Sunday March 29, 2026 Palm Sunday

Do You see all these Things?

This Palm Sunday continues the Lenten series Questions Jesus Asked. The question this week is about perspective: "Do you see all these things?"

Pastor Joel opened with a story about Ferris Wheelers, a BBQ joint he and Candice discovered during their honeymoon in Dallas. They were driving late at night, hungry and partially broke, when a lit-up Ferris wheel caught their attention off the highway. Curious, they pulled off at the exit, found the restaurant, and prayed they had food. They did. That night they had what they would describe for years as the best BBQ in Texas.

Earlier this year, while planning their annual trip back, they decided to revisit their honeymoon spots. Ferris Wheelers is now closed. Permanently. The building is still there. The Ferris wheel too. But the restaurant has become a neighborhood diner called AM/FM. They do live music on weekend nights now. The lights are still on. The wheel still turns. But what made it matter to them is gone.

We get attached to things. We build memories around places and assume they'll be there when we come back. The disciples looked at the temple the same way. Massive stones. Magnificent buildings. It had stood for generations. It would surely stand forever.

But Jesus looked at those same stones and saw something different. He asked them: "Do you see all these things? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another. All will be thrown down."

Palm Sunday looks like victory. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey. The crowds spread their cloaks on the road. They wave palm branches. They shout "Hosanna to the Son of David!" The whole city is stirred. It looks like a coronation. But appearances can deceive.

The donkey was a deliberate choice. Kings rode horses into battle. They rode donkeys when they came in peace. The crowd wanted a conquering hero. Jesus came as a suffering servant. They saw what they wanted to see and missed what was actually happening.

The same city that shouted Hosanna would shout "Crucify him" before the week was over. The voices that blessed him on Sunday would call for his death by Friday. They welcomed a king but didn't understand what kind of kingdom he was bringing. The crowd saw triumph. Jesus saw a city rushing toward judgment.

A few days later, as Jesus was leaving the temple grounds, his disciples pointed out the buildings. "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!" The temple was one of the architectural wonders of the ancient world. Josephus describes stones 70 feet long, 10 feet wide, 8 feet high. White marble. Gold ornamentation. It dominated the Jerusalem skyline. To the disciples, it seemed permanent.

Jesus responds with a question: "You see all these things, do you not?" He's not asking whether they can see the stones. Of course they can. He's asking whether they see what the stones actually mean. Then he delivers the verdict: "Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."

In AD 70, about forty years later, the Roman armies under Titus destroyed Jerusalem. The temple was burned. The stones the disciples had marveled at were torn down and scattered. Josephus records that the city was so completely demolished that visitors afterward would not have believed it had ever been inhabited. Every stone was thrown down. Exactly as Jesus said.

The disciples saw permanence. Jesus saw destruction. They saw glory. He saw judgment coming. Same building. Two entirely different visions. We do the same thing. We're drawn to what dazzles. Buildings and institutions. Empires and wealth. Status and career achievements. We assume these things will last because they look so solid. But Jesus sees differently. He sees beneath the surface. He sees what will remain and what will fall.

The temple was magnificent. But it was made of stone. And stone can be thrown down. Jesus offers something the temple never could: himself. A living stone. A cornerstone. The foundation that cannot be shaken. The temple fell and the city burned. But Jesus rose. And he is still here.

The lights are still on at that old BBQ spot. The wheel still turns. But what made it matter is gone. Some things look permanent until they're not. Jesus invites us to see the difference before it's too late.