Calvary Chapel Staten Island

Guest (Female): Hello, and welcome to God in Our City, a weekly program highlighting what the great God of the universe is doing in our city. Your host and Bible teacher is Pastor Dave Watson. Pastor Dave has been the pastor of Calvary Chapel on Staten Island for thirty years. He is also the co-founder and president of the New York Institute for Biblical Studies.

We hope that you will be blessed by today's broadcast. If you would like a copy of today's message free of charge, please call us at 718-720-5390. That's 718-720-5390. Now to our broadcast.

Guest (Male): Worthy of all our praises. Hosanna. Hosanna. Come have your way among us. We welcome you here, Lord Jesus. Hear the sound of hearts returning to you. We turn to you. In your kingdom, broken lives are made new.

When we see you, we find strength to face the day. In your presence, all our fears are washed away. Washed away. Washed away. Hosanna. Hosanna. You are the God who saves us. Worthy of all our praises. Hosanna. Hosanna. Come have your way among us. We welcome you here, Lord Jesus.

When we see you, we find strength to face the day. In your presence, all our fears are washed away. Hosanna. Hosanna. You are the God who saves us. Worthy of all our praises. Hosanna. Hosanna. Come have your way among us. We welcome you here, Lord Jesus. Hosanna. Hosanna. You are the God who saves us. Worthy of all our praises. Hosanna. Hosanna. Come have your way among us. We welcome you here, Lord Jesus. Amen. Amen.

Pastor Dave Watson: Are these babies ready to take worship spots? I saw them singing. I think they're ready. Maybe we could get a drummer out of this group. We could make it happen.

You all may be seated. As you're getting seated, our ushers are going to come to receive our morning offering. Again, we're so grateful for all the good things going on here. Thank you for your efforts as well. Your generosity makes this possible.

If you're a guest today and this is your first time or your first time in a long time, please don't feel compelled to give. Your presence is your gift to us. Mark's going to read our scripture, lead us in a word of prayer, and then we'll have a little bit more music and our message today. The sermon title is great. I don't know if the sermon is any good, but the title is great. Everyone loves a parade until they don't. Mark, it's going to be on the big screen. Mark's going to lead us in prayer. Take it away, Mark.

Guest (Male): Good morning, Calvary Chapel. This morning it's the widow's offering. He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums and a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which made a penny.

He called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all of you who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."

Lord, we want to thank you for the opportunity this morning to be here. Lord, we give out of faith. We give to you. It helps support this church. This is an amazing place, Lord. It just brings together people who praise and love you and want to do your work. These offerings that they give, we know you don't need them, but we do to run the church. So we want to say thank you and want to bless those who give and even those who can't. Just being here is good enough. Thank you, Lord Jesus, in your name. Amen.

Guest (Male): We stand before your throne. We're gathered in your name, calling out to you. Your glory like a fire, awakening desire. Burn our hearts with truth. You're the reason we're here. You're the reason we're singing.

Open up the heavens. We want to see you. Open up the floodgates, a mighty river flowing from your heart, filling every part of our praise. Open up the heavens. We want to see you. Open up the floodgates, a mighty river flowing from your heart, filling every part of our praise.

Your presence in this place. Your glory on our face. Looking to the sky. Descending like a cloud, you're standing with us now. Lord, unveil our eyes. You're the reason we're here. You're the reason we're singing.

Open up the heavens. We want to see you. Open up the floodgates, a mighty river flowing from your heart, filling every part of our praise. Open up the heavens. We want to see you. Open up the floodgates, a mighty river flowing from your heart, filling every part of our praise.

Show us, show us your glory. Show us, show us your power. Show us, show us your glory, Lord. Show us, show us your glory. Show us, show us your power. Show us, show us your glory, Lord.

Open up the heavens. We want to see you. Open up the floodgates, a mighty river flowing from your heart, filling every part of our praise. Open up the heavens. We want to see you. Open up the floodgates, a mighty river flowing from your heart, filling every part of our praise. Show us your glory. Show us your glory. Show us your power. Show us your glory, Lord.

A thousand generations falling down in worship to sing the song of ages to the Lamb. And all who've gone before us and all who will believe will sing the song of ages to the Lamb. Your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name stands above them all. All thrones and dominions, all powers and positions. Your name stands above them all.

And the angels cry, "Holy." All creation cries, "Holy." You are lifted high. Holy. Holy forever. If you've been forgiven and if you've been redeemed, sing the song forever to the Lamb. If you walk in freedom and if you bear His name, sing the song forever to the Lamb. We'll sing the song forever and amen.

And the angels cry, "Holy." All creation cries, "Holy." You are lifted high. Holy. Holy forever. Hear Your people sing, "Holy," to the King of Kings. Holy. You will always be holy. Holy forever. Your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name stands above them all. All thrones and dominions, all powers and positions. Your name stands above them all. Jesus, your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name stands above them all. All thrones and dominions, all powers and positions. Your name stands above them all.

And the angels cry, "Holy." All creation cries, "Holy." You are lifted high. Holy. Holy forever. Hear Your people sing, "Holy," to the King of Kings. Holy. You will always be holy. Holy forever. You will always be holy. Holy forever. You will always be holy. Holy forever.

Lord, you're always turning our eyes back to you, Lord. And on this week, we especially take some time to remember you deserve our gaze. Keep our eyes fixed on you, Lord Jesus. May it not only be our eyes, Lord, but may our hearts be fixed on you every day as we see you for who you are. You deserve all of our praise, all of our worship. We bow more than our knees to you, but our hearts to you. You deserve all of our worship, Jesus, in your precious name.

You stood before creation, eternity in your hands. You spoke the earth into motion, my soul now to stand. You stood before my failure and carried the cross for my shame. My sin weighed upon your shoulders, my soul now to stand. What can I say? What can I do? I'll offer this heart, O God, completely to you.

So I'll walk upon salvation, your spirit alive in me. My life to declare your promise, my soul now to stand. What can I say? What can I do? I'll offer this heart, O God, completely to you. What can I say? What can I do? I'll offer this heart, O God, completely to you. So I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned, in awe of the one who gave it all. I'll stand, my soul, Lord, to you surrendered. All I am is yours.

I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned, in awe of the one who gave it all. I'll stand, my soul, Lord, to you surrendered. All I am is yours. I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned, in awe of the one who gave it all. I'll stand, my soul, Lord, to you surrendered. All I am is yours.

I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned, in awe of the one who gave it all. I'll stand, my soul, Lord, to you surrendered. All I am is yours. All I am is yours. All I am is yours. All I am is yours.

Pastor Dave Watson: Amen. Please remain standing. You can applaud and thank God. Thank you, worship team. We’re going to read our scripture in just a moment. I want to tell everybody listening by radio, YouTube, Facebook, and any of those other ways that both the study guide today for the message "Everyone Loves a Parade Until They Don't" and our devotional beginning today for all this week is available at NYCShepherd.com. It is a free download just there for you. We'd love for you to take advantage of that.

Let's go to the Lord in prayer. We're going to remember Pastor Schooling, recovering from hip surgery. We pray for his rehab as well as so many other things we need to pray about. Let's bow our heads, close our eyes, and pray together.

Guest (Male): Father, we come into your presence today thanking you for your son, the Lord Jesus, our Savior. Thank you for the forgiveness of sins through his death, burial, and resurrection. Lord, thank you that he gave his life willingly for us.

And Father, we bring before you your son, Paul Schooling. We just pray for your healing hand on him. Thank you, Lord, that his surgery was successful. Please, Lord, now bring healing to his body. As he rehabs, Lord, help him to be able to deal with the ups and downs of that and fully recover, Lord. Bring him back to us as soon as possible, Lord.

We come before you, Lord, knowing that our nation needs you desperately. Our world needs you desperately. We pray for our city, which needs you desperately. May our authorities, our leaders, Lord, seek your face. Lord, bring them into a personal saving relationship with yourself, Lord, so that they are different not because of reformation but because of transformation, because Jesus has made them different and they serve, above all else, you.

Lord, we pray for that. We pray for the end of this war. We pray for the protection of our troops. We pray, Lord, for the saving of lives throughout Iran. Lord, we would also pray for the protection of the Jewish people throughout the world and in particular for the peace of Jerusalem.

Lord, watch over our houses of worship. Watch over this house, Lord. Watch over the synagogues across our world, Lord. Lord, please now in our moments help us to listen to you, hear your voice, and please, Lord, touch our hearts. We pray this in Jesus's name.

Guest (Male): And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of his disciples, saying, "Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' you shall say this: 'The Lord has need of it.'"

So those who were sent away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, "Why are you untying the colt?" And they said, "The Lord has need of it." And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, 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 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! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples." He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out."

Pastor Dave Watson: You may be seated. Yesterday apparently was No Kings Day across our country. This is a picture of the protest in Minnesota and this is the one here on Staten Island. They said there were a thousand people at that.

But on March 29, 33 AD, 1,993 years ago, Jesus marched into Jerusalem and he said, "I'll be your King." We call it "I'll Be Your King Day." The sad truth is, instead of it being a triumphal entry, it was a tragic entry because they refused him, because they pushed him aside.

Jesus was staying in Bethany, probably with his buddy Lazarus and his friends Mary and Martha. Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. I tell you, that's a good friend. If you can find a friend who can raise you from the dead, hold on to him. You may need him.

He will go from Bethany to Bethphage, which is at the foot of the Mount of Olives. Bethphage means "The House of Figs," and we'll talk more about that. But in 550 BC, the prophet Daniel predicted the long-awaited Messiah would come and be cut off.

Listen to the words of Daniel 9:25-26. It says, "Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks." It's sixty-nine weeks of years, which is somewhere near 483 years. "The street shall be built again and the wall, even in troublesome times. And after the sixty-two weeks, Messiah shall be," what? "Cut off, but not for himself. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, until the end of the war desolations are determined." So there's a prediction that says the Messiah will be rejected.

In 520 BC, the prophet Zechariah, preaching to the exiles to get them to rebuild the temple, predicts that Israel's Messiah will enter Jerusalem riding on a colt. "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!" Zechariah 9:9 says. "Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

In approximately 500 BC, a psalmist writes Psalm 118:19-29. Now Psalm 118 is part of what's called the Hallel. What does Hallel remind you of? What does that word remind you of? Hallelujah. Psalms 113-118 are the Hallel. The Hallel is what they sang when they went up to Jerusalem for Passover or for any of the feasts.

So you can picture this crowd of people. There's usually family and friends from your town and you guys are all making your way up to Jerusalem and you're singing together. I don't know if you've ever ridden on a bus with a group of people going to something and you sing a song, right? 99 bottles of beer... yes, you've done that. Well, they didn't sing that. They sang the Hallel.

Listen, if you will, to the words of verses 22-26. It predicts the rejection of the chief stone. "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord." Just a side note, have any of you ever said, "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it"? Anyone ever say that? Please note the context. The context is they rejected the Messiah. Just so we understand the context, I'm not trying to take away your favorite saying.

Six days before Passover in 33 AD, Jesus is anointed for his burial by Mary in Bethany at the home of Simon the Leper. I thought it was Mary and Martha's home. It was. But either their dad or Martha's husband was a leper. Where is he? He's dead. Why? What happened to people with leprosy? They died. But Martha and Lazarus and Mary are all there.

Guest (Male): Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at the table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair.

Pastor Dave Watson: Please note that you will find here at this dinner Lazarus the witness, Martha the worker, and Mary the worshiper. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume, which would have been worth a year's wages.

Guest (Male): But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, who was about to betray him, said, "Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief, and having charge of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, "Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me."

Pastor Dave Watson: Down in Bethany, the next day with a large crowd coming to the Passover feast, Jesus rides down from the Mount of Olives on a donkey into Jerusalem as the crowd proclaims, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

Guest (Male): 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 out, "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 is written: "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!"

His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, "You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!"

Pastor Dave Watson: This is crazy. It's hard for us to fully comprehend. The Jewish people were looking for a deliverer. They were looking for a Messiah who would rescue them from the Romans. On a couple of other occasions in John chapter 2 and John chapter 6, they were thinking that they could just bring Jesus up in front of everybody and make him take kingship. They were looking for him to do this. And this time, this time they were sure it was going to be different because Jesus hopped on the donkey, just like Zechariah had said. And he was walking, he was riding into Jerusalem. What they expected him to do was to take over.

And the Pharisees were getting nervous. Why? Because they didn't see where they fit in. They didn't see how this was going to work out for them. They had a happy alliance with the Romans. Even though there was a Roman centurion on every block, even though they were reminded continually that they weren't free, that the Romans ruled the roost, they were, "You know, it's not that bad." And Jesus is now showing up.

As Jesus approaches Jerusalem, he weeps over the city because he foresees them rejecting him and experiencing the awful results of that rejection. As you come down the Mount of Olives, you go over the peak and right there is the city. And it was there that Jesus wept. If you've ever been on Staten Island at the corner of Forest and Victory and you make the left on Forest, the first time I did it, it took my breath away because right there in front of you is the city. Kevin, you live next to that. You can walk there and see that. Kevin's having a "Go Pray for the City" party tonight at his house, please join... No.

But right there in front of Jesus was the city and he weeps over it. "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in it because you did not know the time of your visitation."

He rejected me. So when he comes to this point in the Mount of Olives, he sees the city and he weeps. The text tells us in Mark that he went to the temple that night and looked around. What would he have seen that night? He would have seen all the tables set up by the money changers who were going to rip the people off in the exchange rate. They had to buy their sacrifices with Jewish money and they had Roman money, so they had to make an exchange. The money changers said, "No problem," and cheated them. Maybe he would have heard the animals, maybe he would have smelled the animals. The turtle doves for those who had almost nothing, the lambs without spot or blemish there.

Why didn't he just get rid of them then? Because he wanted everybody to see what he was going to do. The very next morning, on the way back to Jerusalem from Bethany, Jesus curses a fig tree near the town of Bethphage. And again, remember, what does Bethphage mean? House of Figs. Why did he curse the tree? Because the tree had leaves but no fruit. I love the way Mark records what happens here.

Guest (Male): On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard it.

Pastor Dave Watson: The fig tree promised fruit, but it was an empty promise. From the time of John the Baptist until now, people had been being baptized for repentance and John had said, "Bring forth," what? "The fruit of repentance." Now the nation has an opportunity to show that what they have said has been happening in their lives is real. But it wasn't. They, like the fig tree, were hypocritical.

In Jerusalem, Jesus drives out the money changers and merchants in the temple saying, "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a den of robbers." So what does the text tell us? Jesus marched into the temple, into the court of the Gentiles, and he said, "Hey guys, could everyone leave now? This really is offensive, please." No.

Guest (Male): And they came to Jerusalem. He entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons, and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers."

Pastor Dave Watson: In our Christian culture, for whatever reason, we've tended to feminize Jesus. We've sung songs like, "There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus," because there isn't one. He wasn't lowly. Jesus threw over the tables. He had a small whip and he was whipping people. And then people were trying to get through the temple and he said, "No way, dude."

Jesus was defending the honor of the house of God. When they are next in the temple, it's the next day. The religious leaders question Jesus's authority. It's a whole crazy thing going on with those who were from the party against Rome, the Sadducees who don't believe in the supernatural and the resurrection, the Zealots, the Sadducees, and the Pharisees. And they were all taking turns trying to trap Jesus. And Jesus answers their question flawlessly. He in fact puts them to shame.

So they ask him, "By what authority are you doing all these things?" And he said to them, "By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?" Jesus said to them, "I'll ask you one question. Answer me and I'll tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me." And then they discussed it with one another. They're trying to find out the politically correct answer. They said, "If we say 'from heaven,' he'll say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'" Then they said, "If we say 'it's not,' the people are going to be mad at us." So they're going to go, "Oh, we didn't know." And Jesus said, "No problem. I won't tell you by what authority I do what I do."

Sincere questions to Jesus get sincere answers. Insincere questions to Jesus, not so much. Still in the temple, Jesus tells the people the parable of the tenants and the vineyard. The fact that there's a group of tenants who have a vineyard, the owner of the vineyard wants a better job to be done, he's putting people over it, and the tenants reject all these overseers who come seeking fruit, even the son.

Jesus tells them that the rejected stone is the chief cornerstone. They've just sung about that. And Jesus is telling them the rejected stone is the chief cornerstone. And they took him, that is the son in this parable, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He'll come, he'll destroy the tenants and give the vineyards to others. "Have you not read this scripture: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"

What is Jesus predicting? The destruction of Jerusalem. Why was Jerusalem destroyed in 70 AD? Because the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus Christ. That's why. Wow. After the resurrection, Peter will explain this. He healed a man and he gives credit to Jesus and he speaks of Jesus as the stone that was rejected, which is the chief cornerstone.

"This Jesus," he said, "the one you crucified, this Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become," what? "The cornerstone or the chief cornerstone." And then he says these incredible words. In context, they are like booming. What does he then say? "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among man by which we must be saved."

So what happens when you reject Jesus? What is your next option? There ain't one. There ain't one. So as we review this text, let's ask ourselves, what kind of offer does Jesus make? What is he offering the people here? Remember Zechariah 9:9, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming, coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

He comes offering to be our what? King. "Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!" The word hosanna means, as it was said in Psalm 118, it means "Save us," or "Save us now." He comes to be our King. He comes offering to be our Savior. He is just having salvation. Mark 11:9, "And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, 'Hosanna! Save us! Save us now! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'" He comes offering to be our peace. He's riding on a donkey.

It says in Luke 19:38 saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" What response does Jesus receive? Well, before you look at that, look at the response toward Jesus today. It is a desire to marginalize Jesus. It is a desire to put Jesus in the same category as everybody else. That your religion and my religion are the same as everybody else's. Everybody's religion is cool. It's all right, believe whatever you want to believe, it's fine.

If Jesus isn't who we say he says he is, we are really, really, really stupid people. If Jesus was simply a moral teacher who got caught up in some sort of insurrection and then died, and then his disciples said, "Yeah, no, he rose again," if that's what it is, you and I are believing a lie and we are to be most pitied.

If Jesus is just one of the great prophets, even if he's one of the higher of the prophets, if he's like the best prophet, then once again, we're following somebody who made all kinds of other statements and other claims, like, "I'm the King," like, "I'm going to die and rise again." We're following somebody who really, if he was in our day and age, would be at Bellevue. If Jesus is just a man who taught some good things and we have staked our eternity on him, we are foolish.

But what were the responses to Jesus in this day? Some of us and some of them responded with no embrace. Jesus was saying, "I'm making you an offer you shouldn't refuse. This is it." Listen to those who did not embrace him. Luke 19:39-40, "Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, 'Teacher, rebuke your disciples!'" They knew what the disciples were saying. Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! He's the chief cornerstone. He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out." Teacher, shut your disciples up. I can't, because what they're saying is true. From the religious leaders, Jesus got no embrace.

Some of us respond with a temporary embrace. "Oh, I think I like this." Everybody loves a parade until they don't. So the Pharisees said to one another, "You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the whole world has gone after him!" It appeared that Jerusalem was buying into Jesus. It appeared that multitudes were willing to follow Jesus. The Pharisees were freaking out. A few days later on Good Friday in Pilate's Hall, the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. See how temporary it is? It's a four-day thing. It's a fad.

Some, some respond with limited embrace. They're sort of in, almost in. As he was drawing near, already on the way down 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. But we find out their motive just a few moments earlier or later when it says, "The reason the crowd went to meet him was that they had heard," what? "He had done this sign."

They were looking for Jesus to do another trick. It is in John 6 after he has fed them that they try to make him king. Why? This is a good deal. We got a guy who can feed us! All right! From five loaves and two fishes? Let's hire him. Let's make him king! We got a guy who does miracles! Let's get him! Let's make him king! They were waiting for him to become their king.

Some of us respond with a complete embrace. We love Jesus. He's our Savior. We do this though our understanding may be limited. The disciples did this. They embraced him. And the text tells us the disciples did not understand these things at first. We embrace him but our knowledge is not complete. We embrace him though our faithfulness may be incomplete. We're not all that we should be. Mark 10:50, the blind man, having been made whole, throws off his cloak, sprung up, and came to Jesus. Wow, all in! Leaves everything behind. But note those who had been with Jesus. It says, "And all his acquaintances and the women who followed him from Galilee stood," what? "At a distance, watching these things."

Some of us embrace him though our love may be weak. Remember Peter? How would you describe Peter's love for the Lord? I'd say it's intense. But yet what happens with him? He chickened out. Well, he crowed out. He rooster-ed out. John 21:17 said he said to him the third time, this is to Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me? Are you fond of me in this case?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Are you fond of me?" He said to him, "Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you. I'm fond of you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep."

What consequences does Jesus promise to those who do not embrace him? Rejection because of ignorance results in what? Destruction. We want to think that if you're ignorant, if you- if you- if your head's not there, if you haven't got all the information, you can plead ignorance. You can't. Luke 19 says Jesus over Jerusalem, we read this a moment ago, said, "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the thing that made for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in it because you did not know the time of your visitation."

You didn't know. You were ignorant. If you had even known. And what's the product? Destruction. There'll be many people on the judgment day of God who will want to plead "I didn't know." No, no, you know, nobody explained that fully to me. Tough.

Rejection because of opposition results in destruction. He says to the Pharisees, he looked directly at them and said, "What then is this that is written: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'?" Now watch the next words. It's a reference really to the book of Daniel. "Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush them."

So if the stone falls on you, you're crushed. If you fall on the stone, you're broken in pieces. Your choice. The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them. But they feared the people.

What does our response say about us? If I don't fully embrace Jesus, if I don't go all in for Jesus, if I don't follow Jesus, what does it say about me? Number one, it's possible we don't like the offer. "Apparently you want me to follow you and deny myself. Do you have something else? This just doesn't fit me well."

Luke 19:14, "But his citizens hated him." That's that parable of the tenant again. "But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him saying," look at the words, "'We do not want this man to reign over us.'" That is true in God's church as well as the society we live in. We don't like what Jesus tells us. We don't want Jesus to be the boss of us. So we say, "Well, you know, I don't think the Bible really means that. No, when he said that, he means this."

"I don't like the way God made me, so I'll alter it. I don't like being a boy, I'm going to be a girl. I don't like being a girl, I'm going to be a boy. Nobody can tell me because I don't want anyone to reign over me. I have total autonomy over my body. I have total autonomy over my decisions." Such a foolish way to be. It tells us we don't want him to reign over us. And it tells us that we would prefer the status quo.

This to me is one of the most amazing statements in the Bible. The Jewish people were under the domination of the Romans. Everywhere you look, there was a Roman guard. Wouldn't that be nice? And the Romans had absolute authority over you. The Romans wanted to pull you out somewhere and do something, "Okay." You didn't have the rights of a Roman citizen. You had the rights of however they felt to treat you.

And this is what they say a few days later. They cried out, "Away with him!" That is Jesus. "Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priest answered, "We have no king but," what? "Caesar! We would prefer Caesar to Jesus."

So we'll ask this question twice today. So what's it to me? The parade of the triumphal entry, and remember, everyone loves a parade until they don't, turns into the path of the Via Dolorosa just five days later. Five days later, Jesus will be marched to the cross. John 19:15, they cried out, "Away with him!" "We don't want this King." The citizens said, "We don't want this man to reign over us."

After the resurrection of Christ on the Mount of Olives, listen to the words of the two angels in front after Jesus is ascended. The disciples are gazing up into heaven. "And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes and said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken from you into heaven, will come again in the same manner as you saw him go to heaven.'"

Follow with me now to the book of Zechariah. Remember chapter 9, verse 9? Jesus comes in riding on a donkey in peace. Listen to the words of Zechariah 14. "Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on the day of battle. On that day, his feet shall stand where? On the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the mount shall move northward and the other half southward."

Revelation chapter 19. What does this- what does this mean to me? I think simply said, you and I are faced today with a decision. Jesus marched into Jerusalem nearly 2,000 years ago and offered himself as a King. Jesus is in our midst today saying, "I am here as King. Will you acknowledge me? Will you bow before me? Will you give me my due?"

I can reject him by rejecting him. "I don't want this man to rule over me. I want to do my own thing." There's a way that seems right to a person, the end therein is destruction. I can reject him by neglect. I can reject him by reject. I can reject him by neglect. I can procrastinate, I can put it off. I can say, "When I get older, I'm seriously going to consider Jesus. But I got some things I want to do right now. I don't want... so can we revisit this? Can you come by in a couple months, a couple years?"

Or I can reject him by inject. What does that mean? It means I add, I soften it. "Yes, I'm going to follow him as Lord. Sort of. I surrender most. I'd like to negotiate. I'd like to negotiate with you, Jesus. I'm willing to serve you, but here's- here's the terms of negotiation. I got to be able to, I would like to..." It's rejecting.

So what do we need to do? Accept Jesus, you are my King. Jesus, you are my King. I surrender all. The essence of that is threefold. It's personal. Personally transfer our faith to him for salvation. You believe your church or your religion would save you? You're wrong. Jesus died on that cross for you and I, and I must personally give my heart to him, trust what he did on that cross for me.

And then I need to publicly identify with him. I need to take a stand and say, "I am Jesus's." I do that first of all by getting baptized, by taking the public step of being baptized, by saying in front of everybody, "I'm on Jesus's team. Here's how I got saved, here's how it works." And then I need to purposefully grow in him.

It's hard to imagine how really, really wild Palm Sunday must have been. How the marching in, the craziness, the thought that at that very moment, Jesus was going to fix everything. He was going to- he was going to make it all right. He was going to put the religious system in its place. He was going to defeat the Romans with some wild miracle and he was going to be King.

But he didn't do it that way. The people didn't like the offer. So a few short days later, the religious leaders, influencing the people, rejected him. And what was the result? Thirty-seven years later, Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed. Destroyed. Why? They rejected Jesus.

What happens to a life that rejects Jesus? It's in a world of hurt. What happens to your life and my life when we reject Jesus? It's a world of hurt. It's a world of hurt. We need him, we need to surrender to him fully, completely, and watch this, unconditionally.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for this Palm Sunday. Thank you for the triumphal entrance of our Lord. Thank you that Jesus, your son, our Savior, came to give us eternal life. Help us, Lord, in this moment, in this moment to know what you have done for us. You came, you are our King. May we, Lord, see you as that. May we give you our very, very hearts this day. Lord, we're not doing you a favor.

"At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth; and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Heavenly Father, we don't celebrate not having Jesus as King. We celebrate today because we want him to be our all in every area of our life, whether it's where we work, where we live, or even our homes, God. We want to say, "Jesus, you are our King." We surrender to you in this moment in Jesus's name. Amen.

Guest (Male): I'm forgiven because you were forsaken. I'm accepted. You were condemned. I'm alive and well, your spirit lives within me because you died and rose again. I'm forgiven because you were forsaken. I'm accepted. You were condemned. I'm alive and well, your spirit lives within me because you died and rose again.

Amazing love, how can it be that you, my King, would die for me? Amazing love, I know it's true. It's my joy to honor you. In all I do, I honor you. Amazing love, how can it be that you, my King, would die for me? Amazing love, I know it's true. It's my joy to honor you. In all I do, I honor you.

Guest (Female): Thanks for listening to God in Our City. If this program was a blessing to you, please tell a friend and encourage them to listen to the next broadcast. Again, if you would like a copy of today's message free of charge, please call us at 718-720-5390. That's 718-720-5390. Until next time, may our great God continue to richly bless you as you seek to serve Him.

Guest (Male): God in Our City is sponsored by Calvary Chapel Staten Island. Contact the ministry at AM570themission.com, under programs click program guide. AM570 and 102.3 FM, The Mission, WMCA.