As I was preparing today’s message, “Back By Popular Demand,” I started thinking about music groups, sports teams, political figures and others who after visiting or performing in a specific venue were invited back by popular demand.  In fact, I went to Google, typed “Back by Popular Demand” and was presented with 1,640,000 hits.  Apparently a lot of people and things have been brought back by popular demand down through the ages.  In today’s Scripture, the one who is “Back by Popular Demand” is Jesus.  Jesus had come on the scene in Jerusalem somewhere between 24 and 30 A.D.  His ministry was immediately popular with the masses, because of it’s amazing authority and power.  In fact, if you read through the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the overwhelming comment about Jesus’ teaching is that He taught as one having AUTHORITY—“asousias” in the Greek—and not as the scribes and Pharisees.  What drew people to Jesus’ teaching is that He spoke as God!  Think about that.  The scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day, would read a passage of Scripture, and then say, “Rabbi so-and-so said this about the Scripture.  Rabbi such-and-such said this about the Scripture.” Then along came Jesus who said, “You have heard that it was written—“You shall not kill, but I say to you…”  Wow!  You shall not kill is one of the Ten Commandments.  It IS Scripture.  Jesus told the people that even though He was quoting God’s word, He had something more to say about it.  That’s either incredible authority or lunacy wouldn’t you say?  If I stood up here this morning and said, “You’ve heard it written in the Bible, “Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself, but I say to you…”  And then I said anything, I would be adding to the Scripture, or clarifying it, as if I had the authority to do that.  I don’t.  In fact, only one person in history has had that kind of authority—Jesus!  Do you realize that the very first day Jesus preached in a synagogue, or at least the first time it’s recorded, that the people wanted Him to come back by popular demand?  We’re told that in Mark 1.  Jesus preached, taught, healed and cast out demons in Capernaum.  It was an incredible day.  The next day, Jesus up got up before sunrise, went out by Himself and prayed with His Heavenly Father.  Peter and the other disciples looked all over the place for Jesus.  When they found Him, they said, “Jesus!  Everyone’s looking for you!  Let’s go back and build a church!”  Actually, that’s a loose paraphrase of what they said.  The point is the people called Jesus back by popular demand, but Jesus said, “No.  We need to go to the other towns and villages to preach the Good News. That’s why I’ve come. 

     Everywhere Jesus went He preached, taught, healed the sick and cast out demons.  Blind people regained their sight.  Dead people rose again.  Hungry people by the thousands received food.  Jesus was immensely popular.  Everyone wanted Jesus to come to their village, their city, their synagogue.  Well, almost everyone.  The religious leaders of Jesus’ day weren’t too excited about Jesus.  They had regular run ins with Him, because Jesus didn’t seem to respect the traditions of the elders.  He healed people on the Sabbath.  He let His followers pick grain to eat on the Sabbath.  He stole their thunder time and time again, and when they set up traps for Him, thinking their superior knowledge of God’s word would trip Him up, Jesus was always the one who came away the winner, and they ended up looking foolish. 

     This went on in city and village after city and village for about three years.  The people calling on Jesus to stay.  The religious leaders calling on Jesus to go.  Finally, it all came to a head in Jerusalem.  Every year Christians around the world remember that final week of Jesus’ life.  We call it Holy Week.  It’s amazing that in each of the Gospels a fourth to nearly a half of the total Gospel is devoted to that last week of Jesus’ life and His resurrection.  The Gospels are biographies of Jesus, and yet the weight given to Holy Week and the resurrection is amazing.  That’s because Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection on Easter day are the pivotal points of history!  So, let’s pick up with Jesus coming back into Jerusalem by popular demand on what we call “Palm Sunday.”  Please, stand and join me in reading the account as we find it in John’s Gospel.  (Before read, let me point out a couple of things about the New Living Translations rendering of the text.  In verse 13, the people shout, “Praise God.”  The literal account tells us the people shouted, “Hosanna!” So, when we get their let’s read—or shout—HOSANNA.  In the last verse, verse 19, the Pharisees say, “everyone,” in the original text it’s literally, THE WHOLE WORLD, so let’s read “the whole world.”  I’ve made it easier in both cases by striking through the words we’re not going to read and capitalizing the ones we are.  Let’s read God’s word aloud together:

     ¹²The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors ¹³took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted,

    “Praise God!  [Literally:  “HOSANNA!”] Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Hail to the King of Israel!” ¹⁴Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said:

      ¹⁵“Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem. Look, your King is coming, riding on a donkey’s colt.”

      ¹⁶His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about him.

     ¹⁷Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. ¹⁸That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign. ¹⁹Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone [Literally: THE WHOLE WORLD] has gone after him!”  John 12:12-19 NLT  Let’s pray….Amen.  (Please, be seated.)

          ¹²The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city.  Think about that.  How could news sweep through a city in those days?  Only one way—word of mouth.   They had no cell phones, or internet, or television, or radio, or even newspapers.  Jesus was coming to town, and people couldn’t keep the news to themselves.  This was exciting.  Many were starting to proclaim that Jesus was the Messiah—God’s anointed deliverer.  Could this be the moment when He would reveal Himself?  After all the feast of Passover was coming, one of the most important Holy Days in the entire Jewish year!  What better time than this to proclaim His position as Messiah?  It’s hard for us, maybe impossible for us, to appreciate the rapid spreading of the news of Jesus’ coming in such a time, but it was major!

     Next the text tells us:  A large crowd of Passover visitors ¹³took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted,

    “Praise God!  [Literally:  “HOSANNA!”] Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Hail to the King of Israel!”  A large crowd—a LARGE crowd gathered.  These folks knew about Jesus.  They’d heard about His miracles, perhaps particularly about His raising of Lazarus from the dead, which had occurred recently.  The crowd was ready to make Jesus king.  Look again at what they shouted, HOSANNA!  Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD!  Hail to the King of Israel!  The crowd was convinced.  The crowd believed that Jesus was the Messiah.  What did Jesus do?  Did He say, “No, I’m not the Messiah?”  No.  Did He stop and give a speech about how He was going to mount His offensive against Rome and the evil King Herod, and re-establish the Kingdom of David?  No.  Here’s what He did:

      ¹⁴Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said:  ¹⁵“Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem. Look, your King is coming, riding on a donkey’s colt.”  Wait a minute.  Jesus riding on a donkey’s colt?  Can you picture the absurdity of the scene?  Jesus was a probably a big guy.  I say that because of His occupation prior to entering the ministry.  He was a carpenter, literally a “tektone ôåêôùí” a worker in wood and stone.  So, here was Jesus, a rugged worker in wood and stone riding along on a donkey’s colt.  It must have been somewhat comical.  In fact, John gives us some hint as to how clueless the disciples were to what was going on at the moment.  He writes:

      ¹⁶His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about him.  It took until AFTER Jesus’ resurrection for the disciples to understand that Jesus’ riding into Jerusalem on a donkey was a fulfillment of Scripture.  After all, the Triumphal Entry, as we call it would have been a great deal more triumphal if Jesus had ridden into town on a white stallion, than on a donkey’s colt.  But Jesus always acted intentionally.  The donkey was known as a beast of burden symbolizing peace, not war.  Jesus wasn’t coming into Jerusalem to fulfill the popular demands of the people.  He wasn’t coming to establish David’s throne, to overthrow the Romans. He came to bring peace between God and humanity.  To this day many Jews see Jesus as a failed Messiah, because He didn’t establish the Kingdom of David, because He didn’t conquer Rome.  They believe that the Messiah is only to come once, but Jesus proclaimed two comings—the one we read about in the Gospels, and one yet future, in which Jesus will establish His Kingdom eternally.

     John goes on to tell us about the crowd and their understanding of Jesus—why they were there that day—why they welcomed Jesus back by popular demand:   ¹⁷Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. ¹⁸That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign.   Raising a person from the dead is by any standards a “miraculous sign.”  In fact, the Pharisees recognized this and plotted to kill Lazarus along with Jesus, since Lazarus’ resurrection was attested by many, and as long as Lazarus was a live again, Jesus’ credibility would remain high.  Lazarus’ resurrection was “leaven” for the crowd that first Palm Sunday.  The crowd grew larger and larger as those in the crowd, who had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb told person after person that they had seen it.  Wouldn’t you?  Wouldn’t you tell others if you had seen someone raise a person from the dead?  I’ve told you before of God using Andy Weigand’s prayer for my brother Kenn to heal a torn cornea in Kenn’s eye when he was fifteen and I was seventeen.  That miracle has confirmed to me that the power of God is still at work—the same power that was in Jesus nearly 2,000 years ago.  God’s word is true, and our experience is necessary for it to be true, but my brother’s miracle and others I’ve witnessed over the years have solidified my trust in Jesus.

     The interesting thing is that I’ve heard many people over the years say, “If God would just do a miracle in my life, I’d believe.”  Really?  Look at today’s Scripture.  Some of the Pharisees had seen Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead.  Yet, as the crowd swelled, as the fervor for Jesus increased, here’s how the Pharisees reacted:

     ¹⁹Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look, THE WHOLE WORLD has gone after him!”  The Pharisees wanted to rid themselves of Jesus. He was a  thorn in their side, a threat to their authority, and potentially a danger to the nation, because if the people came to accept Him as the Messiah, the Romans might respond with force.  While Jesus was back by popular demand, it wasn’t a universally popular demand.  That has been the case down through the ages.  Crowds have heard the Good News of Jesus and responded with joy and acceptance, and crowds have heard the Good News of Jesus and turned violent in their rejection.  How can that be?  How can Jesus, the Messiah who came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, be so popular with some and so rejected by others?  The answer is seen in that original Palm Sunday Parade, isn’t it?  The masses who were looking for salvation, for freedom from oppression, for healing and deliverance accepted Jesus, but those in control feared that Jesus’ authority would usurp their own.  They feared that if Jesus was recognized as the Messiah that outside influences would come crashing in and destroy their positions of influence, and their perceived importance.

     What about you and me?  As we stand on the Palm Sunday, front end of Holy Week, will our “Hosannas” last through the week?  Will we go out and tell others about the amazing teaching, salvation, healing and deliverance of Jesus, or will we go out and seek to retain whatever limited control we have of our lives and situations?  We’ve celebrated here and waved our palms together, but will we ask Jesus back by popular demand tomorrow at school, or work, or in our homes?  Will the way we respond to others reflect Jesus’ kingship, lordship, in our lives or will we be like the Pharisees, concerned that Jesus has drawn all the attention to Himself?  These are not rhetorical questions, my friends.  Living in the name and power of Jesus requires that our Hosannas last through the week.  It requires that Jesus be first in all that we are and do.  I love Palm Sunday.  I really do.  I think it’s the only time during Jesus’ life on earth—before His death--that He was recognized for who He Is—The King who comes in the name of the Lord!  I would love to have been there on that first Palm Sunday.  I picture myself shouting, “Hosanna!  Hosanna!”  I picture myself telling those who will listen, “He’s the one!  He’s the one who raises the dead, and who has given me new life and hope!  If you could have been there on that day so long ago, how do you picture yourself?  Would you have been there shouting, “Hosanna!”?  Would you have been worrying about your position?  Would you have gone about your business not even worrying about Jesus?  I know it’s a hypothetical question.  I know there’s really no way of knowing, but my question is, “How would you like it to have been?”  And how is it right now?  As you go out into Holy Week is Jesus your King?  Is He at the center of your life?  If He is: Hosanna!  Praise God!  If He isn’t why not make this Holy Week the best one ever, by putting Jesus back at the center by popular demand—your personal demand?  Here’s TODAY’S CHALLENGE:  I will put Jesus at the center of my life today and each day, calling on Him and Him alone to be my King!  It’s simple, not easy to do, but simple.  All it requires is that we put Jesus first in everything.  If that’s the desire of your heart, would you say that challenge with me:  TODAY’S CHALLENGE:  I will put Jesus at the center of my life today and each day, calling on Him and Him alone to be my King!  Let’s pray………… Amen.  If you would like to make a public statement of putting Jesus first in your life, then I invite you to come and do that as we sing our closing song…Let’s stand and praise God together.