Dartmouth Bible Notes Notes from the Pulpit Ministry of Dartmouth Bible Church Series: Hope in God Lesson 2 Scripture: Mark 11:1-11 Speaker: Rev. Neil C. Damgaard, Th.M., D.Min. Date: March 25th, 2018

Real Hope Embedded Within False Hope

Mark 11:1-11 (ESV) Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Introduction Sometimes a situation looks bad, really bad. But in time it turns out the situation was good:

I knew a couple that got divorced and were divorced for eight years. While they were divorced they imagined what might bring them back together— counseling, more vacations together, get rid of both mothers-in-law. They had an empty hope. Then each found a real relationship with Jesus Christ. After eight years they got back together. Sometime after that I met them. To my knowledge, they’re still together

Twenty years ago I interviewed over two different weekends for a job in Pennsylvania. It looked like I would get a job offer. It looked really good. Then, I didn’t. Every leader wanted to hire me except one. He blocked the path. I had a false hope. Ten years later while in Dallas working on my D.Min. I randomly met a guy who was ministering near to where that church was located. He knew the church. His résumé had been in there too. He said, “Man, that church imploded. I was glad I didn’t get that job.” I then told him I had been interviewed seriously by the same place.

I could not think of a more dramatic example of where we’re going today that the story of Joni Eareckson Tada who was born in 1949 in , , the youngest of four daughters. Her parents were named John and Lindy Eareckson. Joni was named for her father, thus her name is pronounced "Johnny" rather than the more conventional pronunciation for that spelling: "Joanie." John Eareckson, Tada's father, was honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1996 and participated in the 1932 Olympics as an alternate for the United States wrestling team. With the example of her parents, Tada lived a very active life all through her growing up years. Tada enjoyed riding horses, hiking, tennis, and swimming. On July 30, 1967, she dove into the Chesapeake Bay after misjudging the shallowness of the water. She suffered a fracture between the fourth and fifth cervical levels and became a quadriplegic (or tetraplegic), paralyzed from the shoulders down. During her two years of rehabilitation, according to her autobiography Joni, she experienced anger, depression, suicidal thoughts, and religious doubts. However, during occupational therapy, Tada learned to paint with a brush between her teeth, and began selling her artwork. She also writes this way, although for most writing tasks she relies on voice recognition software. To date, she has written over forty books, recorded several musical albums, starred in an autobiographical movie of her life, and is an advocate for people with disabilities. Tada wrote of her experiences in her 1976 international best-selling autobiography, Joni: The unforgettable story of a young woman's struggle against quadriplegia & depression, which has been distributed in many languages. The book was made into a 1979 feature film of the same name, starring herself. Her second book, A Step Further, was released in 1978. She married Ken Tada in 1982. For many years, Ken was a high school history teacher and coach, though he is now retired. Ken is sansei, meaning that he is the second generation to be born in the United States after his family relocated from . Ken and Joni live in Calabasas, California. In 2010, Tada announced that she had been diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer. She underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy. Her treatment proved successful, and she was declared cancer free in 2015.

Sometimes a situation looks bad, really bad. But in time it turns out the situation was good… Hope can sometimes masquerade in a false way—and then it turns out to have a REAL side that is deeper, more likely to bear fruit and better show the goodness of God. These are all like our passage today. We have Jesus coming into Jerusalem, to great acclaim and praise. The people are full of hope. “BLESSED IS THE COMING KINGDOM OF OUR FATHER DAVID”. (11:10). The people were mesmerized at Jesus of Nazareth—the Miracle Doer; the Deliverer; the Blessed One! They even threw their coats on the ground! (I don’t think I would do that even for Paul McCartney, William Shatner or Grace Slick!) But they did! His ride into Jerusalem and Roman sentries lazily watching, with Sanhedrin members looking down their noses at this crowd was the first inning of a New Game—they thought! But in a few days they would call out “Crucify Him!” It was a false hope. The situation was bad.

2 But Jesus had predicted it and those close to Him knew that. He hadn’t forecast any deliverance from Rome, any prosperity for the poor, any social justice in that day. In fact He had said things like:

 there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down (Matt. 24:2)  You will hear of wars and rumors of wars (vs. 6)…  There will be famines and earthquakes (vs. 7)…  Many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another (vs.10)…  When the abomination of desolation is set up standing in the holy place let those are in Judea flee to the mountains (vss. 15,16)… And lots more dark stuff!

And Jesus was arrested and tried and scourged and crucified. He died. He was done. The hope was dead.

And then He would rise. He would baptize all the Christians with His Spirit. He would gift them with power and supernatural abilities. He would multiply them. He would take up regency as a world King and they would find tremendous hope in His promised return. What? Do you mean He is coming back? You betcha! We are waiting. And things now, twenty centuries later are still moving out! We see new churches all the time opening up. We hear about the Gospel going into places all over the world, changing lives, informing new people of the coming King. Our whole movement is laced with hope.

How can there be HOPE that is real and good, when there is so much false hope? You learn to see past just today. As hopeless as a situation might seem today—we are looking way beyond today.

The culture pulls on us to just look at today: the economy, the epidemic of opioid addictions, the rising or falling oceans, the conspiracies of terrorists, the break-up of families and the rising suicide rate among some demographic groups of teens, and on and on. The media sells newspapers (or more likely “clicks” and “LIKES”) based mostly on bad news!

But as followers of Jesus Christ we know that there is a low hum of hope. It is like such a low frequency “hum” but we can hear it. The main point: Sometimes in the Christian life, in the Christian world-view of things, real hope emerges from false hope… Here’s a few of Billy Graham’s favorite verses on hope:

Psalm 39:7 And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.

3 Isaiah 40:31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

1st Peter 1:3–4 (ESV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

Philippians 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

2nd Corinthians 4:17–18 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Revelation 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Hope is a joy in looking forward.

Hope is a strength that gets you through the bad news of this world.

Hope is what we sometimes get from one another.  Wouldn’t that be a cool church project? Spend the next month inventing ways to give hope to someone specifically within your sphere of friends and contacts…

Hope is what seekers might sense within and around us that draws them into the Gospel.

But we have to admit that sometimes we are disappointed. We are forever, it seems, struggling to filter out false hope and empty and shallow promises. We are often presented with all kinds of false hope, just as Jesus saw in the faces of those with palm fronds and throwing their coats down in front of Him.

We have to discern false hope and not let it confuse us or cloud our perspective. What WE are about, is a people who are looking past this 4 world. The real world is the kingdom of the Gospel that in one sense is unfolding around us but is not REALLY here until Jesus comes back.

Which is coming! Which will begin when the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (1st Thess. 4:16,17)

Palm Sunday was a false hope—but at the same time, embedded within it, Jesus had now arrived in Jerusalem. Three years before the Baptist said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The Great Moment of History had arrived. It is safe to say no one alive on Planet Earth knew it yet except Jesus Himself. But the day had come. There would be no more preparation. The donkey was found. That slow clippity-clop walk into Jerusalem had occurred. Holy week had begun! Real hope was riding into town. But it would not look like it for another week, and then it would tale some time as the disciples became apostles.

Thou camest, O Lord, with the living word That should set Thy people free; But with mocking scorn, and with crown of thorn, They bore Thee to Calvary. O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, There is room in my heart for Thee.

O Come to my heart, Lord Jesus There is room in my heart for Thee

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