Yesterday was Palm Sunday. I am sure those of you who were able to go to a church service heard mention of the event when Jesus entered Jerusalem.
Luke 19:35-40 (NIV) 35 They brought (the colt) to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. 37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38 "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" 40 "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
What an amazing picture. I remember being in a Bible study where the leader had us close our eyes and imagine that we were in the crowd in Jerusalem as Jesus came in as she slowly read through the story. It is a great moment in Christ’s life to try to put yourself in. Imagine how great the atmosphere in the crowd was, the excited thoughts, could this be the Messiah, the one we have been waiting for?
Of course the Pharisees are there ruining the mood. They advise Jesus to stop the crowd. I find Jesus’ response amazing; "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." The stones will cry out. Jesus was to be praised. We were made to praise God. The crowd on Palm Sunday may not have known they were praising God in the flesh. They may have only thought he was a prophet like Elijah, or a King like David. Looking back we know it was Jesus. They were praising God.
God is always worthy to be praised. In Isaiah’s vision of God he sees six winged Seraphim surrounding God:
And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."
Isaiah 6:3 (NIV)
On the occasion of Jesus entering Jerusalem He is going to be praised. There are humans there who do that which they are created for. If they hadn’t, the rocks would have taken up the call. I try to imagine how ridiculous the Pharisees must have looked to the heavenly beings that were watching. The angels would have been praising Jesus, God’s son. Nature is all around praising their creator Jesus and the crowd had aligned with the rest of creation to praise Jesus (even though they didn’t know the fullness of Him yet). The Pharisees are the dissenters.
I challenge you today to look for ways to live according to the purpose for which you were created, to praise God. Also look for those ways the individuals you serve are responding to the call to praise. It may be different that yours.
In less then a week from this incident the crowd switches over and joins with the Pharisees. By Friday there were only a few women who did not abandon Him. More on that later.
Mark Wallace
Luke 19:35-40 (NIV) 35 They brought (the colt) to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. 37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38 "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" 40 "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
What an amazing picture. I remember being in a Bible study where the leader had us close our eyes and imagine that we were in the crowd in Jerusalem as Jesus came in as she slowly read through the story. It is a great moment in Christ’s life to try to put yourself in. Imagine how great the atmosphere in the crowd was, the excited thoughts, could this be the Messiah, the one we have been waiting for?
Of course the Pharisees are there ruining the mood. They advise Jesus to stop the crowd. I find Jesus’ response amazing; "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." The stones will cry out. Jesus was to be praised. We were made to praise God. The crowd on Palm Sunday may not have known they were praising God in the flesh. They may have only thought he was a prophet like Elijah, or a King like David. Looking back we know it was Jesus. They were praising God.
God is always worthy to be praised. In Isaiah’s vision of God he sees six winged Seraphim surrounding God:
And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."
Isaiah 6:3 (NIV)
On the occasion of Jesus entering Jerusalem He is going to be praised. There are humans there who do that which they are created for. If they hadn’t, the rocks would have taken up the call. I try to imagine how ridiculous the Pharisees must have looked to the heavenly beings that were watching. The angels would have been praising Jesus, God’s son. Nature is all around praising their creator Jesus and the crowd had aligned with the rest of creation to praise Jesus (even though they didn’t know the fullness of Him yet). The Pharisees are the dissenters.
I challenge you today to look for ways to live according to the purpose for which you were created, to praise God. Also look for those ways the individuals you serve are responding to the call to praise. It may be different that yours.
In less then a week from this incident the crowd switches over and joins with the Pharisees. By Friday there were only a few women who did not abandon Him. More on that later.
Mark Wallace
0 comments:
Post a Comment