   But we can turn from our sins and ask this Messiah to be our Savior…that by faith in Him we can have the greater thing—eternity in the presence of God—instead of the lesser things of this world.

Benediction:  Hebrews 13:20-21