I’ve Seen Too Much

“I’ve Seen Too Much”
By Pastor Kent Munsey
March 29, 2021

As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

• Luke 19:37-40 (ESV)

As Jesus was drawing near on the way down from the Mount of Olives, all of his disciples and all of those who were traveling with him began to lay down garments, lift palm branches, and began to loudly praise and celebrate their coming king. A portion of the scripture that often goes unnoticed is that the “disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen (Luke 19:37).” They had seen too much to be silent or casual in this moment. They had seen too many miracles. They had seen Jesus’ ministry, and they were in awe, not just of the miracles he performed, but the authority and the power with which he spoke. They had seen too much to not honor, celebrate, and worship Jesus as their messiah and king. 

We have seen too much of God’s goodness, his grace, too many signs, wonders, and miracles to be silent or casual. We cannot treat Palm Sunday or Holy Week like it is an ordinary Sunday or religious holiday. We have seen too much to not be passionate and to not give Jesus the praise and honor he deserves. 

1. Respond to God’s word. 

In 2 Kings, Elisha was nearing the end of his life when he was summoned by King Jehoash. King Jeohash’s rule was so unspectacular that it was not even recorded in Israel’s history of kings. This unaccomplished king was vulnerable to the enemy, and he summoned the prophet, Elisha. Although Elisha was nearing the end of his life and ministry, he had accomplished sixteen miracles, which is double the amount of miracles that Elijah performed. Elijah and Elisha were Israel’s heroes, prophets of God. They performed signs, wonders, and miracles and declared the word of the Lord boldly. 

When Elisha was summoned, he came to the king and told the king to take his bow and shoot an arrow out the window. Elisha put his hand on the bow and together, they pulled it back and shot it out the window. Then, the word of the Lord came to Elisha that the Lord would would bring a victory to the king and the nation of Israel. Elisha told the king to take the arrow and strike the ground. When the king tapped the ground a few times with the arrow, Elisha became angry because of the king’s casual response to the word of the Lord. Because of his response, Elisha prophesied that the king would barely see a victory and would only see a portion of what God would have done. Elisha had seen too much. Every miracle that Elisha saw and experienced was a direct result of God speaking supernaturally, and people responding to God’s word. 

We have seen too much in our lives to not celebrate and be passionate about God’s word. There is power in God’s word. Miracles, signs, and wonders are available to us when we respond to God’s word. The prophet was upset because the king did not respond with honor, excitement, passion, and enthusiasm toward God’s word. It doesn’t matter how powerful we are, how much we have achieved, or how comfortable we are; when we do not honor and celebrate God’s word, we will miss out on all that he wants to do in our lives. 

We see Jesus riding in on this Palm Sunday to Jerusalem, and all of the city was in an uproar. All of the city was celebrating and worshiping because they were passionate about Jesus. They have seen who he is and what he has accomplished. There was a passion, a zeal, and a celebration. 

In our culture, we need to recognize that we were created to celebrate someone and something. If we don’t celebrate the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, we will begin to put other things in the place of praise, and we will allow those things to produce passion in us. On Palm Sunday, we have a reason to celebrate, worship, and praise God because he has spoken to us and given us his word. All we need is one word from God; we don’t even need a whole sermon. One word from God can change the trajectory of our life. There is power, hope, and healing in God’s word. 

2. Recognize God’s blessing. 

We have seen too much to not celebrate and be passionate about God’s word. We have seen that it works. In the story of Jacob and Esau, Esau sold his birthright, a mountain of blessing, to Jacob for a bowl of beans. He sold an eternal birthright for a temporary desire. Jacob recognized something that Esau did not: God’s blessing on their family. They grew up with Abraham as their grandfather, but Esau wasn’t interested. Esau cared more about other things than what God was doing through his family and how God was establishing a great nation through them. Jacob was interested in the blessing of God. Esau was the firstborn who was eligible for the blessing. Jacob spent his whole life wrestling with his desire to be blessed by God. When we have a desire to be a blessing on the earth, it changes the way we live our life. 

3. Remember just how far God has brought us. 

There was a moment in King David’s life when he was returning the arc of the covenant back to Israel. There was an incident of mishandling of the arc, and then David left it in Obed Edom’s home for three months. When David came back after being away from God’s presence for three months, he was so passionate about bringing God’s presence back into his people’s care that he stopped every six steps and made an offering to God on his way there. David was so passionate about God’s presence that he stopped every six steps to celebrate God. When David’s wife rebuked him for how undignified he was in the way he worshipped God, David responded with passion for all that God had done for him--that God chose him when his family rejected him and protected him and empowered him in all his battles. He had seen too much of God’s faithfulness and provision and couldn’t help but respond. 

When the Pharisees told Jesus to tell his followers to calm down and stop making a spectacle, Jesus responded and said that if they don’t worship him, that even the rocks would cry out. On this Palm Sunday, let’s celebrate Jesus and God’s word, recognize God’s blessing and remember just how far God has brought us. When we do these things it will produce a passion and zeal to give God the praise he is worthy of. Let us remember that God has chosen us, saved us, and invited us into his family and into his work. 

Reflection/Discussion Questions: 

1. Have you ever allowed yourself to become casual with God’s word or desire other things more than God’s presence?  

2. How have you seen God’s word activated in your life and produce more than you could ask, think, or imagine in your life? 

3. What practical thing has God put on your heart to do to live out your passion, purpose, and praise?