Jesus, Who Gave Himself Up for Sinners

This passage deals with the scene of Jesus entering Jerusalem riding on a donkey. At the time, the crowds welcomed Jesus and shouted Hosanna out of a desire for worldly power and liberation, but Jesus was heading into the city to lay down his life and bear the cross. People followed Jesus expecting miracles and gain, but when faced with the way of suffering and the cross, they turned away in fear and betrayal.

Through these crowds and disciples, the sermon leads believers today to reflect deeply on their motives for offering worship and praise. It asks whether shouting Hosanna and spreading garments on the road only outwardly is true devotion, or emotional excitement for worldly gain. It also points out the human weakness by which, when one's life does not match God's word even though one has learned much of it, one ends up betraying Jesus in a moment of crisis. It emphasizes that when we truly meet God, we must move from the place of the world to the place of faith, and from the place of disobedience to the place of obedience.

The sermon asks whether believers are carrying out their mission with a heart that shares in the suffering of the cross, without letting their hearts be captured by the world's wealth and power. Remembering the bitter weeping of Peter, who ran away before Jesus' very eyes, it reminds us that we must become true people of faith who acknowledge our sinful nature and repent. It raises the question of what the praise and prayer we now offer are meant to gain, and how we will face the fact that we are nowhere to be seen beside the cross.