Hosanna Weeps

I think we should listen carefully to what Jesus' final public sermon said because he did not present to them an invitation to salvation. What do you think? Right before the cross, that one last plea to the religious elite. One last plea to the Pharisee, the sadducee. This one invitation to salvation. No, Jesus gives a denunciation of condemnation. Oh, this is truly the sermon that nobody's preaching on Palm Sunday. But they should have been clued in even deeper than that. The exact day of that Sunday was “10 Nissan”. That was how Jews calculated their calendar, similar to what we say, today is the 14th of April.

Well, what was significant about 10 Nissan? Exodus Chapter 12 says that on this day, the 10th of Nissan, the Israelites were supposed to choose their Passover lamb and that lamb was to be sacrificed symbolically of the angel of death that passed over their households. It was pointing to Jesus symbolically. Jesus was the lamb. Well, on that day, God chose that lamb.

And then Monday and Tuesday, just like the Israelites were supposed to vet that lamb is supposed to be without spot, without blemish. What do you think all the questions that came at Jesus were about? They were vetting him, the questions about taxes. “Who do you pay taxes to, Jesus?” The questions about resurrection from the sadducees, the questions about marriage, the question about what's the greatest commandment, that all took place on Tuesday. He would turn out to be the lamb spotless without blemish. They should have known the scriptures. Jesus gives this final sermon. I want to read how He ends it:

 “Oh, Jerusalem. Jerusalem. The one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you were not willing. See, your house is left to you desolate. For I say to you, you shall see me no more. Until you say blessed to see who comes in the name of the Lord.”
- Matthew 23:37

 This is what they chanted on Sunday. This is what Jesus alludes to on Tuesday. He says, "You missed who I was on that day and you're missing who I am on this day."
 But the woes that he lays out before them, we need to consider wonder. Want to know why? Because Jesus wept over Jerusalem because they missed him. And Jesus says, “Oh, Jerusalem. Jerusalem. The one who kills the prophets again,” with the heart of grief.

Let me say this church, Listen to me carefully:
God's heart does not grieve over disease, over war, over politics as much as his heart grieves over the religion or the person that keeps people from Him.
That's what makes God's heart grieve. 
Any person that makes a claim on God yet their life defames God,
that's what makes God's heart grieve.

Anyone who calls out to God as Jehovah or as Father, yet their life does not reflect him, woe to them, woe to you, to make a claim on God, yet leave church on a Sunday and our lives completely defame God. These eight denunciations are completely in contrast with Jesus's eight blessings. You see, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus' first public sermon, he lays out what we call the Beatitudes. And there are eight blessed statements which are perfectly in comparison with these eight denunciations. Now, you might say, “I've never heard that. Wow, he's really insightful.” No, I just know how to read. And when we put them together, I'm not squeezing scriptures together to try to make it fit. We're going to go back and forth the rest of this morning and look at the woe and compare it to the blessing.

“But woe to you scribes and Pharisees and hypocrite scribes.”
 They were the writers of the law. The Pharisees were the strictures of the law and the hypocrites that meant they were two faced. Listen to the indictment:
“for you shut up The Kingdom of Heaven against men. You neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” - Matthew 23:13

It's bad enough that they're not going in, though they have access to it. How much worse is it that they're keeping others from going in? So the entire establishment of Judaism, God laid it out perfectly. The Old Testament points to the way that the people of God were supposed to be a beacon of hope to a dark world.

The Gentiles were supposed to see how blessed and favored they were and crave and want that. The Christian is supposed to be blessed and favored so that the world around us sees it and wants it. But here they are, the ones who held the keys of knowledge, the Scriptures say.

Yet instead of introducing people to the God they say they served, they shut people away.

See, they were the door keepers, yet they kept people from the door. Jesus in John, chapter ten said, “I am the door of the sheep”. He was saying, “You can't actually find the pasture, you can't enter into my kingdom, you can't get to my father unless you come through me, I’m the door.” Yet anybody that makes a claim on God, whether in religion, denomination or a ministry, yet completely keeps people away, you know how they do that?

They put burdens on the people, heavy burdens, and they made a name for themselves. And it was about pride, complete pride, which is the opposite of the blessing. The blessing comes to those who are poor in spirit. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom. Are you seeing a difference here? Those who are humble have access to the door.
Those who are dependent upon God, comparatively, to those who are rich in their own spirit. That's what religion makes you do- makes you feel like you're rich in your own spirit and your accomplishments. And Jesus says, no, blessed are those who are spiritually bankrupt. Those who recognize they have nothing apart from me.

That's where we begin, It's called humility. Dependance upon God.
“I’ve nothing to give you God.” And he goes, “Oh, yours is the kingdom of Heaven.”
 You see, what's being propagated by religion is faith that says “do”. And faith that says “do” keeps you from confession of faith that says “done”. See, when Jesus went to the cross, he didn't say, “I am finished.” He said, “it is finished.”

The work that the father has assigned me to do, it is finished. It can't be added to, can't be taken from, your good cannot get you to God. And with Jesus Christ, your bad can't even keep you from God. The cross says, “Done.”

We as believers, we don't work for salvation, we work from salvation,
which is a discipline of working out your salvation.

Paul to the Philippians, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” This is serious thought. Consider, one foot in the world and one foot in the word. That's a divided, neutral stance. That's the complacent Christian.
The Bible says, no, put them both in the Word of God or put them both in the world.

Make a decision.

Consider financially supporting us so we can continue furthering the ministry of the Gospel by making free Biblical resources for people & pastors.