IN LIKE A LION,

IN LIKE A LION,<= /b>

OUT LIKE A LAMB<= /b>

Matthew 21:1-11<= /b>

Jesus conquers by submitting.

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A sermon pr= eached by

Dr. William= O. (Bud) Reeves

First Unite= d Methodist Church

Hot Springs, Arkansas

April 5, 20= 09

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During = most of the trip we recently took to the Holy Land, we enjoyed nice weather. It was = very similar to our weather in March, cool but not uncomfortable in a light jacket. But the next-to-last = day, a cold front came through, and the temperature dropped into the 30’s and the rain was pouring and the wind was blowing. That, too, reminded me of Arkansas weather= ! I was surprised somewhat by that; previously I had always thought of the Holy Land as being hot, but springti= me is not too different from here, at least around Jerus= alem and in Galilee.

As fate= would have it, that cold, wet, blustery day was the day we were scheduled to walk down the Mount of Olives, retracing the path of Jesus as he entered Jerusalem on Palm = Sunday. And we did it, though we didn’t feel all that triumphant at the time. I kept thinking what a = small sacrifice we were making compared to Christ’s. And the old phrase occurred to me = again, “In like a lion, out like a lamb.” March weather is supposed to come = in like a lion—windy and harsh—and go out like a lamb—gentle= and mild—but that day in March the lion was still roaring!

The spr= ingtime weather gives us a good parallel with Holy Week. The beginning and the end of the l= ast week of Jesus’ life were as different as the varieties of weather in springtime. Jesus entered Jerusalem like a = Lion, and he left on Friday like a Lamb.

When Je= sus came into Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday, he self-consciously took on the character of the = King of Israel, who was also called the Lion of Judah. He had the disciples commandeer a donkey, and everything that happened was consistent with the royal processi= on of the King of the Jews entering the city.= The prophet Zechariah had predicted the coming of the King: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triump= hant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of= a donkey.”[1] The people were spreading their coats in front of him, cutting branches from the palm trees—more sign= s of royalty. They were shouting t= he royal greeting from Psalm 118, R= 20;Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed = is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!&nbs= p; Hosanna in the highest heaven!”[2]<= /i> Everything indicated that Jesus was coming to town to claim his kingdom. He was taking the town by storm!

But the= scene was very different just five days later.&n= bsp; There was a different storm brewing. Jesus stumbled out of the gate of = Jerusalem along a= street later called the Via Dolorosa, the Wa= y of Sorrow. He had been arrested, convicted, and beaten within an inch of his life. On his bloody back he carried the = heavy timber to which he would be nailed to die.= The crowd that had shouted “Hosanna!” on Sunday now scre= amed “Crucify him!” Th= ey lined the streets not to cheer, but to jeer and revile and curse and spit on the One who would be king.

This dr= amatic reversal had also been predicted. The prophet Isaiah, 700 years before Christ, had envisioned the Suffering Servant of Israel: “= ;He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”[3] = When John the Baptist saw Jesus walking beside the Jordan River, he told= his disciples, “Behold the Lamb o= f God who takes away the sin of the world!”[4] = From the beginning Jesus was destin= ed to be the sacrificial Lamb who gave his life for the sins of the people.

Jesus c= ame into Jerusalem on Sunday as the Lion of Judah. = He left Jerusalem on Friday as the Lamb of God being led to slaughter on the cross. It looked like the greatest failur= e in the history of the world—another pretender to King David’s thro= ne, another false Messiah, another crazy man with delusions of grandeur getting what he deserved. But what ap= peared to be the greatest defeat was in fact the most marvelous victory of all, ev= en before the resurrection on Easter. The death of Christ was the triumph of love. Paul wrote to the Romans, “God proves his love for us in that whi= le we still were sinners Christ died for us.”[5]<= /i> Here is stark, graphic proof that G= od so loved the world; he gave his only Son.&nbs= p; On the cross, Jesus was already victorious; he was already overcoming death and evil. Our sins were= being taken away by the completeness of his love.

Jesus c= onquered by submitting to God. In the = garden of Gethsemane, he prayed, “Not my will, but yours be done.= 221;= = [6] On the cross, he declared with his= final breath, “Father, into your ha= nds I commend my spirit.”[7] Jesus shows us the way. We can conquer our enemies in the = same way he did, by submitting to God. To submit to God, we have to acknowledge and accept what he did for = us. The death of Christ on the cross w= as not just for the world or for all humanity.&nb= sp; He died for Bud Reeves.= He knew me when he died. He was suffering for Joe and Jane = and David and Susie. We find the awesome power of Christ’s love in the historical and spiritual truth = that Jesus knows us individually and went to the cross for each one of us.

Imagine traveling back in time to that Friday on the Via Dolorosa. As you stand in the crowd—ar= e you shouting?—see the blood-streaked face of Jesus turn upward, and his e= yes look into yours. Hear the tor= tured voice say your name and rasp out the words, “This is for you.”<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> How can we ever deny that gift?

I’= ;ll never forget a story I heard several years ago about a missionary in Korea s= hortly after the Korean War. There was a young Korean woman, a friend of the missionary, who was expecting a baby. She went into labor on Christmas Eve, in the midst of a fierce snowstorm. But the woman knew= if she could just get to the home of the missionary, she would have the help s= he so desperately needed to bring her baby into the world. She put on her winter wraps and st= arted out alone, on foot. She was s= everal miles from home when her labor pains grew so intense and frequent that she = knew she could not make it to her destination.&= nbsp;

The you= ng woman got beneath a bridge that afforded a bit of shelter. There alone, in the dark of night,= in the middle of a blinding snowstorm, she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. She immediately removed = her coat, and then, piece by piece, the rest of her clothing. Carefully, she wound every item ar= ound her baby until he looked like a cumbersome little cocoon. Then the cold and exhaustion took its toll, and the woman lost consciousness.

The next morning dawned bright and clear and cold, and the missionary awoke with a s= ong in her heart. It was Christma= s Day, and she had so many people she wanted to see. She packed the car and went on her way. A few miles down the roa= d, the car sputtered and stopped on top of an old bridge. The missionary got out to check un= der the hood, and she heard a sound, like a baby crying. Following the sound, she went unde= r the bridge, where she found a tiny newborn baby boy—hungry, but still alive. Next to the infant lay= her friend, the baby’s mother, frozen to death.

The mis= sionary picked up the baby and took him to her home. In time, she was allowed to adopt = the boy. As the years passed, she told him how his biological mother had given = her life that he might live. He n= ever tired of hearing the story, and she told it over and over.

On his = twelfth birthday, Christmas Day, the boy asked the missionary to take him to his mother’s grave. When th= ey arrived, there was snow on the ground.&nbs= p; The boy asked the missionary to wait while he went to the graveside alone. She watched her adopte= d son as he trudged across the cemetery in the snow, tears streaming down his che= eks. In amazement, she saw him slowly unbutton his coat, remove it, and lay it gently on the grave. Next he removed his shirt, his pants, his shoes and socks, and carefully placed each item on the burial place of the mother who had given her all for him.

Finally= the missionary couldn’t take it any longer, and she went to her son, plac= ing her coat around his bare, shivering shoulders. Through his tears, she heard him a= sking, “Were you colder than this for me, Mother? Were you colder than this for me?” He knew she was. There was no way he could ever rep= ay what she had done for him.

There i= s no way we can ever repay what Jesus did for us.&n= bsp; But we can acknowledge the sacrifice. We can accept the gift. And we can live faithfully. It’s not all about what he d= id; it’s also about what we do in response to what he did. It makes a difference how we respo= nd to the love of Jesus.

In the = movie Gladiator, Russell Crowe plays the Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius. Early in the movie, he is preparin= g to go to battle against a barbarian Germanic tribe. Just prior to ordering the charge, = he encourages his troops. Sittin= g atop his horse, he looks out over his cavalry and yells, "What we do in life echoes in eternity!"[8]

How we = fight the battles of life makes an eternal difference. The war has already been won on the cross and in the empty tomb, but each one of us has a contribution to make = to the eternal kingdom already claimed by Christ. We cannot treat our life as if it = were a seven-decade-long game of Trivial Pursuits. The death of Ch= rist gives our life an eternal significance and makes our lifestyle of supreme importance. We had better get= our priorities straight.

I know everything we do will not have eternal significance or cosmic importance. Sometimes we just have to chill= 212;play golf, go fishing, watch some TV. The problem becomes if our lives are so chilled out that we never ge= t on fire for anything! As you loo= k at the broad sweep of your life, ask yourself, “Did Jesus die on the cro= ss so I could live this way? Are= the things that I’m worried about worth the shedding of his blood? Do my priorities justify his cruci= fixion for me?” What do you th= ink?

Once you acknowledge and accept what Jesus did for you, and you align your prioritie= s in a way that echoes in eternity, then you can live in freedom. Sin, evil, and death have no power= over you any more. You can live ea= ch day with courage and conviction and purpose and power, because your life reflec= ts eternal values. You have given your l= ife to the One who gave his for you. You are a child of the King who is both the Lion and the Lamb.

One of = the great action flicks of the 60’s was Spartacus, starring a very young Kirk Douglas. Spartacus was a slave who led a rebellion against the Roman Empire. He and h= is ragtag army of slaves fought the massive and well-equipped Roman legions for their freedom. The cause seem= ed doomed from the start, but Spartacus almost pulled it off. The night before the final battle = with the Romans, Spartacus gave a stirring speech, calling the slaves to be true= to themselves and true to the spirit of freedom within each human heart.

Unfortu= nately, the slaves lost. Spartacus was defeated. To teach all slaves= a lesson, the Romans crucified the surviving rebels, thousands of them, along= the main road leading into Rome. The last to be crucified was Spart= acus himself. Through a strange se= t of circumstances, the sacrifice of Spartacus made it possible for his wife and newborn son to be set free. T= he last scene of the movie showed Spartacus dying on a Roman cross. His wife was standing at the foot = of the cross, holding up the son that Spartacus had never seen. She cried out, “Spartacus! This is your son. And he is free. He is free!” Spartacus was too near death to an= swer, but his eyes were full of pride and joy.[9]

We can = live as free people today—free of the power of sin, free of the grip of evil, free of the finality of death, free from the depression and despair of worl= dly problems—all because Jesus sacrificed himself for us. Because of what he did, and because= we respond in faith and discipleship, we can overcome it all. We can live above and beyond the troubles and obstacles of life. We can hope for the future. We c= an deal with the difficulties of every day because we belong to him. We are equipped for victory.

Christ = stands at the gates of your city today, waiting to come in. All you have to do is open the doo= r to him. He will come humbly, lik= e a Lamb; he will not force his way into your life. But if you let him in, he will com= e like a Lion, with triumph and victory! Let me suggest you fling wide the gates; spread your branches before him, and sing “Hosanna!” Amen!