Sunday 29 March 2015

A few words on Palm Sunday

So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!”
And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”
So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. - Matthew 21.6-11

Today we start the most important week in our ‘church calendar.’ I am always intrigued by the final week of Jesus’ earthly ministry. On what we now call ‘Palm Sunday’ Jesus entered Jerusalem to praise and adulation and the messiah and king of the people. They were ready to be delivered from  the occupying Roman troops. Their deliverer was here. 

But they missed something. In just a few days these same people would be screaming ‘crucify Him’ with blood thirst in their hearts. 

What happened? How did ‘hosannah’ become ‘kill him?’ 

The people really missed the boat. They were praising Jesus, not for who He was, but for that He was going to do for them. He did not give them what they wanted. In their minds he failed. 

That sounds terrible, doesn’t it? How could they do that. How could they judge Jesus not for who He was, but for what He did? 

How indeed? 

But don’t we tend to do the same thing? What do we do when Jesus doesn’t do things they way we think he should? Do we ever act the way they did? Do you ever feel like He has failed you? 

We need to have the trust that these folks didn’t have. We need to learn to trust even when it doesn’t seem that it is working

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