Holy Week Thought of the Day !! (Day 2)

The next day the great crowd that had come for the Festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
"Hosanna!
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Blessed is the king of Israel!"
John 12:12-13 (TNIV)

The Bible tells us that there was a great crowd that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem in this triumphal entry. Many people have wondered and tried to explain why there were shouts of "crucify" later in the week from these same people. Some say that they are not the same crowd. But I believe the truth to be found in how Jesus was perceived on the day he entered and how he was perceived on the day that they yelled that horrible word "crucify".

Jesus was perceived as the king that would save them...the long awaited Messiah when he entered Jerusalem. So they hailed him as such. But throughout the week he would teach things that were simply too hard for the people to accept or that they didn't understand. Surely this couldn't be the Messiah.

So in the end the people who were disheartened by the fact that Jesus taught them to love each other instead of putting their enemies to the sword, decided that they had chose the wrong Messiah. And what do we do with our mistakes? We dispose of them. So the once "king of Israel" chants turned to shouts of "Crucify".

What about us? What do we do with the things that Jesus teaches that we don't understand or like? Will we take the teachings that are easy and "crucify" the ones we feel are too difficult or just don't like? The problem with the crowd in Jesus' day is that they didn't accept Jesus for who he was. They were too intent on making him what they wanted him to be.

Be careful not to do the same.

In the love of Christ,
greg