Apr 1 - "Polar Opposites"

John 12:12-16 -- “The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
‘Hosanna!’
‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’
‘Blessed is the king of Israel!’

Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:

‘Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey's colt.’

At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.”

********************************

Today we celebrate the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem! Prophecy written in the book of Zechariah centuries before is being fulfilled on this day, witnessed by the people who have heard Christ’s words over the past few years, those who saw His healing and miracles. Their joyful shouts of “Hosanna” are praise for Messiah who has come. It is a joyful day!

When I consider this scene, I am struck not just by its majesty, but by how quickly things devolve from the praises of Palm Sunday to the vilification and condemnation of Good Friday. It is amazing at how the people of Jerusalem who, on this day, praise Jesus, but then call for His death, mocking His life less than a week later. These people take an immeasurable turn from the holy to the horrible.

I recognize that these people of Jerusalem were probably under tremendous pressure from the Pharisees to tow the line. The leaders of the Jewish people at this time saw Jesus as a tremendous threat, not only to their laws and customs, but to the status quo of a continually precarious relationship with Rome. The local governor and his centurions were probably very often just a few steps away from brutal oppression of the Jews. The slightest ripple in the expected behavior of these people could cause problems, setting back the limited freedom they had under their Roman rulers. A man like Jesus could easily upset this tenuous detente. The Pharisees needed to turn things against this man from Nazareth.

As we think about our own lives, we have to wonder, how we will turn over the next week? Yes, in just five days we will sit in churches on Good Friday in remembrance of His crucifixion; our crucifixion of Him. We will shout out “Crucify Him!, Crucify Him!” from the pews, reenacting the voices of that day over two millennia ago. But let’s also examine how our hearts may change over the course of the next week as we reenter the world, stepping through church doors after worship today.

Don’t we often find ourselves falling short of God’s glory, sometimes just moments after we leave church on Sunday? We sing praises, pray for others, confess our sins, remember Him as we partake of the bread and the wine; all wonderful and holy things. But then, as we are driving home, someone cuts us off in traffic and we shout out in anger and frustration, cursing this person. We casually step back into our work life, changing our persona to the uncaring taskmaster. Our secular friends mock a life of faith and worship, with which we play along, not standing up for what we believe. Our departing from Church on Sunday as we walk out is solemnly symbolic, turning our backs to what we just experienced in worship, walking in the other direction.

We crucify Him over and over and over again.

Are we not like the rabble of Jerusalem? Do we not see the glory of Palm Sunday and then quickly become willing participants in His death?

The world is a hard place to stay Christian. We are attacked on all sides, having our faith mocked and ridiculed. It is sometimes easier to permit and enable the status quo. We can become willing accomplices to the work of the Evil One and his goal to turn everyone away from the One True Light and towards his false brightness of vain self-centeredness.

So, ask yourself: “Will I turn aside?” As you reenter the world on this day, filled with the joy of your King’s triumphant entry, will you stand by your words of praise and worship? Do you feel the glory of this morning fading, being drawn out of you by the world? Pray to your God that He will give you the strength to stand by your faith and not turn your back on the Gift that was given for you.