A little boy was in a heated argument with his sister about who was going to get the last brownie. His mother overheard the loud discussion in their kitchen and came in to resolve the conflict. Her two children were obviously very distraught about getting that final treat. Sensing the need to teach a deeper truth, the mom asked her children that ever-relevant question: “What would Jesus do?” The older sibling immediately answered, “That’s easy, Jesus would just break the brownie and make five thousand more!” (Source: Unknown)
As students of the Bible, we all understand that Jesus is not a magical genie that grants us our wants and desires. Yet, when things do not go as we had hoped, or peer pressure looks to push us into an opposing position, we can struggle with our relationship with Jesus. The exciting, feel-good emotions of the moment are absent, and we can start to reason away the necessity of God’s commands for the sake of convenience or acceptance. Our relationship with Jesus can sometimes have a stronger base on the foundation of emotions than on the foundation of truth – and when we build on the foundation of emotion in place of truth, we will wonder why we struggle with a consistently strong relationship with Jesus and struggle with good decision-making skills.
The believer’s relationship with Jesus is different from a simple emotional trust. Emotions change every day! True saving grace, and living out true Christianity, requires the disciple to build on the foundation of the truth of God’s Word, like we are all sinners, we all deserve judgment in hell, Jesus took our punishment in our place, and we all must accept God’s gift ourselves. To be clear, God’s gift is His taking our punishment for our sins in our place.
Let’s take some time to examine Christ’s entry into Jerusalem and the crowds that surrounded Him.
The King’s Approach (21:1-6)
The Timing. The distinct note of time for Christ's arrival at Bethany (six days before the Passover), makes the triumphal entry take place on Sunday afternoon (cf. ver. 1) of Passion week.
The Numbers. A census from 60 A.D. indicated that about 260,000 lambs were sold in Jerusalem for sacrificial Passover meals during these years. It was practiced that 1 lamb for every ten people needed to be sacrificed. This would bring the numbers in Jerusalem swelling to about 2.5 million Jews.
People traveling to Jerusalem had no idea that “God’s Passover Lamb” of all ages was making His way to the city to offer Himself for the “sins of the world!”
The Approach for peace. Today this would be considered an odd entry. However, during the NT times, it was customary for a King to enter a city on a donkey, when he wanted to symbolize peace; riding on a horse or chariot indicated war or slavery. An entry of peace would have been consistent with Jesus’ earthly ministry.
The Approach for prophecy (Zech. 9:9). Another reason for this type of approach is the fulfillment of prophecy. He proves who He is with such a fulfillment and demonstrates his “lowliness” as was prophesied.
This marked the triumphal entry of Zion’s King into Jerusalem. In like manner, pride, covetousness, and ambition should not be found in Zion’s citizens!
The King’s Arrival (21:7-8)
In Christ’s arrival into Jerusalem, the people lay down garments and palm branches. This was a symbolic act that showed a submission to the King’s sovereignty over their lives and a willingness to be placed under the King’s complete authority — even to the point of the King trampling over them. This is totally opposite from today, where we often look to hold onto our rights and freedoms. During Bible times, the people saw submission to an earthly king was a total submission to his lordship.
Today, we try to negotiate our submission. “Lord, I will give you Sunday AM if you give me a bigger bank account or a better marriage relationship or a better job. I will give you obedience to parents if you give me mild judgment when I disobey. “
Submission to the King of kings is total submission to His lordship over our lives!
The King’s Adoration (21:9-10)
The people cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.” This was the cry of a people in bondage wanting to be saved from that slavery. Hosanna means “Save Now!” This was a cry for the deliverance from Roman bondage. The people saw a king to deliver from slavery (their immediate condition) and missed seeing the King who came to deliver from sin (their eternal hope and deliverance). The people acknowledged Jesus as King; however, their view was far more temporal than eternal. Is our view eternal today? A view for souls? A view for honoring God and His Word? A view for His will and not my own? A temporal view of living life often yields a conditional submission to God.
The King’s Affect (21:10-11)
This passage of scripture also tells us that “…all the city was moved….”
Have you ever attended a large political rally for a national election? Specifically for a presidential candidate? I have. The atmosphere was electric! Everyone was excited, cheering, clapping, standing, sitting, and then standing again. It was an exciting event!
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the city went into an uproar! In Luke 19:39-40, the Pharisees insist that Jesus rebukes His followers for saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!” The refuses. He says, “If these were silent, even the stones would cry out!” The chief priests and elders convinced the multitudes to follow them. The chief priests and elders convinced the multitudes to stop following Jesus and to follow them. They used the multitudes to convict Jesus through the voice of the masses…through overwhelming public opinion. It is this same multitudes that declared, “Hosanna!” would also yell “Crucify Him!” four short days later!
Many hear and understand the gospel, but no genuine relationship with Jesus is present! They have a knowledge of the truth, but no real dependence in Jesus. So, when something more appealing or more convenient or safer comes along, they switch teams.
Being impacted emotionally by Jesus, and even mentally acknowledging His Kingship, does not bring us to dedicating our lives to His Lordship.
The young couple was newly married and in love. They could not imagine loving one another anymore than they did right then. However, the years passed by, they began their family, and eventually they had four children looking to them as their parents. Both the husband and the wife had jobs outside of the home. The pressures and stresses of work, family, church, and marriage caught up to this couple all at once. A discussion between them turned into a heated argument. The argument that began as a discussion ended with a total emotional response, declaring, “I should have listened to my mother and never married you!” The emotional response turns into an emotional decision and before they realized what they were doing, they separated and began talking about a possible divorce. This is not the scene of a specific family, but rather, it is the scene of too many families in our churches today.
An emotional foundation will yield an emotional pathway full of ups and downs.
An emotional reaction to the call of Jesus and even a mental agreement as to His Person will fall short of a dedicated saving faith. So, obedience to God will go up and down as often as your emotions go up and down.
In Matthew 13:5-6, 20-21, Jesus warned about some whose faith was only a shallow emotional reaction, falling short of enduring conviction!
In James 2:14-16, James warned about some whose faith was only a mental agreement of Gospel facts, failing to show itself in good works. In short, a genuine relationship with Jesus was absent and an academic approach was present in its place.
4 Principles & Questions for Wise Choices
1. The Guidance Principle.
When making a decision, are you more likely to pray over it (Matt. 7:7-8; I Thess. 5:17) and read the Bible for guidance (Ps. 1:1-2), or are you more likely to make a decision based on how you feel?
2. The Opposition Principle.
When the crowd that surrounds you presses you to embrace an opposing view of a Bible command (Jn. 14:15; Jas. 4:17; I Jn. 5:3), are you more concerned about honoring God (Matt. 6:33; I Cor. 10:31; Col. 3:17, 23) or personal acceptance and peer approval?
3. The Motivation Principle.
When a peer group is all choosing the same choice, do you ask yourself what the Bible says about it or do you think, “well, if the Smith family is doing it, it must be okay.” Prov. 1:10; 13:20; Acts 5:29.
4. The Follower Principle.
When you do not know the choice of others, but you have the same decision to make as they do, do you watch to see what they are doing before making your choice? For example, how do you handle choosing to tithe, choosing to get baptized and become a member of the church, choosing to be known by your love for one who is not very loving, and choosing to work out marriage problems? Do you use the Bible (Ps. 119:9-11; 105; Prov. 3:5-6) and the guidance of godly counselors (Prov. 11:14)?
The believer’s relationship with Jesus is different from a simple emotional trust. True saving grace, and living out true Christianity, requires the disciple to build on the foundation of the truth of God’s Word.