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In Romans 8:28-30 we learn two promises that provide Christians with a joy that cannot be taken away (John 16:22). Because of the resurrection of Jesus, 1.) your bad things will turn out for good, and 2.) the best is yet to come. Bad things turning out for good doesn't mean bad things are somehow reclassified as good. It does mean that if the worst thing to ever happen in the world – the execution and death of the Son of God – worked out for good, then Christians can be assured all of their bad things will turn out for good too. And knowing the best is yet to come means all the good things in this life are gifts, not gods. All of the joys, delights, pleasures, and loves of this life are precious gifts from God given as a taste, an appetizer, of an eternal and glorious life to come. A life so glorious that "the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18).

Palm Sunday is all about the fact that Jesus is King. But what does the kingliness of Jesus consist of? Luke 19 and John 13 give us three vignettes about the kind of King we have in Jesus. In Luke 19:34-41 we learn we have a king who weeps. In Luke 19:45-46 we learn we have a king who has anger, because he wants us. And in John 13:1-5 we learn we have a king who loves us to the end. In all of your efforts for true love and for the deepest kind of friendship, in all of your efforts to find a genuine and true leader you can follow, Jesus is the one you ultimately seek. Jesus is everything you need and all you want. He is a lion and a lamb.

When pain and anguish and feelings of betrayal and disillusionment flood our souls what are we to do? Thankfully, God has given us the resource of biblical lament. Lament is not a denial of faith; it’s actually an expression of it. It is what happens when people who believe in God turn to him with their pain—not to hide it, not to fix it quickly, but to bring it honestly before Him. In a world that often rushes past grief or avoids it altogether, lament invites us to slow down, speak the truth, and be held by a God who listens. This sermon offers practical guidance in learning what biblical lament is and how to do it.   

In Luke 20:41-21:4 Jesus asks a question of his own to invite his adversaries to give deeper reflection to who the Messiah really is. When Jesus quotes from Psalm 110 he reveals the Messiah is much more than simply a descendant of David. He is the Lord over all who will overcome the worst of our enemies - sin and death. When he warns his disciples not to become like the Scribes he demonstrates he is the better ruler. The Scribes were looking for too little in a Messiah. They couldn't see that in Jesus God had given them a beautiful King. A king who gives instead of takes. A king who sacrifices himself instead of exploiting others for gain. A king who gives his life so others might live. Is this the Jesus you know? 

In Luke 20:27-40 the Sadducees confront Jesus about a core doctrine of the Christian faith — life after death. In this third confrontation in the Temple, Jesus responds to an influential group who twists the Scriptures to make a particular belief look ridiculous. A few lessons we can learn as we confront scoffers in our day are: (1) be biblical, (2) be gentle and respectful, and (3) be direct. Christians should respond to those who misinterpret the Bible by being well-grounded in Scripture, confident in both Jesus’ and Scripture’s authority, convinced of the truth of the resurrection, and characterized by gentleness and respect in all discussions.

Without the resurrection, concepts of judgment, accountability, and eternal life lose their meaning. The call is to trust in the authority of God and to present the truth boldly and lovingly, ensuring that our defense of the gospel remains rooted in Scripture.

In 2 Kings 5:1-19, Naaman, commander of the Syrian army, travels into enemy territory to be healed of leprosy. Naaman nearly didn’t experience healing when he stormed away in proud anger when the prophet Elisha told him to wash himself in the dirty Jordan river seven times. But the path for salvation always requires humility. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Have you experienced God’s saving work in your life through humble repentance and faith? When Naaman discovers he has been completely healed, he is stunned and realizes the God of Israel is the one true God. He alone is to be feared, obeyed, and worshipped. Do you know this? Does your life show that?

Big Idea: One is to give to God what belongs to Him—oneself.

Summary: In Luke 20:19-26 the religious leaders attempt to trap Jesus by spying on him and pinning him down with an ‘either-or’ question. Through the issue of “tribute” tax they hope to condemn Jesus either to the Romans politically or the Jews religiously. The king without a coin asks to borrow one so he can teach us something we all tend to miss. Jesus wisely responds to their ‘either-or’ question with a ‘both-and.’ This passage is not primarily about what is owed to the state, but what is owed to God (much like the vineyard owner and the fruit that was rightfully his - Luke 20:9-18). The real questions is this: “Since you have the image and likeness of God inscribed on you, have you given to God what is his?”

Next Steps: Consider the following questions as you read the Scripture and listen to the sermon:

• What does this section mean?
• What does it teach about God?
• What does it teach about Jesus and the gospel?
• What is my next step as a follower of Jesus?

In Luke 20:9-19 Jesus tells a parable of a master who owns a vineyard, cares for it, and leases it to tenants. When he sends messengers to them to gather what belongs to him, they mistreat, shame, and beat them. When he finally sends his son to collect what belongs to him, thinking they would honor the heir and not kill him, the tenants murder the son. Jesus asks a riveting question, “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?”

From Jesus’ teaching we learn about the forbearance and patience of God in the face of judgment (Romans 2:4), the goodness of God when we overlook his care (Isaiah 5:4), and God’s love for us even while we are still sinners (20:13; John 3:16-17; Romans 5:8). We also come to find out that the stone the builders rejected (Christ Jesus) has become the cornerstone, and eternal life hinges on him (1 Peter 2:6). This is a reference to Christ’s resurrection. Peter quotes Psalm 118 (the very Psalm Jesus quotes in 20:17) in Acts 4:10-12 after the cripple man was healed: “let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

In Luke 19:45-20:8 we learn about a cleansed temple and a questioned Savior. Jesus throws the sellers out because the temple was supposed to be a place to worship and communion with God; not a busy marketplace of big business. This shows us it's possible to be busy about religious things and still miss what's most important -- worship of God from the heart. When the religious leaders questioned Jesus's authority they reveal their own hardheartedness and blindness to the many demonstrations of divine authority he had already given. Do you see and believe who Jesus really is?

In Luke 19, Jesus enters Jerusalem as the promised Messiah (Zechariah 9:9), and his coming as King brings joy or calamity, depending on how he is received.

In Luke 19:11-27, Jesus tells a parable about a throne claimant who goes away and returns as king. Luke tells us the reason for this parable was twofold: he was approaching Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. Two major themes surface: (1) Jesus’ authority as king, and (2) the accountability of all to him. If faithfulness is rewarded by an an evil tyrant king, how much more will that be true for the Prince of Peace?

After Jesus tells this parable, he enters Jerusalem as king (19:28-40), but not a king of war and slaughter, but one of peace (Zechariah 9:9; Isaiah 9:6). Jesus looks over the city and weeps, for he knows their rejection of him as king will result in the desolation of Jerusalem within just a few decades. They neither knew the things that made for peace (v.42) nor the time of their visitation (v.44). The king has suddenly appeared at his temple (Malachi 3:1; Luke 19:45-46).

We will not have peace with God, peace with others, peace in the world, or peace within our own heart until Christ becomes our peace (Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:13-14).

Probably no other passage is more descriptive of the church in action than Ephesians 4. Ephesians breaks into two segments of three chapters each. Ephesians 1-3 is the gospel story. Ephesians 4-6 explains how the gospel story should be lived out together as a church. How are we, as Christ’s church, to live, serve, and grow together? The surprising answer is, “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:2-3). This unity, built on core doctrine (4:4-6) overflows into service towards one another that builds up (4:7-16). 

When the church walks in a manner worthy of the calling to which they’ve been called (4:1), they are the answer to Jesus’ prayer in John 17:20-23. “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

In Luke 19:1-10 we meet Zacchaeus, a man most of us have heard about in Sunday School. Zacchaeus’ encounter with Jesus counterbalances Jesus’ confrontation with the rich young ruler (18:18–30). Both men are described as rich and both hold high office (“ruler”, 18:18; “chief tax collector”, 19:2). One walks away from Jesus sad, for he was extremely rich (Luke 18:23). The other received Jesus joyfully and started giving away his wealth. Jesus called Zacchaeus by name. He is known by the community as a sinner, but more importantly he is known by the Son of God as forgiven. They’d never met before, but the Lord knew Zacchaeus before Zacchaeus knew the Lord. Jesus came to seek and to save lost people like Zacchaeus.