My grandson took his first steps last weekend. He walked 3 wobbly steps toward me before he fell down. I was excited. I picked him up, carried him into another room where his parents were and asked, "How long has he been walking?"
The reaction probably should have been expected. His mother looked at him and me and shouted, "WHAT?! NO!!!" Apparently she wanted to see his first steps. His father simply said, "I don't believe you."
When Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem on that 1st Palm Sunday, the crowd shouted, "Hosanna in the highest!" They called Jesus "king" and shouted about the Son of David and about His kingdom. They hoped that Jesus was the king who would deliver them. And He was.
In fact, Jesus told the Pharisees that if the people were quiet, the stones would cry out. Now wouldn't that have been something to witness!
But the people had it wrong. On the way into Jerusalem, we see Jesus weeping for the people who would proclaim Him king. To understand why, it is important to understand the word "hosanna". Hosanna was a word used at Passover. It means "Save us, [we[ pray."
At Passover, the Jewish people remember being delivered from Egypt. They remember being saved from the Death Angel who killed the first born of every household that didn't have the blood of a lamb on their door mantle.
At that time, God told the people to sacrifice an unblemished lamb and to pour the blood over the door. The Death Angel would "pass over" because the people inside were covered by the blood of the lamb.
Jesus agreed with the word "hosanna" on Palm Sunday. In fact, His desire was for "Hosanna in the highest". He came to save the people, but not from Roman rule. He came to save them from their sin. He came to heal their very souls. Jesus knew that the highest healing is for our spiritual sickness.
He loves us so much that He would rather die for us than live in heaven without us. He came to save us in the highest sense possible.
Jesus, who John the Baptist called "The Lamb of God", truly would take away the sin of the world. When He died on the cross, He became our sin, experiencing the hell of separation from God the Father for the first and last time in all of eternity.
Why did He do it? So that we can believe in Him, experiencing His new life in us. But that is just the beginning. He calls us to walk with Him, giving our lives to Him so that He can live His life through us.
You may say you believe, but are you walking with Jesus? In John 14:24 Jesus said, "Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.
He is calling us to walk, whether anyone else follows. Your friends might not believe that your life in Jesus is real. But keep walking. If you do, one day everyone will notice.
In the case of my grandson, they will say, "Hey! You really ARE walking!" But as you walk with Jesus, they will say, "Hey! I notice the way you are walking. Is that because you have Jesus?"
Then you can invite them to walk with Jesus, too.
The reaction probably should have been expected. His mother looked at him and me and shouted, "WHAT?! NO!!!" Apparently she wanted to see his first steps. His father simply said, "I don't believe you."
When Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem on that 1st Palm Sunday, the crowd shouted, "Hosanna in the highest!" They called Jesus "king" and shouted about the Son of David and about His kingdom. They hoped that Jesus was the king who would deliver them. And He was.
In fact, Jesus told the Pharisees that if the people were quiet, the stones would cry out. Now wouldn't that have been something to witness!
But the people had it wrong. On the way into Jerusalem, we see Jesus weeping for the people who would proclaim Him king. To understand why, it is important to understand the word "hosanna". Hosanna was a word used at Passover. It means "Save us, [we[ pray."
At Passover, the Jewish people remember being delivered from Egypt. They remember being saved from the Death Angel who killed the first born of every household that didn't have the blood of a lamb on their door mantle.
At that time, God told the people to sacrifice an unblemished lamb and to pour the blood over the door. The Death Angel would "pass over" because the people inside were covered by the blood of the lamb.
Jesus agreed with the word "hosanna" on Palm Sunday. In fact, His desire was for "Hosanna in the highest". He came to save the people, but not from Roman rule. He came to save them from their sin. He came to heal their very souls. Jesus knew that the highest healing is for our spiritual sickness.
He loves us so much that He would rather die for us than live in heaven without us. He came to save us in the highest sense possible.
Jesus, who John the Baptist called "The Lamb of God", truly would take away the sin of the world. When He died on the cross, He became our sin, experiencing the hell of separation from God the Father for the first and last time in all of eternity.
Why did He do it? So that we can believe in Him, experiencing His new life in us. But that is just the beginning. He calls us to walk with Him, giving our lives to Him so that He can live His life through us.
You may say you believe, but are you walking with Jesus? In John 14:24 Jesus said, "Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.
He is calling us to walk, whether anyone else follows. Your friends might not believe that your life in Jesus is real. But keep walking. If you do, one day everyone will notice.
In the case of my grandson, they will say, "Hey! You really ARE walking!" But as you walk with Jesus, they will say, "Hey! I notice the way you are walking. Is that because you have Jesus?"
Then you can invite them to walk with Jesus, too.
