April 18J esus’ Triumphal Entry

John 12:12-19 The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 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!” 14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, 15 “Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt.” 16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. 17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
 
THE Pharisees were very distressed at the crowd’s attention to this wandering rabbi from Galilee. Their doubting hearts and prideful tongues had accused him of being a pretender, a blasphemer, a magician, and a false-teacher. They worked diligently to discredit the Son of God.
    But now to their great distress the crowd of Jesus’ followers was praising him as King of Israel. The people joyfully worshiped Jesus with the words of Psalms 118:26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. 27 The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. The praising people believed all signs pointed to Jesus as the true Messiah. They had heard and seen what Jesus had done. Yet, while the crowds cheered, the Jewish rulers, the church of that day, sneered.
    God’s leaders had for too long taken their eyes from the Lord. Their minds were so focused on God’s and their own rules, they had forgotten God’s holy grace, love, mercy and power that is foundational to his law. Instead of celebrating, “The whole world is following him.” their faithless eyes missed the wonder of God in their midst.
    Do we as God’s church too often miss the wonder of God in our midst? Are we paying attention to ourselves or to God’s leading? Are we showing Jesus to the world? Or inadvertently trying to drive people away from Jesus?
    How might we do that? Perhaps we worry too much about form at Sunday’s worship and are less attuned to the heart of worship – our rules over God’s love? We might neglect caring for one another because it feels awkward and requires sacrifice. We may devote more time to formulating strategy instead of doing ministry. We may too tightly hold our money, forgetting its God’s provision, not our possession.
    Let’s be the kind of church that receives the Lord Jesus and welcomes others to do the same. May we keep our hearts and eyes open to God in our midst. Let us live as God’s people, worshiping Jesus as the crowd that day. Let’s always proclaim with hearts of worship, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  
 
Prayer: I pray, Jesus, we as your church always welcome you into your sanctuary. Amen.