Photo by Grant Whitty on Unsplash
Dear Children of God,
While the current isolation caused by the virus impacts us all in many negative ways, one of the neatest things I’ve seen is how teachers have tried to help their students get through this by forming parades through their students’ neighborhoods. For these isolated youngsters, seeing their teachers has provided them comfort … bringing joy into their difficult existence. It’s a nice side to the other side of the same coin which caused the parades to be necessary in the first place.
On Palm Sunday, we see a similar sort of situation. On one side of the coin is Jesus riding into Jerusalem in a parade of sorts. The massive crowds, who’d heard about Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead, shouted joyful hosannas to the one they believed had the power to become their new king. Anyone powerful enough to raise someone from the dead could also deliver them from the tyranny of Rome (John 12:12-18). They were correct to think Jesus was powerful enough would deliver them from tyranny, but it wasn’t the tyranny of Rome … it was the tyranny of sin, Satan, and the eternal death they wrought.
On the other side of the coin is Jesus’ reaction to both the crowds and the Pharisees. Yes, Jesus came into Jerusalem for the Passover to exert His power. But, He would do it in a most unexpected way. He foretold what would happen in the strange parable of a grain of wheat, falling to earth, being buried, and then bearing much fruit. In this example, Jesus tells His disciples that He will die, be buried, and rise to new life. (John 12:23-24)
By His death and resurrection, Jesus exerts His ultimate power. He has the power to deliver you, me, and all who believe in Him from the devil’s tyranny of sin and death. Then He leads us in a joyful victory parade into eternal life with Him and our Father in the kingdom of heaven.
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor Jim