There is a reasonably good chance that you will be reading this article during Holy Week. The start of the week back in the day started off with so much promise. Loud hosannas, people giving honor to an itinerant rabbi. Jesus riding a donkey.
If you lived in that time, that Sunday would have been the answer to a country’s prayers. Who would have seen what the later part of the week would bring?
We have the advantage of hindsight. We have a pretty good idea of what went down, and we still debate the who and why. The fact of the matter is that what we call Holy Week was a week that went horribly wrong for many people.
Jesus was expected to take care of the oppression from the Romans. Jesus was expected to lead armies and chase the Romans out of Jerusalem. He was expected to renew the temple and bring about a renaissance of Jewish culture. The world was going to change, and Jerusalem would become the center of the world.
The problem is the people listened to the wrong stories. They focused on culture rather than Scripture. They listened to others who wanted political change, and they ignored the prophets and the law. The Pharisees and Sadducees feared losing power, and the populace wanted a war.
This all led the “hosannas” to be changed to “Crucify Him.” The people wanted a lion, not a lamb. Lions conquer; lambs get sacrificed. If only they wanted to see the truth.
The truth is this: Jesus came to change the world, not to conquer it. He came to change hearts, not governments. He came to get his people back on track, and the world back in relationship with his Father. The people were convinced something else was supposed to happen, and when it didn’t go their way, they tried for a scapegoat. Jesus was strung up on a tree because too many were disappointed or scared.
But this scapegoat became the ultimate Lamb of God. He hung on the tree with every sin of humanity. He died because that was the cost of sin. He took on that sin so we could know true forgiveness. He died so we could live.
We have the hindsight that tells the whole story up to us, but they did not. They did not believe in Christ; they wanted to believe in themselves. They saw Jesus as a means to their ends. Jesus had a totally different agenda.
The fact of the matter is this: We haven’t changed. Even with the facts of Christ in front of us, humanity still tries to control the narrative. We try to tell God what to do, rather than listen for his call. For you and me, we need to let God’s narrative be unleashed. We need to learn the truth (see John 3:16-17).
Just a thought.
See you in church.
