Thursday, March 8

A Heavenly King

Narrative Lectionary Daily Devotions written by Kace Leetch from Clergy Stuff.

For three years Jesus had been working toward this moment. Healing, teaching, serving -- all of these stirred up the social systems, and now he was entering Jerusalem -- the one place he ought not be if he wanted to live. Half the people loved and admonished him. The other half despised and feared him. Undoubtedly, this would be a Passover in the holy city none would soon forget. For now, Jesus would let the people carry on, celebrating him and what he stood for.

The people could scarcely understand who they were celebrating. They thought he was an earthly king coming to rid them of Rome. They could not have understood the kind of king -- a heavenly king -- Jesus was. But then again, can we? We think we know because we have the benefit of hindsight. But we can't truly understand Jesus any more than they could. Still, it's worth time and energy to contemplate, study, discuss, debate, and grow. Who is Jesus to you?

Narrative Lectionary Text: John 12:12-19

The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord— the King of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written: “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him. So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify. It was also because they heard that he had performed this sign that the crowd went to meet him. The Pharisees then said to one another, “You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!”