The Three Gs
Luke 19:28-40 4/4/2004
Glitter. Glamour. Gossip.
The Three G’s of the Hollywood red carpet treatment.
How many of you watched even a part of the Oscar Awards, the 76th Annual Academy Awards®, just a few weeks ago? Did you get your fill of these “three G’s” –glitter, glamour, and gossip--as celebrities walked the red carpet on their way into the Kodak Theatre to be entertained by emcee Billy Crystal? Did you know that E! Network began its coverage of the Oscars at noon, offering six hours of buildup to the arrival of the stars for the awards ceremony? Thousands of fans sat in specially constructed stands to catch all the action. It seems that gawking and gossiping in the presence of glitter and glamour has now become an all-day event.
Why did you tune in? Why did those fans show up? I like to watch the pre-awards show to see all the beautiful—and sometimes shocking—dresses and of course, the handsome actors in their tuxedos. I noticed this year for the first time (although I’m sure it wasn’t the first time!) that some of the women carried really tiny, fancy purses so I began looking specifically for those.
But I suspect that most of us who watched and all of the fans who showed up in person wanted to see the rich and famous. Nicole Kidman, Oprah Winfrey, Colin Farrell, Kate Hudson, Russell Crowe, Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Clint Eastwood and so on. The glamour.
And the glitz. Flashbulbs popping, all those glistening smiles and shiny white teeth. Interviewers sticking microphones into celebrity faces and asked stupid questions, to which they receive mostly stupid answers. People actually enjoy this stuff? I admit it—yes, I enjoy this stuff.
Apparently I’m not the only one. The Academy Awards show has become the most-watched television event in the world, drawing nearly a billion viewers. A billion. About one in every six members of the human race is glued to the TV on Oscar night.
Glitter, glamour, gossip. Seems we just can’t get enough. Not that this is anything new.
Think of today, Palm Sunday, as a sort of pre-show for Holy Week. This is what it was like nearly 2,000 years ago.
“…(The disciples) brought (a donkey) to Jesus and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” Luke 19:35-38
A superstar was coming to town, so the people of Jerusalem spread their coats on the road, like a red carpet (Luke 19:36). The crowds waved branches of palm trees (John 12:13). A major event was under way, a Passover Festival that drew about 2.5 million pilgrims to Jerusalem; you could say without too much exaggeration that the city was electrified with Oscar-night enthusiasm.
Jesus was aware of this, and knew exactly what he was getting into. He expected a hero’s welcome on Palm Sunday, but he also knew how this was all going to turn out. He had been hinting at it for weeks, to the dismay of his disciples. What they say about Hollywood was probably true in Jerusalem as well: “People in Hollywood are always touching you — not because they like you, but because they want to see how soft you are before they eat you alive.”
Tough town.
The gospel of Luke also tells us that Jesus and his disciples did all their own advance work. He sent two disciples ahead of him to find a colt, and he said to them, “If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it’” (19:31). Just as Jesus predicted, the owners of the donkey asked that very question, but they were satisfied when the disciples explained, “The Lord needs it.”
The point of Palm Sunday is that the Celebrity Christ is given the celebrity treatment as he enters Jerusalem. All the expected elements are in place: He makes a royal entrance, in a procession associated with powerful kings and conquering generals. Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem is exactly like Old Testament passages related to the coronation of Israelite kings and the divine covenant between God and the royal representative of the Israelite people.
In 1 Kings 1:32-35 that _______ read, David instructs Nathan the prophet, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the commander of his army to take Solomon, lead him down to the base of the Mount of Olives, and place him on David’s own mule. They are to anoint him king, blow the trumpet and shout “Long live King Solomon,” lead him into the city, and set him on David’s throne. In this passage it is clear to see that what happens to Jesus on Palm Sunday is a direct parallel to Solomon’s enthronement ceremony.
According to Zechariah 9:9, the promised savior and king of Jerusalem will be “humble and riding on a donkey.” Jesus rides on a colt, the foal of a donkey, just as King Solomon did before his coronation — although Jesus’ choice of a donkey could also mean that he is a bringer of peace. If Jesus wanted a fight, he would have charged in on a stallion, a war horse, the first-century equivalent of a Hummer H2.
So Jesus is a superstar, complete with the “three G’s” of glitter, glamour and gossip. He’s got the glitter of a royal entrance, the glamour of waving palm branches and even the gossip about Jesus saying, “If the people were silent, the stones would shout out,” when the Pharisees told him to shut his disciples up. There is a lot of buzz about this celebrity superstar as he enters the Holy City to pick up his prize.
But here’s the twist: His prize is a cross — and he knew it.
Like modern celebrities, Jesus is not only idolized, he is also picked apart. He’s feelin’ the love on Sunday; feelin’ the disappointment on Monday and feelin’ the rage on Friday. The machinery that kills him on Friday begins to operate on Sunday. It always surprises me that a peaceful demonstration can somehow take on a life of its own and turn deadly, seemingly without any explanation. When the tide turns, it is usually not even perceptible until it’s too late.
So the noise that began as excitement and praise about Jesus becomes increasingly negative. People sense that he is not interested in driving out the oppressive Romans who have overtaken their country. They notice that he travels with a band of unarmed disciples, not a troop of Marine soldiers. The chief priests, scribes and leaders of the people start to look for a way to kill Jesus (19:47), and by the end of the week the people themselves are shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” (23:21). Luke tells us that the Roman governor can find no ground for the sentence of death, but the crowd keeps demanding that Jesus should be crucified. In the end, the governor grants them their wish (23:22-25).
Jesus is killed on Friday because he fails to live up to human fantasies. He gets picked apart like Mel Gibson on a good day; savaged like a starlet in a swan suit.
And let’s face it: We tend to complain as well. We live in a “What-Have-You-Done-For-Me-Lately?” sort of culture. We expect that even the slightest display of being a Christian should get us a pass to Easy Street. But this is the Jesus of the gospels who calls us to embrace our own cross, as he did his, and follow him.
I recently read in Christianity Today magazine that a contemporary temptation in popular theology — and the rage in Christian publishing — is to put Jesus into a coat and tie to teach a leadership seminar. The Sermon on the Mount may be replaced by the Sermon from the Top Floor Corner Office. Jesus’ disciples become his management team. The Bible becomes the strategic plan. Jesus the Savior remains, to be sure. But now, meet Jesus the Mentor.
It’s very easy to reclothe Jesus in contemporary images to meet our current needs rather than to let Jesus be Jesus .… The temptation is to impose our own agenda on the biblical text instead of being challenged by it.
Let’s let Jesus be Jesus – not the superstar we want him to be. The message of this day of Palm Branches is that Jesus Christ is Lord, not a La-La Land celebrity.
If you’re ready to let Jesus step off the Red Carpet and simply be himself, be prepared for a life-changing lesson. Jesus is not interested in glitter, glamour and gossip, but he is interested in grace, giving and goodness. These are the real “three Gs,” if you want to jot them down in the space provided in your bulletins. Grace. Giving. Goodness.
Ephesians 2:8 says, “By grace you have been saved…and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”. It is his charity that makes it possible for us to live in a “state of grace.” It is unmerited and not the result of any effort, intelligent choice or act of service on our part. Grace.
And Jesus was all about giving. He gave himself. He who was rich became poor that we might be rich. He gave until there was no more to give. And out of our own gratitude for His giving and for grace toward us, we will seek to help and serve others with kindness, charity, goodness, and grace.
The third real G is goodness. Jesus was all about goodness. Romans 8:28 tells us that He works out all things—not just isolated incidents—all things for our good. The essential goodness of Jesus, unparalleled by anyone before him or after him, testifies to the life to which we are called. When he saw the crowds as sheep not having a shepherd, he was moved with compassion — he became almost physically sick, so great was his love.
Let’s give Jesus the palm branch treatment, but let’s not make this a one Sunday wonder. His grace, his giving and his goodness compel us to change our behavior, not just watch from the sidelines, not just pat him on the back, or complain behind his back.
PLEASE PRAY WITH ME THE PRAYER PRINTED IN YOUR BULLETIN: O God, as we seek your resurrection power, let us raise our voices with all who joyfully praise you for the powerful deeds we have seen. Blessed are you, our King, our Lord ,and our Savior. Amen.
BENEDICTION:
—Author unknown.
KURT: I will have palm branches, small polished stones and noisemakers for you to give each child. Also, you and the children will lead the entire congregation in a Passover parade through the sanctuary! Don’t hand out the branches, noisemakers until you are ready to start the parade! Start down the center aisle, beckoning each row to join you, handing each person a palm branch and a noisemaker. In a “Follow the Leader” fashion, when you get to the back of the church, turn left or right (your choice J) and come to the front of the church and then down the outside of whichever side you haven’t covered, then back up the center aisle from the rear of the church. It should be LOADS of fun and you are just PERFECT for this one!
Children's Sermon
Today I want to talk about stones and rocks. What are rocks or stones good for? (Let the kids offer ideas, add to theirs with these if not mentioned: jewelry, pretty buildings, altars, to make a big splash in the water, you can hide behind big rocks) The Bible mentions stones and rocks a lot. God made water gush out of a rock for thirsty people, He told a man to build his house on a rock and when the wind blew & blew and the rain poured down, the house still stood because rocks are strong. The 10 Commandments were written on a big stone.
Let me tell you another story from the Bible, in the chapter of Luke. It was a holiday called Passover and Jesus went to the city to celebrate. He rode a donkey in a big parade. When the people there saw him, they were really happy because seeing him reminded them of all the miracles he'd done for them and their friends and family. They took branches off the trees just like these (show them the palm branches) to wave in the air.
They were so happy to see Jesus that they started yelling and shouting (raise your own voice), "Blessed is the King!" and "Praise God!" and "Let there be peace and glory!" But there were some people there, called Pharisees, who thought you should worship God quietly. And they told Jesus to scold those people and punish them for being so loud. And do you know what he told those Pharisees? He said, "If they worship God quietly, and without happiness, the rocks will yell cheers!"
What do you think of that? (Show them the handful of stones you have and ask:) “Do you think these stones would make a noise? Jesus says that if we don’t show how happy we are about him, that the stones will.
So I’ve got some things I want to give you today. First, here is a stone to remind you to praise Jesus, sing songs to Him and tell him you love him. And here’s a Palm tree branch for you to wave and this toy to help you make joyful noises as we make our own parade right now. But we’re going to need more people for a parade, aren’t we? Let’s go get everyone to join in our parade! And remember, we need to yell, Praise the Lord!” and blow our noisemakers and wave our branches! START THE PARADE!
