Journal Entry ~ 03/31/18

9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!" - Mark 11:9-10

Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem to publicly declare who He was on a donkey.  He was the Messiah, but He was riding on a lowly donkey. Up until this point in His ministry, He had asked His disciples to remain quiet about what He had done. But, as He rode in to Jerusalem, He is openly saying to the people, “I am your King.”  The people welcomed Him with high praise because they had a plan. They longed for a Savior to lead them in a revolt against the Roman Empire, but that is not who He appeared to be, riding in that day on a donkey. 

I wonder what was going through their minds at the time. They rushed out, ready to praise His arrival, threw down their cloaks and waved branches because they wanted to worship Him, but then they saw Him riding on a donkey. Do you think that threw them off?  I’m sure it was the complete opposite of what they were expecting. 

I think there is a lesson in that confusion. These people held on to what they believed was true about Jesus, and ended up so angry about who He turned out to be that they demanded His death just a few short days later. When we let go of what we know, of what the world tells us is true, we are free to receive Him into our lives as He is. As a people, we can be so filled with expectation - for others, for God. We come with a list of demands, expecting God to hold up His end of the bargain. If I do this, then He will do that. After all, what’s the benefit of believing in God, if He’s not going to do this....?  If we hold on to what we know to be true about God, we aren’t open to what God has for us. But if we loosen our grip on what we know, we are more open to the Spirit moving in our lives, and more open to accepting Jesus for who He is. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

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