Good morning.  Last week we missed due to the snow, but today, we are going to take a look at this significant day.  The Sunday before Easter is known as Palm Sunday.  And this morning, we are going to take a look at the event that today is all about.  We are going to take a look at triumph to tragedy.

Before we do that though, allow me to begin with a word of prayer.  Let’s Pray!

From triumph to tragedy.  Those words don’t sound very good, do they?  I think we would prefer “from rags to riches.”  That sounds much better, and more exciting doesn’t it?

If I say the name Carrie Underwood, many of you know who I am talking about.  Others may wonder, “Who is she?  What did she do?”  Well, for those of you who do not know her, she won the American Idol contest in 2005.  Carrie Underwood is in her 20’s and was raised on her parents’ farm in rural Oklahoma.

On the March 22, 2005, American Idol show, after a performance of Heart’s “Alone,” Simon Cowell said this: “Carrie, you’re not just the girl to beat, you’re the person to beat.  I will make a prediction, not only will you win this competition, but you will sell more records than any other previous “Idol” winner.”  Cowell went on to say on the March 30 show that she has the “it factor” that will make her a star.

On her last song of the night in the final 2, Carrie’s performance of “Angels Brought Me Here” had Simon saying, “I think you’ve done enough to win the competition.”  And on May 25, 2005, she became the fourth winner of American Idol.  That was a story of “rags to riches.”

As part of her title, Underwood gained a recording contract with Arista Records; her first single, “Inside Your Heaven,” was released on June 14, 2005.  The single debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, with first-week sales of 170,000 copies.  Underwood’s second single, “Jesus, Take The Wheel,” was made available for radio airplay on October 18, 2005.  It received so much airplay that it debuted at #39 on the Billboard Country Chart in its first week, setting a record.  As it climbed it finally reached #1 for 6 consecutive weeks setting a record on the country charts.

In case you have not heard this song before, allow me to share with you some of the lyrics to her song, “Jesus, Take the Wheel.”

Jesus take the wheel
Take it from my hands
Cause I can’t do this all on my own
I’m letting go
So give me one more chance
To save me from this road I’m on
Jesus take the wheel
Now why in the world would she ever sing a song like that?  I think because she believes in giving Jesus the wheel in her life.  At least I hope so.  FROM RAGS TO RICHES.  Carrie has become an instant celebrity and is probably already worth millions.  But her true worth is found in her Christian faith, which I hope she keeps and continues to live.

Rags to riches sounds good, but for Jesus, it was not to be.  Not on earth at least.  It seems that did the opposite.  Jesus went from riches to rags, from triumph to tragedy.  First, He left Heaven for earth.  From riches to rags.  From glory land to this sinful world.  In our text, however, we see another great misfortune or humiliation.  Jesus went from being honored to being dishonored.  From triumph to tragedy.

From out text, let’s consider about how Jesus went from triumph one week to tragedy the next.

First, The Triumph:
Triumph time for Jesus was when He entered Jerusalem and everybody was happy.  Or so it seemed.

In Matthew 21:1-11 it says, “1”

The disciples were told to prepare for the Lord’s coming and the people were excited.  It was as though a giant ticker-tape parade was taking place.  The disciples prepared for God, and the people praised God by laying down their cloaks and palm branches.
As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the crowds shouted, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”  Most of the people seemed to believe that Jesus was sent from God.  Now I’m not sure they believed that He was God in the flesh, but they did believe in Him.  It’s always nice when people believe in you, who you are, your mission, your work, etc.

How many of you have ever heard Bob Russell, formerly of the Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky preach?  If you haven’t, you have missed something great.  I was able to see him preach there on a couple occasions before he retired.  The Southeast Christian Church has grown from approximately 120 people to over 19,000 people in nearly 40 years.  Now Bob Russell is not a loud preacher.  He doesn’t have the greatest delivery, but his sermons are excellent, they are sound, scriptural, and well illustrated.

But they also have something else.  They have BELIEVEABILITY.  And that’s because Bob is believable.  When you hear Bob speak he is very open, honest, and easy to understand.  This is what helps to make his sermons believable.  Consequently, he gets a lot of praise and praise is nice, if it doesn’t go to your head.  And I don’t think it has in his case.  I think Bob is quick to give the Lord the praise for all the good in his life, including his successful ministry.

Cheering and praising are good, if deserved.  However, I don’t think Jesus let it go to His head either.  Jesus could always see through anybody, at any time.  He knew if it was genuine praise or not.  In Romans 12:10 it says, “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honor one another above yourselves.”

And later in Romans 13:7 it goes on to say, “Give everyone what you owe him: if you owe taxes, pay taxes, if revenue, then revenue, if respect, then respect, if honor, then honor.”

Because life is hard, I think we need to give honor to those who deserve it.  I think we need to commend, praise, and encourage one another.  This helps people to keep going in life.  I heard one time that an elder in a certain church who had labored long and hard, said to someone, “You know, I’ve been an elder in my church for over 30 years and no one has ever said thank you to me for anything.”

Ingratitude, whether to God or man, is a sin.  Now on the other hand, some may never seem to get praised for the good they do in this life.  Henry C. Morrison was a great missionary who served the Lord in Africa for over 40 years.  On the way back to the United States, he began to wonder, “Will anyone remember us?  Will anyone recall who we are?  Will anyone meet us at the boat?”  Well, unknown to Henry Morrison and his wife, Teddy Roosevelt, President of the United States, was also on board that ship.  He had gone to Africa for a hunting trip.

When the ship pulled into New York harbor he looked to see if anyone had come to welcome them back home.  Thousands of people were there cheering.  Bands were playing.  There were signs, banners, and billboards everywhere saying, “Welcome Home.”  Henry and his wife were so excited about the crowds of people that were there to welcome them home and they went down to get their luggage, came back to the deck of the ship to get off and they realized that the parade of people were already gone.  You see, they had come to welcome home Teddy Roosevelt, not these missionaries.

Henry Morrison went to his hotel room with a heavy heart that night.  As he sat there on the bed, he asked his wife, “Honey, I just don’t get it…for 40 years we poured our lives into ministry and service.  And yet we come back to America and not a single soul comes to welcome us home!”  His wife came and sat down next to her husband, she put her hand on his shoulder, and comforted him with words that he would never forget, “Henry, you have forgotten something, you’re not home yet!”

And may that be of comfort to you today.  It doesn’t matter what takes place in this life, your ultimate reward is in Heaven.  Always remember, “You’re not home yet.”

Revelation 14:13 says, “Then I heard a voice from Heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”  “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.””  FOR THEIR DEEDS WILL FOLLOW THEM.  The praise will come.  By His grace, we will be saved!  And by His grace, we will be honored.
So Jesus entered into the city and He was honored.  People came to praise Him, because He was worthy of praise.  But then, something happened that tends to happen in life often.

Secondly, The Tragedy Came:

Mark 15:25-39 says, “2”

In no time, the people went from praising to crucifying and Jesus went from triumph to tragedy.  The same people who praised Him at the beginning of the week, now wanted to crucify Him.

I’ve seen this happen in life.  When someone doesn’t live up to the expectations of the people they are quick to crucify them or tar and feather them.  Gene A. Smith, an American historian, authored a book entitled, “When The Cheering Stopped.”  The book told of Woodrow Wilson, and the events surrounding World War One.  At the end of the war, people were optimistic.  They believed that the last war had been fought.  The dream was that the world had at last been made safe, and the way had been paved for democracy and freedom everywhere.

When Woodrow Wilson paid his first visit to Europe, he was greeted by large crowds, and he was cheered every place he went.  In many people’s eyes he was more popular than the greatest war heroes throughout the land.  He was viewed as an icon of hope.
In all, the cheering lasted for about a year.  Then it began to stop.  The political leaders throughout Europe were interested more in their own agendas than a lasting peace, and the people slowly lost hope.  On the home front, Wilson met opposition in the Senate, and his league of nations was never ratified.  Under tremendous stress, his health began to fail.  In the next election, his party lost.  Woodrow Wilson, who almost 2 years earlier was heralded as a hero, came to his last days as a broken and defeated man.

What happened to Woodrow Wilson has also happened to preachers, politicians, and all kinds of people, even the rich and the famous, even Jesus.

Martha Stewart was riding high in the saddle at one time as the CEO of her company and worth over a billion dollars.  But she was eventually convicted of lying to investigators and was sentenced to prison in 2004.  She was released on March 4, 2005.  She’s still popular but perhaps not as popular as she could have been.  Jail didn’t hurt her too much.  Nevertheless, there was a time when some of the cheering stopped.

Ever since the popular actor Brad Pitt left his wife Jennifer Aniston after 4 and a half years for Angelina Jolie his popularity has gone downhill.  Some of the cheering has stopped.  Even his fellow actor Michael Douglas said, “Why did he leave pretty Jennifer Aniston for Angelina Jolie?”

Well, in our text today, we see such an example.  Jesus, the son of a carpenter, gained favor with men, was cheered and praised, but would soon be mocked, scorned, and cast aside by the same ones who did the cheering.

Jesus didn’t gather any troops.  He didn’t lead a revolt.  But He didn’t do what they expected Him to do either.  Instead, He taught that in order to be great, you must be a servant.  Jesus did everything that the people didn’t want, and so the cheering stopped.

It’s amazing that when things go our way, when God does what we want, when Jesus rises to our cause; it’s easy to cheer.  But what about when He doesn’t do these things?  What happens when we face oppression?  What happens when we experience troubles?  Too often, the cheering comes to a stop.  Words of adoration and praise quickly fade.  When Jesus doesn’t meet with our expectations in this life, we must be careful not to crucify Him.

Matthew 6:1-2 says, “Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them.  If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in Heaven.  So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men.  I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.”

Some people will only be rewarded in this life.  Others will receive a finer, better reward in Heaven.  Jesus was not often rewarded in this life.  But now He is glorified, exalted, cheered, and praised, and will be for all of eternity.  So hang in there.  You may not get your praise now but you will in Heaven.

Jesus went from triumph: (Read “1”)

Then He faced tragedy: (Read “2”)

Jesus went from triumph to tragedy in this life.  But He is defiantly at a triumphal stage once again, and that is what we will look at next week.  Just remember, He defeated death, and so can we.  We’re not home yet!

Let’s Pray!