The Triumphal Entry

As Jesus made his way back to Jerusalem, he returned to Bethany where the combination of Lazarus and Jesus stirred up the people even more. This disturbed the Pharisees who were already on edge about Jesus’ popularity. This was a key decision point where the Pharisees determined to kill Jesus, which Jesus knew. Nevertheless, he pressed on to Jerusalem for the Passover, even though this would be a clear death sentence. As he came into the city, he goes through a little rigamarole to make sure he had a donkey and its colt to ride on. This was notable, because donkeys are notoriously gentle and skittish, which combines to be stubbornness. That he could ride a donkey through a crowd of shouting people tells us something about him. But why did Jesus pick a donkey colt? There are a couple reasons. One is to indicate what kind of king he was. “Jesus didn’t come in a humvee or a Ferrari – Jesus came in a sensible sedan.” Second, the colt itself is like the transportation version of the spotless lamb that would feature so heavily in the upcoming passover feast. Regardless of the method of locomotion, the people responded to him as king, laying their garments down on the path ahead of him just as they would have when Israel had its own independent king. This terrified the Pharisees, who worried they would lose their place and power, not to mention that the people themselves would suffer and die if an uprising in Jerusalem occurred. The people welcoming Jesus were not without guilt either, as they turned on Jesus when it became clear that he was not the temporal, material, political Savior that they wanted. Peter specifically called them out for this at Pentecost. What can we take away from this? We can learn from the reactions of the Pharisees, the crowd and the disciples. Looking at the Pharisees, do we view everything from the lens of how we can benefit? Is following Jesus too hard or too dangerous? Looking at the crowds, who had the outward appearance of praising Jesus, there was no heart change. When it turned out that Jesus wasn’t who they wanted him to be, they turned on him hard and fast. But we can also look at the disciples, who did not abandon Jesus even when many did because he said weird things about eating his flesh and drinking his blood, nor did they run away when Jesus told them that he was going to Jerusalem to die. They showed an imperfect but still wonderful example of following Jesus. Like the disciples, we keep Jesus’ commandments because we love him. In turn, our love for him enables us to better serve him. If we try to keep Jesus’ commandments without loving him, we will burn out or turn away. But if we seek to love and follow Jesus, we have his help and love in turn as we go along the journey. -Aaron James, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA, April 14, 2019 John 12:9-19 Something went wrong with the bible. Please make sure that you are requesting a valid passage! If this problem presits please contact joshuawiecorek@outlook.com