And So It Begins

And so it begins.

What a mixed day of emotions this was for Jesus. Everything had been pointing to this moment in history. From before the beginning of time, everything Jesus, Father and the Spirit did was moving toward this moment. Now here he was, facing Jerusalem, surrounded by those whom he loved and who loved him, yet knowing the heart of man.

We often talk about the triumphal entry into Jerusalem but I wonder if we ever stop to take note of some of the details. Each of the gospels adds a little bit to the event. It is like witnessing any event; each witness sees a little something that the others didn’t see. It is the reason we have four accounts of Jesus.

Three of the four note that Jesus sent two disciples to procure a donkey for him and two of them note how this was to fulfill prophecy:

“Tell the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.’” (Zechariah 9:9)

The king arriving on a donkey signifies peace whereas the king arriving on a horse speaks of war and conquest. When Jesus returns again it will be on a horse, the conquering King. But what about all this singing and proclamation of Jesus? Here we need to look at the sequence of events.

Remember this was Passover time and thousands of pilgrims were coming to Jerusalem to celebrate. Most of these pilgrims were coming from areas where Jesus’ fame was well known. There was a great feeling already as these pilgrims made their way to their destination. Many would we celebrating, singing songs of praise, chatting with other pilgrims. Then they see Jesus with his disciples and the disciples were laying their cloaks before Jesus who was riding a donkey. And other disciples were singing:

Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying:

“ ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:37-38)

The multitude of pilgrims could not resist the excitement of the disciples. Already in a festive mood they gladly joined in:

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!” (Matthew 21:8-9)

Then those pilgrims who were already in the city heard what was going on outside the city and ran to be part of it:

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:

“Hosanna!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
The King of Israel!” (John 12:12-13)

John gives us a little insight why so many were proclaiming Jesus as king; why so many were so excited:

Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. (John 12:17-18)

But this did not mean everyone was with him. It did not mean anyone understood what he was facing. Not even his disciples understood, even though Jesus had been plainly telling them of late. Even in the midst of this jubilation there was a reminder to Jesus what lay before him:

And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”

But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” (Luke 19:39-40)

And just because this great multitude of pilgrims knew who Jesus was and what he had done does not mean the citizens of Jerusalem knew or were for him:

And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” (Matthew 21:10)

Can you understand then who would comprise the crowd who, in a week’s time, would call out “Crucify him!”? It was a complicated day as Jesus came into Jerusalem, a day that marked the last week for Jesus.

My question to you is, where do you fit in to all of this? Are you just part of the crowd going with the flow of all the excitement? Are you part of the crowd who asks, “Who is this”? Are you one who plots against Jesus? Or are you one of his disciples, who may not understand everything at this stage but one who trusts him? However you see yourself, I pray this week, as you seek to know Jesus better, you will come to know him as he who died for your forgiveness and who was raised from the grave for your eternal life. I pray you will come face to face with the King of kings and will give yourself fully to him so that you may praise him in all earnestness.

Hosanna! indeed.

The Hypocrisy Of Palm Sunday

Today in the Church, around the entire world, we celebrate the day of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. We refer to it as Palm Sunday because the crowds waived palm branches in celebration of the arrival of this potential king and saviour of Israel. If only they had understood the half of it. This day marks the beginning of Passion Week, the days leading up to the cross and the resurrection.

For centuries the world has celebrated Jesus without understanding who he is to us. Certainly they knew the stories and they entered into the various ceremonies and became very religious about it all. But much of the world only recognized the power to control the masses and did not understand the very personal nature of the relationship. Just like the crowd during the triumphal entry, they waived their "palm branches" without knowing who Jesus is to the world. Now that time is coming to an end.

Perhaps the church you attend is alive in the Spirit but much of the world is walking away. Perhaps you know personally the magnificence of Jesus, but your neighbour, who has attended church faithfully all of his life, no longer sees the sense of it, because he never met Jesus. Much of Europe is dead to Christ. Nations that once proclaimed him as King now set up the old churches as museums, relics of the past. No other religion is attacked and persecuted as much as Christianity and maybe it needs to be because there is a lot of hypocrisy in what man has done to her.

I can hear tables being turned over and coin scattering across the stone floor. What have we done to the Bride of Christ? We have not been building our churches on sound doctrine but on sound business practices. All the teaching we hear about today is leadership, leadership, leadership. Funny, from what I can see, Jesus spent his time teaching his disciples to be servants. Perhaps in our deprived thinking we are doing the right thing, building the Kingdom of God, but how much of it will stand against the purifying fire?

The reason there is so much scandal in the Church, why people are walking away, is because there is too much of us in what we do. It is not by our strength and might that we accomplish anything in the Kingdom but it is by the will of God. We are suppose to operate by his Spirit not our flesh. We aren't suppose to seek our will, or what is best for us but, as humble servants, we do the King's bidding. Because we have not learned this, all the world sees is a bunch of desperate people trying to hold on to the traditions of our past. Where is the radical love? Where is the passionate fire? Where is the faith that commands the mountains to move?

Not by best business practices or accountant rules. Not by leadership training or needs based surveys. Not by the latest trends or what worked well for a church somewhere down south. According to God's will for where you are and by his power. That is how the Church moves forward.

For so long leaders have tried to become professionals and to have the Church accredited by the world. It's time to throw off the man made mantle and put on the one given to us by Jesus. It is time to run away from all things man and run to the righteousness of Jesus. It is time to put an end to the scandals in the Church by becoming God's holy people again. It is time to stop seeking the world's approval and seek God's. It is time to set aside the hypocrisy of the palm branches and start laying down our cloaks before the King. If we humble ourselves before our God we may yet see revival in our churches.

God Is Not The Christian God

I think sometimes we forget that God is not the Christian God or the Jewish God or the 'anything else' God; he is simply God. What I mean by this is that God does not love one group of people more than another. In this same thought, God doesn't hate anyone, despite some things you may have heard some people say. Christians forget this quite often and think we are something special to God, as if we have merited some kind of special favor from him. Even in a simple little verse in Psalm 82 we find the truth of the matter:

Rise up, O God, judge the earth,    for all the nations are your inheritance. (Psalm 82:8)

All the nations, all the people, the whole world belongs to God because he is the life-giver to it all. He is not governed by our human failings that he should love some and hate others. He is governed by his character and the scripture tells us plainly that God is love.

The struggle that we have is how to do we access this God? How do we get close to him to know him? He is holy and no wretched creature can come near him so what do we do? This is why Jesus came, not only to show us the way but to become the way. Jesus told us plainly:

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

This is the part that prevents Jesus from becoming a great prophet or a wise teacher. No one, no great thinker, no Muslim, nor anyone else can claim that Jesus was only a teacher or a prophet. We can only decide that he is who he said he is or he was a liar. However, all the prophets described him and what he would do, so Jesus' testimony was not the only testimony. Jesus came to bridge the gap, to make it possible for us to access God the Father, the one who loves us more than any other. It was the Father's plan since the beginning of time.

Christians do not have sole ownership of God. The only thing Christians have is the knowledge and faith to be able to come into his presence. God's desire is that the whole world would know him and desire to fellowship with him. His desire is that we would accept his love, and love him in return. Scriptures show that the door is open for anyone who decides to enter it:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

A long time ago, the race of man decided to go it alone, to turn our back on God. We entered into rebellion and were lost to him, but he was not satisfied to leave it at that. He desired for us to know him and to give us a way to get back to him. He pursued us into the darkness and provided a light to see our way back to him. He provides this for every nation, every religion, every human condition. It is for the male and female, child and adult, the moral and immoral, the rich and poor, the healthy and sick. He loves us that much.

It doesn't matter what you have done and said in your living; it doesn't matter your religion or philosophy; it doesn't matter whether you believe or not, it will not stop him from loving you and desiring you to return to him. All you need is Jesus. All you need to do is respond to the love he has shown you through his son, Jesus Christ, who has become your access point to the one who loves you above all others. He will forgive you as you surrender all your rebellious ways to him. He will fill you with all good things, shower you in all the blessings of his love and he will give you solid ground to stand on again.

God is good, so very good, and he loves you more than you can comprehend. That is what we are truly celebrating on this Palm Sunday.