While the guys were still sleeping, a few faithful ladies walked down before dawn to the Garden Tomb to properly – finally – attend to the body of Jesus, as they had been prevented from doing so on the preparation day and Passover.
Tears filled their eyes as they pondered how on earth would they ever be able to move the huge stone that had been placed over the entryway. Only instead of the regiment of guards that Caiaphas had posted there, there was a distinct absence of activity there.
They round the corner leading up to the tomb only to find the stone was already moved…and an angel was sitting on top of it!
Bewildered, they listened to the angel’s words — “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, for He is risen!” — and looked into the tomb to see it was just as the angel had said….an empty funeral wrapping still in the place they had originally laid Him, but no Jesus.
They immediately ran back to where the disciples were and told them what they saw and heard.
John and Peter ran to the tomb to check it out. John stopped at the door and peered in, amazed. Peter lumbered inside, equally amazed. They departed to share with everyone else what had happened, and the news of Jesus’ resurrection hasn’t stopped spreading ever since.
This changes everything.
What do you intend to do with this, the most impactful news ever reported?
Know Someone Who'd Like This? Click A Share Button Below!
The day after Jesus rode that colt of a donkey down the road into Jerusalem.
The day after throngs of people crowded that roadside, placing palm branches along the roadway. Even placing their beautifuloutergarments along His path for Him to traverse.
The people were crying out “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!“, making reference to Psalm 118, a prophetic Messianic psalm.
The religious leaders knew exactly what the people were declaring, and they ordered Jesus to rebuke the people for saying it. Jesus’ reply gave insight into how eternally important that moment was: “If I told them to be quiet, the very rocks themselves would speak in their place!”
What it would have been like to be there for that moment in history!
…but we weren’t. We’re here, in 2020, most likely under a “shelter in place” order because of an invisible enemy that’s really causing a ruckus.
You might be stuck in your house with your spouse and kids. Or with your roommates. Or with your animal(s). Or maybe just by yourself.
Many are in isolated quarantine, having contracted this coronavirus, unable to even be around their families.
You are very likely already tired of being cooped up, starting to get a little stir crazy (especially if you’re from America, where our motto over the past few decades has increasingly become “Go, go, go!”).
Whatever your situation, this little “pause button” in our otherwise hectic lives might have opened up some opportunity for you to do a bit more pondering than you might otherwise have had opportunity to do.
I hope this is the case for you, too.
While the reverberating shouting of the crowd from Palm Sunday might have already dispersed, the reality of what they were celebrating is still very much the same — that the God of all eternity set an appointment all the way back in Daniel 9:24-27, expected His people to recognize it and be waiting for it (and indeed, many were, but far from all), and when He rode that colt down the hill into the city of Jerusalem, He knew that the celebration was going to be short-lived (no pun intended) as in a few short days, the outcry was not going to be “Hosanna, hosanna!“….it was going to be “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”
If YOU were in that crowd, what would YOU have shouted?
Would you rather be thankful, despite your circumstances, that the King of Kings showed up exactly when He said He would to show Himself to humanity as The Anointed One of God?
Or would you rather have your life call Him a liar, a fraud, an unnecessary usurpation or addition to what humanity could accomplish without Him?
You might not have been standing on that hillside circa 32AD to declare it to His face, but you’re in the same position to make your life a declaration of one or the other today, wherever you are.
So many people who had seen Him work personally, who were changed by His miracles, His healings, His teachings, were on that hillside declaring Him to be who He said He was — the long awaited Messiah. So many others stood amidst the crowd, arms folded, scowls on their faces, loathing Him because they craved the power they held more than the Truth they were supposed to uphold and relay to the people from His Scriptures.
They could not fathom that the regular, uneducated, common people recognized Jesus reaching out His hand to them, seeking to meet them where they were and save them anyways.
Just like His parable of the shepherd leaving the 99 to find the one lost sheep, He hasn’t given up on you, He’s still pursuing you, seeking for you to be reunited with Him.
But unlike the parable, on this side of the cross there’s no waiting period — if you have not yet known Him, or if you once did but have walked away, His hand is still extended waiting for you to put your trust in Him.
Instead of “help is on the way”, He now says “I’ve been here with you, waiting for youto come follow Me“.
Whatever your circumstances, don’t give up. Fight through the crowd, fight through the haters, fight through the circumstances with everything you have to GRAB HIS HAND…and never let go again.
Not even coronavirus can stop this most wonderful of days from being commemorated.
NOTHING can stop the King of Kings from riding down that slope into Jerusalem on the back of that colt of a donkey, just as was predicted hundreds of years ahead of time.
The people shouted “Hosanna, hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” They cast their beautifuloutergarmentson the roadway along with palm branches in honor of their long awaited Messiah’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
And halfway through His ride, Jesus stopped. And wept.
Why? Because His people were being held responsible for the appointment He had scheduled with them hundreds of years prior, as recorded in Daniel 9. (Think of this as the ultimate version of Morgan Freeman’s “God” character setting and keeping the appointment with Jim Carrey in Bruce Almighty)
He wept knowing that even though thousands had gathered to shout “Hosanna, hosanna!” this time, in a few short days another crowd would be shouting “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”
But on that first Palm Sunday, this event kicked off the final week of Jesus’ direct earthly ministry, effectively passing the point of no return (though He, of course, never had any intention of turning back).
For one day at least, the people were thrilled to have Jesus in their midst. And I pray today that you also are just as thrilled, regardless of the circumstances of life being what they are.
Put all that aside for today, and just be thrilled to have Jesus in your midst.
* † * † * † *
I’ll Find You — Lecrae (ft. Tori Kelly)
* † * † * † *
(Obviously not my music, rights reserved by their respective owners.)
Know Someone Who'd Like This? Click A Share Button Below!
JasonsDevos -- Thoughts and Daily Insights 