Beyond Our Expectations
The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him. They began to shout, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!’ Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, ‘Do not be afraid, people of Zion; look, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt!’ (His disciples did not understand these things when they first happened, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about him and that these things had happened to him.) John 12:12-16
As Jesus entered Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, the crowd was shouting praises; people are laying down their coats and palm branches—welcoming Him as their king.
It’s hard to believe that within a week the crowds would turn against Him and Jesus would be tried and crucified. The One Who healed the sick and performed miracles, proclaimed God’s love and forgiveness would be treated as the worst kind of criminal.
After entering Jerusalem, Jesus became more and more a source of controversy. He overturned tables in the temple and drove people out with a whip; he spoke in confusing parables and talked about dying. The people began to doubt and the Pharisees fueled it with their own jealousy of Jesus and ulterior motives. Their promised king wasn’t supposed to die, He was supposed to conquer the Roman Empire and be, well, a king. They had an idea of what God was going to do and how He was going to do it, and Jesus didn’t meet their expectations.
Jesus was not the King they wanted but He is the King they needed.
Don’t we all have the tendency to put God inside a box? We want Him to do certain things in certain situations. Lord, heal my ill family member, God end this war! It can challenge our beliefs when He doesn’t meet our expectations in the way we want, when we want. Our trust in Him may at times feel shaken. A question we may ponder this Holy Week is will we be faithful when God doesn’t take action the way we want Him to?
God’s plan is so much bigger than we can grasp! His wisdom is so profound we cannot comprehend it.
Dear God increase our faith; deepen our trust in Jesus Christ, Your Son, our King! Amen.