"Conditional vs. Unconditional Love"
Overview
The Wondrous Love of God: Unconditional in Christ
Palm Sunday opens Holy Week with a striking contrast between two kinds of love. When the world loves, it tends to love conditionally—so long as expectations are met, blessings flow, and life feels manageable. When God loves, He loves unconditionally. The triumphal entry recorded in Mark 11:1-11 puts both on display in a single scene.
Throughout much of His earthly ministry, Jesus restrained the public proclamation of His messianic identity. A premature declaration would have stirred popular pressure to crown Him by force, as we see in John 6:15, and provoked the authorities to act before the appointed hour. But now, days from the cross, the time has come. Jesus' instructions concerning the colt reveal His omniscience—He knows the animal will be there, knows the question that will be asked, knows precisely how the moment will unfold. His ride into Jerusalem fulfills the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9: the humble King coming to His people. The crowd responds with rich symbolism—cloaks spread on the road in submission to a monarch, leafy branches signaling victory and joy, and shouts of "Hosanna" ("Save us!") and "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." The love of the crowd seems overwhelming.
Yet that love was conditional. The same crowd that welcomed Jesus wanted a deliverer from Rome, not a Savior from sin. When Jesus refused to fit their expectations, "Hosanna" turned to "Crucify Him." This is the pattern of human love—warm when bellies are full and skies are clear, cold when Jesus does not act as we think He should. We must honestly confess how easily our own love for Christ becomes conditional when troubles come in bundles or when prayers are answered differently than we hoped.
God's love runs in the opposite direction. We have not lived up to His expectations, yet He sent His Son to bear our sin—including the sin of our conditional love—on the cross, and raised Him on the third day. Paul declares in Romans 8:35-39 that nothing—not hardship, distress, persecution, famine, peril, sword, not death or life, not powers or pandemics, not anything in all creation—can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. He has claimed you as His own in the waters of Baptism, and He will not let go. This is the wondrous love that carries us through Holy Week and into the joy of resurrection: a love with no strings attached, a love that will not let us go.
Transcript
Would you open your Bible's place with me this morning to the 11th chapter of the gospel 0s
of Mark for our study this morning? 7s
Throughout the season of Lent, we have been focusing on the theme of the wondrous love of God. 11s
You recall at the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, we studied the cleansing love of God. 20s
We were studying from Psalm 51 and recall the background of that Psalm David had sin. 28s
He had committed adultery with Vesheba, he had arranged for the killing of the husband of Vesheba. 35s
Indeed, he was convicted of his sin as the prophet Nathan had come to him. 44s
And then by the grace of God, he cries out to God asking for a cleansing of his heart. 49s
In the midweek worship, Pastor Malonech has been examining several aspects of the wondrous love of God. 60s
And today, as we begin together, holy week on this pome Sunday, that theme continues. 68s
Pome Sunday, Monday, Thursday, good Friday, and then next Sunday as we enter the Easter season on resurrection day. 76s
We're going to focus in all of these worship services on the wondrous love of God. 86s
When you compare the love of God to the love of the world, it is a stark difference, isn't it? 95s
To put it into categories, it's really the difference between unconditional love associated with God and conditional love associated with the world. 107s
Let's study. 125s
As we turn this morning to the 11th chapter of the Gospel of Mark, a little bit of background here. 128s
One of the things that I hope you notice in your study is that Jesus Christ prohibited the public declaration of the fact that he was indeed the Messiah, 136s
until almost the end of his earthly ministry. 149s
Let me strike us really as quite odd, right? Because we live in the joy and the commission of the great commission that we are to be a people that go there for, 154s
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them with the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 162s
We are to tell others about Jesus Christ. We are to be liberal in sharing the seed of the Gospel with others. 169s
The Jesus, during his earthly ministry prohibited the public declaration of the fact that he was the Messiah, until almost the cross. 179s
I think of the Gospel of Matthew. 195s
Their Peter declares that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. 198s
Jesus affirms that declaration, but then the Scripture says, then he sternly ordered the disciples, 205s
not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. 216s
Notice those words there. He sternly ordered them not to share. 223s
Why when you look at the Gospel of Mark, for example, theologians will say, 233s
it is full of the messianic secret. In other words, Jesus, not allowing for the public declaration 237s
that he was the Messiah. Why did he do that? Why did he do that? 248s
If Jesus would have allowed that, that very well would have led to his premature death. 258s
The appointed time when Jesus Christ was to die in the cross was exactly the time that Jesus died on the cross. 267s
But if he would allow the public declaration of the fact that he was the Messiah before that appointed time, 278s
his popularity would have raised the Jews would then move to kill him 286s
because of his popularity. And so Jesus here instructs the disciples. He instructs his followers, 294s
not to disclose that he is the Messiah in a public fashion. 306s
But now, now is we are but days away from the cross. 314s
Now comes the time. 320s
There was one estimate that when Jesus Christ came to Jerusalem that triumphantry into Jerusalem, 327s
there were some 100,000 people that had gathered. 337s
The crowds had grown around Jesus' ministry. There were several contributing factors to that. 345s
There were, for example, the healing of the blind men. There was a conversion of Zacchaeus. 352s
There was the raising of Lazarus from the dead. So the crowds now had really grown around Jesus. 358s
And now Jesus allows for the public declaration and adulation. Let's study. 368s
Let's read beginning in verse 1 of chapter 11. 380s
When they were approaching Jerusalem at Bethlehem and Bethany near the Mount of all of his 385s
sent to us disciples and said to them, go into the village ahead of you immediately as you enter it, 390s
you'll find tied their occult that has never been writing, untie it and bring it. 396s
If anyone says to you, why are you doing this? Just say this, the Lord needs it and will send it back 403s
here immediately. They went away, found a cold tide near a door outside in the street. 408s
As they were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, what are you doing? Untieing the 414s
cold, they told them what Jesus had said and they allowed them to take it. 419s
Here's the first thing that I want you to recognize here. It's the omniscience of the Lord Jesus Christ. 427s
The Lord Jesus Christ knows everything. As He instructs His disciples, 435s
He knows that indeed they're going to find the needed animal. He knows the question is going to be asked. 441s
Verse 4, they went away, they found a cold tide near the door outside in the street. 447s
As they were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, what are you doing? Untying the 453s
cold, they told them what Jesus had said and they allowed them to take it. The omniscience of the 458s
Lord Jesus. There's a second thing I'd like you to notice. The details around 466s
this account. Jesus writing of the animal to Jerusalem that triumphant entry 477s
was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah 9, that prophecy. 486s
Low your king comes to you, triumphant is He humble and writing on a donkey. 495s
Notice more of the details. Verse 7, then they brought the cold to Jesus and 505s
through their cloaks on it and He sat on it. That's an act of kindness what they're doing. 512s
Is they're giving a saddle so it'll be more comfortable for Jesus. Verse 8, 519s
Many people spread their cloaks on the road. That's telling. In ancient day there was a custom. 526s
That as a way to show your submission to a monarch, you would take your cloak and you would 539s
throw it in front of the monarch. It was that expression. We submit to you. You are the ruler. 546s
We are underneath your authority. So as Jesus makes this triumphant entry, 554s
the people then are throwing their cloaks and that says a lot. The understanding of the king 562s
here, this expression of submission, it's a beautiful act. The text goes on. And others spread 570s
leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Again, this detail says a lot to us. 580s
In ancient day the leafy branch that palm branch, it was a sign, a symbol of victory and joy. 590s
So here comes Jesus. The crowd is enormous. Indeed they're throwing their cloaks down before 601s
him this act of submission before the monarch. They're throwing down these leafy branches. 608s
Notice more detail. Verse 9, then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, 617s
saying, Hosanna, that word, it means save us. We submit to you. We understand victory and 624s
joy, the cry to save more details. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. 639s
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David, Hosanna in the highest. 649s
These were phrases of Messianic praise and hope. These incredible details here of all that is 659s
happening. The shouting and the actions of the crowd, do you feel the love here? 670s
To you just feel the love. I think of John the sixth chapter. They're the Bible tells us that there 680s
was a boy who had five loaves and two fish, thousands of people and they were hungry. 697s
And Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish miraculously multiplicated. So there was enough 709s
food for all of the five thousand that were there. And in fact it had been multiplied to such an 717s
extent that there was even leftovers. The people ate their fill and yet there were even 725s
leftovers that they collected so that nothing would be lost. Well the people loved this. 733s
Did their bellies were full? They were satisfied. They loved this power of Jesus and what he did. 743s
And so what did they do? Bible tells us in John, when Jesus realized that they were about to come 755s
and taken by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself. 766s
They so loved the actions of Jesus that they were going to make him a king and the Bible says 778s
they were going to force him to be king. Do you feel the love here? Do you feel the love? 787s
But what's interesting? Is that when Jesus would teach about discipleship? 807s
When Jesus would teach, would it meant to follow him and the cost of following him? 819s
The crowds, they'd have been. That you see exposed the conditional nature of their love. 828s
As long as Jesus did what they expected him to do, as long as Jesus acted, how they wanted him to act. 849s
As long as their bellies were full and their diseases were healed, the love flowed for Jesus. 860s
But when Jesus didn't live up to what they thought he should do, that love was just turned off. 870s
Not a drop. Conditional. 888s
They spread the cloaks before him. They put down the palms. 896s
But lessen as he who comes in the name of the Lord. 903s
But soon, that very adulation would turn from Hosanna to crucify. Why? 907s
They didn't want Jesus to save them from their sin. 928s
They wanted Jesus to save them from the Romans. 934s
And when it became apparent that Jesus wasn't going to do that, that he had come for another purpose. 941s
Conditional love vanished. Crucify him. They shouted. Crucify him. 956s
Look at verse 11. Then he entered Jerusalem, went into the temple, and when he had looked 971s
around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the 12. 981s
That sounds so incredibly anticlimactic, doesn't it? Conditional love. Conditional love can be so 991s
fleeting and so vacuous. If we're honest with ourselves, we are so often tempted and live out 1009s
that temptation of loving the Lord Jesus Christ, conditionally. 1027s
You see when the blessing seemed to just be overflowing and when the winds at the back, and it just seems like every day is 70 degrees. 1036s
Why it could be just easy to say, love you Jesus, love you. 1046s
But when troubles come in bundles, when Jesus doesn't act like we think He should act, 1054s
when He doesn't live up to the expectations we have set for Him, our love can grow cold. 1067s
Our love can be withdrawn because it's conditional. Look at this now from God's perspective. How does God 1078s
love us? Because certainly we don't live up to the expectations that He has for us. 1098s
Certainly we don't act how He would want us to act. And so does God love us then, conditionally? 1108s
Does God look at us and say, well you just you just haven't lived up to my expectations and you're not acting. 1119s
How it is I think you should act. You're not pulling your weight. 1127s
Is His love for us conditional? How does God love? But He sends His Son the Lord Jesus Christ to the cross. 1131s
And on the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ bears all of our sin, including the sin of our conditional love toward Him. 1150s
The Lord Jesus Christ then takes the punishment for sin that should have fallen upon us. 1167s
And God says to us, forgiven, forgiven. And the promise that had been prophesied came true on the third day, 1174s
He rose from the dead. How does God love us unconditionally? 1193s
No strings attached unconditionally. 1206s
Always. I think of what Paul wrote in Romans the 8th chapter. The Apostle Paul writing 1214s
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote this, who will separate us from the love of Christ? 1225s
In other words, who or what can pull us away from Christ's love? In any writes, will hardship or distress, 1235s
persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or soared? 1250s
Many of those things, Paul asks, will any of those things pull us out of the grasp of the love of God? 1256s
He goes on in verse 38 and says, I am convinced that neither death nor life. 1267s
Nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come. 1278s
Nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us 1285s
from the love of God in Christ Jesus or Lord. 1294s
Nothing he writes, nothing can pull us from the grasp of God's love. 1299s
Will hardship, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, soared, 1314s
how about a pandemic? Can that pull you away from the grasp of God's love? 1331s
No. No. No. The unconditional love of God. God has you in His grasp for today. 1349s
And all of eternity, He's called you His own in the waters of baptism and He is not letting go. 1376s
What wondrous love indeed? A love that will not let us go. 1393s