THE DIFFERENCE A FEW DAYS MAKES

I believe the greatest holiday in the Christian faith is Easter.  Though I enjoy Christmas as well, I just think there is no holiday for the believer quite like Easter.  Honestly, it is really the foundation of our faith.  The birth of Jesus is not what caused all the disciples to die a martyr’s death.  Interestingly enough, after the resurrection, 11 of the 12 were willing to die for Him because they knew they served a Risen Savior.  I just believe as the people of God, we ought to make much about Easter.

So turn your Bibles with me to Matthew chapter 21, and we’re going to be talking about the events that took place as the LORD came back into Jerusalem.

Matthew 21:1, 2, “And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, ² Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.”

Now go down to verse 6 with me:

^“6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, ⁷ And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. ⁸ And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. ⁹ And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.”

Now jump over with me if you will to chapter 27, and we’ll begin reading in verse 15.

¹⁵ Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. ¹⁶ And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. ¹⁷ Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? ¹⁸ For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.  ¹⁹ When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. ²⁰ But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. ²¹ The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. ²² Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. ²³ And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.”

What we saw when we began reading in Matthew 21:1 and 2, was Jesus actually entering triumphantly into the city of Jerusalem.  Jesus is about to come onto the scene in a big time way.  Jesus is about to put His ministry on the front burner.  Up to this point, although Jesus was the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, he wasn’t out there touting it.  If you’ll remember in Mark chapter 5, when Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead, He straightly charged His disciples that they would say nothing about.  In fact, in Mark chapter 9, after taking His inner circle of Peter, James and John up on the Mount of Transfiguration, verse 9 says, “And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.”

You see folks, I believe the LORD had a time table.  There was a reason He stayed obscured for 33 years, now entering Jerusalem, He is moving to the front burner, and I believe John chapter 6 tells us why.  If you remember, Jesus has fed the 5000 with 5 barley loaves and 2 small fishes, and the people wanted to make Him a King, and Jesus told them that His time had not yet come.  You see, Jesus had a timeline.

And 6 days before the Passover, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.  This was the miracle, this was the event, that initiated an organized effort by the Chief Priests and Pharisees to Put Jesus to death.  John 11:53 says, ““Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.”

I hope you can see this – this was the single event in God’s timeline that caused Jesus to take a giant step toward Calvary!

It is in John chapter 12, beginning in verse 12, “ On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. ¹⁴ And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, ¹⁵ Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt.”

I know I’ve shared a lot of Bible, but it is important to lay the proper foundation.  Now, let me share two things I see out of this passage.

THE ADORING CROWD CELEBRATES HIM

Picture in your mind with me, there is a great multitude in Jerusalem.  They have come from all over the world to celebrate the Passover.  In that day, the Jewish Nation came to celebrate freedom from slavery and oppression – as Christians we celebrate Easter as freedom from sin and death.  Jesus Himself celebrated the Passover.

Having spent 15 years in the Middle East, I watched each year as Muslims from all over the world made their pilgrimage to MECCA.  The airports would have multiple planes that carried only Muslims for this pilgrimage.  There were people pushing and shoving, laughing and talking, children playing – and I mean by the thousands.  That experience gave me a pretty good idea in my mind what Jerusalem must have been like for the Passover.

So Jesus is making His entry into Jerusalem for the Passover.  There is a great crowd that has followed Him from Bethany.  WHY?  Because they saw Him raise Lazarus from the grave – and many believed.  Word of Jesus’ arrival got to Jerusalem before He got to Jerusalem and many of them came to the Eastern Gate as He was entering.

So, as Jesus is entering the city, they begin taking palm leaves and coats and putting the on the ground before Him so that He would have to enter on dirt.  WHY?  Because this is the King they had been waiting for.  But what they were really looking for was a political king.  What they needed was a Savior.

Listen, when John the Baptist was standing by the Jordan River as a “voice crying out in the wilderness,” when he saw Jesus coming

• He didn’t say, “Behold the King of kings that taketh away the sins of the world;”
• He didn’t say “Behold the Lord of lords that taketh away the sins of the world.”
• He didn’t say, “Behold the Great High Priest that taket away the sins of the world.”

HE SAID, “BEHOLD, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world.”

So why didn’t Jesus come as a King?  Because they (and we) didn’t need a King:

• What we needed was a sacrifice;
• What we needed was to have the blood applied;
• What we needed was a Lamb without spot or blemish.

So, here is this crowd that adores Him singing “Hail Him, Hail Him,” and in 5 short days, this same crowd is going to be singing, “Nail Him, Nail Him.”  My, what a Difference a Few Days Makes.  And that brings me to my second point:

THE ANGRY CROWD WANTS TO CRUCIFY HIM

Now a custom had developed between the Jews and the Romans whereby once a year, during the Passover, a prisoner, a criminal, someone who had been incarcerated, would be released.  This would remind them of have they had been released from captivity.

Pilate is doing everything he can not to Crucify our Lord.  So he takes the worst prisoner he had, Barabbas, and puts him with the One of whom he said, “I find no fault in Him,” and he takes them before the people to choose.  And some of the very people who were Adoring Christ 5 days earlier are now saying, “Give us Barabbas and Crucify Jesus.”

They went from singing “Hail Him, Hail Him” to “Crucify Him, Crucify Him.”

What a Difference a Few Days Makes!

I read a story Dr. Bailey Smith wrote about a college play he attend.  Dr. Bailey wrote, “As they play began, the first scene opened with a family sitting in the house.  The father was a carpenter who built cabinets and chairs and furniture.  They were tight on money and the wife asked the husband, ‘Why don’t you consider making crosses for the Romans?’  The father said, “No, I build furniture – not crosses.’ But the wife was very insistent that they needed the extra money.  The scene closed and then the second scene opened.  A young boy ran into the house where the mother and father were and he was crying, “Mom and Dad, I just came from Jerusalem and they are crucifying Jesus.’ The mom and dad replied, ‘you mean the Jesus that we know? The Jesus that we saw doing miracles?’ The son replied, “Yes Daddy, and Daddy, He was carrying our cross.’  “No,’ the dad replied, ‘He couldn’t have been carrying our cross.’ The son the said, ‘Yes it was dad. Remember when the Roman soldiers came and purchased a cross?  Well, while you were talking to them, I ran out to the shop and wrote my name on it, like all the famous people do.  When I was in Jerusalem, they were leading Jesus by me and He was carried a cross.  When He fell, I saw my name on the Cross.”

My name is on that Cross, and your name is on that Cross.  He died for you and He died for me.  II Corinthians 5:21 says, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”  I don’t know how anyone can look at the Cross and not realize just how much God loves you.