A Triumphant Entry--To What End?

Considering Truths During Lent

Today's Scriptural Truth

"The next day the great crowd that came for the Feast heard that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches & 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 & sat upon it, as it is written, 'Do not be afraid, O Daughter of 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 & that they had done these things to Him.
      "Now the crowd that was with Him when He called Lazarus from the tomb & raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that He had given the miraculous sign, went out to meet Him. So the Pharisees said to one another, 'See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after Him!'" 
John 12:12-19

Today's Devotional Thoughts

What a nice break from all the gloominess that seems to accompany Lent . . . or rather, what a nice break it would be if we didn't already know how this all ends. Skip ahead a few days & along comes Good Friday . . . And what's so good about Good Friday?

But I digress . . . Let's talk about Palm Sunday. We had real, honest-to-goodness palm trees growing on our church property in Hawaii. We were members at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Aiea. So, on Palm Sunday, we waved real palm branches cut from real palm trees literally just a few feet outside the church. And we watched our children waving those palm branches, too, on that Sunday morning. Pretty cool.

Yet not as cool, I would speculate, as that first Palm Sunday. Imagine the excitement coursing through the crowd. Here comes the man who raised Lazarus from the dead! Imagine the disciples, leading the procession, thrilled beyond belief.

Maybe all that talk from Jesus about dying was just that . . . talk. Maybe His choice of a donkey is something to be fathomed later . . . Maybe all these shouts of praise . . . the crowd . . . the palm branches . . . 

Maybe Jesus is the Messiah they wanted all along . . . a REAL King . . . a REAL King of the Jews . . . Someone to drive out the hated Romans . . . Someone to restore the power & glory & riches of the Jewish people . . . Someone to bring power & glory & riches to . . . 

Them?

And in a few short days everything will blow up in their faces . . . & they will see their beloved Messiah--whatever kind of Messiah they hoped He would be--betrayed by one of their own . . . convicted by a kangaroo court . . . tortured . . . mocked by the fickle crowds who days earlier shouted "Hosanna!" . . .  hung on the dreaded instrument of Roman capital punishment . . . dying . . .

. . . Dead.

Today's Prayer Thoughts

I've chosen stanzas from a favorite Palm Sunday Hymn, Ride On, Ride On In Majesty, LSB #441.

St. 1  Ride on, ride on in majesty! Hark! All the tribes hosanna cry.
O Savior meek, pursue Thy road, With palms & scattered garments strown.

St. 2  Ride on, ride on in majesty! In lowly pomp ride on to die.
Oh Christ, Thy triumphs now begin O'er captive death and conquered sin.

St. 5  Ride on, ride on in majesty! In lowly pomp ride on to die.
Bow Thy meek head to mortal pain, Then take, O God, Thy pow'r and reign.

Addendum

This is a devotional written especially for this Lenten season.