The Parade
In Fairbanks many of us enjoy the Golden Days Parade put on by the local Chamber of Commerce. It’s the largest parade in Alaska with about 100 floats and celebrates Fairbanks gold rush history. Various organizations and local politicians put together floats. Thousands line up the streets to cheer them on.
The parade makes me think of another celebration that happened two thousand years ago in Jerusalem. Throughout his ministry Jesus was always amazing the crowds but then trying to keep the crowds from getting out of control. So often they wanted to crown him the king of the Jews to fight for independence against the Romans. Therefore, Jesus would, quietly do miracles, even telling some people not to tell anybody he had healed them. But everything changed at what we call “the Triumphal Entry.” Jesus was close to the reason he came, to die for our sins on the cross. When he entered Jerusalem, he entered in a way that reminded the crowds of an ancient prophecy. He entered in a way that indicated clearly that he was claiming to be the messiah. He came in on a donkey. The crowd went wild and gathered palm leaves to wave before him. They laid their cloaks on the path in front of him. He had recently raised Lazarus from the dead and so those who had seen or heard of that miracle were incredibly excited to welcome him.
There are several takeaways from this story. One, God keeps his promises. God had promised a Messiah all the way back in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15). Someone was coming who would crush the head of Satan. Repeatedly over thousands of years God had promised this mysterious Messiah. This Messiah would be born of a virgin of the line of King David. He was to be born in Bethlehem. He would spend some time in Egypt. More details were filled in over the centuries until the full picture emerged and Jesus fit it perfectly. God gives us hundreds of promises in the Bible. It is vital that we go beyond believing in God to actually believe God. We put our trust in His promises. We trust him for provision and salvation to name a few. God keeps his word.
Second, this story reminds us that our expectations of God’s promises must be wisely guided by Scripture. The crowd that greeted Jesus and cried out “Hosanna” which means “save us” were both right and wrong. They were right that Jesus was the Messiah. They were right that he was to be their savior. They were wrong about what kind of Savior. They had ignored the prophecies about a suffering servant Messiah (Isaiah 53, Psalm 22) and imagined what they wanted, a political deliverer in the here and now. Throughout his ministry Jesus was clear that he was establishing a different kind of kingdom, one that was spiritual in nature not political. A kingdom based on his selfless sacrifice on the cross not based on raw political or military power.
I am glad that the Jews welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem enthusiastically so long ago. But what has the most impact on my life and yours is whether we have welcomed him into our hearts. Have we cried out “save us” to him? Are we willing to declare that Jesus is Lord! The answer to these questions has eternal consequences. I hope you
will welcome Him today.
Pastor Derek Dickinson
Journey Christian Church
The parade makes me think of another celebration that happened two thousand years ago in Jerusalem. Throughout his ministry Jesus was always amazing the crowds but then trying to keep the crowds from getting out of control. So often they wanted to crown him the king of the Jews to fight for independence against the Romans. Therefore, Jesus would, quietly do miracles, even telling some people not to tell anybody he had healed them. But everything changed at what we call “the Triumphal Entry.” Jesus was close to the reason he came, to die for our sins on the cross. When he entered Jerusalem, he entered in a way that reminded the crowds of an ancient prophecy. He entered in a way that indicated clearly that he was claiming to be the messiah. He came in on a donkey. The crowd went wild and gathered palm leaves to wave before him. They laid their cloaks on the path in front of him. He had recently raised Lazarus from the dead and so those who had seen or heard of that miracle were incredibly excited to welcome him.
There are several takeaways from this story. One, God keeps his promises. God had promised a Messiah all the way back in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15). Someone was coming who would crush the head of Satan. Repeatedly over thousands of years God had promised this mysterious Messiah. This Messiah would be born of a virgin of the line of King David. He was to be born in Bethlehem. He would spend some time in Egypt. More details were filled in over the centuries until the full picture emerged and Jesus fit it perfectly. God gives us hundreds of promises in the Bible. It is vital that we go beyond believing in God to actually believe God. We put our trust in His promises. We trust him for provision and salvation to name a few. God keeps his word.
Second, this story reminds us that our expectations of God’s promises must be wisely guided by Scripture. The crowd that greeted Jesus and cried out “Hosanna” which means “save us” were both right and wrong. They were right that Jesus was the Messiah. They were right that he was to be their savior. They were wrong about what kind of Savior. They had ignored the prophecies about a suffering servant Messiah (Isaiah 53, Psalm 22) and imagined what they wanted, a political deliverer in the here and now. Throughout his ministry Jesus was clear that he was establishing a different kind of kingdom, one that was spiritual in nature not political. A kingdom based on his selfless sacrifice on the cross not based on raw political or military power.
I am glad that the Jews welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem enthusiastically so long ago. But what has the most impact on my life and yours is whether we have welcomed him into our hearts. Have we cried out “save us” to him? Are we willing to declare that Jesus is Lord! The answer to these questions has eternal consequences. I hope you
will welcome Him today.
Pastor Derek Dickinson
Journey Christian Church
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