This is the last series of devotionals before the Easter break so we’ll be looking together at the book the Lent book group have been reading, Paula Gooder’s, Journey to the Empty Tomb. This will be a five day series looking at the events during the last week of Jesus’ life.
When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, ‘Hosanna!’ ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!’ ‘Hosanna in the highest heaven!’
Mark 11:1-10 [NIV]
What do you think about the title ‘triumphal entry’? Do you think it’s ironic, or representative that in God’s kingdom what makes for a triumph is turned upside down?
When we reflect on the events that make up Palm Sunday, we might ask ourselves what was different about Jesus on that day? He was the same as he’d been for the rest of his ministry, so why did the crowds react to him differently and proclaim him as the Messiah?
However, once Jesus enters Jerusalem the crowds melt away. Even though they once cried ‘Hosanna’, they are distracted (we don't hear about why) and disappear from the scene. Gooder writes, “we need to recognise that all human nature is fickle, and that we cannot always process or stay with a dawning realisation of truth… This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try but it does offer us a level of forgiveness when we fail.”
Have a think today about the things that distract you from Jesus, just like the crowd on Palm Sunday - how can you stay with Jesus?
Emma Higgins
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