Matthew 27:1-2, 11-26 [NLTse]

Very early in the morning the leading priests and the elders of the people met again to lay plans for putting Jesus to death. Then they bound Him, led Him away, and took Him to Pilate, the Roman governor…

Now Jesus was standing before Pilate, the Roman governor. “Are You the king of the Jews?” the governor asked Him.

Jesus replied, “You have said it.”

But when the leading priests and the elders made their accusations against Him, Jesus remained silent. “Don’t you hear all these charges they are bringing against You?” Pilate demanded. But Jesus made no response to any of the charges, much to the governor’s surprise.

Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner to the crowd—anyone they wanted. This year there was a notorious prisoner, a man named Barabbas. As the crowds gathered before Pilate’s house that morning, he asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you—Barabbas, or Jesus Who is called the Messiah?” (He knew very well that the religious leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy.)

Just then, as Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Leave that innocent Man alone. I suffered through a terrible nightmare about Him last night.”

Meanwhile, the leading priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be put to death. So the governor asked again, “Which of these two do you want me to release to you?”

The crowd shouted back, “Barabbas!”

Pilate responded, “Then what should I do with Jesus Who is called the Messiah?”

They shouted back, “Crucify Him!”

“Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has He committed?”

But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify Him!”

Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!”

And all the people yelled back, “We will take responsibility for His death—we and our children!”

So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned Him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

Sermon

This week from Palm Sunday leading up to Easter Sunday is most often called “Holy Week” by Christian people, and many Christian churches seek to celebrate during Holy Week those same things that Jesus celebrated 2,000 years ago: His “inaugural” entry into Jerusalem where the crowds treated Him and hailed Him their king; His “last supper” with the disciples on Thursday; His trial before the religious leaders and Pontius Pilate that led to His crucifixion on Friday; and, of course, the women finding the tomb empty in the cemetery at sunrise Easter morning, and the Lord appearing to them all alive – resurrected! Victor over death! – later on Easter day.

So the Lord lived the same sequence of days we’ll be celebrating. On that first Palm Sunday the crowds shouted, “Hosanna! Save us!” They had seen Him heal, provide food, control the weather, and bring people back from the dead! And they’d decided that Jesus was the One to lead them in overthrowing Rome and those of their own leaders who had conspired with the Romans. He was the One to reestablish David’s kingdom!

Even so, five days later, this same crowd – now seeing Jesus beaten, bloodied, chained, and seeming to be helpless in the custody of those conspiring Jewish leaders and in the judgment hall of Rome’s Pontius Pilate – cry, “Crucify Him!” and take upon themselves and their children the responsibility for Jesus’ death.

Couldn’t they make up their minds? Wouldn’t they commit to one side or the other?

Elijah faced similar indecision when he gathered the leaders of Israel on Mt. Hermon (along with all the prophets and priests in Israel who were serving Baal at that time). Elijah challenged them: “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him! But if Baal is God, then follow Him!” (See 1 Kings 18)

The picture Elijah is describing is one of a person who has legs that are different lengths, “hobbling” along. My older brother, Dick, was born with his legs being different lengths. I never remember Dick ever seeming any different from anybody else – he was my big brother! – and he was too brave to show any of us how horribly painful it was. (I learned that later.) But I know the “hobbling” (as Elijah calls it) kept him from playing any of the running-related sports he would have liked. He didn’t have the balance for it with his legs out of whack like that…

In Matthew 23 the Lord Jesus yells at the religious leaders for such “hobbling”. He said, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.” Jesus called them, “hypocrites!” because what they taught was so different from what they did, and because the darkness in their hearts was so opposite from the righteous, holy appearances they wanted the people to see.

As some of you may know, the word “hypocrite” comes from the Greek word hupokrites: An actor. And that’s what indecision and a lack of commitment does to a person: They become actors, acting this way with this person or this group of people and acting that way with that person or that group.

When we will not decide, when we will not commit, we experience the pain inside and the unsteadiness outside of hobbling back and forth, and we take upon ourselves the roles of hypocrites, trying to figure out what those around us are looking for and trying to act in whatever ways are necessary to please them.

Can you think of topics that you hobble back and forth about?

Do you ever act one way around one person or this group of people but act another way around some other person or some other group?

How about when it comes to the Lord: Do you hobble, or act differently with different people, when it comes to Him?

Of course, isn’t it great that our Father’s not like that with us? He’s sent prophets and priests and in the fullness of time His Own Son to publicly proclaim to all the Earth humankind’s sinful nature and yet His steadfast love for us! And He had God-the-Son to be publicly tried and crucified to not only pay the penalty for our sin but to also put our sin nature to death! (And then He made sure it all got written down so that every generation could know such good news, as well!) And He calls us to public baptisms and public confirmations and public declarations of faith so that everyone might know that He’s chosen us and made us His Own!

There is no indecision with God. He shows us no divided loyalties. No hobbling, no pretending with our Abba. He’s all in! And He calls us to be like Him: All in! All boldly and publicly in!

Let me make clear what I’m trying to say is on the table here as we sing, “Hosanna!” this Palm Sunday, 2015: Our Father in Heaven doesn’t want us to worship Him when it’s easy or popular to do so, but later Baal when Baal’s the one on top. He doesn’t want us to go along with the crowd in order to save us from troubles or pain. No. God wants us to always do and to want to do what He wants no matter who we’re with at any given time. He’s wholly committed to us and He wants us to be wholly committed to Him.

So, with that in mind, where in your life are you undecided with the Lord? Are you bold for Him at Youth Group or YoungLife but you find yourself going along with what everybody else is doing and wearing back at school? Do you “Amen!” sermons about truth and sacrifice while telling little white lies on your taxes or going along with dishonest practices at work?

Is the Holy Spirit talking to you today? Is He calling to your attention different parts of your life that you are keeping from Him? If this is you (and it is all of us!) what can we do about it?

Well, the Lord commands us to two complimentary behaviors that each of us can do to put our “people-pleasing” to death, and to focus more whole-heartedly on pleasing Him.

The first comes to us from the Book of Proverbs 3:5-6. A famous and much-loved passage: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” The Lord makes clear that if we’ll let those around us know why we don’t cuss and why we don’t sleep around, why we don’t lie or cheat, why we don’t join in the gossip and nasty joke-telling – “Because the God I believe in and follow doesn’t want me to be a part of those kinds of things” – if we acknowledge Him, that is, if we make it clear to everyone around us that He’s the reason we do the good things we do, that He will then make our lives “straightforward”.

Now, notice that He’s not saying that we won’t have any troubles or trials or heartaches or heartbreaks if we acknowledge Him in all our ways. No. But He is saying if we make sure others know He’s the reason for doing what we do, that the troubles and trials and hardships that do come our way will simply be straight-forward for us: We’ll know what to do or we’ll have His peace in the midst of them… (That is, if we commit to Him, and if we boldly acknowledge to those around us that we are His.)

The second way God’s Word helps us combat pleasing others and helps us focus on pleasing Him comes from Joshua’s final address to the leaders of Israel. As we’ve already said, Joshua had rebuked them for their hobbling and hypocrisy of faith. But when they told him that they wanted to worship the Lord alone, Joshua said, then “Throw away the foreign God’s that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” (Joshua 24:23)

This is simply repentance. What is in your life that does not please God? (I don’t care who it does please, and no longer do you!) What is in your life or a part of your life that does not please God? These are your idols that our Abba is calling you to throw away. They may be TV shows and DVDs you like to watch. Perhaps it is music you like to listen to that doesn’t fit with your faith. Perhaps your idols are things you do in your bedroom, ways you treat different kids at school or different colleagues at work or different neighbors around town or different family members around your home. Or maybe your idols are specific practices you have that you know hurt God’s heart. Maybe your idols are what you eat and drink or how much you eat and drink. Perhaps your idols are things you say or things you don’t say…

The Lord is calling us to stand for Him, firmly on both feet. Plant your banner! Commit! He’s calling us to take off our masks and be real: That is, to really be who He’s redeemed us to be!

Because you’re a slave to those around you when you seek to please them. You can’t be free when you’re always trying to make those around you happy. And Jesus came to set us free! Being free – that is, not burdened about the consequences of your actions, not burdened by the agreement or disagreement or the favor or lack of favor of those around us – being free is a sign of the Christian life. Being free, light, unburdened, undistracted, and undivided to simply seek God’s will and then to do it: That is why King Jesus died on the cross: So that you and I would be free to please Him alone.

Remember: People had no power over Jesus. And people have no power over Jesus-in-you!