Yesterday was Palm Sunday, the Sunday Christians traditionally celebrate as the beginning of Holy Week. Palm Sunday recalls the entry of our Lord into Jerusalem. The people greeted our Lord with great enthusiasm as He came riding into the city on a donkey. They cried, "Hosanna!" They welcomed Him as a King, some as the Messiah, some as their earthly deliverer. But later that week many of the same people joined the enraged crowd and cried, "Crucify him! Crucify Him!"
Our emotions can be stirred by this realization and we can even go to a place of judging them for their fickle nature, their lack of loyalty to the one they welcomed as king. But we should consider another picture from Scripture. It's the picture of Jesus on the Cross in the depths of physical and spiritual pain (such as those who are born again will never experience) asking God in the most tender way, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."
When I consider this scene, a sense of humility begins to rise in my mind, emotions, and will. I am humbled because I have also cried, "Hosanna" at the beginning of the week but turned on Him, or at least drifted away from Him shortly after. I suspect that all of us can identify with this experience at times. I would encourage us to look to the Cross and witness the grace and love of our God in His Son, Jesus the Christ, as He speaks, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."
Our emotions can be stirred by this realization and we can even go to a place of judging them for their fickle nature, their lack of loyalty to the one they welcomed as king. But we should consider another picture from Scripture. It's the picture of Jesus on the Cross in the depths of physical and spiritual pain (such as those who are born again will never experience) asking God in the most tender way, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."
When I consider this scene, a sense of humility begins to rise in my mind, emotions, and will. I am humbled because I have also cried, "Hosanna" at the beginning of the week but turned on Him, or at least drifted away from Him shortly after. I suspect that all of us can identify with this experience at times. I would encourage us to look to the Cross and witness the grace and love of our God in His Son, Jesus the Christ, as He speaks, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."
This confrontation with the love and grace of our Father, in Christ, will convict us and bring us to repentance. Our confession and repentance will bring us sustaining joy as we celebrate the hope and love of God manifested through Jesus during this Holy Week.
