Which Crowd Is Yours? By Cheri Holdridge (with an assist by Kurt Young)

Have you ever noticed how public opinion about a celebrity can turn on a dime? One day Charlie Sheen is hot, and the next day folks are laughing at him. One day a politician is golden, and the next day, she is at the bottom of the opinion polls.

Have you ever had a friend turn on you? We call it being "two faced" because one day, they have a face you can trust, and they are someone you would share your deepest truths with. And then another day, you find out they are stabbing you in the back by spreading rumors about you.

I remember being in 6^th grade, the age my daughter is now, and one day every girl in my class decided she no longer wanted to be my friend. JUST LIKE THAT, I went from having friends to being the outcast.

It happens to adults in relationships too. Someone says they love you and want to spend the rest of their life with you. And then, suddenly, with no warning, they get cold feet and dump you like a rock. The pain is agonizing – like someone rips your heart out and just stomps on it.

Are any of these situations familiar to you? Has it happened to you? Have you been the one betrayed?

For a moment, I want you to consider the harder question: Have you done this to someone you love? Have you been the one to turn you back– loving someone, and then letting that person down, BIG TIME? Walking away from a relationship, because you got scared, or swayed by outside forces, making what you realize later, was a BIG MISTAKE.

This is what happened to the followers of Jesus in the last week of his life.
They went from welcoming him into Jerusalem, as a celebrated hero, to becoming key players in the series of events that would lead to his death by execution.

Just like that (snap your own fingers here), in an instant, they turned on him. We read the story for you, (Read Matthew 21:1-11 if you are following along at home or on the road.) from the day we call Palm Sunday, a week before Easter. Jesus enters Jerusalem, and the people are so overcome with joy and awe that they create a hero's parade for him right on the spot. They are shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in God's name." They LOVE Jesus and they treat him like a rock star.

WE want to be part of that crowd, don't we? When we say "YES" to Jesus, we join that crowd of people who worship and praise him. We join the ranks of those who say: "YES, Jesus, we want to follow you. We will do anything you ask. We know you are the Son of God, and with you, WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD." We've all done that, haven't we? At least most of us. We were baptized or confirmed, or saved. We joined a church and said "YES" to Jesus and his way. We joined that crowd in Jerusalem singing praises and claiming Jesus as our Savior.

But days later, the whole story SHIFTED. The Crowd turned on Jesus. Maybe it was not all the same people, but we know there were some people who were in both crowds: the crowd shouting "Hosanna" and giving a king's welcome to Jesus. And the other crowd: the crowd that was stirred up by the chief priests, the ones who were threatened by Jesus' strength and power. That crowd called Jesus blasphemous because he claimed to be the Son of God. The same people who had praised him and called him the chosen one of God, just days before, were there when he was brought before Pilate for trial. That crowd condemned him for claiming to be the chosen one of God. If ever there were a two-faced crowd, it is the crowd in Jerusalem.

But this is our hard question for today: is it possible that we live our lives in both of those crowds too? Can we own up to the truth today, that we betray Jesus by our actions? You see, we have mostly all said "Yes" to Jesus. Every Sunday, we read this statement: "we are followers of Jesus, and we can change the world." We believe it, don't we.

Here's how it happens: whenever we fail to BE the people God wants us to be, we become part of that crowd that turned on him. When I break a promise, when I lose patience and go off on someone, when I fail to keep up with a commitment I made to someone who is counting on me, I am no longer following the way of Jesus. I have turned away from him. I might as well be part of that crowd that sent him to his death.

Because I have made a commitment to walk in the way of Jesus, EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY, not just when it's easy. And when I fail, I am betraying everything he came into this world to do for me. I let Jesus down, I let myself down, and I let down other people who are watching me, and looking for a better way to live their own lives.

You see, it's a big responsibility to follow Jesus. People are watching us. They expect us to be different from the rest of the world. They expect us to love boldly, and to be compassionate and generous. People when they hear we follow Jesus, they expect us to be honest and courageous, and forgiving. They expect us to be better than the average person because we are so full of God's love, we have the strength to live like Jesus. Sadly, we don't always live like that and we disappoint the world.

Do you want to be like Jesus? This is the week to show that we mean it. This is Holy Week. This is the week when everything changes. So here is what I want you to do. Pay attention this week, to the story of Jesus. Get out your bibles and read about the last week of Jesus' life. And think about which crowd you want to be in. Go to one of our Thursday night dinner gatherings, including one where we are going to eat with some homeless families. And definitely come here on Good Friday. It's important to come together on the night Jesus died, and hear that story. And then come back here on Easter Sunday to celebrate the resurrection. Because the Easter story the miraculous story that puts everything together for us.

But this week, every day, when you pray, whether it's in a quiet place in your home, or just a snatched prayer at a stop light, ask yourself this question: which crowd am I in today? With my actions, am I praising Jesus and inviting the world to see that he is the Truth and the Light. OR, with my actions, am I turning away from Jesus and participating in the death of his way of being in this world? You see, God gives us the strength to be like Jesus. Of course, we will make mistakes and we are so thankful that God will forgive us. But God gives us the strength every day, to be like Jesus. This week, in this Holy Week, will we really follow Jesus? I pray that we will. I pray that we will be a part of that crowd that shouts: "Yes, you are the Son of God. I put my trust in you. And I will live my life for you!" Let it be so!

There are other people out there who need the light of Jesus in their lives. You know them : Some have been part of this community but they are not here today: Some you have invited many times, and they say they want to come but they have not yet; Some are waiting for you to invite them. They see Jesus in you, and they need the light of God in their lives.

Who are those people? Who is not here today, that needs to be here next Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. When you figure that out, invite them. We have invitation cards we can send you, or you can just invite them into a circle of love, dedicated to saving the world. As we sang in worship today "there is always room in the circle".