The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:
An intrinsic part of the Easter celebration, Palm Sunday -- the story of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem -- has always bothered me a little. Here we have a picture of an entire community waving branches and shouting Hosanna! Blessing the name of God for the miracles they'd witnessed. Less than a week later, many in this same crowd would be shouting for His execution.
What happened?
Turns out, it's not so different from what happens today. We may start off welcoming Him, but ultimately we reject God, because He's not what we think we need. Israel believed she needed a worldly King; the people thought their own piety was enough to make them righteous before God, but what they really needed was a protector against their Roman invaders.
What God, in His eternal wisdom sent instead was a more eternal freedom. One for which many were unprepared. They were attracted to His miracles, but put off by the reality of His mission. He brought them what they needed, but they didn't know they needed it.
An acquaintance of mine recently walked away from the faith for what I believe were similar reasons. He had prayed over specific situations, and found those prayers unanswered. After a particularly personal and deep blow, his faith could no longer take it, and he simply left it behind. As heartbreaking a situation as this is, it happens all the time.
We get this idea that we know what's best for us and that, rather than Lord of our Lives, Jesus is some sort of cosmic genie. And once it turns out He has His own plans for us that -- though they are better -- may not coincide with our own, we walk away. How tragic!
Romans 8:28 tells us, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."
The plans of men fail. Why not try it God's way and see what happens?
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