John 12:12-16
12The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel!”
14Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
15 “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
16His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him.
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Wow, the difference five days can bring! The crowd went from cheering Jesus and recognizing him as the king of Israel on Palm Sunday to the shouts of “Crucify him” on Good Friday! How fickle and foolish we can be. He may not have fit their vision of a king, as he didn’t ride in on mighty white stallion, clothed in velvet robes. Initially they accepted him as such, showing reverence and asking him to “save us” with their shouts of Hosanna.
What if the crowd would have continued to demonstrate their love for Jesus? What if this had played out like a Disney or Hallmark movie, with everyone living happily ever after rather than the events progressing more like a Steven Spielberg script? Would we humans have gotten God’s message? Would we have truly recognized Jesus as the Son of God and lived as his teachings instructed for all our earthly days? Would we have realized his immense love for us? Would the disciplines have grasped the depth of who Jesus really was and his purpose? Would it have fulfilled scripture? Simple answer, NO!
As humans, we are often foolish in our shallowness, thoughts and actions. Just like the disciples, we may not always understand God’s plan immediately, but over time we start to see him and his plans for us more clearly. Thankfully, Jesus was obedient to God’s divine plan and the fulfillment of prophecy was revealed.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for sending your son Jesus into this broken world that we may understand the depth of your love for us which was made clear to us through his life, death and resurrection. Amen.
—Deb Cross