Worship Guide
Message Notes
Cypress Creek Church | March 29, 2026
Palm Sunday
Pastor David Bamberry
How One Man Exposed Every Heart
(John 18 &19)
Five People, Five Responses to the Arrest and Trial of Jesus
1. The Soldiers Saw His Power But Still Resisted.
In the garden, soldiers, officers, and priests fell to the ground when Jesus said, “I AM He.” His power overwhelmed them, yet they still took Him away.
The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove. Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked. “Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied. “I AM he,” Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) As Jesus said “I AM he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground! John 18:3-6 NLT
2. The Religious Leaders Looked Clean But Were Hypocrites.
They stayed furious—accusing Jesus, twisting His words, and protecting their religious image while rejecting the very One the Passover pointed to.
Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover. So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?” “We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted. John 18:28-30 NLT
When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” “Take him yourselves and crucify him,” Pilate said. “I find him not guilty.” The Jewish leaders replied, “By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.” John 19:6-7 NLT
3. Pilate Saw The Truth But Refused To Stand In It.
He questioned Jesus and mocked the truth, but when pressure rose, he backed down and gave in.
Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him. Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?” “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.” Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.” “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime.” John 18:33-38 NLT
4. The Crowd Chose Barabbas Over Jesus.
They shouted, “Crucify Him!” and chose Barabbas over Jesus, letting blind rage reject the innocent and release the guilty.
But you have a custom of asking me to release one prisoner each year at Passover. Would you like me to release this ‘King of the Jews’?” But they shouted back, “No! Not this man. We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a revolutionary.) John 18:39-40 NLT
It was now about noon on the day of preparation for the Passover. And Pilate said to the people, “Look, here is your king!” “Away with him,” they yelled. “Away with him! Crucify him!” “What? Crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the leading priests shouted back. John 19:14-15 NLT
5. Peter Loved Jesus But Folded In Fear.
Standing by the fire, Peter gave in to fear and denied Jesus three times until the rooster exposed the moment.
The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?” “No,” he said, “I am not.” Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.” But one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?” Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed. John 18:17, 25-27 NLT
The Turning Point
The arrest and trial exposed what was in every heart, but Peter’s restoration reminds us that Jesus still restores those who truly come back to Him.
After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.” John 21:15-17 NLT
“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” Matthew 7:13-14
This Week
● Palm Sunday begins Holy Week and what better way to prepare our hearts for Easter than reading and reflecting on God’s Word. Join in on the 7-Day Bible Reading Plan in the Gospel of John
● Invite your family, friends, co-workers and neighbors for Easter next Sunday, April 5 at 8:30A - 10A - 11:30A.
