The Atriumphal Entry

The Atriumphal Entry

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent. Each weekday morning, we’re going to spend a few minutes in a passage in John. Here’s the goal: read it, pray it, share it. Every post will have a passage of Scripture, a short prayer, and a question to meditate on and talk about. In a few minutes every day, we can prepare our hearts for all that God has planned in this season of Lent. 

Read: John 12:12-19
The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. [13] So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” [14] And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

[15] “Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

[16] His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. [17] The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. [18] The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. [19] So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.” (ESV)

Here, in this one moment, we finally see Jesus get the glory and adoration he observes. He is God in the flesh, the King of kings and Lord of lords, but he’s been treated like a servant most of his life. He’s been misunderstood, rejected, plotted against, and relegated to the life of a traveling teacher. But on his entry into Jerusalem, the people finally start treating him like a king.

It’s easy to think that if we had been there, we would have been there we would have seen him for who he truly is, but the benefits of hindsight are easy to forget. Jesus wasn’t the kind of king they were looking for. Often, he’s not the kind of king we would expect. As the following week shows, Jesus was a king who would suffer and die for his people.

This passage is an important reminder, though. It gives us a small glimpse of who Jesus is and what he ultimately came to do. He is the King of kings, but he was not crowned by human beings. He was crowned by his Father in heaven because he died for the sins of his people and rose from the dead. Now he sits at the Father’s right hand, reigning forever. 

Pray:
Lord, remind me that you turn so many of my assumptions and expectations upside down. Help me not to try to fit you into my box for what a king must be like. Let me see your glory! Open my eyes to your kingdom and reign in heaven and on earth. Amen.

Share:
Why did the people want to crown Jesus king? What expectations did they have from him?

Can you think of a time when you were disappointed with God because you had the wrong expectations? How do you see Jesus reigning now?