“The Mind of Christ”
Palm Sunday, March 28, 2010
Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 21:5-11

Introduction: The actress Sandra Bullock was in two movies last year: “All About Steve” and “The Blind Side.” The interesting thing about it is that she won an Academy award for her role in “The Blind Side,” but a Razzie for “All About Steve.” Now if you don’t know what a Razzie is, it is “an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst actor of the previous year.” Can you imagine the high Bullock felt in getting the Academy Award for best actress? Yet, how do you think she felt when she found out she had been declared the winner for the razzie? Probably not too good; From a high, to a low.
This morning we celebrate Palm Sunday. It is the day Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, with people shouting “Hosanna, Hosanna.” In one sense, Jesus must have felt quite a high to see people so excited about His presence there. But Jesus knew that a low was to come, when soon they would be shouting “Crucify Him, Crucify Him.”

I. The Mind of Humility- (Philippians 2:5-8; Luke 4:1-12)

a. Giving of yourself- If Jesus knew that this was to come, why
would Jesus open Himself up to the people? Why would Jesus give of Himself knowing the flakiness of people? It was because Jesus had a certain mindset; a mindset of humility. To give yourself up for a purpose, you have to be willing to set aside your own feelings and desires. You have to be willing to think of the other person. That is why the apostle Paul says in Philippians 2:5-6, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.”
In having the mindset of being willing to give of Himself to others, Jesus was not as concerned with the actions of others, as He was with His own actions. The truth is, we can’t control the actions of others; or the thinking of others. The only thing we can control is our actions and our thinking. It is not about trying to gain accolades, or getting others to like us by doing what they want us to do. It is about doing what God has called you to do, and me to do, and Jesus to do!
So to do this, Jesus, even though He was God, decided to empty Himself of his place in heaven, and come to this earth. This took great humility on His part, because He put Himself in a place where He could be mocked, and ridiculed, and questioned, and despised. And even though He was God in the flesh, He knew He had a purpose, and a plan, and He wasn’t going to let anyone else affect this plan.
EX. In a college basketball tournament game a week ago, Kentucky was playing Wake Forest. Kentucky was favored to win, because they had great talent, especially in their freshman center. The Wake Forest center is known to be a dirty player, having gotten several players thrown out of the game during the season with his dirty tactics. He throws elbows and cheap shots, usually without the officials seeing it, and then when the other player retaliates that player gets the foul, or in some cases gets tossed. Well, he tried this against the Kentucky player, throwing elbows to the face and body throughout the game, but the Kentucky player kept his cool, stayed in the game, and Kentucky won by 30!
Jesus didn’t let the words or actions of anyone keep Him from carrying out His mission. Jesus could do this because of His humility, deferring to His Father time and time again.
b. Emptying yourself- We see this even more by the fact that
Jesus emptied Himself. How did He empty Himself? By giving up His place in heaven, and by giving up any of His own desires. Jesus knew why He was here, and He was focused on this single goal: to love people, and to die for the sins of the world.
Jesus had several occasions when He could have been tempted to give up this plan:
The most noteworthy is when He was in the wilderness praying before the start of His ministry. He was tired and weak and alone. He had fasted for 40 days and was very hungry. Along comes Satan trying to take Jesus away from what He was called to do: “turn this stone to bread,” Satan said. How tempting that sounded for a hungry man. Satan then spoke these words: “I will give you glory and authority over this world if you worship me.” Lastly, Satan says to Jesus: “Show you are the Son of God by throwing yourself off the temple so that the angels will come to protect you.” In all three cases, Jesus stayed focused on the word of God and the will of God!
As a human, Jesus had desires and temptations. By emptying Himself of His desires, and keeping Himself focused on the will of the Father, He was able to live a life of example, and put Himself in the place to die for our sins. This was not always easy for Jesus, like when He prayed in anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane. But in the end, Jesus kept Himself humble, and empty so that He could be filled with the power and presence of God.
As I said before, it was Jesus’ humility that allowed Him to be obedient. When we are disobedient, we are choosing our own way over God’s. Jesus knew He couldn’t do this and stick to the plan. As Philippians 2:8 tells us, “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.” Death on a cross is not what any of us would choose for ourselves, including Jesus. But it was a needed event for Jesus to fulfill the plan of saving us from our sins. So obedience is the route Jesus chose.

II. The Mind of Love- (1 Jn. 4:7-11; Is. 53:11-12; Philip. 2:9-11)

a. A concrete act- Along with having a mindset on being humble,
Jesus also had a mindset on love. Love in action. Love is not an abstract concept in the Christian faith. Love is a concrete act. This is important to remember, because the words “I love you,” are so often said, but not always lived out in concrete ways. Words lose their meaning if they are not acted upon. My kids say that they love me, but I know it all the more that they love me when they do what they are asked to do. I know it all the more when they show me with their actions.
EX. It is nice to get gifts at Christmas. But when someone takes the time to make you something, instead of buying you something for the sake of the gift, real love is shown; especially when it is your kids. Last Christmas Tyler and Tiffany both did this. Tiffany spent a great amount of time at her computer making Tami a 2010 calendar. Then after she printed it out, she took time to color it to make it even more beautiful. Tyler also did something on his computer, and that is make Christmas cards for Tami, me, and his grandparents. He made each card unique and special for each person, choosing just the right pictures and words for each of us. In the end, when we received these gifts, we experienced love as a concrete act!
God didn’t just say the words “I love you” to us. God demonstrated this love to us. What Jesus did for us is concrete love. He came to this earth. He gave us His time. He showed us how to live and love. He gave us important teachings. And ultimately He gave His life for us so that we could know His love in a deeper way, and be able to love Him back; not just while we are on this earth, but for eternity.
Even in my description of Jesus’ love we see it in action. Let me say it again, a little slower: He came to this earth. He gave us His time. He showed us how to live and love. He gave us important teachings. And ultimately He gave His life for us so that we could know His love in a deeper way. Love in action. We are asked by God to love as He loved us, in action; to love both God and others. As the apostle John says in 1 John 4:7-11, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
b. Love expressed- Our love is expressed in so many ways. We just
need to be more aware of it. And as John said, it is a response to the love God first gives to us. If you have ever doubted whether God loves you, all you have to do is look at the cross. As I’ve been mentioning, the cross expresses the love of God./ You have heard the song “Jesus Loves Me,” which of course says: “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” But even more powerful words could be: “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Cross, tells me so.”
Isaiah says is to us like this in Isaiah 53:11-12: 11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
OR Philippians 2:9-11, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Love can be short lived. I have had many people tell me that they love me,
only to see them leave my life after a short time. I have had many people tell me they love me, only to see that their love for me was based on what I could give them, or do for them, and when I didn’t do what they wanted, the relationship ended. We don’t have to worry about this with God. If ever we wonder, “Does Jesus Love me?” we can know the answer is yes by remembering the pain that Jesus suffered for us on the cross, and the fact that He suffered and endured this out of His love for us. But there is more, and that is, Jesus had a mindset on the cross, a mindset for hope.

III. The Mind Set on Hope- (Exodus 12:1-14)

a. The reason for Passover- Jesus’ triumphal entry into
Jerusalem on Palm Sunday was seen as dramatic. But Jesus knew that He was not going to take on the Jewish leaders or the Romans through force; Jesus wasn’t about to lift Himself up as an earthly ruler. Jesus was not going to display His Lordship and power in this way. No. The reason for the celebration of the Passover each year was for the purpose of remembering how God had saved the Jews from the Egyptians during the time of Moses, and the hope they had at the coming of their freedom.
You might remember that when Moses came to free the Jews from slavery, Pharaoh time and time again said “NO.” So finally, Moses told Pharaoh that if he did not let the Jews go free, that the angel of death would come, and all firstborn children would die. And then Moses went to his people, and spoke this message; we find it in Exodus 12:1-13 1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 "This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire,... Eat it in haste; it is the LORD's Passover. 12 "On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn—says the Lord, “both men and animals—and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
And then we read in Exodus 12:14… 14 "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD -a lasting ordinance.”/ To commemorate is to establish an event that helps you to remember the original event. As the Israelites had the “Passover Lamb” that saved them from the angel of death, so Jesus was going to be this Passover Lamb for us; for all who believe. This triumphal entry was the start of the dramatic act that would end on a cross. The event that gives us eternal hope.
b. Hope found- Of course the hope is that death passes over all
who believe. Not physical death, but spiritual death. Jesus is the king of kings, as the people were shouting, but not a king of this earth; the King of heaven. And as His people, we know that we have the hope of eternal life.
Now you may look at your life, and not feel a lot of hope. Maybe you are weighed down with burdens. Maybe you are weighted down with worries. Maybe you are weighed down with depression, or alcoholism, or lack of motivation. There is hope for us there as well. The other day I received a wonderful e-mail. You may have heard of the story “Footprints.” Well, this e-mail was an updated version of Footprints…
Imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking down the road together. For much of the way, the Lord's footprints go along steadily, consistently, not really any varying. But your footprints are disorganized; a stream of zigzags, starts, stops, turnarounds, and return. Gradually your footprints come more in line with the Lord's, soon paralleling His consistently. You and Jesus are walking as true friends!
This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens: Your footprints that once etched the sand next to Jesus' are now walking precisely in His steps. Inside His larger footprints are your smaller ones, you and Jesus are becoming one. This goes on for many miles, but gradually you notice another change. Suddenly the second set of footprints is back. This time it seems even worse! Zigzags all over the place. Stops. Starts. Gashes in the sand. A variable mess of prints.
You are amazed and shocked. Your dream ends. Now you pray:
"Lord, I understand the first scene, with zigzags and fits. I was a new Christian; I was just learning. But You walked on through the storm and helped me learn to walk with You." "That is correct."
"And when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in Your steps, following You very closely." "Very good. You have understood everything so far."
When the smaller footprints grew and filled in Yours, I suppose that I was becoming like You in every way." "Precisely." "So, Lord, was there a regression or something? The footprints separated, and this time it was worse than at first." There is a pause as the Lord answers, with a smile in His voice. "You didn't know? It was then that we danced!"
In the midst of all of life, we will have times when we walk with Christ; and we will have time when we start to walk away; and we will have time when we are victorious with Christ, because we have humbled ourselves, given up our will, and have taken on the mind of Christ. It is then that we dance with the Lord!

Conclusion: Palm Sunday is the start of Holy Week. When the people yelled out “Hosanna,” they were crying out “Hail to the king.” It was a call for help. Jesus heard their cry, as God heard the Jews cry when they were in slavery, and Jesus became the “Passover Lamb” to take away the sins of the people. This is why Jesus had the mindset that He did, because He knew that His plan was the only way to help us; through His obedience.
Let us not think about Palm Sunday without letting it take us to the Lord’s Supper, to the Garden of Gethsemane, to Good Friday, and the cross. It is all of this that leads us to understand the mind of humility, love and hope. Let us receive all of this in and through Christ. Amen.