A young man asked an evangelist, “what must I do to be saved?”

The evangelist said, “You are too late!”

Alarmed, the young man said, “Do you mean that it’s too late for me to be saved?” “Is there nothing I can do?”

“It’s already done!” “The only thing YOU can do is believe it & receive it”.

That is it! We either believe it or we don’t. If we believe it, it will change your life.

This of course is referring to believing in our heart that Jesus rose from the dead, and that He is God.

This morning we celebrate the debt Jesus paid in full, when He died for our sins. The cross was not defeat, but victory!

And the risen Lord Jesus Christ indicates the battle has been won. Death has no sting.

Continuing where we left off last week, Pilate releases to the people Barabbas and hands Jesus over to the Jews for crucifixion, after having Jesus flogged.

The crucifixion and details that lead up to it are incredibly hard to stomach. This message will most likely fall short of what the witnesses would testify to. In order to be as accurate as possible it’s important to know the medical and physiological factors that are involved in such suffering.

Show of hands, how many of you know what flogging is?

This is Palm Sunday, where we commemorate the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. We briefly hit on this a few weeks ago, but just as a quick review—Matthew 21:1–11 tells us how the disciples fetched a donkey that had never been ridden. People spread their cloaks and palm branches, shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” as Jesus rode into Jerusalem.That word “Hosanna” comes from the Hebrew hoshi’ah na, meaning “save us now.” they all new this song it was Psalm 118 says, “Save us, we pray, O Lord… Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Luke tells us they cried out, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And all of this fulfills Zechariah 9:9—your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey.

It’s such a powerful scene—the crowds are excited, Jesus is smiling, the disciples are ecstatic… and yet, if you’ve ever watched The Chosen, there’s a moment where His countenance changes. Because Jesus knows something the crowd doesn’t.