Palm Sunday gets its name from the royal reception the residents of Jerusalem gave to Jesus.  John puts it this way:  12 The next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 they took palm branches and went out to meet Him. They kept shouting: “ Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord - the King of Israel!” John 12:12-13 (HCSB).

They worshiped Him--but their worship was in vain because done in willful ignorance.  They wanted a King to deliver them from high taxes, squalid conditions and oppressive political powers.  They expected--and demanded--that Jesus would fulfill their nationalistic and economic dreams.  They craved a here-and-now deliverer who would right all the wrongs and correct all of the injustices they had suffered.  They wanted miracles and bread.

But that's not why Jesus came.  He came to die in order to rescue them and all the world from the greatest tyranny--the tyranny of sin and death and hell.  His mission was "to seek and to save that which was lost," and in order to do that He would have to go to the cross.

By the end of that week, the same crowd who cried, "Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord" was shouting, "Crucify Him, Crucify Him."  Jesus did not fulfill their expectations, so they would rather He be dead than to be Lord and Master of their lives.

Many today still want a "miracles and bread" Messiah.  They want a God that will protect them from cancer or job loss or personal tragedy, and they will fall down and worship such a God.

Our Savior died on a cross.  On Good Friday the representatives of the Roman government nailed his hands and his feet to that tree fixed atop Golgotha.  His mission was not then and not now to eliminate poverty and disease.  His purpose for His life was to die so that His children could be saved.

Jesus will not build a hedge around your life to keep away all the germs and diseases that might attack you.  He will not fix it so you won't take a wrong turn or trip and fall or go through excruciating pain.

So why love and serve Him?  Let me tell you why!!!!  Because He loves you.  He died for you.  He rose for you.  He lives for you.  And He's coming for you.  He promised to be with you and to never leave  you or forsake you.  He promised you that you would have pressure and trials, but He also said that He will be with you through it all.

Today we worship the King and Lord over sin and death.  We reject the idea of a miracles and bread Messiah.  Our Savior has nail prints in His hands and feet.  Our Lord has a scar in his side where a spear pierced Him.   We love Him because He tasted death for everyone of us--not because he spares us from sickness and death.

We take the bread and wine in communion to symbolize our union with Him and our faith that His broken body and shed blood have redeemed us.

Majestic simplicity--bread and wine become tokens of the greatest love the world has ever known.  Don't miss the awesome presence of our Savior as we take the Lord's Supper together.  He joins us at His table.  Bless His Name!

Alan Day, Senior Pastor