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Written by Pastor Darrell Cooper
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Monday, 06 April 2009 15:47 |
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2 Samuel 2:1-7; 5:1-5
April 5, 2009 - Lindsborg Cov.
“Heart Hunters”
(Palm Sunday)
Sermon
Well, as you know, today is Palm Sunday. This is the day in the Church calendar when we rehearse the story of when Jesus went up to Jerusalem in order to die. Jesus is beginning His last week on Earth, a week that has come to be known by us as Holy Week. Today’s story is often referred to as the Triumphal Entry because of the pageantry surrounding Jesus and His disciples as they make their final ascent into Jerusalem.
Because our sermon series and therefore today’s Scripture reading puts us in the middle of the Old Testament, I would like to begin by reading to you Matthew’s account of the Triumphal Entry. You don’t need to turn there, but I will read from Matthew 21:1-11.
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest!”
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Now, I am not going to take the time this morning to explain all the cultural background and context surrounding this story. Suffice it to say for our purposes this morning, that this is a coronation event. Jesus is claiming to be King of the Jews. What is more, the people of Israel are also recognizing Him as king.
Granted, Jesus and the people have two radically different concepts of what His Kingdom will look like. They have completely different sets of expectations. But still, Jesus is putting Himself forward as the King of Israel, and Israel is embracing Him as such.
Now, if you are still reading along in your chronological Bible, then in the next couple of days you will encounter the story of another coronation event in Israel’s history, one that happened long before this one. One of Jesus’ ancestors, the second king of Israel, was easily the greatest and most famous king in their entire history. I am talking, of course, about King David. I think it is fitting that as we get to the part of the Old Testament in which David is anointed as king over Israel, we also reach the point in the Church Calendar where Jesus is, in a sense, anointed as King of Israel.
So, what I would like to do in the balance of this message, is simply make a few observations. I want to compare and contrast the lives of these two great kings, David and Jesus. Here we go.
- David was born in Bethlehem. Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
- David was the youngest of his brothers. Jesus was the oldest of His brothers.
- David was a shepherd boy. Jesus was the Good Shepherd.
- David took care of lambs. Jesus is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.
- David was from the tribe of Judah and killed a lion. Jesus was the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
- After 40 days of being taunted by the enemy, David singlehandedly defeated Goliath. After 40 days of being tempted by the enemy, Jesus singlehandedly defeated Satan.
- David wrote the Psalms. Jesus quoted the Psalms.
- David went up to Hebron to claim his throne. Jesus went up to Jerusalem to claim His throne.
- When David went up to Hebron, he took his men with him. When Jesus went up to Jerusalem, He took His men with Him.
- The men of Israel came up to Hebron to anoint David king over Israel. The men of Israel came up to Jerusalem to proclaim Jesus king over Israel.
- David was a king. Jesus was a prophet, a priest, a judge, a Rabbi, the Master, and the King.
- David reigned over all Israel and Judah 33 years. Jesus lived in Israel and Judah 33 years, but He still reigns as King.
- David would later be rejected as king. Jesus would later be rejected as King.
- David was a man of war. Jesus was a man of peace.
- David killed his enemies. Jesus died for his enemies.
- David was a mighty warrior. Jesus will be a mighty warrior.
- David rejoiced when God was carried into Jerusalem (on the Ark of the Covenant). Jesus wept when God was carried into Jerusalem (on a donkey).
- David planned the building of the Temple. Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple.
- David prepared the materials to build the temple for God. Jesus became the temple of God.
- David consecrated the temple. Jesus cleansed the temple.
- David prepared a curtain to separate the people from the direct presence of God. Jesus tore the curtain granting people direct access to the presence of God.
- David longed to build a temple for God. Jesus was the temple, and the Holy of Holies, and the blood sacrifice, and the High Priest who performed the sacrifice, and the sin which made the sacrifice necessary, and the people for whom the sacrifice was done.
- David died in Jerusalem. Jesus died in Jerusalem.
- David was a liar, an adulterer, a thief, and a murderer. Jesus died for liars, for adulterers, for thieves, and for murderers.
- David, a guilty man, killed innocent men to cover up his sin. Jesus, an innocent man, died for guilty men to cover up their sin.
- David lived a sinful life but died a peaceful death. Jesus lived a sinless life but died a violent, bloody death.
- David was the ancestor of Jesus. Jesus was not only the offspring of David, but the root of David as well. (Rev. 22:16)
- David was a man after God’s own heart. Jesus was God after man’s own heart.
The thing that these two men held most in common is that they were both what we might call “heart hunters”. Both of them were passionately pursuing relationship with someone else. They were both hunting someone’s heart. David hunted the heart of God. Jesus hunted the heart of man.
That is why He came. Jesus came to earth to hunt our hearts and to capture them. He wanted to transform us into people like David, the kind of people who become heart hunters, who passionately pursue a relationship with Him.
The question then is this: What kind of man am I? Am I that kind of man? Am I a heart hunter? Do I pursue the heart of God with all the passion in my own heart?
And what about you? Are you a heart hunter? And if so, whose heart are you hunting?
Communion:
As I just said, Jesus was a heart hunter. He came from Heaven to Earth to hunt human hearts. His desire was to capture our hearts and transform them so that we would hunt His heart as well.
You don’t have to know much about hunting to know that it often ends in bloodshed. The great irony about this particular hunt is that the only way Jesus could capture our hearts was for Him to first surrender, to allow Himself to be captured and killed.
Why? Why did Jesus have to die? The Bible tells us that the natural consequence of our sin is death. In other words, when we sin, someone has to die. But if we die for our own sin, then God does not get what He wants - a relationship with us. If we cut ourselves off from Him in death, then He loses His heart’s desire - us.
God solved this problem by sending His Son, His one, His only Son to Earth to die in our place. That is why Jesus came. Jesus was born to die. That is why Jesus was entering Jerusalem that Sunday many years ago. He was going there because someone had to die for our sin, and He didn’t want it to be us.
Jesus laid down His life for us. No one took it away from Him. He voluntarily surrendered it. He willingly sacrificed Himself on the cross in order to die in our place. He paid the penalty for our sin and in so doing removed the barrier between us and God. Now we can be restored back to a right relationship with the Father if we will turn away from our sin and trust His heart. If we allow Him to capture our heart then we can begin to hunt His heart, to passionately pursue relationship with Him.
If that describes you today, then you are invited to participate in this memorial meal as we remember and celebrate the original heart hunter. You do not have to be a member of this particular local church. You just have to meet two criteria. You must be reconciled to God and man. That is what Jesus came to do for us, to restore a right relationship between God and man and between man and man. If Jesus Christ has transformed your heart in this way today, then you are welcome to participate in this meal. If either one of those relationships is broken, then we ask you to abstain from the meal until you have gone and made it right.
In a moment the Diaconate are going to come and distribute the elements. We ask that everyone hold onto the elements until everyone has been served. Then we will eat and drink together.
On the night Jesus was betrayed, He took bread and broke it and said, “This is My body, which is broken for you. Do this in rememberance of Me.” In the same way, after supper He took the cup saying, “This cup is a new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in rememberance of Me.” For as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim His death until He comes again.
Let us pray.
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